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THE NERVE!
Well, whenever this DOES get up, know that Hayley is about to take her finals, and Lolly is having a Zoolander day – she can't turn left due to her neck being stiff as a board. It's paaaaaaainful.
Love us.
- 8 -
Lightning strikes around 25 million times a year in the USA. If a person lived 80 years, they'd have a 1 in 3000 chance of being struck in their lifetime. Meaning, if you experienced 3000 storms, you MIGHT get hit once.
Then there's also the funny little statistic . . . about 73 people in the United States die from lightning strikes per year.
And for a moment, there, I thought Suze would join the few in those freakish odds.
I rushed to where she lay a few feet away and dropped to my knees. I realized that the one thing they failed to teach us in Health Class was how to deal with someone who'd been downed by a bolt.
Hurriedly, I put two fingers to her neck. I felt a slow, unsteady beat.
Shit . . . she was alive. But it didn't seem like she would be for long . . . her breathing was kind of strained.
'Suze,' I called again, patting her face with the palm of my hand rapidly. 'Suze, please, please.'
Oh, whoa . . . that was . . . weird . . . yuck . . .
I swallowed, and groaned. Water was hammering down all over my skin.
I felt sore.
Opening my eyes against the rain, I saw someone over me. But I didn't know what to say. Why was I even LYING ON THE GROUND IN THE RAIN?
I wanted to move, but I was hurting everywhere.
Her eyes started to open . . . her lips moved subtly, as if she was trying to say something. She looked a little confused and VERY afraid, as the rain pounded harder. I tried to move closer to her so the drops wouldn't hit her so badly. Isn't that convenient.
'It's okay, Suze,' I shushed her softly, scooping her in my arms. 'You just got a little jolt is all.'
Apparently I didn't give the lightning bolt enough credit. I mean, her hair wasn't the only thing that looked a little frazzled from the shock . . .
She started at me unintelligently, which I must admit, looked kind of cute. You know, if she hadn't been almost DYING.
I looked at the tennis racket in the distance. Damn, it was all bent and everything. A little smoke was coming from it, too. And the handle? Yeah, it was in a perfect ninety-degree angle.
That could have been Suze.
. . . Fuck.
'Jesus,' I swore down at her, 'it's a miracle you're still alive. Are you-are you feeling any pain?'
She stared. I don't think she knew what was going on. Instead, she shook in my arms. From the cold. Or, maybe not.
'Owww,' I moaned. Who the hell was - I mean - what was so miraculous?
I was cold. And I was sore. And my hand was burnt. There was a dark red circle on my palm.
'I see you've found the entrance wound,' I said, nodding down at the palm of her hand, which she stared at. I took it in my hand, and she winced.
'Does that hurt?' I asked.
'Uhhhhh,' I slurred.
P . . . Paul . . .
I shut my eyes again, and shivered. What had happened? Wh -
. . . He kissed me and I ran away and he followed me out into the rain, and I was holding a tennis racket, and th -
Storm.
There was a - there STILL was a storm.
And now I was cold and sore and my right arm and my hand ached so badly.
She shuddered again, this time not in pain, but I think in realization. I could see it in her eyes that she know knew what was going on.
How could she forget?
'Well, since we have an entrance, we need to find the exit wound,' I said. Then, with a wink, I added, 'I guess I'll just have to search you really carefully . . . '
'What?' I asked. Water splashed coldly on my face. 'What are you talking about?'
'This place right here,' I explained as I pointed to the circle on her hand, making myself heard through the rain, 'is where the lightning entered you when it struck you. I'm trying to find where it came out.'
I looked down at her again. God, she didn't realize how see-through her top was. I guess it was a good thing her judgment was a little off from her little jolt. Otherwise . . . well, hell.
'It could be anywhere,' I said with a grin. I checked her arms . . . no signs.
'It could be here,' I said, checking her legs, as well. 'Or here,' I chuckled to myself, turning her head to the side to catch a glimpse of her neck.
'Oh, it seems we've found an entrance wound of another variety,' I smiled as I fingered the red mark I gave her on her neck.
'But still no exit wound. I guess we'll have to search under your clothes.'
'Get out of . . . rain,' I said. I wasn't really hearing him. The rain was too loud in my ears.
