Chapter Nine
“What have you done?” someone yelled, but I was still sleeping, so I incorporated the words into the dream I was having.
I stretched slowly as I peeled my eyes open. I squinted at the bright light shining through the windows. Derrek no longer lay there with me on the couch.
“I can explain. It is not how it appears,” I heard Derrek say defensively.
“There’s nothing to explain! I can see what you’ve done!” That was Emilee’s voice.
I sprung forward to see Andy and Emilee cornering Derrek—and no wonder! The shop looked like a murder scene. The pool of blood remained at the front door, and the blood-soaked towels hung from the edge of the table. I caught a glimpse of myself in the window reflection; my hair was still windswept and awry; blood smeared my neck and the side of my face.
“Wait!” I called as I jumped to my feet and ran to them.
Emilee’s eyes widened as she looked to me and quickly back to him.
“Ally, what has he done?” She was furious and on edge.
“Actually, he saved my life.” I looked to him with a shy smile. I wasn’t sure if the night we spent together meant anything or if he was only being kind under the circumstances.
Andy looked around the room with furrowed eyebrows. “What did he do? Give you a blood transfusion?”
“Actually, that is my blood ...” He held up his bandaged arm; a small amount of blood had seeped through it overnight.
I stepped closer to Derrek and held up my hand to stop him continuing. It was my place to explain to my friends what had happened. “Last night I got caught in the storm. The sheet of tin that’s lying in the next door window almost sliced me in two.” I could feel my face turn red as it heated. “He pushed me out of the way, but it caught his arm. We came here to wait out the storm, but the power went out and it was freezing.” I looked to the couch. I could feel my face burn even hotter as I remembered his lips touch the back of my head. “Our clothes were wet, and we needed to keep warm.”
“Well ...” Emilee pushed her hand into her hip and pulled a sideways smile at me. “Andy told me you wanted your coffee to be delivered this morning.” She turned to the desk, picked up a large polystyrene cup and handed it to me. “I didn’t expect you to have company, so I only bought three. But you can have mine.” She picked another polystyrene cup up and handed it to Derrek. “Be gentle with Warrangatta’s finest.”
He took a sip of the coffee. “The coffee is delicious,” he said with a smile.
“I wasn’t talking about the coffee.” She looked directly at me and smiled. I knew she thought more had happened than just lying on the couch. I would disappoint her with the truth later.
I suddenly remembered I was only wearing my underwear. I put the coffee back on the desk and moved back to the couch where my clothes lay in a pile. They were still wet and sent cold shivers through my body as I pulled them on.
“Well, while you two were keeping warm,” Andy began as he walked to his tech desk, “I was working my magic fingers on something else.” He threw a sly look in my direction.
I glanced over to Derrek to see if he had heard the remark. He remained by the desk speaking to Emilee as he drank his coffee.
“Andy! Shut up. Nothing happened.” I hissed at him.
“Oh yeah, right.” He laughed once.
“I mean it. It really was just to keep warm … I don’t think there was anything to it.” I could feel my heart sink as I said the words aloud.
“You mean to tell me you were practically naked with him and he didn’t try it on?”
“Shh. No. I’m just not his type. I mean, he’d go for girls who wear dresses and matching underwear.”
He took a step closer. “You really don’t know men, do you? If he didn’t like you, he’d at least tried to have sex with you.”
“What?” I screwed up my nose, as I finished buttoning my shirt. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“If he wasn’t into you, he would have tried it on. If you rejected him, well, he’d leave today and forget about it. If he was lucky enough to have ‘scored’, then he’d leave today and forget about it.”
I couldn’t help but smile at what Andy said. “You really think so?”
“Stop underselling yourself. You’re awesome ... and beautiful; well, usually you are. Today you look like a scarecrow that fell off a tomato truck.”
“Oh gee, thanks for the honesty.” I folded my arms.
“You’re welcome.” He pulled a cheesy smile. “Well as I was saying ...” He spoke loudly again. “Last night I spent far too many hours on my computer, and I found this.” He took a USB stick from his pocket and slipped it into the back of his laptop. “I was able to connect to the internet for short bursts. The same report was playing over and over.”
I sat on the couch and waited for the computer to load. Emilee sat on the swivel chair by the table. She held a smirk firmly on her face as she threw looks in my direction. I knew I would be spending the better half of the day relaying every detail of the happenings of the night before, no matter how hard I protested it.
Derrek walked towards me, and my heart skipped a beat as he approached the couch. He reached across the table, grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. Each one of his defined muscles grew as he lifted the shirt and pulled it on. Andy was still speaking, but I wasn’t listening to a word he was saying. All I could think of was Derrek’s big arms holding me tightly, and his amazing aftershave, which still lingered in the air. I watched him with a smile as he pulled his boots on. He then sat at the opposite end of the couch, looking at the computer. Disappointment flew threw me like a razor—Andy was wrong. I looked to Derrek. He gave no reaction to me at all.
“All ready?” Andy asked sounding far too enthusiastic. He looked at each of us, but none of us responded. “Alrighty then ...” He lifted one eyebrow, pulled his laptop towards him and pressed several keys.
A British female journalist was reporting: “... Experts are speechless. So far we are receiving reports of bizarre weather conditions from almost every corner of the globe. Australia’s centre has received almost four years of its annual rainfall in as little as two weeks. Australia’s southern states have been subjected to cyclones that would usually present themselves only in the tropics. Russia, which should be experiencing its coldest months, is currently going through an unprecedented heat wave of temperatures never before seen.”
