shrugged. “I’m not judging. I just wondered if she was your girlfriend.”
“No,” he said, a little louder this time. “It was just a onetime thing.”
“I’ve never had a onetime thing,” I admitted; Colby had been my first and only.
“That’s because you’re too good for that shit.”
I shrugged. “Well, I’ve always been a relationship-or-celibacy type. But I’m not doing another relationship. And long-term celibacy is a pretty depressing option.”
Aiden’s brows drew together in a look I couldn’t decipher. “Don’t give yourself to some asshole who doesn’t deserve you, Drew. Sex is a big deal.”
“You and what’s-her-name made it look pretty simple.”
He cringed, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the steering wheel.
I smiled at him. “We’re dropping it. I won’t bring her up again.” Jeez, what was I trying to prove anyway? Ugh.
Aiden had caught up to Murph’s storm-chasing vehicle. I settled back in my seat, my eyelids getting heavy from last night’s lack of sleep. It wasn’t long until they slid closed.
When I woke up, the interior of the truck had darkened. I could see through my window that the sky was an ominous shade of gray. I sat up and looked over at Aiden.
“How long did I sleep?”
His gaze was warm when he glanced at me. “Couple hours.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. What should I be doing?”
“Nothin’. We’re just passing through a thunderstorm.”
“So we’re not there yet?”
“Nope. You can sleep some more if you want.”
I pulled a paperback from my bag and read instead. Aiden listened to talk radio and we drove in comfortable silence. By the time I finished the book in the afternoon, we were getting close to the spot Aiden had put into his GPS as our destination.
“It’s so dark,” I said, my voice nearly a whisper.
“You ever seen a tornado?”
I shook my head.
Murph pulled off to the side of the dirt road we were on and Aiden followed suit. Static crackled on the radio sitting on the seat between me and Aiden.
“Aiden, I’m heading up to the bluff,” Murph said. “Let me know if you see anything.”
“All right, man,” Aiden said into the radio.
“You gonna shoot your gun off?”
“I might. You piss me off and I’ll shoot it at your station wagon.”
“It’s not a station wagon,” Murph said, his tone irritated.
Murph pulled out and drove away. I looked over at Aiden.
“You brought a gun?”
“It’s a probe launcher. Me and Colby spent hours in this truck trying to come up with a better way to get Murph’s little round probes into funnel clouds. He measures all kinds of stuff with the things, but they’re a bitch to get into a twister.”
I couldn’t help laughing at the sheer audacity of trying to get
anything
inside a tornado.
Aiden was unfazed. He kept talking. It was the most I’d heard from him all day. “The thinking has always been that chasers need to predict the path of a storm and leave our probes there. But it’s often a guessing game. We’d leave the probes in weighted barrels and either they wouldn’t get airborne or the barrel would get thrown and the probes would be smashed.”
“So what did you come up with?”
“Instead of trying to bring the storm to the probes, I came up with a way to bring the probes to the storm. It’s pretty much a modified RPG launcher.”
“RPG?”
“Rocket-propelled grenade.”
“And you’re going to shoot this at the tornado?”
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “If I can get close enough. You don’t think I can do it, do you?”
“No, I…I mean, I have no idea.”
“I’m a damn good shot.”
“I’m sure. You were in the Army, weren’t you?”
He nodded. “Four years.”
I looked out at the dark, deep gray sky. This darkness was different from nighttime. There was an ominous feel about it. I’d heard about the calm before the storm, but had never realized it felt so silent I’d hold my
“No,” he said, a little louder this time. “It was just a onetime thing.”
“I’ve never had a onetime thing,” I admitted; Colby had been my first and only.
“That’s because you’re too good for that shit.”
I shrugged. “Well, I’ve always been a relationship-or-celibacy type. But I’m not doing another relationship. And long-term celibacy is a pretty depressing option.”
Aiden’s brows drew together in a look I couldn’t decipher. “Don’t give yourself to some asshole who doesn’t deserve you, Drew. Sex is a big deal.”
“You and what’s-her-name made it look pretty simple.”
He cringed, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the steering wheel.
I smiled at him. “We’re dropping it. I won’t bring her up again.” Jeez, what was I trying to prove anyway? Ugh.
Aiden had caught up to Murph’s storm-chasing vehicle. I settled back in my seat, my eyelids getting heavy from last night’s lack of sleep. It wasn’t long until they slid closed.
When I woke up, the interior of the truck had darkened. I could see through my window that the sky was an ominous shade of gray. I sat up and looked over at Aiden.
“How long did I sleep?”
His gaze was warm when he glanced at me. “Couple hours.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. What should I be doing?”
“Nothin’. We’re just passing through a thunderstorm.”
“So we’re not there yet?”
“Nope. You can sleep some more if you want.”
I pulled a paperback from my bag and read instead. Aiden listened to talk radio and we drove in comfortable silence. By the time I finished the book in the afternoon, we were getting close to the spot Aiden had put into his GPS as our destination.
“It’s so dark,” I said, my voice nearly a whisper.
“You ever seen a tornado?”
I shook my head.
Murph pulled off to the side of the dirt road we were on and Aiden followed suit. Static crackled on the radio sitting on the seat between me and Aiden.
“Aiden, I’m heading up to the bluff,” Murph said. “Let me know if you see anything.”
“All right, man,” Aiden said into the radio.
“You gonna shoot your gun off?”
“I might. You piss me off and I’ll shoot it at your station wagon.”
“It’s not a station wagon,” Murph said, his tone irritated.
Murph pulled out and drove away. I looked over at Aiden.
“You brought a gun?”
“It’s a probe launcher. Me and Colby spent hours in this truck trying to come up with a better way to get Murph’s little round probes into funnel clouds. He measures all kinds of stuff with the things, but they’re a bitch to get into a twister.”
I couldn’t help laughing at the sheer audacity of trying to get
anything
inside a tornado.
Aiden was unfazed. He kept talking. It was the most I’d heard from him all day. “The thinking has always been that chasers need to predict the path of a storm and leave our probes there. But it’s often a guessing game. We’d leave the probes in weighted barrels and either they wouldn’t get airborne or the barrel would get thrown and the probes would be smashed.”
“So what did you come up with?”
“Instead of trying to bring the storm to the probes, I came up with a way to bring the probes to the storm. It’s pretty much a modified RPG launcher.”
“RPG?”
“Rocket-propelled grenade.”
“And you’re going to shoot this at the tornado?”
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “If I can get close enough. You don’t think I can do it, do you?”
“No, I…I mean, I have no idea.”
“I’m a damn good shot.”
“I’m sure. You were in the Army, weren’t you?”
He nodded. “Four years.”
I looked out at the dark, deep gray sky. This darkness was different from nighttime. There was an ominous feel about it. I’d heard about the calm before the storm, but had never realized it felt so silent I’d hold my
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