Oh yeah, that might be smart.
'How silly of me,' I smirked. 'I was too busy imagining where that exit wound might be. Allow me . . . '
I picked her up and held her in my arms. The rain was still pricking us like small needles. She grimaced uncomfortably as I looked around for a small shelter. In front of the sports complex, there was a small covered area. That would do.
I quickly darted over to the covered area, as fast as I could. This proved a little difficult because, well, Suze wasn't as light now that her clothes acted like a sponge and took in every ounce of water that came in contact with her. And my pants were soaked, so running was difficult. But we made it. I tested the door to the complex and . . .
It was locked. Oh, boy.
I was now shivering harder. My fingers, toes, and face were going completely numb from cold. The only warmth was, in fact, Paul, whose body heat was very welcomed amidst the deadly chill that I was feeling.
I searched my pocket for a key. The funny thing was that the key? Yeah, it was gone. It must have fallen from my pocket when Suze and I were . . . you know.
I got struck by lightning.
Oh, God. Only me. Haha . . . how random . . . getting hit by -
Oww.
Stupid head.
And stupid hand.
It was so COLD. And wet . . .
I tried wriggling my fingers - haha, couldn't feel them. Weird . . .
'Plan B,' I resolved out loud, to myself more than Suze, 'how about we go to my place? We can dry off there. Sit by the fire. Sip hot chocolate . . . '
Get horizontal . . .
' . . . and tend to your condition.'
Good save.
He was saying something, but the rain was hammering too hard to hear him. Whatever he said sounded comforting. With chattering teeth and a killer headache, I just nodded dumbly. I SO would have stood up myself, but . . . well, I couldn't feel my legs.
Kinda sucks to be wearing a MINISKIRT in a THUNDER STORM.
My hands were entwined with each other, hooking around his neck so I was supporting myself a little. Well, I THINK they were entwined. I couldn't feel them. But whatever.
'C-c-c-c-c-cold,' I shivered.
'I'll take that as a yes,' I said.
Checking for more lightning, I waited for the opportune moment to make a mad dash for my car.
God, I hope it doesn't hail. If it hails, and my car gets damaged I swear to God –
FOCUS, Slater. You've got a wet girl, shivering in your arms. WARM HER UP FOR GOD'S SAKE.
Hmmm . . . . aye, aye captain.
My mind, as opposed to going a million miles an hour, was creeping by at a snail's pace. I could barely string one sentence of thought together. All I knew was, if I got any colder, I was going to just . . . I dunno, SHIFT or something, so I didn't have to put up with it.
Deciding it was safe, I ran for my life. The wind resisted me, trying to push me back. But the wind was no contest for Paul Slater, who happens to be skilled in the craft of shifting.
I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. I closed my eyes and imagined my BMW. Sleek, silver exterior . . . black, cushiony leather seating . . . roomy backseat . . .
And that's where we appeared. The backseat. Hehe . . . oops
A sudden, brief wave of heat bathed my skin, and then, I couldn't feel the rain or the wind on me. I was still freezing, but it was warmer.
I opened my eyes, and realized I was still hanging onto Paul, with hideously chattering teeth.
My hair must have been . . . funny . . . big and frizzy from the . . . rain and the . . . lightning.
Haha. I got struck by lightning. Wait till I tell Adam. He'll think it's . . . funny.
'How - ' I started, but after the first word, I couldn't remember the rest of my question.
Something to do with where the rain went.
'To my place we go,' I said, looking down at her. The way she clung to me, with her hands wrapped around my neck, brought us kind of close. This caused me to grin. It also made me feel kinda . . . I dunno. I mean, like she trusted me or something. Which I knew she didn't.
I guess you have to get Suze Simon in an out-of-it state of mind before she can ever trust me.
'Or, we can just stay here if you like . . . it could get really warm in here.'
Yeah. The windows were already fogging up from our breathing.
She looked really confused. She had no idea what I was getting at.
In fact, I'm sure she didn't even know I planned to take her to my house. She just kind of went with it, unquestioning and without a fight.
Something new and different. I could get used to this . . .
Only . . . well, she wasn't in her right mind. And that just kind of murdered the idea I had played and replayed so gloriously in my mind.
Involving lots and lots of –
Hang on. I'd better not say that to the fourteen year olds that are reading this.
