Page 50 of Love Fire

She stays quiet for a moment. The muscles on her jaw contract. She’s clenching her teeth.

Then she responds. “She’s been missing for a year. I thought I saw her in the woods a few days ago.”

“Is that why you suddenly ran out?”

She nods.

I don’t push further. A year missing?

The car ride turns silent and a little awkward. As much as I want to apologize, I can’t. Erin would get even more upset if I do. I can’t just sit here eating chips either.

I turn the radio on. In between switching stations, a song catches my attention. One from a long time ago. The 90s.

I turn up the radio and sing along.

“Come join us on this trip!”

I unbuckle my seatbelt. Hopefully we won’t get into a car accident in the next minute. I shake my shoulders at a slow pace. A hand on my hip.

“Have you ever seen a world like this?” I gesture with jazz hands. “Like this?”

“What the hell are you singing?” she yells.

I continue through the lyrics like a pro. At a more calm tone. I wait for the pizazz in the chorus. It gets there.

I shake my hips. As best as I can. Then I wave my arms around in a twirling motion.

“1001 NIGHTS!ARABIAN NIGHTS!”

Finally, I get what I want. Erin’s laughter travels through my ears straight to my heart. I keep singing to my heart’s content. She holds her belly, still holding on to the wheel.

The ride went by fast with Erin’s teasing about my stupid dance. We reach the top of the mountain and drive off road to a cliff that overlooks the warehouse.

The first thing we do is set up the tent. After finishing, we make a fire. Erin gathers wood and I provide the fire. I almost burn the forest down again.

Luckily for us. We made camp behind a grove of trees so no one can see us from the warehouse. The van’s parked a few feet further away from us with the doors open and keys in the ignition.

I look over at the horizon. “Let’s get some sleep. Sun’s already down. We’ll start the stakeout tomorrow morning."

Erin agrees without hesitation. She crawls inside the tent and falls flat on the sleeping bag. I follow behind her.

I wrap my arms around her. She snuggles up against me. I smile, then kiss her forehead.

My head rests on top of hers. Her breathing slows down. Her eyes close and she snuggles closer to my chest. I kiss the top of her head, unable to help myself.

Our heartbeats synchronize with one another. A soft rumble arises in my chest. It’s coming from my dragon.

“Are you purring?” she whispers.

“Yeah.”

“Dragons purr?”

I bury my face on her neck. “When they’re happy.”

A soft giggle comes out of her. My ‘purrs’ get deeper. My eyelids are heavier. In the warmth of our bodies and our soft breathing, we’re lulled to sleep.

Suddenly, I’m wide awake again. Erin sits up. There’s the sound of chatter outside the tent.

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