Page 65 of Scrimmage

Our phones blare with another emergency alert. The wind picks up as the air is sucked from my lungs.

“Tornado,” Ashland whispers.

She springs into action, throwing open the doors and wrestling the windows. Grabbing my hand, she yanks me into the closet. We don’t fit. She’s squeezed against me tightly.

“Penny,” I remind her.

“She’s sleeping in the tub. She’s safe.”

The world around us quiets. I can only hear her shallow breathing. It’s instinctive. I press my lips to hers. It should just be a kiss, but it isn’t. There’s something about it that sends warm tingles over my skin. I deepen it, and we’re frantic, pulling clothes from each other. She jumps into my arms, and I hold her against the wall, my tongue prodding hers.

It’s the tight space. The weather. The near death experience. It’s Ashland.

It’s all culminating into sexual energy. There isn’t any sort of tornado that could be as much of a force as she is. Her skin is cold, but her mouth is warm. Despite all of the terror, she’s still soaked and ready for me. I slide into her heat, relishing the way it feels, and she moans as the sound of crunching fills our ears. We might die, and I don’t even fucking care. I’ll die inside of Ashland. What a way to go.

I fuck her frantic and deep, trying to soak up every ounce of anything she has to give. It’s humid and hard to breathe. My teeth graze her neck and she moans, baring her throat to me. A little masochist.

“Fuck.” I press into her, my voice breaking. “You almost fucking killed us.”

“Wasn’t it fun, though?”

I want to think Ashland is delusional, but I don’t think she is. She’s talking about the rush of it all. The fear and how it drives you. She finds that fucking fun.

“I don’t get you,” I groan, trying not to lose myself inside of her. I’m fucking close.

“You’ll never get me. That’s the whole point.” She wiggles her hips clenching around me, and I come like the pre-teen boy she accused me of being.

I can’t speak. I can’t think. All of my reflexes are gone. My mind is only on one thing, and it’s unloading all of that fear and anger inside of her.

The storm still rages, although, not as badly. I drop Ashland from my arms, and she leaves me standing there. What the fuck just happened? How does she always get away so fucking fast?

I want to look for her, but I don’t. She’s right. I’ll never understand her. We’re different. It’s why we’re fucking in closets and talking alone in lakes. Sound proof rooms and in the dark behind the scenes of a party. Ashland is a whirlwind, and then she’s gone. I might be a tree, but I’m fucking cracking, bending to her will.

Chapter Nine

Ashland

The day after the tornado was a wreck. If Koda hadn’t brought his Jeep, we never would have made it out. The roof was torn off of some of the cabins, and there was stuff overturned everywhere. Koda finally took the hint and didn’t try to talk to me. I wore my headphones to make a point, even though they’ve been broken for ages. I’m appreciative that he helped me with Penny and didn’t ask any questions. I’m sure it was just to boost his savior complex or some sort of ingrained chivalry. Either way, he was helpful, but the minutes in that closet with him were too real. He barely spoke, but he looked at me like I’m a puzzle, and he’s trying to figure out where the pieces go. That’s not what we’re doing here.

The next Thursday, class with Alexi is almost unbearable. He’s chattering away about how excited he is that we’re all going to our bar. His excitement reminds me of Penny, and it makes me that much more annoyed because it’s rubbing off on me. We’ve all been so busy recently that we haven’t gone to happy hour. This will be the first one in a few weeks. It’s not that Penny, Cole, and I don’t see each other. We do all of the time, but Happy Hour is sacred and now Alexi is going to be at it. Since Penny and Vale are back on again he’ll probably be there, too.

Immediately after class I head home to decompress and take a fucking nap on the couch. I haven’t been out all hours of the night drinking anymore, but I’m still not sleeping and it’s taking a toll. I wake up to Cole lightly scratching my back, telling me it’s time to get up. I fucking hate when he touches me, but I put on a brave face and say “Hmm?” instead.

“Is she up?” I hear Penny shout down the hallway.

“Yeah.” Cole smirks. “Pissed cause I did the back scratching thing.”

So he fucking knows I hate that.

“Well.” Penny’s voice gets closer. “She’d better get over it and get up because they’ll be here any minute.”

I groan in my groggy state. “What? Who?”

“Your favorite. Alexi.” Cole grins, offering me his hand. I slap it, which makes him laugh.

“Vale is coming, too. I don’t want to hear it. Oh, and Koda,” Penny continues.

“I’m sorry. What?” I sputter, fully fucking awake.

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