Page 3 of Whirlwind

“Yeah, yeah. You sound like my dad.”

“We care about you, Fin. We don’t want you to get sucked up by some tornado.”

I hold my breath, wondering if I should tell him the next part. But I know I’m going to, because for as long as I can remember,Jake and I tell each other nearly everything. He may be my cousin, but he’s also my best friend.

“Well, you see…” I take a big inhale.

“Finley,” Jake admonishes.

“The main reason for this chase is to collect data with rockets from inside a tornado.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

I pause briefly to make sure I word this in a way that will help him freak out less before continuing. “While the special rockets we’re using are launched into the inflow band, we’ll also be gathering data from inside the tornado as well by…well, actually beinginthe tornado.”

“Fin—”

“Before you completely go ballistic, we’ll be in a special vehicle that was built for this purpose. They call it Thor. The team has used it before to intercept other tornadoes, and they’ve lived to tell the tale. I’ll send you a picture of it. It’s safe.”

“I call bullshit.”

I stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Okay, as safe as it can be. But they’ve never lost a chaser, not in the twenty years Ryker—Professor West—has been doing it.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line, and I think I lost connection. Then I hear the intake of his breath. “Ryker, huh?” he asks, his tone implying what he’s thinking.

My cheeks heat, and my hand tightens around the phone. It’s not uncommon for people to call their professors by their first names, I know that, but Jake and I are from small towns and families that address people of authority and strangers bySirandMa’am—sometimes even when we have a close relationship with them. I was hoping my cousin wouldn’t point out my slipup, but I should’ve known he would.

“It’s not like that, Jake. He’s my professor. And you know I’ve been watching him chase storms on social media since I was a teenager. It was an accident.”

“Then why didn’t you call him ‘The Twister Tamer’ like you did when you were sixteen?”

That makes me flush harder, embarrassed about how much of a fangirl I was back then—and if I’m being honest, still am. It’s hard not to be when he’s the best of the best: “The Twister Tamer” as the internet calls him. He’s not hard on the eyes, either. He’s also funny, charming, tall…

I shake my head and clear my thoughts that obviously go rogue when I think of Ryker and instead allow annoyance to settle in my stomach from being called out by my cousin. “Please don’t go all brother bear on me now,” I say.

“I’m not. This is me being your friend. A friend who wants to know why you call your professor by his first name.”

Said annoyance rises at Jake and his dang spidey-sense—and at myself for being so obvious about my inappropriate feelings toward Ryker, even though we’ve kept things professional all year. Well, mostly professional. Maybe a little too flirty at times.

Okay, maybe a lot too flirty.

My shoulders slump. “I told you. It was an accidental slipup.”

“Finley,” he chides. “Be honest with me.”

“I am.”

“You’re not.”

The annoyance turns into fear, and I snap. “Says the man who won’t be honest about how much it hurt you that Blake dated Gavin instead of you.”

There’s a heavy pause before his deep voice comes over the line. “Ouch, Fin.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, angry at myself for saying that. His high school crush choosing one of his best friends over him is still fresh and painful. Even if he denies it, I know it is.

“I’m sorry, that was screwed up. It’s no excuse for what I said, but I think the nerves of going on such a big chase tomorrow are getting to me a bit.” Which is true. Even though I’m mostly excited, I’m nervous, too. He’s also hitting too close to home with the Ryker questions, but I won’t admit that.

“Why are you nervous?” he asks.

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