9. A Touch Of Fire

It took Taesha a minute for her to register what he had said. "We?" 

"Oh, there is no "we" and no us. So soon as Dexter gets back in here, I need to set him straight. So there won't be any confusion."  

The minute Dexter gets back into the car, Taesha tells him. "I hope you don't think I need you to stay out here with me. I'll be fine. You can go home."  

"I can go home? I can't head home this time of night. Have you forgotten already about all the road closures? The road that leads to my home is closed. That's how I ended up meeting you. I'm in a predicament like you. Sorry, it looks like we are in this together. You can't go where you were trying to go, and neither can I. The snow is falling too heavy to be on the road trying to make a long-distance trip. It wouldn't be safe or wise for me or anyone to drive out." 

Taesha sighs. "So, what hotels did the mechanic suggest?" 

 He mentions that a woman named Ms. Henry rents out cabins to overnight travelers about a mile up the mountain."  

"Is that all they have around here?" Taesha says agitatedly. 

"I guess so. That's all the mechanic mentioned to me. I don't see any hotels around here, do you?" 

"Well, no…" 

"I think we ought to get going and see if she has two available cabins and some internet service. I only want a warm bath and a bed." I mentioned. 

"I need that too, and an ice pack for my throbbing head. My goodness! It has been a long and awful night." 

During the drive up the mountain, you can see soft snowflakes whirling around as the wind lifts them in the air. It was a beautiful sight for me to witness. However, when I got closer to the top of this curvy road, it led me to another narrow, winding road that went east. 

"Look, a lonely mountain cabin under a snowy February sky," I said, pointing. It looked so pictorial and serene. 

I followed the road that led up to the cabin. In the distance, you can see lights beaming from the middle of nowhere. The snowfall was welcoming, and the surrounding mountains looked majestic! Unfortunately, I could not park directly at the front door because of the wall of snow surrounding the porch.  

I parked the car a few feet from the cabin sitting in the middle of nowhere. 

 "Where are we?" She asks, looking around. 

"I'm guessing this is the cabin office for guests to rent a cabin," I tell her. I cut the engine off, and we both sit there exhausted and staring. Finally, I got out and began jogging again to the front door. An older lady came to the door wearing a housecoat, pin curlers in her hair, and a warm, welcoming smile on her plump face.  

"Hi, my name is Dexter Lee. My lady friend and I were hoping to rent two cabins." 

The lady smiles, "Lady friend...I know that kind of language, young fellow." Then, resting her hand on her head as if she had just remembered her curlers. 

 "Oh, I must look a sight." 

I smiled at the lady. It was pleasant to see her pale skin, blue eyes, pink duster, and yellow curlers in her blonde hair. She smiled back before saying.  

"Do you want to get your girlfriend and luggage first?"  

"Yes, thank you." I take off, run back to the car, and quickly hop inside. 

"So, she has a place for us to stay. Come on out so we can hurry and get inside."  

"Wait! I don't have any shoes on. I need my duffle bag with all my shoes from the trunk."  

I quickly opened the trunk, with snow pounding against my exposed face. The first thing I took out of my car was the dirty boots. I sat them in the snow as I grabbed her suitcase and other bags. Next, I open the door, carefully placing her luggage on my car's seat.  

Taesha turns around and quickly gets her tennis shoes out of her carrying bag that held her other shoes. She quickly puts them on her feet. I couldn't let her walk in the snow with only a pair of Vans tennis shoes on her feet. So, I stoop down and offer her a piggyback ride. 

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm offering you a lift."   

"Oh, I don't know you well enough to wrap my legs around your body. So please move out the way so I can get out of the car and run for it."  

I shake my head, stepping aside. "Did you have to put it that way?" I asked, chuckling, "boy, what a way with words."

'Independent and stubborn.' Dexter was hard-pressed not to bare his teeth in laughter. 

'If Miss Taesha refused to let him help her, he would have to take it to her.' I utter in a quiet tone watching her trying to be brave. 

Taesha takes off, trying to run but going nowhere as her feet sink into the ice-cold snow up to her mid-calf.  

