Page 19 of The Kitchen Contract

14

NORA

After about an hour in the pool, the goosebumps on my arms turn into shivers. The nights still get down to about sixty degrees this time of year, which isn’t that cool—unless you’re wet and cold-natured like I am.

Alex doesn’t seem bothered at all by the temperature, and I feel a bit bad about being the first one to get out. It’s obvious that the pool is his happy place but he follows me without hesitation.

“You don’t have to get out,” I say, wrapping a towel around my shoulders. I try not to stare as he scrubs the other towel over his hair, his raised arms giving a very clear view of his defined arms and lean, muscled torso. I saw the membership card for a gym attached to his keyring earlier, and it seems he uses it regularly.

I watch, transfixed, as a drop of water slides from his collarbone, and I imagine it throwing up its hands and screaming with delight as it traverses the roller coaster-like peaks and dips of his muscles. I look up to find him watching me with a smirk. My face instantly flames as I clear my throat and look away. Thank goodness it’s too dark out here for him to see how red I must be.

Almost as if my thoughts of the darkness summoned it, the floodlights that illuminate us suddenly blink out and the backyard goes black. The night is overcast, obstructing any moon or starlight that might have helped us out. A squeak of alarm squeezes out of my chest.

“Well, this is interesting,” Alex says, his voice surprisingly calm. “I hope we lost power.”

“What? Why would you hope for that?” My voice sounds strained to my own ears and I draw in a breath, trying to calm myself. I’m not a huge fan of the dark, especially in an unfamiliar place.

“If it’s not an outage, the only other explanation is that someone turned them off and since I’m not expecting anyone, that would mean we have an intruder.”

“An intruder?” My heart rate kicks up to NASCAR speed and I feel my eyes widen in the darkness. I jump at a bump on my arm and lash out, smacking bare skin with my palm.

“Ow!” Alex yelps. I feel his hand grip my arm firmly, not enough to hurt, but enough to keep me from slapping him again. “What was that for?”

“You said there’s an intruder and then I felt someone touch me,” I hiss.

“I didn’t say there’s an intruder.” He sounds exasperated. “I’m like 95 percent certain it’s just a power outage.”

I stifle another squeak. That’s about 4.99 percent less sure than I’d like for him to be.

“What do we do?” I whisper.

I feel him lean in closer until his breath tickles my neck, his hand still warm on my skin. “Why are you whispering?”

“So the intruder can’t hear us.” Obviously, I refrain from adding. Now is not the time for sarcasm, not when our lives are at stake.

“Nora, there’s no intruder, but if you want, you can wait here while I check it out.” He sounds amused now, much to my annoyance. Why isn’t he taking this seriously?

“No, we should stick together. Bad things always happen when you separate.” It’s like he’s never watched a movie before.

“Okay, if you say so.” His fingers slide down my arm, making me shiver, and he tucks my hand into his. “I’ll go first.”

Alex tugs me forward, and I follow him cautiously, placing each step carefully to avoid tripping. It feels like we’ve walked half a mile when I hear a thump and Alex lets out a grunt of pain.

I scream and yank his arm, pulling him backward, away from the danger. My heel catches and I stumble, falling backward onto the grass. The air whooshes out of my lungs as I land hard and Alex smashes down on top of me with an oof sound.

He immediately rolls off of me, and I can just barely make out his outline as he sits up and leans over me. “Nora? Are you okay?”

I open my mouth but no sound comes out as I wait in a state of semi-panic for the breath that was knocked out of me to return. Finally, I gasp and sputter as the tightness in my chest lessens. Alex eases his arm behind me and helps me to a sitting position.

“What…what was that?” I wheeze. “Is someone there?”

“No, I stubbed my toe on a raised flagstone. Why did you pull me down?”

“I…I thought someone was attacking you.”

Alex laughs, the sound vibrating through me where his hand still rests on my shoulder. “For the last time, Nora, no one is here but us. We’re almost back to the house now. I can even see the firepit. I’m going to go get a flashlight and I’ll come back for you, okay?”

“No!” I say sharply, then soften my tone. “I don’t want to be left out here alone. I’ll come with you. I can do it.”

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