The Hurricane Read Online Free Page B

giggled.
    “Oh, damn. Tell him I’m sorry for waking him,” I whined.
    “He’s going out in the field next week, so it will be just me and the kids for a couple of weeks. During that time, feel free to call with all the details. Especially the raunchy details. Since I’ll be sexually deprived for two weeks.”
    “Em, I think you might be jumping the gun a little,” I said.
    “Hey, you never know,” she said.
    “I doubt it, but ok, I’ll call you soon.”
    “Ok, doll. I’m going to get a quickie before the baby wakes up,” she whispered into the phone.
    “You’re a mess.” I laughed.
    “I’m a horny mess right now. Love you, sweets.”
    “Love you, bye.”
    I looked down at my phone and saw the red notification again. A message from Ryker.
Ryker: I can’t wait to see you again.
Me too. I said, hitting send and putting my phone down.
    Am I really doing this? I hadn’t been on a date in eight years, since Kyle.
    I shouldn’t do this.
    I’m doing this.
     

 
    Holy Shit
     
     

    I sat in my truck staring at her front door. I couldn’t believe this was happening after all these years. I stared at the bundle of flowers sitting in the passenger seat. Was it too much? I felt like I had a lot of explaining and making up to do, and flowers couldn’t hurt. Plus I remembered that she loved cherry blossoms. They weren’t easy to find, but I was on a mission. The florist mixed them with some other types, but I made sure to tell her I wanted the cherry blossoms to stand out. It looked nice, not that I knew much about flowers. They weren’t dead so that was a plus.
    I scooped the flowers up and hopped out of my Chevy. I spent the morning shining her up. I wanted this date to be perfect. I had been waiting for twelve years. My heart started to pound a little harder with each step I took. I walked up the sidewalk and took in my surroundings. It was a nice house in a nice neighborhood. I’m glad she was doing ok financially, being alone with Brooklyn. I rang the doorbell and waited.
    Holy Shit.
    She opened the door and I wanted to kiss her right there. She was fucking beautiful. She was wearing a yellow dress that showed off her perfect tan legs. Her hair was down and curled at the ends. She wasn’t wearing too much makeup that it covered those little freckles on her nose. I was thankful for that. Fuck me. She was gorgeous.
    “Hey,” she said shyly, and opened her door, allowing me to walk inside.
    “You look beautiful,” I said as I stood in the doorway.
    “For you,” I said, feeling like a fucking school boy, as I handed her the flowers.
    She took them and put them to her nose. When she stared at them, her eyes lit up and she smiled.
    “Cherry blossoms,” she whispered.
    “Still your favorite?” I asked.
    “They are,” she said, and leaned closer to me. She put her hand on my bicep and squeezed it gently.
    “Thanks.” She stared at me for a second before she broke our eye contact.
    “Come in, I’m going to put them in a vase before we go.”
    I did as she said. Her house was nice; everything was in its place, including the basket of toys in the corner. Which reminded me.
    “Brooklyn isn’t here?” I asked.
    “A friend from work has her. Our kids are the same age; she’s taking them to a movie,” she said as she filled a vase with water, and placed the flowers inside. I was actually hoping to see her for a minute. She was a funny kid with a big personality.
    “Ready?” she said as she grabbed her purse, and headed towards the door.
    “Yes ma’am,” I said, and I put my hand on the small of her back as we walked through the doorway. I felt her body tense for just a second before she exhaled. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable around me. I had to explain why I didn’t call.
    The drive to the restaurant was quiet. Natalie seemed uncomfortable, and I was busy trying to figure out how to explain myself. I had my whole speech planned out, but the second I saw her that shit went out