"Oooh! Oooh! Ouch! Ouch! It's so cold out here!" Before she knew it, She was being scooped up from behind off her feet. The unexpected motion forced her to wrap her arms around his neck to maintain her balance. Dexter shifted her slightly, molding her breast to his chest. 

What do you think you're doing? Taesha shouted at him. Her right hand fisted. "Put me down." 

Dexter tightened his hold under her knees. "You want me to put you down in the snow?" 

"No, yes! No." Her demands were confusing even to herself.

He shifted her again, smiling. "What do you plan to do with that fist?" 

Taesha looked at her hand as if it was something she'd never seen before. In all this cold, heat suffused her face. She was undoubtedly ready to punch out the tall stranger holding her effortlessly as if she were a child. Shortly he put her down safely on the porch of the cabin. Taesha relaxed her fingers. 

Dexter's smile met Taesha's frown. "Stay here until I grab the rest of your things out of the car.  

He goes back to the car and picks up her suitcases and bags. I have never done this much work for a girl in my entire life! And I'm doing all this for a girl who I can't tell if she's attracted to me or not. She hasn't blinked an eye in my direction. 

Dexter couldn't help but laugh, she talked funny, but she also had a quick tongue. His thought fell on how good she felt in his arms—at the same time, smelling like good wine and an inviting bed of flowers. 

 Maybe all he has been through tonight may be worth it in the end. If nothing else, having my vision has been an indescribable joy. It's better than sex. 'Did I say that?' I chuckled, walking to the front porch. 

Under the bright porch light, this was her first time taking a quick look at the good Samaritan. Yep! He's not my type. He has that pretty boy look. But her eyes kept wanting to look at him. Under the light this way, she can now see his dark features.  

Taesha's breath got caught in her throat and lungs. Dexter took her breath away. Arresting hadn't been the right word to describe his handsome face. He was beautiful. Prominent cheekbones and full lips. Beautiful bronze complexion. His dark features and black hair surround those astounding Icy blue eyes. It made him stunning to look at closeup. Releasing a long leisurely sigh, Taesha realized she was staring at him. She quickly snapped out of it.  

"You can open the door. I'm about to freeze to death out here." Taesha says, shivering. 

I made my first attempt at a joke. "Anything else, Your Highness?" 

"What? she snapped at him."  

"Nothing," I replied, with both hands filled with her suitcases that landed on the porch with a thud. I knocked on the door at once. 

"It's open," Ms. Henry calls out. When we entered, she had put her makeup on, curlers removed, with a welcoming smile for Dexter, who had naturally charmed her.  

"Wow! You were lovely before but now look pretty as a picture. Ms. Henry." 

The woman's face turned bright red, blushing. "I see you are a charmer." 

Taesha cleared her throat, hoping to remind Ms. Henry that they were paying customers waiting to check-in. 

"Hi, I'm Taesha Tran. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Henry."  

"Honey, what happened to your face?" 

"Woah! I didn't do that to her, I promise." Dexter quickly clears himself from being accused of abuse. Then, Ms. Henry looked on with concern. 

Alarmed, Taesha looked around for a mirror. "What about my face?" She found a mirror on the wall. Her left cheek was swollen with a dark bruise."  

Taesha marched back over to confront Dexter. "Why didn't you tell me my face looks this way?"  

"Tell you what? Most of the night, I kept my distance from you." Dexter states, surprised at how one side of her face looks. 

"That my face was all banged up!"  

"Um, maybe because I figured you knew since you were in an accident. I could only see one side of your face most of the night anyway."  

"It must've been the airbag." She said, remembering that moment of utter blackness. 

"The airbag must have given you a solid punch leaving a burn on your neck,"   

"Burn?" Her voice was a shrill squeak.  

"What burn?"  

"That burn mark," I said, removing my gloves. 

Taesha glances at his long, well-groomed hands. He wasn’t married. She thought.

He leaned closer, lifting her turtleneck sweater away from her delicate skin. When his fingers touched the red mark, her heart skipped a beat. Then she caught a whiff of his cologne again. She began feeling her body heat up. Was it his cologne or the tender touch of his fingers to her neck that sent shock waves of heat? Heat coursed through her body, landing in a sizzling tingle in the center of her core.  

What in the world is going on!? Taesha states that she is shocked at how her body is defying her.