I still felt like ice, and only now was I starting to hear him. I could still hear the rain. It was echoing in the back of my mind, and my head was roaring.
I licked my lips. 'What?' I said.
I was still holding myself against him, as if he were still carrying me. He was warm, you see, and . . . yeah.
Haha . . . lightning . . . zap . . .
'Never mind,' I sighed.
I give up. I really do. It's really hard to come on to a girl that's just been struck by lightning. And besides, I probably wasn't helping her any. I mean, what if something vital got fried?
It would be my fault. Sorry Mr and Mrs Ackerman, I was too busy trying to get into your daughter's pants to get her medical attention.
I see how that would fly.
'Let's go.'
My thoughts were starting to get a little more coherent. And my ability to hear him. 'Go where?' I asked. My hands were still very cold. I was probably making his neck cold. Quickly, I pulled them away from him, and again, saw the burn mark on my hand.
Oww . . . entrance wound . . .
Her arms slipped from around my neck. I held onto them for a moment longer and said, 'Everything will be okay, Suze. I'm going to drive you to my place.'
She stared dumbly. I elaborated, 'My house. Where I live.'
She just nodded in understanding. I squeezed her hands and said, 'Hang tight back here. I promise to get you home and warmed up as fast as I can. Wouldn't you like that?'
And this time, surprisingly, I wasn't making an innuendo.
'Hmm,' I said with a wince. My hand was getting its feeling back, and he'd squeezed the one with the burn on it.
Foolish earthling.
Aaah, there we go. Suze Simon finally has made a thought all by herself.
I held my hand inside the other, carefully against my chest, and sat back.
With a deep breath, I climbed over the seat into the driver's. Luckily I didn't lose the car keys, either, or that would just be embarrassing. Not that Suze would really notice because she was, well, mostly incapacitated.
I started the car and we were off. Thunder boomed as we raced the weather to get to my house. Visibility was zero because of how hard the rain was pounding on my windshield.
I wasn't wearing a seatbelt . . . haha . . . I'm a rebel.
My windshield wipers could not keep up. but in the short amount of time I've lived here, I was able to remember where to turn. I might have broken a few traffic laws, but what did it matter?
I stared at my hand, frowning heavily. I traced my finger around the burn, and flinched whenever I touched it too firmly.
It was bleeding a little bit.
There was no red or green, as far as I was concerned. It all just looked gray, except for when lightning went off. Then it was bright and white.
Finally, I pulled into my driveway. I pushed the button to open my garage impatiently and waited for it to make its way up.
Too slow, damn it, too slow. I just drove through when it reached at just a high enough clearance to allow my car to get in.
I was reckless.
I felt my face with the back of my hand. Haha . . . it was reeeeeally cold . . .
Maybe I could have a day off school tomorrow.
"Hey, mum, I got struck by lightning today. Can I stay home?"
"WHAT KIND OF AN EXCUSE IS THAT?"
I stopped the car, and contemplated how, exactly, we were going to get in the house. Too much shifting around would give me a headache sooner or later. And what about Suze? I'm sure once her initial numbness wore off, she'd be in even more pain. So I did the charitable knight-in-shining-tennis-whites thing . . . opened the door and hoisted her out of the car with my brute strength.
She was talking to someone, but I'm not sure who. I couldn't understand because she was mumbling.
Anyway, I brought her in and set her down lightly on my couch . . . the one in front of the fire-place. It's one of those gas ones that have the fake logs and all you have to do is click a button for a fire. With one push, an instant fire burst into the logs.
The fire set a strange orange glow on everything. Suze was practically golden in her soaking wet white turtleneck.
I thought of how I'd explain all of this to mum . . . I mean, would she believe me? Probably not. It's kind of . . . you know . . . weird to get hit by lightning and live, right?
Yay . . . lucky me.
Paul had moved me again. When I opened my eyes, I was indoors, lying on leather, and there was that huge orange blaze next to me. I turned my head dizzily, and saw this big open fire.
My shivering cut down considerably after seeing it. I turned to face it, and began staring into the flames, hypnotized by their continuous movement, and their dramatic brightness that stung my eyes.
Ha. Makes you think, aye. I'd come into contact with not one, but THREE elements, today.
