Ripple Effect

by J. Bengtsson

  Stunned, I took the briefest moment to gather my wits before grabbing my flashlight and directing the light upward.

  I gasped. Instead of a small opening in the ground, the narrow portal was now a cavernous crater, steep and unstable. There was no ridge to climb anymore, no way for me to get out on my own. The next time I would see the light of day would be with the rescue unit, just like RJ.

  I rose to my feet, shaking the dust from my hair and tried not to dwell on my own personal survival statistics because I knew they were decreasing with every passing minute. And it didn’t help that it was so dark. Even with the flashlight leading the way, I was turned around, unsure which direction to go.

  “RJ?” I called out.

  No answer. I called again and again. Nothing. He couldn’t be…? No. I refused to believe that RJ had succumbed to his injuries because everything I knew about that man said he wasn’t going to let go without a fight. Unless he had already fought… and lost.

  At that very moment, the silhouette of my mangled car came into view, illuminated by the beam of my flashlight, and I saw RJ right where I’d left him, only now he was slumped over, his head hanging limply and pressed into the ground.

  “RJ?” I whispered, falling to my knees and lifting his heavy head with my hands. He was hot to the touch. “It’s me.”

  He wasn’t just sleeping; RJ was semiconscious. I shook his head from side to side, calling his name, but when that didn’t wake him, I took to slapping his whiskered face.

  “Wake up, RJ! Come on. Wake up.”

  I felt him jerk in my hands, his head bobbing around as he blinked into the bright light. “Dani?”

  “Yes, it’s me. I was so worried,” I said, refraining from kissing him in relief as my fingers slid over his face. “You don’t look good. You’re burning up.”

  RJ pawed at his sweat-drenched shirt, seeming confused. Then without warning, he grasped the bottom hem of the shirt and pulled it right over his head.

  “Oh!” I rocked back in surprise. “Okay. We’re taking the shirt off.”

  “Hot,” he mumbled, the one-word sentence appearing to be his only means of coherent speech.

  “Yes, you are,” I said, then stopped myself, knowing how that might have sounded. “I meant temperature-wise, not… um… never mind.”

  Thankfully, RJ was too miserable to follow along with the train wreck that was my mind. I placed the back of my hand to his forehead. “You have a fever. How long have you been feeling like this?”

  RJ held up random fingers—for no apparent reason.

  “Okay,” I answered, a hint of a smile passing over my lips. “Let’s try this a different way.”

  Nursing my injured arm, I gingerly pulled the heaving backpack off my shoulders and dropped it to the ground. Reaching inside, I pulled out a tin cup and poured some of the jug water into it before dumping it over his head.

  RJ instantly revived, shaking the water droplets from his long hair. “The fuck?”

  His head shot up, and he settled his gaze on me.

  I waved. “Hey there. I’m back.”

  He blinked, wiping the liquid from his eyes. The dust mixed with water created a sort of paste on his face.

  Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out a lantern and a pack of batteries. While RJ watched wordlessly, I popped the batteries into the compartment and flicked the switch, illuminating the space around us.

  “There. That’s better.”

  RJ’s eyes blinked rapidly, as if his fever-ravaged brain tried desperately to catch up. I had a cure for that too. From the first aid kit, I scored a sample packet of Tylenol and tore it open.

  “Here, take these,” I said, handing him the two tiny pills while pressing the cup of water to his lips. “Drink up.”

  RJ was as obedient as one of my little first graders. The only difference between them being that RJ actually knew how to swallow a pill. I refilled the cup three times before he’d had his fill. And while I took a drink for myself, I noticed him staring.

  “Are you a dream?”

  The way he looked at me with such wonder in his eyes made me think of my Disney princess years, when it had been me staring at the Little Mermaid. But now it was RJ Contreras from AnyDayNow gazing upon me with the same dreamy eyes. Of course, he was delirious, so there was that.

  “Yes, RJ,” I replied, fingers framing my dusty face. “Behold your dream girl.”

  And he did, every nook and cranny. My insecurities kicked in, causing me to bite down on my lower lip and slip a wayward strand of hair behind my ear.

  “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  I’d waited twenty-seven years for a compliment like that, and it just had to come from a boy stuck halfway into the earth’s core. Not exactly the boost of self-esteem I was looking for.

  “That’s the fever talking,” I said. “How about you try that line on me again when you’re not hallucinating?”

  “Okay,” RJ replied. “I will. Because you are.”

  I shook my head. “I’m what?”

  “Beautiful.”

  This time our eyes locked, and there was no mistaking the smolder in his. Was RJ really hitting on me, or was that his triple-digit core temperature talking?

  Only one way to tell. Breaking the connection, I dipped my hand back into the backpack. Producing an instant ice pack, I squeezed it like a boss and slapped it onto the back of RJ’s neck.

  “That oughta cool you down.”

  And I was right. The water, Tylenol, and ice worked together like synchronized swimmers, and within minutes of their lifesaving performance, RJ’s head seemed to have cleared enough to… berate me.

