Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Marley

What the hell? “Were you trying to keep my mom from seeing me… naked?”

“I told you; no one sees you naked, Peach. Come on, quick, before you get cold. What are you wearing?”

“Wearing?” He lifts me off the bed and turns his phone’s light on. I grab for the blanket on my bed and wrap it around me. Now that he’s said something about it, there is a chill in the air that seems to be getting worse.

“Your hair is wet and everything. Damn it. Come on. You like wearing those stretchy things that go on like a second skin.”

I rush to where he is opening my dresser drawers, “Get out of my drawers, Tannen.”

I just need a minute to focus and process what is going on. Not only am I embarrassed by the fact this man saw me completely naked, but I asked the poor man if I could measure his…package. My mouth ran away with me, and I said it before I could actually think about why it would be a horrible idea to ask the question.

“Can you just go out into the hallway and give me a chance to dress without having to hold a blanket around myself? Please.”

“Yeah, okay, but keep my phone so you can see. And I'm leaving the door cracked.”

“I have my own phone, Tann…,” Before I can tell him I could just use my own phone’s light, he is out the door, pulling it almost closed behind him and leaving me alone to straighten my thoughts out.

I felt Tannen. I was pressed up against him and I wasn’t wearing anything. He saw…Tannen is huge! I yank out clothes -the leggings he was talking about and an oversized sweater- and take a moment to stare at myself in the mirror over my dresser.

I don’t look any different from how I did before the hall incident, but I feel kind of different. And Tannen is acting kind of different. Isn’t he? Or is this all part of the plan to start over again? Are we doing that or was that just for last night?

A knock on the door has me jumping and jerking around. “It’s getting colder, Peach. We should get going.”

“Okay.” I open the door to find Tannen leaning against the opposite wall.

“Do you have a bag or something to bring some clothes with you?”

“Oh, um…I might have a tote somewhere. Or a backpack. A backpack would work, right? Yeah…”

I go digging in my closet while Tannen waits for me.

“Sorry…I know it’s here somewhere…ha! I got it.” I turn with the bag in hand only to realize I never asked him why I need something to put clothes in exactly. “Um, why do I need to pack stuff?”

“The snow’s really coming down, sweetheart. I know it might seem like an easy thing to come out and grab some things, but it might be really hard to do that if it keeps coming down like it is. The power is already out so you and your mom will have to stay with us until it’s safe to come back here. We have fireplaces and a generator so you guys will be safe and warm while this thing blows over.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay.”

A shiver works its way down my back as I throw crap into the bag. How long will it take to get the power back on? How much will it snow? We’re not known for big snows so surely it can’t be a lot. Right?

When I turn around, Tannen takes the bag, and we head down the stairs where I get the first good look outside since before my shower. “Oh my God! Tannen!”

“Come on, let’s get you buttoned up.”

He waits while I shove my feet in boots and put my coat and gloves on. He puts his coat on too and we head out. His hand engulfs mine. He turns to me on the porch and shoves a beanie on my head.

“I’m not happy that you have wet hair, baby. Let’s get you in.”

“O…okay.” All I can do is agree with him as my teeth chatter. I’ve never seen so much snow in my life. He grabs my hand again and helps me off the porch. We go slow because the stairs are iced over and dangerous. He leads us to the back of his house and through a fence that wraps around his backyard.

“Too many steps in the front.”

I nod and keep following him as he makes his way through the yard, and I notice sunken places that might be my mom and Kate’s footprints from when they went across the yard before us. The prints are faint and almost completely covered by the newly fallen snow. I’ve never seen it snow so much…except in the movies and on TV.

Once at the back door, Tannen knocks and pulls me closer to him, sharing his body heat. Normally I wouldn’t burrow into him but he’s just so damned warm, and it’s just so damned cold. I spot his mom coming quickly to let us in. Tannen pushes me in first and then comes in behind me. My mom comes rushing over to help me out of my coat and boots. By the time I have everything off, Kate is waving me over to the island offering me a hot chocolate.

“Your hair is wet, Marley love?”

I look over the rim of my mug and at Kate and wonder what to say.

“Marley was in the shower when the lights went out Mom.”

“Oh no!” His mom looks genuinely worried for me.

“That’s why she wasn’t dressed, Kate.” Why does my mom look… disappointed?

“I helped her out of the shower and made sure she didn’t slip on her way to the room.”

“What a sweet boy. Marley, isn’t that the sweetest thing?”

“Yes, mom. He was very sweet. He even helped me down our front steps. If he hadn’t I would have slipped for sure.”

Anything to get them away from the fact Tannen might have seen me naked.

“We wouldn’t be as comfortable as we are if Tannen hadn’t bought me that generator. He is a very considerate person and will take good care of his family. You know, when he has a wife and children.”

I go back to silently drinking my hot chocolate and watch the snow fall outside.