Lightning, water (YOU KNOW, THE RAIN?) and fire.
Yay! Let's put it in the baby book!
. . . I felt like Ralph Wiggum.
You know, it was almost romantic. With the two of us on the couch, warmed by the fire and all. Hell knows I'd been able to entertain a few girls on this very same couch using the same gimmick.
Only . . . well, most of the girls hadn't had hundreds of watts of voltage pulsing through their body after being struck.
Pizza, a shot or two of brandy, getting cozy by the fire . . .
Oh, no. Not this time. I get a girl who enjoys talking to herself, whose soaking wet clothes, though very see through, also happen to be ruining the leather of the couch.
Pops would kill me if he wasn't in for his late afternoon nap.
I felt kind of sleepy. At the same time, more and more sensation started coming to my body, making it hurt more. I twisted slowly, and groaned. God . . . ow . . .
Paul was sitting at the end of the couch, just looking at me. I felt like I should have said something, but I didn't know what. I mean, it had SO been his fault. If he hadn't have kissed me like . . . that . . . hadn't made my heart go that fast, or my skin get that hot . . . UM, yeah, I wouldn't have run out in the first place.
So there.
She glanced at me painfully. I could tell she was suffering a little more now. But I really had no idea what to do.
'Do you want me to call a doctor?' I offered. 'Or do you want some medicine? I've got Tylenol, Advil, some Motrin . . . what about aspirin?'
'Uhhhh,' I said, 'Whatever you got.'
IF YOU HAVE HERION I SHALL TAKE THAT TOO! TEEHEE, MUAHAHAHA - not.
'Sure,' I said, getting up from the couch, 'I'll be right back.'
I headed upstairs to the bathroom and rummaged through the medicine cabinet. Tylenol . . . she doesn't have a cold or anything . . . Advil's good, but it might not be strong enough . . . hmm, what's this?
Well, it was some of Pops' old meds. Some kind of pain killing stuff. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure it would work.
Just to be safe,
I decided against it. I mean, that could make it worse.
Without gain, I went back where Suze was. She was clenching her fists and groaning. Unfortunately, she was only doing so in pain, not pleasure.
'I'm going to call the doctor, Suze,' I told her. Her head rolled back onto the couch for support.
'That's not-OW,' she yelled, clenching her head.
'Right. I'll get straight to it.'
But right as I picked up the cordless phone to dial----BOOOM!
That's right. Another power outage. All the lights were cut, and the phones were more dead than De Silva. Even our heater went out. The only thing left for light and warmth was the blazing fire.
I jolted and sat up, looking around. 'What - '
A razor sharp pain went through my head from my foolish sudden movement, and I sat back, moaning. What was WRONG with me?
The fire was still going even though everything else was suddenly dark. I could see Paul in the kitchen, twisting around to look at me.
'Uhhhhh . . . I didn't do it,' I said quickly.
. . . Whaaaaaaaaat?
'I know,' I said. I didn't seem to find it funny at the time, despite its cuteness. I was too busy trying to get Suze proper medical attention. She could DIE, you know? That would be to her advantage because her boyfriend's also dead . . . but what about me?
I remembered. Cell phone. Lucky me, I had it right in my pocket. I fished it out and shook the water out of it. I dialed and put the phone to my ear and . . . .
Nothing. Silence. Dead air.
Apparently, my phone was not only waterlogged . . . but it chose the perfect time to be out of batteries. I couldn't very well charge it since the electricity was out.
Basically, the whole situation was out of my hands.
I began shaking again, regardless of the roaring fire in front of me. Just, the pain in my head was like . . . acute. Needle sharp. Like my brain cells were crackling, igniting, and exploding. I sat back, shaking rather than crying. I started to get cold again. And my hand was burning . . .
'Please,' I begged breathlessly, 'Just . . . get me something - Advil, or - I don't care - please - '
I did. I gave her two tablets, and some water, and she swallowed them shakily. Then, I made my way over to the couch. I touched the back of my hand to her cheek and noticed she was very, very cold. Her teeth were chattering just a little, but I hadn't noticed that earlier. It was obviously worse now since the heater turned off.
'I'm sorry I can't do much,' I apologized, for some reason. 'You're freezing. I'll get some blankets.'
