I stood in his wake, flabbergasted. He didn’t know Demien, did he? Nevertheless, his assumption regarding Demien was not wrong. Demien was incredibly dangerous, and I knew it.
Ten minutes after Noah left, Demien strolled that fine ass into the bar. Every warning melted away as I was too relieved to see him. He sent me a head nod and smile, lifting only the left side of his lips.
Oh, those lips, those sweet, moist lips. I could still feel them on mine. The memory of how perfect our lips fit together was still fresh in my mind. Our lips were made to entwine like peices of a puzzle. I collapsed, using the closest table to catch my fall. He was making it hard to get him out of my head. “Oh, Demien, what are you doing to me?” I asked under my breath.
“What do you want me to do to you?” He whispered seductively into my ear from across the bar. I lifted my head to view his face. I noticed his left eyebrow lift as if to answer the question that had been on my mind of late—how does he do that? A question that lingered long after I’d left for the evening.
Sixteen
I ran through the sheeting rain and squeezed into my car, trying to let the least amount of rain soak my interior as possible. Of course, the plan was doomed from the get go. The rain poured in as soon as I cracked the car door. I turned the key to start; nothing happened. “What!” I turned the key again. “Come on start.” Nothing.
Screaming, I hit the steering wheel. “Great. What now?” Then, I remembered I had roadside assistance. I pulled out my cell phone to call for help, but my phone was dead. I knew I charged it earlier in the day. I hadn’t used it much. I threw it in the passenger’s seat and decided to head back into the store to use their phone.
Gage, the clerk in the gas station, handed me the phone by the register. There was no dial tone. His cell phone had no service either, so I headed back to my car. I began to weigh my options of walking home or not when I saw headlights to a vehicle high off the ground pull up behind me. I locked my doors just in case. I knew they weren’t there to get gas because the entire building had lost electricity after I got back into my car, leaving me barely visible through the pitch-black downpour. I was really hoping they didn’t notice me
A few moments later, I heard a tap on my window. I looked up to see Demien standing in the rain. How did he find me? I thought. I cracked my window and felt a rush of rain hit my face. He quickly positioned a raincoat to shield some of the rain from rushing into my window.
“Need a ride?” He sounded cool, calm, and maybe even expectant.
I really didn’t want a ride from him. “No thanks,” I grumbled.
“Really, Zanj? Well, I’m not leaving you here by yourself. It’s three in the morning. It’s too dangerous to be stuck at some gas station in the middle of nowhere; with no electricity, may I add. I can look at your car when we have some lights. For tonight, consider your car dead. Your choice is to let me drive you home, or I can wait with you.”
“I’ll take my chances. And don’t call me that,” I retorted. I really hated his confidence.
“Have it your way.” He folded his arms across his chest and turned his back to me. “I’ll wait here with you.”
“Go home,” I demanded.
“You made your choice,” he replied. I could hear a hint of satisfaction in his voice. “Really, I’m not leaving you here by yourself.” He turned his back to me and leaned against my car door.
I let him stand outside for a minute before convincing myself to let him take me home.
“Fine, you win, but only because I don’t want a guilty conscience when you get sick or something.”
I glared at him as I unlocked my door. I’m sure I heard a snicker.
My glare continued, saying nothing in return.
“I think I can handle a little cold. Besides, I do not get sick. So, what do you say? Can I give you a ride home?” He offered his hand to me.
I reluctantly cracked my car door and accepted his offer. He helped me out and placed the raincoat over me.
“I can’t reach the edge of this truck,” I yelled loud enough for him to hear me over the pouring, thunderous storm.
He lifted me into his oversized, off-road thing. The tires were taller than me. I severely underestimated the size of this thing. Since it was too dark to see anything, I couldn’t tell what type of vehicle it was. It was nice and warm inside.
He jumped into the driver’s seat. “See, this isn’t so bad, now is it?” he asked, without looking at me as he pulled onto the road.
“It’s still under review,” I sourly replied. “Do you have a big enough vehicle?”
“No, I don’t.”
I hoped his answer was sarcastic.
“Hmm… What is this thing?” I rolled my eyes, not that he could see.
“H2,” he stated, lacking any hint of emotion.
“A Hummer, no wonder. How did you manage to make, like, the biggest vehicle available even bigger? This thing is ginormous.” My tone was bitter, angry.
