Page 34 of Flirting With Forever
“Once is too much,” he countered in a husky voice.
“Hopefully soon I won’t have to. And anyway, we’re off track. It’s my turn,” she said, changing the subject as lightning flashed beyond the shuttered glass followed by a boom of thunder that rocked the house and made the dishes on the open shelving shake while the home groaned from the force of the wind.
She wasn’t aware of letting out a muffled shriek until she heard it echo in her ears, but she didn’t fight the arm that wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her to Gage’s side.
“Just Mother Nature having a tantrum. We’re safe, Merida.”
She turned her face into his shoulder and neck, hiding from the ferocity. From the memories sliding along her skin and into her brain like the evil snake that tempted Eve. From the fear and anxiety his question had caused because it reminded her of how tenuous her situation was at the moment. “I know. It’s just…loud.”
And she could still see that white trail of lightning that had flashed across the sky as the world seemed to stop, when the tree began to lift and tilt, the giant roots spitting dirt as it crashed down and the ground shook with the force of it.
“Come on. Give me your next three, or I win by default,” he said.
She pulled away, far too shaken and embarrassed that she’d glommed onto him like a succubus and shoved her damp hair out of her face. It had mostly dried while they’d played Monopoly, and the tight curls seemed to grow bigger with every second that passed due to the humidity in the air. It was hot in the house with the windows closed and the AC off due to the electricity being out. “Um…okay. I…I was first in my class until I dropped out of college. I…I wanted to be Romani when I was younger. And…I’ve raced on the BMW track in South Carolina.”
She smirked a bit when she saw his consternation. Despite her muddled senses, she’d stumped him on that one.
“I can totally see you as the smartest in your class. That’s true.”
She didn’t comment and focused on him rather than the noises she heard outside. A few bangs and clangs and cracks rending the air along with the howling winds.
“I can’t picture you on a racetrack, but I also couldn’t see you stealing your brother’s car so…”
He searched her face for any sign, something to glean from. She kept her expression carefully schooled and as neutral as possible.
“You didn’t want to be Romani. That’s the lie.”
She made the same buzzing sound he’d made earlier. “Wrong.”
“What? No way.”
Sloane laughed softly. “I watched as my older brother took his turn on the BMW track, but I didn’t get to race. I was too young. As to being Romani, I totally wanted to be one after watching this show on TV. Until I found out a lot of the girls married at fifteen and wound up pregnant soon after. I changed my mind fast after that.”
“I could see that being a deterrent.”
She liked his soft Carolina drawl. It wasn’t thick like some of the others she’d heard while making her way down the coast, but Gage had just a bit of southern in his tone that made her think of slow dancing and…other things.
He studied her face to the point that she grew uncomfortable, and Sloane wet her lips and felt the sting of pain when she accidentally touched the cut on her lip. “You’re gonna lose, bossman. Better make this next one good.”
He straightened where he sat next to her and pondered his words for long seconds.
“Okay. Here we go.” He made a show of sitting up a bit straighter and cracking his knuckles. “I thought I’d have a family by now. I love sour kraut. And I think aliens exist because we’d be arrogant to think otherwise, given how many galaxies and universes there are out there.”
Dang, he’d pulled out the good stuff for that one, she thought. This was getting tough.
Gage’s smile widened and she could’ve sworn her heart did a flip like a playful dolphin at the sight.
But what was the lie? For real. Which one?
The choices were so different and—not completely obvious. “I’m going with…sour kraut. No, aliens. No…”
His grin widened, and she felt it all the way to her toes. Her bare toes that curled until her ankle twinged in pain.
“Ticktock, Merida.”
She made a face that drew another laugh from him. “Sour kraut.”
“Final answer?”