I pulled a quilt from the hall closet and brought a heap of them over to the couch. I sat down really close to her and pulled the blankets over us. I brought my arm across her shoulders and hugged her tightly to me.
She made a noise of disapproval, but I made an excuse.
'Shhhh,' I said softly, 'It's for warmth. I'm sharing body heat.'
I stopped trying to move away after a second. 'Oh,' I said, 'Uh, okay . . . '
Awkwardly, I kind of rested my head on his chest. Well, I mean, fair enough, he WAS pretty warm. For a cold-hearted guy, and all. I winced a little as something else seared through my head ruthlessly, and found that after it was gone, my hand was in his.
How'd it get there?
When another upsurge of pain came, I squeezed his hand hard, feeling like I could die.
'Sorry,' I said briefly.
I didn't know what I saw saying sorry for. For . . . hurting his hand? For getting hit by lightning? For kissing him back, before?
For all of this?
. . . Was I REALLY that sorry about it?
I mean, seriously. How much of all this did I regret? How much of all of this mess did I feel truly bad about, Jesse aside?
. . . No comment.
With each stab of pain in my head, I kind of sucked in air sharply, molding myself completely against Paul. He was just . . . so WARM.
'See? This isn't so bad is it?' I asked, as she leaned into me more. The blankets didn't seem to be providing as much warmth as we were together. In fact, we really didn't need them. They were just there for the comfort factor.
I didn't answer him.
'It's almost perfect. The only way it could be better was if we were out of these wet clothes . . . '
I intentionally left my sentence there. Need I say more to allude to what my mind was considering?
My mind was a blur of confusion. One moment, I wanted to protect her and keep her safe, and the next I wanted her naked. I'd have to say there's a mess in communication between my upstairs and my downstairs. It just all fused together.
I CERTAINLY didn't answer him THEN.
In fact, I kind of made an anxious moment away from him, but by then, he was holding on to me as tightly as I'd been holding on to him before.
The pain was subsiding. The fluctuation was less frequent, and less strong. My head felt slightly more capable of thought.
'Uh,' I said worriedly, not really knowing what to tell him. What? "My head's better. Can I go now?" I mean, that last comment aside, he HAD been pretty nice. Heaven knows he wouldn't have been this accommodating if it were say, my step-bro Dopey who got caught in lightning.
"Oh, Brad, my dearest . . . here, lets share body heat . . . oh Brad, Braaaaaaaad, you feisty monkey . . . oh yeah . . . now grab the other one, too . . . squeeze, oh . . . "
Um.
. . . Wow.
Suze?
Eww.
No, really.
Eww.
'I should go now,' I slurred. 'I mean . . . mum'll want to know that I got struck by lightning and all . . . and Doc'll . . . he'll wanna know too.'
'Have you looked outside, Suze?' I asked, pointing outdoors. Through the glass walls, you could see how extremely dark it looked out. The ocean was tossing angrily. Not a surfer was in sight.
Which is funny because normally a surfer would have killed for waves like that. They're usually too stupid to realize how dangerous riding in a storm can be. Obviously they wizened up.
I just wish a certain other party would do the same about a certain other situation.
'There is no way I can take you home like that,' I said in a case-closed manner. 'You'll just have to stay here until the storm's over. Even if it takes all night.'
Gulp.
I looked at him in a hurried way, regretting that action as my eyeballs pretty much exploded. Ow, ow ow . . . no sudden movements, Suze. You're in the presence of a snake.
Paul in general, not . . . certain parts of Paul.
Well, you know, that too.
A snake within a snake, one might say.
Hem.
I kind of tensed, and remained tense. I mean, okay, I felt like crap and my hair looked like an antisocial mushroom, and a LOT of electricity had recently gone through my body leaving me kind of SORE, but . . . I still felt it.
It.
That thing I always try to deny.
It.
That thing that is always purely Paul's fault.
Suddenly, I didn't know if I could stay here. I mean, I didn't trust myself with him. Not like I did with Jesse. I knew with Jesse, I could count on him to stop me.
Paul wouldn't. And that . . . that scared me so much.
I noticed that she was shivering again.
'Are you cold, Suze?' I asked.
I didn't know what to say. I mean, yes I was cold.
Which was the point: I WAS cold.
