Dire
“What do you want to know?”
“Start with—” Something dark whizzed by the truck, and Gage hit the brakes hard. We spun out, the truck flying across the snowy terrain and down into a ditch, not stopping until we slammed head first into a tree. My heart was nearly beating out of my chest.
“Are you okay?” Gage reached over the already deflating airbags toward me.
Nothing hurt, but I was definitely shaken up. “I think so. What about you?” I looked out. Between the darkness and the snow I couldn’t make out how far we were from the road.
He turned on the light. “Yeah, but what was that? It came out of nowhere.”
“I don’t know. Some sort of animal.”
“I’m going to look.” He opened his door, letting in a blast of cold air. I peered out the window as he walked around. Less than a minute he returned to the truck. “There’s nothing out there.”
“At least nothing you could see.” I shivered.
“Technically you’re right, but we have bigger problems than an animal.”
“What?”
He glanced out his window. “It’s going to take some work to get the truck back on the road. That is if the truck even starts. I don’t know what kind of damage we did.”
“Are we that far off the road?”
“There’s a layer of ice, and even with the chains it’s going to be tough. The snow is getting crazy out there.”
“But we can still get out, right?” The temperature was only going to drop. Getting stranded could be dangerous.
“I’m not giving up yet.” He tried the engine. It sputtered and then did nothing.
I tried to stay calm. It was the twenty first century. You were never really off the grid. “Think anyone could come get us?”
He shrugged. “It’s worth trying.”
“I agree. Emergency vehicles in this area are equipped for the snow.” I pulled out my phone and noticed there were no bars. Still I tried information, road side assistance, and even 911. Nothing.
“Let me try mine.” He pressed some buttons on his phone before tossing it on the dash. “Fuck.” Gage cursed more than I remembered, but then again I’d never been with him during a situation like this before.
He tried the engine again. Nothing. Oh my god.
“We’re stuck here.” He voiced the reality that was already swimming around me.
“For real? As in we’re here for the night?”
“Yes.” His lips were pressed into a firm line.
“I knew this was going to happen. I should have listened to Genevieve. I never should have agreed to this crazy plan.”
“Crazy plan? We were fine until that animal ran in front of us. We were moving slow but steady.”
“Even if it wasn’t for the animal we would have gotten stuck anyway.” I balled my hands into fists. “And now what? We’re stuck in the freaking boonies during the biggest snowstorm of the decade.”
“Looks that way.” He put his hands behind his head. “We’ll get through the night. I have a sleeping bag back there.”
“You think we’re sleeping in the back of your truck? In one sleeping bag?”
“It’s not any colder back there than here. At least we can stretch out.”
“It’s going to be freezing. And I repeat. In one sleeping bag? What kind of stretching out do you expect to be doing?” Spending time in a car with Gage was intense for me, but in a sleeping bag? I couldn’t imagine.
“Do you have a better plan? I don’t exactly see any.”
“No.” I held my head in my hands. “We’ll just have to find a way to stay warm. It’s going to be close to zero tonight.”
“You’re the genius, how are we going to do that?”
Genius? Not exactly. “Body heat is the best method, so the sleeping bag it is.” The idea came to me and despite my usual nervousness with Gage I just went ahead and voiced it.
“Body heat?”
“Yes.” I touched the screen of my phone to keep it illuminated.
He smiled. Considering the circumstances, that toothy smile said a lot. “I knew you wanted to get me naked.”
“I never said naked.”
“But isn’t that how body heat works? We can’t stay dressed.”
“I don’t think underwear is going to cause a problem.” My body heated at the thought of being naked with Gage.
“Do you want to move there now? It’s just going to get colder.” He switched off the light on his phone.
“Let’s enjoy the residual heat that’s up here right now.” I wrapped my arms around myself. I was terrified of our predicament, yet excited about the prospect of getting close to Gage. My body and my mind were at war. Most of me was terrified, but a small part was jumping up and down screaming. I was about to get half naked and into a sleeping bag with Gage. The combination of feelings was intense.
“Do you think it was a deer?”
“The animal? I don’t know. All I saw was a blur.”
“I’m sorry.” He shifted causing his jacket to make a rustling sound.
“Don’t be. It’s just as much my fault.”
“How do you figure?”
“I agreed to come. I thought you were right, and we might beat the storm.”
“We almost did.” He exhaled loudly.
“Yeah. Almost.”
We stayed in the cab until the last bits of heat disappeared. My hands got cold first. I’d packed my gloves in my suitcase.
He switched on his light again. “Let me go set stuff up first. There’s no reason for us both to get colder than necessary.”
“That’s not fair. It’s my turn.”
“Save your body heat. I’m going to be using it.” He got out and slammed the door behind him. I was left in the darkness until I turned on the light on my phone. I heard him moving around in the back, and I waited a minute before getting out to follow him.
My boots sunk into the snow as I made my way around back. I kept my head down, trying to avoid the wind and snow that swirled around me.
He helped me up into the back and closed the tailgate. “It’s not perfect, but it’s going to have to do.”
He used his phone to illuminate the back. He’d set the sleeping bag up on top of a blanket which was settled on top of a thick rubber mat that covered the truck bed. He handed me the phone so he could barricade the tailgate with our bags. The rest of the sides were already lined with the other random stuff he had in the back. The camper shell kept out the wind and snow, but it couldn’t stop the cold from seeping in.