“Are you guys following us?” Gage asks. I almost roll my eyes at him, but stop when I see Kate. She’s pale and beautiful and I can’t stop staring at her. She looks even better now than she did earlier in the day when we first met.
“You saw the same thing on the radar that we did, huh?” Hunter asks. She shakes Gage’s hand and introduces herself to Kate. This time, Kate is polite and gives Hunter her undivided attention and her full name, Kate Brighten. I want to pout. She couldn’t have cared less when Gage introduced us earlier. When she turns to me, she smiles and stares for a few seconds longer than socially acceptable and, suddenly, I’ve forgiven her for practically ignoring me earlier.
“It’s kind of late for dinner, but do you want to join us?” he asks.
“Sure,” I say. Hunter smiles sweetly at me and I know I’m going to pay for it later. Our plan was to grab a quick bite at the restaurant within walking distance of the motel and head back and crash. Instead, we are seated at a round table in a dark restaurant that smells like wood panel and stale potpourri. I’m glad that we got our room first and had a chance to freshen up. I’m in clean clothes and feel human again. We sit down and order beers before looking at the menu. I’m pretty sure I know the menu without even looking at it from the smells coming from the kitchen. Meatloaf, fried chicken, burgers, fries, and nothing really healthy.
“How long have you guys been chasing?” Kate asks. Before I have a chance to answer, Hunter pipes up.
“Well, for this season, we just headed out a few days ago, but we’ve been chasing for six seasons now.”
Kate looks pleasantly surprised. “You’ve probably seen a ton of tornadoes then, huh?”
I nod ready to tell tales of our adventures and mishaps when Gage interrupts.
“Kate got a real treat today. We caught that tornado near Cedar Rapids. The video is stunning,” he says. He’s not bragging. Gage is sweet.
“We heard some new chasers got it. Congrats,” Hunter says. She’s so diplomatic. Again, I want to pout. I haven’t had a chance to talk and nobody seems to care.
“They are saying it was an F2.” He refers to the Fujita scale, the scale meteorologists use to rate a tornado’s intensity based on wind speed and destruction. “I’m so glad I’m finally out in the storms. It gets boring working in the lab all day, every day. Seeing a tornado up close was fantastic. More than what I expected.”
“I agree. It was amazing. It’s one thing to watch videos, see photos, and study radar of tornadoes, but a completely different experience seeing one in person,” Kate says. She’s leaning forward in her chair, her right hand gripping her beer tightly. Her enthusiasm is endearing. She turns her attention to me and gives me an award winning smile. I’m pretty sure my heart skips a few beats. “You’re so lucky to have done this so many times already.”
“It never gets old. Are you a student at OSU or on the staff there?” I ask. Her smile drops immediately, but she covers up quickly and answers.
“I’m working on my Masters degree.” That’s all she gives me. She’s driving me crazy. One minute, she’s up and happy and I feel like I’m floating, the next she’s down and I feel like I’m giving an interview.
“Is your undergrad in meteorology or something else?” I ask, trying to engage her further.
“Yes. I’ve always been fascinated with weather,” she says. “Oklahoma is probably one of the best places to be if you want to study it.”
“OSU is a good school, but OU is better.” I wink so everybody knows I’m kidding. Gage laughs. Kate doesn’t look amused. As a matter of fact, the more we talk, the quieter she gets. I must have struck a nerve when I asked her about school for some reason. I decide to just keep my mouth shut. I order another beer and lean back and sulk the best I can without looking like I’ve checked out of the conversation. Thank God Hunter is amusing them with stories.
Our food arrives and we dig in. I didn’t realize I was so hungry. Three of us ordered burgers and fries, but Kate opted for a somewhat healthy salad she convinced them to dig up. I feel guilty. Of course, she’s probably a size two from the looks of it, and on a good day I fit into a size six. I add more ketchup to my fries.
“Are you guys together?” Kate asks. I’ve just taken a huge bite out of my burger and my only response is a snort. Hunter grins.
“Ah, no. We’re best friends. I have a boyfriend and Tris has a fear of commitment,” she says. I shoot her an evil look. “Well, not a fear really. She’s just waiting for Ms. Right.” And there it is. Hunter doesn’t care who knows I’m a lesbian. I tend to be a little more discreet. “Are you and Gage together?” Kate and Gage both shake their heads no. Gage tells us about his girlfriend back in Stillwater, Oklahoma and how they are planning on getting married and starting a family soon. I’m officially bored. I want to know about Kate. I want to know why she gave me a strange look when Hunter said I was looking for Ms. Right. I want to know if she’s intrigued or even interested. I find she’s not making eye contact with me and my heart sinks a little. I order another beer and Hunter nudges me. I look at my watch. It’s barely ten at night. We have plenty of time to sleep it off.
“Hunter’s boyfriend is great. He’s in a band and plays a lot in Oklahoma. He even plays down at OSU. You guys should check him out sometime. If you are into rock music,” I say.
“I’m more into country, but next time he’s down, I’ll be sure to tell the others about him,” Gage says.
“What kind of music do you like, Kate?” I ask. I’m determined to get her to open up more. I can’t tell if she’s shy or just uninterested.