So why did I feel so hot, then?
I couldn't relax back down. Because he ALWAYS did that. That whole the-only-way-it-could-be-better-was-if-we-were-out-of-these-wet-clothes crap, I mean. He just COULDN'T FREAKIN' HELP HIMSELF.
It would consequently make me feel a lot less safe around him. Because not only did I not trust MYSELF around him, I didn't trust HIM.
So there I was, still sitting on a couch against Paul Slater.
I hated it.
I loved it.
It shouldn't have happened.
She didn't answer me this time. I was kind of starting to get frustrated with her again.
This was a bunch of crap, I tell you. A guy shouldn't have to sit on a couch next to a hot girl with wet see-through clothes with a freaking FIRE in the fireplace and wait for something to just happen.
I mean, what was I afraid of? Being too damn forward or something? Going too far was always better than not going anywhere at all.
Which is where I was headed, fast. Nowhere.
Shit. I forgot the whole reason we were even on this couch.
This is why I'm not going to be a doctor like my dad.
I groped around for her hand and took it suddenly.
'Paul - ' I said quickly. I didn't know why, but I freaked. I mean - I don't know WHAT I mean, but - 'What are y - ?'
Despite her weak objection, I lifted her hand from underneath the mass of covers and brought into the light of the fire to get a better look at it. I traced the entrance wound with my fingers gently.
It kind of looked like a star. The entrance wound, I mean. Not a definite one, but still pretty close. The exit wound must look similar.
I threw the blankets off of us and pulled her legs so I could examine them on my lap. I trailed my hand down the right one, then the left, and saw nothing. I twisted her leg just a little so I could see if there was anything in her inner thigh. I did the same with the left leg, too.
'What the HELL are y - ' I squealed, going to slap his hands away, but unfortunately, MY hand was kind of SCREWED UP at that moment. Jeez, looked like I was on my way to experiencing a STIGMATA or something, or I got crucified ONE HANDED. It looked THAT bad, I'm serious.
But he - my thighs are HIGHLY sensitive, and he SHOULDN'T have been -
It felt way too good. 'Can you NOT? What are you d - ?'
'Shhhh,' I shushed her. 'I'm trying to concentrate here.'
'ON WHAT?' I exploded.
I'M VERY FLATTERED THAT MAYBE HE WAS TRYING TO PICTURE ME IN THE NUDE. BUT THIS WAS VERY MUCH SO NOT APPROPRIATE.
And HELLO? My skirt was damned SHORT.
'I'm finding your exit wound,' I replied simply, raking my eyes up her leg. That brought me to the hem of her tennis shirt.
I began to lift it up just a little.
What? I was examining her for an exit wound. I had to be thorough.
WHAT?
'You are SO not,' I scowled. 'You are trying to cop a feel, you - eww - '
PLEASE GET YOUR HAND OFF OF MY THIGH, IT'S DRIVING ME INSANE. DON'T YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S A VERY SENSITIVE AREA? ARE YOU STUPID? THIGHS ARE VERY PERSONAL. Stop TOUCHING mine!
Needless to say, the fact that he WAS, was . . . having a very bad effect on me. Bad as in, I liked it. A lot. And that was BAD.
BAD SUSIE.
'You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?' I teased. 'You hate to admit that I'm actually doing something to help you. Sometimes I guy just has to do his job. Mine, right now, is to treat your little jolt. But I wouldn't put the other thing out of my mind just yet. There's plenty of time for that after you have a clean bill of health. That is, if you're still thinking about it.'
I blinked fast. 'Um . . .'
She stared at me in disbelief. I chose to ignore her as I glanced over the soles of her feet.
'You wouldn't have brought it up if you weren't thinking it, Suze,' I pointed out.
I was right. She knew it.
'I - I wasn't thinking - shut up,' I spluttered. 'What - I mean, where is - '
'Turn around,' I cut her off.
I broke off immediately.
'What?' I said quickly. 'Why?'
'Do you want my help or not?' I asked, a little annoyed. 'Just turn around, with your back to me. Trust me,' I said.
I swear. Every time I try to better her, she always finds a way to refuse. With this and then shifting . . .
I pursed my lips, and kind of looked sideways, kind of freaked by that whole "TURN AROUND OR ELSE" thing.
