by W.J. May
Chapter 5: Unexplainable Changes
“You’re glowing. Don’t deny it. You spent the weekend with Ryan, didn’t you?” Lise glanced up from her text book, eyeing Natalie.
Natalie fumbled to unpack her clothes from her bags, avoiding her friend’s gaze. “What?”
“You can’t play dumb with me. I see it written all over your face.” Lise motioned with her finger and then went back to reading her book.
Natalie finally looked up. She pressed her lips together, trying to conceal her happiness. It was no use. Her lips parted into a wide smile. “Not the entire weekend, only Saturday.”
“I knew it.” Lise shut her textbook and tossed it to the side. “Why didn’t you text me back?” She sprang up off her bed and rushed to Natalie’s side.
“Sorry, I got side tracked.” Natalie shrugged and then walked over to the bathroom to put up her toiletries.
Lise followed her around the room. “Tell me all about it? Did you sleep with him?”
“What? No… of course not.” Natalie continued to put her things away, still avoiding any direct face contact with Lise.
“Oh man.” Lise pouted and sat down on her bed. “Nat, please tell me you at least made out.”
Natalie walked out of the bathroom. “Ummm, no Lise we didn’t.”
“Then why do you keep smiling?” Lise pounded her hands into the mattress.
Natalie turned around, trying to hide her happiness. Nonchalantly, like she didn’t know her friend was dying for information, she dumped a bag of clean clothes on the bed and began to fold them. She knew Lise would hound her until she told her every last detail.
“Nat, tell me.”
Natalie tossed the pair of socks in her hands to the side and fell back on the pile of clothes. “Because I had another near death experience and it was wonderful.” She crossed her hands over her heart and closed her eyes. Thoughts of Ryan flooded her mind. Even though the dust storm scared her to death, she didn’t regret the time they spent together. She could still smell him, taste him, and feel him.
“What? You had…I’m confused. You’re happy because you almost died, again?”
Natalie opened her eyes and focused in on what Lise said. She sat up. “No. I mean, yes. I did have another near death experience but it ended quite well.”
Lise smiled. “I guess so, because you’re still alive and smiling like he rocked your world.”
She giggled. “Let me explain. We went horseback riding on his ranch—”
“He invited you over to his house? His parent’s place?”
Natalie narrowed her eyes at Lise, warning her to stop. “Yes. Can I finish?”
“Sorry.” Lise chewed on her lower lip.
“What? Go ahead, Lise.” Natalie got up and then scooted over the pile of clothes, clearing a spot on the bed to sit down.
“He must really like you. If a guy invites you over to meet his parents—”
“Wait. I didn’t say that. His parents weren’t home. I did meet his brother and his brother’s family.”
“Still. Okay, you met half of his family… which means he must really like you.” Lise’s voice escalated. She did a happy dance staying seated and for a moment she acted like her world had been rocked.
Natalie shook her head, unable to understand how everything excited Lise. “I guess if you say so. Anyhow, we went riding and there was a horrible dust storm. Violent.”
“OMG! Seriously?”
Natalie put her finger to her lips, instructing Lise to stay quiet and let her finish. Lise pretended to zip her mouth close.
“Yes, a horrible storm. I honestly thought that I might die. She shivered, recalling how the thick clouds of dust surrounded her and blinded her sight. We got separated. Eventually we both found our way back to a barn.”
Lise smiled. “Let me guess. I know what happened next.” She grabbed a small bed pillow and held it tightly to her chest.
“Not what you think. It was intense. He held me, caressed me, and told me I was beautiful. I got to bury my face against his bare muscular chest. Boy, does he have muscles. Whoa.” Natalie fanned herself. “Let me think what else.”
Lise practically cried over the story. “You two kissed and it was wonderful.”
Natalie sighed. “Actually, no. We didn’t.”
“No? You didn’t kiss?” Her smile quickly turned into a frown.
“No. We were about to when his brother threw open the barn doors.”
“Oh that sucks. Why didn’t you tell him to take a hike?”
“Lise, his brother needed to know if we were safe.”
“Oh well.” She grabbed her cell phone and started messing with it. “Why didn’t you guys hang out the rest of the weekend?”
“The storm caused a lot of damage to the ranch. Since his parents were out of town, he and his brother had to fix fences and tend to injured animals. They even lost a baby calf.”
“Gosh.” Lise muttered, not paying much attention to what she said.
“Did you hear me? An animal died, Lise.” Natalie spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
Lise looked up from her cell phone. “Oh wow, that is bad. I wonder why you keep getting caught up in these weird storms.”
“I don’t know. It is ironic.” Natalie reached over to her pile of laundry and grabbed a shirt. She took her time, folding it nice and neat. “We chatted and texted the rest of the weekend. He was supposed to follow me back today but decided to stay home until Friday.”
“I’m glad things are turning out well for you two.”
Natalie sighed. “I can only hope. So, did you get to hang out with Sal?”
“Yeah, pretty much, until he left to go home on Thursday with Ryan. We got to know each other really well.”
“Lise.” Natalie turned around and narrowed her eyes at her.
“No, I told you, he’s not like that. I mean, we did make out, but all our clothes stayed on.” She rolled her eyes and then drifted back to her phone.
“Good for you! Getting to know each other is important.”
Lise shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I guess. I can’t wait for him to come back.”
“And I can’t wait for Ryan to come back either.”