Page 18 of Puck the Halls
“I understand. I’m sorry you went through that.”
“Thanks.” Nathan taps my thigh with his fist. “I appreciate you.”
“Same.” Then I grin. “Is this where we finally share a passionate kiss?”
“Fuck off. I already see you naked on a regular basis. That’s going to have to be enough.” But Nathan fights a smile. Eventually he gives in and laughs. “Jesus. So how do we get out of here, McNeill? I’ve only seen two cars pass us on the highway the whole time we’ve been here. Do we just call a tow truck in the morning and limp back to Chicago?”
“And deny ourselves two days alone with Dani and Michael? Hell, no. I thought you were made of stronger stuff.”
Then a rapid fire honking rings out and headlights cut through the storm as a van pulls over.
“Crew? Crew McNeill?” we hear someone shout through a window that’s being rolled down.
“We’re saved,” I announce.
“Who the fuck is that?” How do they know your name?”
“Grab your stuff,” I tell him. “I did a livestream with our location and asked if anyone was in the area and could give us a ride.”
Nathan’s jaw drops. “That’s…”
“Genius?” I ask.
“Psychotic.”
“But very fucking effective.”
“Don’t you ever watch Dateline? You gave total strangers our location. They could easily murder us.”
“No one is going to murder you. Me maybe. But not you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because if you watch that show then you know they always say the victim lights up a room. You can’t ever be accused of lighting up a room.”
“I legitimately hate you.”
“You’ve already told me you love me today. No take backs.” I reach into the back seat and grab my duffel bag.
“Crew.” Nathan grinds my name out through gritted teeth.
“Oh, look,” I tell him, as someone appears in front of the headlights. It’s a woman, dressed in a long black gown. “It’s a nun. We’re totally safe.”
CHAPTER 5
Wade
(FORMERLY SAMMY THE MALAMUTE)
The hot tub is chill.Which doesn’t sound right. More like chilling in the hot tub. That’s what I’m doing.
Bossman’s set up on the upper deck is sick. Fairy lights, a beverage station, a hot tub that has more jets than I can count, and a fully integrated sound system. There’s even a little cabinet thing by the door that is heated and contains towels, bath robes, and rubber deck shoes.
Some day when I’m rich I want heated towels too.
But for now, it’s just a cool way to spend my night alone.
I’m sipping on a sparkling water—gotta hydrate in a hot tub—and getting blasted with half a dozen jets. My legs keep floating up and out which makes me think maybe I need to hit the gym more often or something. I shouldn’t be this buoyant. I don’t think.