Well, not or else, but more or less.
What? Did he want to assassinate me all of a sudden?
Simon . . . eww . . . that is so damned gross . . . Ewww . . . you should be executed.
Twice.
My head was already blurred with dull pain, and my entire body tingled as much as it ached. I was worried that said tingling was from a combination of my whole lightning encounter, and the fact that, um, yeah, his hand had been on the skin of my thigh. Which, you know, it HIGH on the tingle-inducing scale.
Again, I was all, 'Uh . . . ' but after several moment, I kind of shifted around a little, so I was facing away from him. I brushed my half-wet hair back behind my ears, and licked my lips nervously. What, anyway? Was he looking at the back of my neck? Would there be an exit wound THERE? If so, uh, would it be kind of . . . brain-affecting?
God. If I had brain-damage, that would SO do me justice.
Serves me right for acting all - acting like . . . like I did in Mr Thompson's office.
I never acted like that. Never.
But . . . I still wanted to.
Because it had felt so -
SUZE, GOD HELP ME, DON'T CONCLUDE THAT THOUGHT.
Wow. I'm threatening myself. I'm soooooooo schitzo.
After what seemed like a long epic battle in her brain, she finally turned around so that her back was towards me. I was going to check her back, you know, to see if there were any problems.
I slowly started pulling her shirt off of her, waiting for her to object. I knew ripping it off of her might merit another broken nose, but I might just get slapped for going slow-motion.
Uh, okay . . . he wasn't just . . . checking my neck.
I kind of took a sharp breath in. But I didn't say anything. Don't know WHY. I mean, I SHOULD have.
But I didn't.
I mean . . . he was trying to help.
You tell yourself that, Suze.
She tensed up suddenly.
'Relax,' I said, her shirt only halfway off. 'I'm only checking the back. I'll leave you to see if you have anything on the front, okay?'
I nodded quickly.
I hope you all took notice of that. Me being nice for once, I mean.
Her shirt, which was still wet, was sticking to her skin stubbornly as I tried to get it off. I finally was able to get it over her head. I gently set the shirt aside and took a look at her back.
Suze had muscles in her upper-back. No wonder she had that natural tennis ability. With as much definition as she had, she could certainly have some great potential. Not that she was, you know . . . overboard. But she was strong. I could tell.
But there was also the fact that even though she was sitting down, you could still see the perfect curvature of her body.
I was tempted to trace a finger down her spine or to run my hands around those curves. Being 100 percent male will do that to you sometimes.
Even with the amount of self-control I had, I still could not put away these fantasies from my mind. I tried imagining different things to keep my mind out of such places. Like Brad in a thong, for instance. But even then, my thoughts strayed from that to, well, Suze in one.
Which is much more appealing, though it helped my situation very little.
I swallowed.
Hard.
Speaking of hard . . .
ANYWAY.
I lifted her hair from her shoulders very, very slowly and saw nothing. There was no sign of anything on her back, either. I slid my hands down her back, and watched her recoil slightly. I smoothed down the blanket where it had bunched up just at the very bottom of her lower back and . . .
Well, how about that. A star. Just like the other one, only bigger. Unable to control myself much longer, I traced all the five points of the star with my finger slowly.
I wished so badly that he wouldn't do that . . .
My hands, which were resting against the blanket that he had, suddenly squeezed it tightly. I bowed my head forward.
I mean, it hurt. That TINY point of contact.
But scrunching of fists was generally due to the way he'd been tracing his fingers down my back BEFORE he'd touched what I guessed was my lightning exit wound thingie.
I could feel the heat of the fire on the side of my arm. The other one felt freezing.
I leaned forward in my seat a little more, whispering in my her ear as I continued to trace over it, 'I'm sorry. Am I hurting you?'
I was losing control. Not necessarily a bad thing on my part. Only, potentially bad for Suze, though. Because I had a feeling once I started, I wouldn't be able to stop.
My eyelids were closed, but were kind of flickering. I had my teeth gritted together, and my hands closed tighter on the blanket in my fists.
'No,' I said. ' . . . No.'
'Good,' I replied, again in her ear.
And that's when I turned her chin towards me and began kissing her, unleashing everything I had pent up inside.
THAT'S when I lost control.