The reporter stepped aside as the green screen behind her was filled with a large Russian woman wearing a short dress fanning her face. She was upset and speaking quickly as she pointed to her home, which had a shallow river flowing beside it caused by melted snow.
“And that’s only part of this bizarre situation. Parts of Asia have been left devastated as tornados have ripped through cities and destroyed many farming communities, while sections of Africa have experienced snowfall. People have already started rallying in capital cities all around the world demonstrating global warming ...” The news flashed to an image of Melbourne with hundreds of people yelling and waving signs. “They are blaming governments and large corporations for polluting the world, causing the weather anomaly ...” The laptop screen went black.
“That’s all I was able to get before the power went out last night,” Andy said as he folded the laptop shut.
“Well, I’m just glad we don’t live in a big city. I don’t think I could tolerate those activists.” I stood to my feet and began to re-pack the first aid kit. “I read in a book somewhere if we condensed the existence of the world into a twenty-four hour block, humans have been on this earth for no more than thirty seconds. Long before governments and corporations polluted the atmosphere, inland Australia was filled with ocean. In my opinion, nature is a forever changing beast, and no matter what any one person does, nothing can change.” I threw my hand towards the blank laptop.
“That’s true. But sometimes it’s worth saying how you feel. Never know, you might be surprise
d by their response,” Andy said as he looked directly at me.
“But sometimes the answer is blatantly obvious and the person speaking would just look like an idiot.” I clipped the first aid kit closed and picked up the clean towels.
“And sometimes they’re just being plain stubborn, like they always are.” He folded his arms and leant back on his desk.
“Am I missing an entire conversation here?” Emilee waved her hand in the air.
“No! I’m going to clean up this mess before Sam gets in,” I said and walked to the staff room.
I pulled open the blue cupboards under the sink and pushed the first aid kit in roughly. I was annoyed and angry that I had allowed myself to believe Derrek may have been attracted to me. I put my hand on the edge of the bench and leant heavily on my arms.
“Did something upset you?” Derrek spoke.
I looked up. He was standing in the doorway of the staff room holding the two blood-soaked towels.
“No. I’m fine.” I lied unconvincingly. I folded my arms and leant back on the bench. I kept my eyes to the floor; not because I didn’t want to look at him—I was scared that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to look away.
“Okay,” he said as he slowly placed the towels in the sink behind me. “I have to leave for a few days. Would it be okay if I visited you when I return?”
Just as I expected—he was making a polite excuse to get out of here. Emilee spoke about the ‘let down’ men would give her; only, in her case, she had slept with them before they made all the excuses. Just lying next to me for several hours was enough of a deterrent for Derrek, it seemed.
“You don’t have to.” I shrugged and continued to look at the floor. I did want him to visit me again, but I knew he was only saying it so he could leave without a fuss.
“You do not want me to?” His voice dropped.
I looked back to him. “I don’t want you to feel obligated. I mean last night … was ...” I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. I couldn’t bear to hear his outright rejection of me.
“... incredible,” he finished for me.
“What?” I was sure I had misheard him.
“Last night was incredible.” He stepped forward and slipped his hand up the side of my neck. His rough hands made my skin tingle.
“If I did not have to leave today, I would ask if I could share another night with you.” He rubbed his thumb across my cheek.
I closed my eyes as I leant my face into his hand. His free hand found its way around my waist and pulled me gently towards him. His body was touching mine, as he looked down at me.
“I have wanted to do this from the moment I first met you.” He pressed his lips to my mouth. His lips were big and soft as they glided across mine. I lost all control of my own lips as they followed his. I could smell nothing but his aftershave and feel nothing but him.
“Keeping warm again?”
I jumped at Andy’s voice and took a step backwards from Derrek, as I tried to compose myself.
Andy stood leaning in the doorway. He was holding more blood-stained towels. A large smirk ran across his face, not just because I was obviously happy, but because he had been right.
“I should go. I will be back in about a week.” Derrek ran his hand over my cheek and pressed his lips against mine again, only this time it wasn’t a passionate kiss; it was short and sweet.
“Okay.” I wanted to say so much more, but ‘okay’ was the only word I was able to speak.
I watched him through a small window in the staff room, as he left the store. Once he had disappeared from sight, Emilee raced into the room.
“Details; I need every teeny, tiny detail.” She pulled out a chair and then sat on the table with her feet on the chair, elbows on her knees, ready for a run-down.
“Really, nothing happened. Just now was the first time he kissed me.”
She threw her hands to the table. “Seriously? You spent the night alone with that man and you didn’t do anything?” Her eyes were wide.
I shrugged. “I dunno; I feel fuzzy. Maybe a little tingly.”
“Don’t worry; they’d have ointment for that,” Andy said dryly.
“Shut up! Dingbat!” Emilee threw her hand to Andy’s stomach. “Ally, you’re falling in love!” She jumped to the floor and wrapped her arms around me. “It’s about time!”
I didn’t hug her back. I just stood motionless, as I thought of her words. “I can’t be. I’ve only just met him.”
“Stop thinking and start feeling!” She pressed her hands over my heart. “Let this guide you, not this.” She tapped my head several times.
“But ...”
“But nothing! Just let it be. Perhaps Derrek will be the next Michael. Perhaps he’ll be your first ever fling. Just embrace it. Feel it. Feel alive again. Promise me, when the time comes, you’ll feel—not think.”
“Okay,” I said breathlessly.