Page 84 of Stone Promises

I find Chad sitting on the ground next to a boulder, head slumped, elbows on his knees. The back of his shirt is drenched with sweat. It’s hot here, yes, but this kind of sweat, it’s from stress.

Everyone else is standing back. Nobody seems to know what to do. David, the director, looks pissed. He looks at me and then waves his arm at Chad as if to say ‘deal with him, would you?’

As I walk over to him, Hayden, who is also in the cave scene, asks everyone to give us some privacy. I nod at him in thanks as the crew all back away and keep their distance.

I sit down next to Chad. I don’t say anything, I just put my hand out to see if he wants to hold it. When he grabs onto it and squeezes it as if it’s his lifeline, I’m not sure whether to be happy that he holds me in such regard, or sad that my man is in such distress that he even needs one.

“Hey,” I finally say when I hear his breathing slow down.

He sighs so hard some dirt on the ground beneath his knees becomes displaced. “I’m a fucking joke, Mal. I thought I could do it. But once I got inside, it’s like a goddamn tomb and I swear the walls started closing in on me. I don’t know how they even got the camera in there. There’s barely room in there to turn around let alone fit two grown men plus a cameraman.”

“You are not a joke, Chad. Claustrophobia is a very real fear. Nobody is going to fault you if you can’t do it. They’ll just have to think of something else.”

“Not fault me?” He motions behind me. “Did you see the look on David’s face? He thinks I’m a pussy. I have to do this, Mal. Ihaveto.”

I think back on my teacher training. They gave us all kinds of tips and tricks to help kids get through difficult situations. “Okay. Um, can you remember a time when you were in an enclosed space where you weren’t scared?”

Chad shoots me a look of annoyance. “Don’t psychoanalyze me.”

“Just humor me, okay? Was there ever a time like that?”

He takes a few deep breaths and I can feel his hand starting to relax in mine. Then he nods and his lips twitch with a half-smile.

“What?” I ask. “You thought of one?”

“Do you remember when we had that huge snowstorm when we were in middle school? School got canceled for a whole week and we had snow drifts as tall as your basketball hoop?”

How could I ever forget that? It’s one of my favorite memories of him. But I don’t want to recall the story for him; he needs to tell it. “Um, I guess so,” I say, goading him on.

“Every time the snow plows would come by, more snow would pile up along the front yard. It must have been ten feet high out near the curb. Kyle, Ethan, Julian and I built something resembling an igloo. We just picked a spot by the driveway and started digging. We must have dug about fifty pounds of snow out and then someone suggested spraying cold water along the inside walls to solidify them as it froze. It was epic. You couldn’t stand up in there, but two or three people could fit in at a time. We took blankets and snacks in there. We even had a lantern.” He squeezes my hand. “You really don’t remember?”

“I’m starting to,” I say. “Didn’t we get stuck in there or something?”

“Or something?” He laughs at the memory. “Mallory, we were stuck in there for like three hours one day. Kyle was pissed at me because I brought a girl into our fort, so when you and I were in there, he shoveled a ton of snow into the opening, giving us no way out. When I realized what he’d done, I didn’t even care. I was happy, in fact, because we were forced to spend more time together. Man, was my mom mad at him. She said we could have frozen to death, but there was no way. When you got too cold, you let me put my arm around you. And believe me, I had a lot of body heat going on just thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you.”

I look at him with wide eyes. “You wanted to kiss me? I was only eleven, Chad.”

“And I was twelve,” he says. “Hell yeah, I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to kiss you every time I was with you, Mal.”

Chad closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Damn,” he says. “You’re one hell of a teacher, Mallory Kate. I think I’m ready to do this now.”

I stand up and reach my hand out to him to help him up. Then when he goes to say something to Hayden, I walk over to the director. “Get everything set up in there and then give us a few minutes alone in the cave.”

He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Who the hell is directing this film?” he asks, arching a mocking brow.

“Do you want the shot or not?” I ask, staring him down even though he towers over me by a good foot.

He scoffs, rolling his eyes at me before he calls John over and tells him what to do.

I watch Chad eye the mouth of the cave, taking a deep breath before he walks in. I hurry behind him, following him into the dark chamber that is illuminated by dim set lights. When he sees me coming in behind him, he balks at me. “Mal, you can’t be in here.” He looks at the entrance nervously as if David is going to reach in and pull me out by my collar.

“I can and I am.” I put my hand against his chest, forcefully pushing him back into the cave wall. “I remember every single detail of that day,” I tell him. “You’re going to finally get that kiss, Chad Stone. The one you wanted in that igloo when you were twelve.”

I press myself against him, reaching up to run my hands through the back of his hair, taking care not to ruin it for the shot. I trace my fingers across his broad shoulders, teasing him through his shirt. His gaze moves to my lips as my tongue comes out to wet them. His mouth moves closer to mine, pausing only to say, “I fucking love you,” before bonding his lips to mine.

The heat of the cave only heightens my senses. I’m hyper-aware of how he tastes of mint and soda, how we both smell of sweat mingled with cologne and perfume, how the sounds of our kisses echo off the walls, and how his touch sends messages of want and desire straight to my center.

I don’t know how much time passes. Seconds, minutes. But it doesn’t matter because he’s perfectly fine in this moment, making a new memory to add to his older one. He’s perfectly fine being in this tomb of a cave. And when I pull away from him and hear someone clear their throat as they walk in behind me, I whisper to him, “Do this once, babe. Make it count. And when we go home, we’ll finish the fantasy.”

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