Page 4 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
I let out a deep breath and watch it curl up in front of me like a reminder of how cold it is, then get busy clearing the rest of my windows with the sleeve of my jacket, since the snow-remover brush I do have is under all the boxes and things in my trunk. Once I’ve got my windows mostly cleaned off, I hustle back around to the driver’s side, colder now than I was before and also wet, which is not a good combination.
After I’m back behind the wheel and have my jacket and hat off, I glance down at the dash and feel my heart drop into the pit of my stomach. My gas tank was about half-full when I pulled off the highway, but it’s now teetering on E, meaning I will soon be out of gas, without a phone and trapped in a blizzard with no way to escape and nowhere to go.
When Pebbles whines from my side, I reach over and cover his head with my hand, trying to come up with some kind of plan. I don’t know how long my car will continue to idle, and I really can’t risk shutting it off, because if I do, I don’t know if it will start back up again. I look over my shoulder into the back seat at my suitcases there and lick my lips before I twist around in my seat and start dragging out clothes. When the gas eventually does run out, if I have on a few more layers, I should be able to keep myself warm. Then when morning comes, I can make my way to one of the trucks and hope they have a phone or some way for me to get ahold of someone to come and help me.
I’m sure at this point Cybil is probably freaking out, and knowing her, she’s talked to my parents, so they are as well. Shoving my seat all the way back, I take off my boots and struggle out of my wet jeans and socks, something that is only made that much more complicated with the lack of space. Breathing heavy, I start to put on a pair of black leggings, then scream at the top of my lungs when I look over, finding a dark, shadowy figure standing outside my window.
“Jade.” A deep voice cuts through the sound of my own pounding heart, and I focus on his face—not that I can see much of it with his black beanie pulled down over his ears and the collar of his jacket covering his lower jaw. Maverick . . . of course he would find me with my pants down around my ankles.
“I’m changing,” I shout as he steps closer to the window, allowing me to see him more clearly, and I struggle to get my tight leggings up my thighs as fast as humanly possible, which isn’t fast at all in the confined space.
“Sorry it took me so long.”
“Ugh, it’s okay.” I lift my hips off the seat to get my pants up over my ass, then turn to the window and press the button to roll it down a bit. “Hey,” I pant, and even though I can’t see him well at all, I still catch the white of his smile.
“Hey.” His voice is soft. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
“Yeah, I need to put on my shoes and stuff.” I lean back to make room for Pebbles, who has walked across to my lap in order to get closer to Maverick.
“What do you want me to take to my truck?” he asks as Pebbles stretches up and rests his legs on the ledge of the window. “You might be stuck with me a couple days.” He reaches in to pet the top of Pebbles’s head.
“What?” My heart starts to pound for a completely different reason. Because again, I know him but do not really know him, and as I mentioned, he’s seriously attractive.
“Roads are shit, and when this storm passes, it’s supposed to freeze.”
“So I won’t be able to make it to Cybil’s?”
“Not tonight, not sure about tomorrow either.”
“Oh.” I glance back at my suitcase, which is now open, with clothes exploding out of it. “I need to repack my bag; I had to change and was planning on putting on a few more layers since my car is just about out of gas,” I tell him, and he smiles again, this time up close. Darn, but he has a great smile.
“All right, while you repack, I’m gonna grab a gas can from my trunk and fill up your tank so the gas line doesn’t freeze while your car is parked here the next day or so.”
“Okay, sure,” I agree, figuring he knows what he’s talking about.