“I like it all really. Maybe not country so there’s always a fight in the car on what we should listen to,” she says. Gage smiles at her. I get the feeling he gets his way most of the time. As nice as he is, he seems to be old school where men are always right and women are just there to look pretty.
“We have a rule in our SUV. Whoever is driving, gets to pick the music. Thankfully, we like the same stuff,” Hunter says. “There isn’t much to do except listen to music or audio books or talk when you are in the car for months at a time.”
Kate looks surprised. “How long do you chase?”
“The whole season. Until the end of June usually,” I say.
“I’m only out for a few weeks this time,” Kate says. “Once I’m done, another person in our study group will head out with Gage. And then another.” It surprises me that they don’t have more chasers out with all of their funding and equipment. Based on the Frankenstein looking vehicle out in the parking lot, their school has plenty of money to spend on chasing.
“Well, here’s to a great tornado season,” Gage says. He tips his beer and we all clink longnecks. I can feel Kate finally look at me and I turn to meet her gaze. This time she doesn’t turn. I take a long drink and keep staring until she finally looks away.
❖
“Did I really reach out and touch her hair?” I ask. Hunter loops her arm with mine as we walk back to the motel. She laughs and kisses the top of my head.
“No, but the way you were looking at her was making me uncomfortable. Like you wanted to touch her hair and other things on her body.” I cringe. I have zero coolness. I’ve never been suave, especially with the ladies. Throw alcohol into the mix and forget it.
“I wonder if she noticed,” I say. Hunter squeezes my arm to let me know and I groan. “I’m a total idiot. Don’t let me drink so much next time, okay?” She opens the motel door and lets Maddox out before she tucks me into bed. He returns, jumps on the bed, and burrows next to me. I sigh happily. Who needs a woman when you’ve got a warm, snuggly dog to keep you company?
Hunter gets into her bed. “Are we ever going to talk about the grant?”
I forgot she asked me earlier in the day. I roll over to face her.
“I haven’t heard yet. That’s why I haven’t wanted to talk about it. Dr. Williams hasn’t said anything and I’m going with no news is good news.” I start cracking my knuckles. I’m worried.
“Don’t we usually hear something by now?” Hunter asks. She’s right. We start the season off knowing how much we have in the budget for the next season. I plan on storm chasing for the university as long as we’re funded. “You at least teach classes in the fall. I have to know what happens to me by the summer.”
“I know. I’ll send Williams an e-mail in the morning. Right now I don’t think I can type on this stupid phone.” Call me old fashioned, but I need a computer with a decent size monitor in order to send or read any correspondence. I don’t understand how people run businesses with a two inch by four inch screen.
“Okay. Get some sleep. We’ll worry about it later,” Hunter says. Her breathing evens out and I’m jealous at how quickly she falls asleep.
❖
I’m in complete denial that it’s morning. Hunter is bouncing on the bed. Little does she know that I’m about thirty seconds from throwing up on her.
“Get off of me.” I try to bury myself deeper into the covers. “It can’t possibly be time to get up.”
“Not only is it time, but I’ve been following the path of the storm and we aren’t that far away. Maybe an hour. If we leave in twenty minutes, we have time to find the perfect spot and maybe catch a tornado.” She rips back the covers and I growl in frustration. I sprawl out and flip her off. “Get dressed.” I don’t care that I’m barely wearing anything. That will teach her to take my covers away.
“I don’t feel good,” I say. Her grin tells me she knows this and couldn’t care less.
“I told you to stop after three beers.” She’s almost singing it to me. “Go take a quick shower and meet me outside. I’ve put clothes out for you to wear.”
“Who are you, my mother?”
She responds by throwing a pillow that knocks me back down. I want to wallow in self-pity, but I know she’s right and the lure of a tornado gets me moving. My shower is thankfully hot and I feel myself slowly waking up. It takes me a few extra minutes to get dressed, but by the time I leave the motel room, I’m able to function normally. Maddox and Hunter are already in the car.
Movement catches my eye across the parking lot and I see Gage and Kate getting into their souped-up truck. I was pretty excited about the metal and Plexiglas box screwed on top of our Tahoe to protect a video camera that we remotely control inside the cab. Their truck makes our SUV look like a Tinker Toy.
I’m surprised when Gage and Kate wave at me. I wave back trying hard not to cringe again remembering last night.
“I’m driving until you start feeling human again,” Hunter says. That’s fine. I feel like letting somebody else take control. “I picked up biscuits and milk for breakfast. That should help you feel a little better.” I nod thanks and start eating. I know the sooner I get something in my stomach, the quicker I’ll feel human again. I feed Maddox a biscuit, which he happily munches on.
“So tell me exactly what I said to Kate,” I say. I remember trying to be a little flirty. Touching her arm, laughing at what she said. I groan just remembering bits and pieces.
“You really weren’t that bad, I promise,” Hunter says. “You were just very excited that she was there, that’s all. You were sweet. It was cute.” That’s a sure sign I said idiotic things. I sigh heavily and Hunter punches my arm. This day can only get better.