  “Dammit, Dani. What’re you doing here?”

  “There he is.” I clapped. “Glad to see you back.”

  But not entirely glad. I liked romantic, febrile RJ.

  “You swore you wouldn’t come back.”

  “You think I wanted to? No. But someone has to save you.”

  “Yes—the firefighters, with their tools and bulldozers. Not Dani with her sack of goodies.”

  “Hey, watch your mouth. Each and every item in that bag was carefully stolen for your benefit.”

  RJ’s eyes widened. “Do I even want to know what you’ve been up to since leaving this place?”

  I shook my head. “No. You do not.”

  “I don’t understand what’s happening. Last I remember, you were bringing back the cavalry.”

  “Things have changed.”

  “What do you mean, things have changed?”

  I paused, trying to find the right words. “They are coming. It’s just…”

  RJ, his brain now completely unfogged, cut me off. “Just what? Does anyone even know I’m in here?”

  “Oh…” I hesitated. “They know.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “So, I got out, obviously. Then I found emergency personnel, told them you were trapped, and they were preparing for the rescue effort.”

  “Okay, that’s good.”

  “Yes.” I nodded. “That’s the good part of the story.”

  He winced. “What’s the bad?”

  Without missing a beat, I replied, “All the rest.”

  “Dani,” RJ protested, growing weary of the game. “Just tell me.”

  “Okay, here’s the deal. Our building has sustained major damage. You’re not the only one in this zip code trapped in the rubble.”

  A pained expression passed over RJ’s face. He looked away.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he mumbled, not meeting my eye.

  I got a funny feeling that something had happened. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded. “Go on.”

  “Okay, well, when I got out, the firefighters and police were already here. But you know that first aftershock we rode out together? Well, one of their firefighters was injured in it while trying to save someone, so now they’re under orders to wait for structural engineers to come in and deem t
he building safe before they can allow their people back inside.”

  “So, let me see if I have this straight. What you’re saying is I’ve been waitlisted? Like a college freshman?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t have put it that way, but yes. If it makes you feel any better, everyone in our building is currently being waitlisted.”

  “I don’t feel better at all. No one ever gets off the waitlist… at least not until it’s too late.”

  I gripped RJ’s shoulder and locked eyes. “They’re coming, RJ. It just might take more time than we thought. That’s why I came back with supplies. I’m going to keep you alive until your name moves to the top of the list.”

  RJ let my words sink in before slumping over. “If, Dani. If it moves up.”

  “Listen to me.” I grabbed his hand, feeling a steely determination fall over me. “I know it seems bleak, but I made damn sure they won’t forget about you.”

  “Yeah? How?”

  “Do you have any idea how fast a social media post travels when you add the hashtag RJContrerasTrappedInEarthquake? Lightning speed, I tell you! Your fans went batshit crazy. Little Dayers began arriving two hours ago with their buckets and shovels, ready to dig you out themselves. They’re out there holding signs and chanting, ‘Free RJ!’ Reporters have arrived. Media barriers have been set up. And that, my vacuum-packed friend, is why no one’s going to forget you are trapped in the parking garage.”

  A grin broke wide across my lips. “You’re welcome.”

  RJ stared at me, the defeat in his eyes having morphed into something else… something that resembled awe. “Damn, you’re good. Now I sort of wish I hadn’t redirected that line of ants into your apartment last week.”

  I burst out laughing, smacking him with the back of my hand. “I knew that was you.”

  “Wait—how did you get the glass out of your arm?”

  “I pulled it out.”

  His brows shot up. “By yourself?”

  “I had to. The paramedic who was treating me threatened to send me to the hospital for surgery. I knew if I went there, I wouldn’t be able to come back to you.”

  “So, you just ripped it out?”

  “Pretty much.”

  RJ shook his head, clearly shocked and awed by my dedication. “You are the coolest woman I’ve ever met, Post-it Note Dani. I think I might actually love you.”

  “That’s the plan. I save you. You love me forever. Easy. And just so you know, I want two kids—a boy and a girl. In that order, so don’t disappoint. Oh, and if it’s not too much to ask, I’d also really like to have one of those miniature potbelly pigs. We’ll name her Peggy. Are you okay with all that?”

  “I… I’m not okay with any of it.”

  “Why not? You don’t like pigs?”

  “Actually, Peggy was my favorite part of your proposal. I hate kids, and I’m definitely not marriage material. You can do a whole lot better than me.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to. Maybe I like a fixer-upper.”

  RJ laughed. “Dude, I’m a tear-down, not a fixer-upper.”

  “Let me be the judge of that.”

  “All right then. I tell you what. If I live through this, I’m all yours.”

  I smiled. “Promise?”

  Studying me, the playfulness faded from his face. “I hate that you put yourself in danger. This place is death, Dani.”

  “Not for you, it’s not. I’m your hero, remember? Have a little faith.”

  He studied me like I was some alien species. “I’ve never met anyone like you, and I’ve met a lot of people in my life. It pisses me off that I wasted so much time hating you.”

