Page 98 of Friendshipped
She gives a quiet nod against my chest and loosens the death grip she has on my shirt just a little.
“Okay. Where was I?”
“You were offering to do a private dance for me,” she teases.
“No. That’s not what was happening. Basically, your family and mine, Jayme and our friends here in town were coming over,” I tell Lexi. “And we were going to barbecue, dance to your favorite songs, sing to you and eat Memaw’s cupcakes.
“Laura put together a slide show of your day today, adding every photo and video we sent as the day went on. Laura included all these pics of you growing up your mom gave her too, so we were going to watch a slide show of your life on a sheet hung in the back yard. Nothing fancy.”
“But so perfect. I wish we didn’t have to miss it.”
Lexi’s quiet for a beat and I hear the distant, faint sound of trees straining and rustling outside the house and the distinct snap from the breaking of a branch.
“Thanks for my day,” Lexi says with a yawn.
“It was my pleasure. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
“Mm hmm,” Lexi answers me.
She shifts a little and then silence fills the room around us. I cradle her against me, rubbing my hand in a slow rhythm up and down her arm. Before too long I hear the soft sound of her breath whiffling through her mouth.
I shift a little, so our heads settle down onto the pillows. Lexi rearranges herself without waking. Once she’s out, she always sleeps like a log. I reach down and pull a cover up over her.
Throughout the night, sounds of the storm wake me on and off, but nothing dramatic seems to be happening after the initial intensity when we first went downstairs. We obviously slept through the worst of it. I keep the emergency radio on, and the sound of updates drones on like white noise in the background all night.
I wake at one point to find Lexi draped over me, her hair a wild mess spilling across the pillow behind her. In the dim light of the battery powered emergency lamp, I can make out her features, bathed in soft glow and shadow. She’s peacefully resting, and if it weren’t for her fear and the potential damage, I would order up a tornado every night just to be able to hold her like this and watch her sleep.
When I finally wake Sunday morning, Lexi’s lying next to me, but there’s a respectable distance between us. Lexi’s eyes open slowly and flutter. She smiles a sated smile and lifts her arms overhead.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she says, in a raspy voice that stirs straight through me and spreads like warm butter on toast.
I see the moment she realizes she’s lying in bed with me. She hops up as if the mattress is on fire and scurries over to the box of emergency food.
She claps her hands together and exclaims, “Let’s see. We’ve got protein bars, dehydrated eggs, or cereal with boxed almond milk. What will it be?
“No coffee?” I ask in a lazy drawl, already knowing the answer.
“We’ve got instant,” she says meeting my gaze. “It’s so apocalyptic!”
I chuckle and stand to stretch.
“I can wait. Let’s head upstairs and assess the situation.”
35
Lexi
The first time I woke up overnight, my body was wrapped around Trevor like a baby koala. I had the fiercest longing to stay nestled into him. I allowed myself to gently rub my hands along his chest, being careful not to wake him while tempting myself and fate. I studied his profile, his strong, perfectly straight nose and his soft, full lips.
It was not a friendly moment. Actually, it was a very, very friendly moment—a more-than-friends moment. I can’t imagine what Trevor would have thought if he woke to me entwined with him, so I extricated myself and scooted to the farthest edge of the bed as I could manage without toppling onto the floor. I lay there like a domino perched on the edge of a table.
From my safe distance, I watched Trevor sleep for a while, his strong arms draped over the comforter and his dark lashes fanned across his cheeks. I guess I fell back asleep at some point because when I woke again my body had made its way closer to him, and he was propped on one elbow watching me with a contented smile spread across his face.
As soon as I came to my senses I hopped out of bed, trying to gather my wits about me while diverting Trevor with an offer of dehydrated breakfast items.
I texted my family. They are all okay.
I don’t know why last night’s storm made me so frightened. I’ve lived through more tornadoes than I can count. Thankfully Trevor’s confidence and care made it possible for me to sleep despite my fear.
