Read Online Random (Going the Distance) by Lark O'Neal - Free Book Online Page A

interesting.”
    “Not really. A bunch of tight-ass WASPs hiding their petty little misdemeanors.”
    I look at him a minute longer, imagining old mansions with servant stairs and debutante balls. A life I can’t even begin to imagine, one that doesn’t even seem real.
    We duck into the arcade, a shaded area with games and saltwater taffy and a natural fountain that continually runs with the water that once made the area famous. I stick my palm under the flow, then bring it to my mouth. “Ah,” I say. “Just like Alka-Seltzer.”
    He’s scowling a little, looking at the ground. Lost in his own thoughts.
    “Hey,” I say. “Sorry if brought up something painful.”
    He shakes his head. “I did, too, with your mom.”
    “I have an idea.” I take his big strong hand in mine and drag him toward one of the buildings that house the game machines. “I bet you’ve never played Flaming Finger, have you?”
    He grins, allowing himself to be tugged along. “Nope.”
    “I challenge you to a duel.” The machines are tucked into a corner by a bunch of skeeball machines. No one is in here. I reach into my pocket for quarters. “I’ll even pay, as long as you win.”
    It’s an old school game that entails using your finger to beat the clock on a little maze. We play against each other. It lightens the mood, and I forget about the fact that I don’t have a job or enough money to pay the rent. Our bodies bump into each other now and then, and we both laugh at the fierce competition. A breeze kicks up, blowing through the room, and cools us off.
    “That was fun,” he says. “Let’s get a soda or something. I’m hot.”
    I follow him out and take a deep breath. “Ooh, that smells good. Like rain.”
    He points to the sky, heavy and low over the mountains. As we stand there, spikes of lightning skitter over the clouds, and within two seconds a very loud breaking sound cracks through the air. I slam my hands over my ears.
    And just that fast, the rain comes, pouring down on us. Tyler grabs my hand and pulls me to a small covered area. It’s ours. Everyone else must have ducked inside. Beneath the wooden boards at our feet is the creek, rushing by. I can see the water moving between the boards. “Aren’t we supposed to get to higher ground?”
    “I’m sure this will blow over in a few minutes. No sirens yet.”
    I lean on the stuccoed post and gaze out at the sheets of translucent gray rain obscuring the mountains and even the building across the way. After the heat of the day, the billows of cool damp air are sweet, and I breathe in the smell, deep, deep into my lungs. “It’s beautiful. I love the rain.”
    Another vivid flash of lightning strobes across the landscape, and it must strike somewhere within a block, because the thunder sounds like a bomb blast. It shakes the walls and a little kid screams, and I give a little yelp, again covering my ears.
    Tyler leans in close. “You all right?”
    “Maybe I’m a little bit afraid of thunder.”
    He slides an arm around me, pulls me into his chest. Grateful, I slip my arms around his waist and lean into his solid body, feeling a surprising amount of hard muscle. My head comes to just his shoulder, and I nestle my cheek into the hollow beneath his collarbone. He smells like soap and sunshine and something that’s his alone.
    The rain just keeps pouring. Lightning shimmers and thunder blasts. Against my left side, Tyler is warm. His hand on my back moves up and down, brushing to life all the nerves there. His fingers touch the top of my jeans, the curve of my waist.
    I move, too, my thumb across the dip in his spine, my other palm across the flat, hard expanse of his belly. I feel slightly dizzy, like the world is being rearranged as we stand there, our bodies speaking for us.
    As if those bodies know when to move, he subtly shifts me until I’m leaning against the wall, and I raise my head to look at him. His eyes practically glow in the gray light, and his hand