  “But did you, really? Because I seem to recall you spying on me from time to time behind the blinds, RJ.”

  He laughed. “You saw that, huh?”

  “Oh, I saw it. I kept waiting for you to slide that door open and make all kinds of sweet love to me, you coward.”

  “Really? Because that wasn’t the vibe you were giving off.”

  “No?” I questioned, all innocent-like. “And what vibe was that?”

  “The kind of vibe where you’d rip my nuts off if I stepped foot on the deck.”

  “Ah.” I waved off his concern. “You men are so sensitive nowadays.”

  The playfulness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a smoldering sexiness. “You’re right. I should’ve slid that door wide open and made sweet love to you.”

  “And I would’ve ripped your nuts off.”

  We both laughed, knowing every bit of both of our declarations was very true.

  “Hey,” he said, suddenly serious. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to make you crazy. I was… in a bad place, and I took it out on you. But if I survive this shit, I’ll make it up to you, Dani. I’ll be a better man. You’ll see.”

  I believed him, every single fantastical word, wanting to be there along his path to self-discovery. Dropping my hands into the dirt, I leaned in on all fours and kissed him. It was quick and unplanned, but it was out there now, no takebacks. His eyes held mine, so heated and inviting. He was challenging me to continue the kiss, while offering no effort whatsoever on his part. RJ knew well that all he needed to do was hang back, and women would come to him.

  Cocky bastard.

  And yet…

  Cupping his whiskered face in my hands, I pressed my lips against his lusciously parted ones and flicked his tongue with my own. And then I pulled back and waited, confident enough in my kiss that he would be back for more.

  RJ smiled, understanding this game very well.

  “Come here,” he said ever so gravelly.

  I’d never heard anything quite so inviting. Everything in my body wanted to cave to this sexy man in the hole. But RJ needed a course correction. He needed to know who was in control.

  Returning his smoldering gaze, I shook my head. “You know, I don’t think I will.”

  Still on all fours, I hung there in lusty suspension with my lips parted and waiting. Come on, you asshole. You know you want it.

  And then he leaned in, his fingers outlining my lips and sending a fiery explosion to my core. My god, he was good. Even fastened to the earth, he could still set me ablaze. How stupid of me to think I could win this game. RJ was to seduction what Donny was to Call of Duty. Both were at the top of their game. I’d never had a chance.

  Tangling my hand into his hair, my mouth was suddenly on his. I could feel the curve of his smile against my lips as he silently celebrated his victory. But it was short-lived as the kiss grew deeper and he plunged his tongue between my lips.

  He drew back suddenly, his heavy-lidded eyes fixed on me, wrought with lust. Heat coiled in my belly. I couldn’t keep away. He shouldn’t make me. My lips crashed into his again, vying for possession. Every single thing about the kiss was off the charts, almost like I was only now just realizing that I’d been doing it wrong all this time. This right here was what I’d been missing, this hunger that nearly stopped my heart.

  I understood now that from the moment he’d moved in next door, RJ had changed me. By challenging everything I’d thought I knew about myself, he’d awakened a fighting spirit in me that my domineering mother had shut down somewhere along the way. She wouldn’t like this new me—this spark RJ had ignited. She’d blame it on my father’s side of the family, but that wasn’t the least bit true.

  This could all be pinned on the infuriatingly sexy man next door.

  13

  RJ: A Close Shave

  This wild girl, her fingers wrapped in my hair. I wanted everything with her, and would have taken it too, if I hadn’t been sentenced to eternity in a hole not meant for two. But that kiss… It was purgatory, that frustrating place between life and death. My body screamed for Dani at the very time it was preparing for the end. Before she’d come back, I’d accepted my fate, allowing the darkness and misery to invade. But now that she was here, there was light and hope and lust. I’d gone from withering away in my grave to having it all. But th
is was all a mirage! No, worse, it was torture because it was a taste of what life could be like if someone were to come and save me. But they wouldn’t. This was my end.

  And somehow—some way—I had to let Dani go.

  I pulled away. She reached for me, wanting more, but I rebuked her efforts.

  So much I wanted to say, but nothing seemed right. She must have sensed my conflict.

  “Hey,” she said, pressing a featherlight kiss to my lips. “We’ll get through this.”

  I nodded, not wanting to dampen her faith but also understanding that ‘we’ was not part of this equation. Dani had risked everything to come back to me, and now I had to do the same for her—convince her to go. Albeit kissing her was probably not the best way to make that happen.

  Cupping the back of her neck, I leaned my forehead onto hers and grazed her sweet lips with my thumb. I couldn’t remember ever feeling desire like this. It was more than sexual, it was emotional, and that was what made our connection so sizzling. I’d finally found my perfect match—hours before dying.

  “You have to go,” I whispered.

  “No,” she whispered back.

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  I pulled away. This woman never listened. Ever. I both loved and hated her resolve. But this devotion she had to a lost cause… it damn near killed me.