Page 20 of Wine Whiskey & Lipstick

Ben looked around them. “Did y’all see the lady I was dancing with? We got split up.”

“N-no.” Selah turned, looking for her too. “She was right behind you. I’m sure she got out safely because we were close to the door right before the shit hit the fan.”

“What in the actual fuck was that?” Lucas asked as the three of them turned to see Frank’s in a huge orange blaze.

*****

The blast knocked Dillyn flat on her back. She was slow to get up. She turned around in circles looking for Ben and her friends. She’d lost them.

Dillyn was freaking out. “I did not move my ass clear across the country from New York for this!” She yelled, “Ben! Cat! Palmer!”

Dillyn screamed out for them until her voice was hoarse. Her eyes started to water from all the smoke. The problem was everyone was screaming and yelling. It was hard to hear over the other voices.

Dillyn backed away from the building. The further away she moved into the parking lot, the clearer the building became . . . or what was left of it. “Oh. My. Gawd!” Dillyn couldn’t believe that only seconds prior, she’d been inside that burning inferno. “Please, God. Don’t let my friends still be in there!” Frantically, Dillyn continued to call out to them until she heard the faint sounds of a familiar voice.Is that Cat?

“Dillyn! Over here! We are over here.”Cat was standing on the hood of their truck, frantically waving her arms in the air.

Relief washed over her when she spotted them. Dillyn took off her one remaining shoe and sprinted over to them. Once they were together, they wrapped each other in a tight hug. “What happened?”

“Girl! I have no idea. A couple of guys started acting crazy, pushing and shoving. So, Palmer and I immediately started moving to get off the dance floor. The next thing we knew, everyone started running. You know how we do when people start running. We run and ask questions later.”

Dillyn nodded. “That’s what we did too. But just as we got to the door, the building exploded.”

“We had already made it to the door when that happened. We’re just thankful you got out safely,” Palmer said.

Dillyn was still worried about Ben and Selah. “Did you guys see Selah and her brother?”

Cat and Palmer both shook their heads no. “It’s a madhouse out here. We were lucky to find you.” Palmer’s worry was apparent.

They turned and watched in horror as the remnants of Frank’s burned to the ground. Dillyn said a silent prayer. “I hope everyone got out of there.”

“I hope so too, but . . .there were a lot of people in there.” Palmer expressed what they were all thinking. The likelihood was everyone didn’t get out safely.

First responders from neighboring cities, as well as Summer, started arriving. They began asking people via bullhorn to make way for the emergency workers.

Dillyn looked up and, by chance, spotted Ben at the same time that he saw her. “Be right back.”

“Girl, where are you going? We just found your ass!” Cat asked as she watched her friend walk away.

Both Dillyn and Ben had to dodge several people before finally coming face-to-face. “You okay?” he asked.

“About as well as a person can be who just escaped an explosion. You? Selah?”

“She’s shaken up, but we’re all fine. Your friends?”

Dillyn glanced over her shoulder back toward them. “They’re fine.”

Ben looked down at her feet. “You’re not wearing any shoes.” Ben took off his jacket and wrapped it around Dillyn’s shoulders. “You’re going to have to get over your germaphobia.”

“What?” Dillyn had forgotten she’d told him that. “You don’t have to give me your jacket. I’m not cold.”

“You’re shaking like a leaf.”

Dillyn hadn’t even realized it. Still, she took it off and gave it back. Ben was showing too much care, and so was she. Dillyn needed to nip whatever fatal attraction this was in the bud. “Thank you, but it’s okay. I just wanted to make sure you guys were safe.”

“Please. If you are uninjured and can leave the area, please do so. We need the room for our emergency vehicles.” The words from the bullhorn were loud and clear.

“Did you drive?” Ben should not have been, but he was concerned. “Do you need a ride home? Our truck is in good working order.”

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