Page 30 of Raff
“Alright, small snag on the food plans,” Raff said when I met him in the common area. “No one will deliver out here. So I’m gonna venture out to pick it up. Can you think of anything else we’re gonna need?”
“Drinks.”
“Diet soda, water, and cran-apple-raspberry.”
“How do you even know that?”
“I notice things.”
“Maybe too many things.”
“About you? No such thing. Okay. I’ll be back in… half an hour. I hope. I did a sweep of the place, so you’re alone.”
With that, he gave me the code in case I wanted to wander around and get back inside, then was gone.
Alone, I took a leisurely tour of the facilities, including Raff’s room. He clearly gave me the good one because he didn’t have the bathtub or stargazing bed.
I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a one-off thing, or if everywhere we had to stay was going to be fun and unique.
I knew it was wrong since I wasn’t contributing financially, but I really hoped that was the case—that this little mission could, in fact, feel like the vacation I told my boss I was taking. The vacation I’d more than earned. The one I would never take in any other circumstance.
I circled back to my room eventually, heading outside and stripping down to my bathing suit, ready to fill the bath with some lukewarm water to cool down.
Then something skittered around the ground right by my feet.
I jumped up into the tub, a squeal escaping me.
“Raff!” I shrieked when I heard the front door close.
He didn’t answer, but I heard his footsteps on the stone floor. Then he flew through the patio door with a gun drawn, his posture stiff, ready to throw down for me.
There was that lower belly pressure again.
“Lu?” he asked after scanning around and seeing no obvious threat.
I pointed toward the corner of the patio and watched as his gaze followed.
His arm fell and a deep laugh escaped him.
“Really? You’re afraid of a lizard?”
“That is not a lizard. It looks like a dragon.”
He tucked his gun away and moved over toward the corner, crouching down to grab the lizard before it could scamper away.
“Don’t let it bite you.”
“Do you think it’s going to turn me into a giant lizard or something?” he asked, smiling.
“Thanks for the nightmare fuel. No! No. Why are you bringing it to me?”
“This is a chuckwalla,” he explained, showing me the baggy-skinned black and orange lizard that took up his whole hand. “They call them ‘pot-bellied potatoes.’ They’re calm and docile.He doesn’t want to hurt you. He probably fell in here and couldn’t get back out. And before you ask, he’s a plant eater. Your limbs are safe. Go on. Pet him.”
“Pet the scaly lizard?”
“Why not? One good way to try to overcome the fear.” The water was still running, overflowing the tub and soaking his feet, but he didn’t react at all.
“If I touch it, will you take it away?”
