Page 80 of Last Night Was Fun

They hurried off into the rain toward a shuttle stop as buckets of water poured down. Gabe’s jacket was soaked in seconds and became more of a limp curtain than an umbrella. Luckily, the hotel staff had jumped into action, and a line of golf carts waited at the nearest stop. They hurtled themselves into one and told the driver their room number.

“This is ridiculous!” Emmy shouted with a cackle. “I’ve never seen rain this hard in my life!” She slid across the wet bench seat into his hip as they took a corner.

“Me neither!” he said, and threw an arm around her to keep her in place. He gripped the handle hanging from the ceiling with his other hand.

Emmy shivered against him. Unlike home where the rain was often stinging and cold, here it was warm and thick, each drop a plump bulb that popped on contact. But the warmth of Gabe’s body pressed up against hers made her all the more aware she was getting soaked. The cart had no doors and a roof really only to shield out the sun. It was no match for a torrential downpour.

“At least it waited until now!” Emmy said, and stuck her hand out into it. Fat drops pelted her palm.

“Yes, could have been worse,” Gabe said right as they hit a hard bump that bounced them off their seat.

Emmy let out a yelp and gripped his thigh with both hands. “What was that?” she shouted. Their cart skidded sideways and came to a stop halfway off the path. She glanced over the edge to see what had happened, but only saw a river of rainwater rushing over the pavement.

The driver hopped out and inspected the cart, then shouted over the rain, “Flat tire!” He climbed back in and unclipped the radio hooked to his belt before speaking into it. He waited for a response and turned back to Emmy and Gabe. “Wait for maintenance,” he said, and waved the radio at them.

Rain continued to slam down around them. It pounded the roof of the cart and splashed up off itself where it had begun to flood the path. Emmy looked forward through the half windshield and saw their building glowing in the distance. It was at least a hundred yards away still, but the alternative seemed to be drowning in a golf cart while they waited for a repair.

“Want to make a run for it?” she asked Gabe.

He laughed at first but then realized she was serious. “We’ll get soaked!”

“We’re already soaked!” She flopped the soggy entrails of her dress onto his lap.

He looked down and then he shook his head with a wry smile. “Okay, if you say so, Jameson.”

“I do,” she said, and gripped his hand. “Gracias!” she shouted to the driver as she yanked Gabe out of the cart behind her.

The flood washed over her toes, and she gave up any notion of caution after two steps. They were instantly soaked. She held her skirt and clutch in one hand and Gabe’s hand in her other and ran.

“Don’t slip!” Gabe shouted from behind her.

“Don’t trip!” she shouted back.

They kept running, splashing a path through the storm and getting absolutely drenched. Emmy’s hair fell from its artfully braided bind and slapped at her back. Her dress clung to her like a secondskin. Gritty rocks and sand pushed their way between her toes and into shoes she’d probably have to throw away.

She heard Gabe chuckling behind her and glanced back to see him tilting his head toward the sky. The clouds had stolen all the moonlight and left them only with the interspersed lamps buried in the palms lining the path. Even in the dim glow, she could see his shirt was soaked and completely see-through. He held his jacket looped over an arm.

Emmy released his hand and came to a stop in the middle of the pathway. They were twenty or so yards from the building now. She held her arms out and leaned her head back, letting the warm rain shower down over her. Gabe stopped next to her, and she felt his eyes on her.

She looked over at him, wet to the bone and chest heaving from running. He was looking at her with a heat unlike anything she’d felt before. A need.

Through the pouring water, the heavens crashing down all around them, she felt it too. An ache deep in her chest only he could soothe.

Emmy stepped toward Gabe and watched the rain drip off the ends of his hair and cling to his long lashes. He was doing nothing to stop it, to shield himself or keep dry. His singular focus was her and only her.

Her heart thundered in her chest. The lightning sparking in the distance could have been channeling into her fingertips.

“What were you thinking in the elevator the other night?” she asked. The rain nearly drowned out her voice, but by the sudden flash in his eyes, the flare in his nostrils, she knew he heard her.

He stepped closer, nearly eliminating the space between them. She could feel the heat of his body, the literal steam rising off him in the rain. He searched her face with his dark eyes and spoke in a low rasp. “I was thinking I wanted to kiss you until you forgot how to breathe.”

Emmy nearly collapsed. The nerves sending signals to her legsmight as well have been hit by a line drive all over again. She’d thought it might have been something of the sort, but she hadn’t let herself hope. Now she knew, and it took all her strength to remain upright long enough to ask him another question.

“Do you still want to?”

Gabe stepped even closer, nearly chest to chest now, and reached for her face. Water streamed off their noses, dripped from their hair. His eyes continued to search hers, a pair of embers in the dark, as he softly cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb over her lips. “More than anything.”

Emmy could not take one more second of not knowing what it felt like to kiss Gabe Olson.