Don't Get It Twisted, page 9
“Which was you.”
“You were taking some pretty big risks that year, which is what got views. Like your daredevil driving.”
“No, that’s why you quit.”
“I quit?” Haley couldn’t believe his audacity. “You mean you told me I was ready to go solo.”
“You were, and I was ready to stop listening to your griping about my driving.”
“Right. So, I didn’t quit.” Haley rolled her eyes. Men.
“I mean, you kind of did after that intercept in Amarillo and you got out of the truck and refused to get back in unless I let you drive home.”
“That’s what you remember about Amarillo?” Haley scoffed. Not the part where he was speeding down a dirt road with low visibility and basically drove them straight into the tornado?
Claire had stopped scribbling in her notebook and was watching Haley and Noah bicker intently. Haley felt the back of her neck flush; she had forgotten the journalist was there and everything was being recorded.
“Now you see why we work better in separate cars,” Haley said to Claire with an exaggerated sigh. “Can we erase like the last six minutes?”
“Consider it done,” Claire said. The corners of her eyes crinkled with silent laughter. “So you and Noah met through your ex, was he someone you dated in college?”
“They,” Haley and Noah corrected in unison, exchanging a sharp glance.
“We don’t talk about my sibling.” Noah’s tone was clipped. “They have their own life and don’t want to be connected to any of this.”
“Got it,” Claire said warily, underlining something in her notebook.
Haley recognized the silent plea for help in her eyes, and reached over to rub Noah’s hand, which was clenched in a fist. He relaxed it, probably not even realizing he’d tensed up in the first place. They were both defensive of Ash, Haley’s first love who eschewed the limelight at all costs. Their relationship had ultimately been another cost of Haley’s devil’s deal for fame. Losing them still hurt.
“I’d already been subscribed to Noah for a few years before I met him officially at a Christmas party,” Haley said carefully, leaving the specific circumstances vague. Ash had invited her home for Christmas break, and Haley had been starstruck to find out NoahWX was their brother, falling over herself at the opportunity to pore over the radar scans of famous storms with one of the biggest names in weather. And then they had their first big fight as a couple when Ash accused Haley of spending more time with Noah than them. She didn’t know it then, but it was the beginning of the end. Two weeks later Haley was dropping out of school and moving in with her partner’s brother, and then came all the accusations of cheating and betrayal, the screaming fights over the phone that left her hoarse from begging Ash to just believe her, and four months later it was done. It was yet another wound that didn’t bother her as long as she didn’t pick at the scab.
“Within ten minutes of talking to her, I knew I wanted her to be my first hire,” Noah said.
“You don’t have to sugarcoat it, she already knows I was a pity hire,” Haley said.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Haley, can you just cut the self-deprecating bullshit for once when I’m trying to be serious? Do you really think I would gamble my channel out of pity? I’m not that nice. It was always my plan to offer you a job, it just happened sooner than any of us thought.”
Claire looked uncomfortable, her eyes darting from Haley to Noah and back again. “So, Noah, you’ve been doing this a long time. Do you think it’s easier or harder to get into storm chasing on social media now?”
“Harder,” Noah said. “There are more streamers, so more competition and you get paid less for more work. And the algorithm makes it harder to get your content pushed out to people, especially since it’s always changing and always demands more.”
“I think easier,” Haley disagreed, even though she wasn’t asked. “There’s a template for how to do it and more platforms to do it on. And more and more people are looking for alternative ways to get information.”
“Elaborate?” Claire asked, her pen poised over the notebook.
“I don’t know how far we should get into this, it’s kind of controversial,” Haley said, knowing she needed to tread lightly. “Some people don’t trust the National Weather Service because it’s a government agency, but they’ll listen to streamers because they feel like they have a personal relationship with us. Some people need to see a tornado live on camera near places they recognize before they’ll take the warnings seriously, because they’ve gotten tornado warnings their entire lives and have never been hit by one before.”
“We have the best weather prediction network in the world,” Noah added. “The National Weather Service is one of the greatest things this country has done. But even they miss warnings, and it’s frustrating when that happens.”
“They’re spread thin because of budget cuts, so it’s not really their fault, especially with more and more severe storms occurring. We work with them as much as we can by reporting tornadoes when we spot them, but most of the problems are going to need systemic change.” Haley cut in again. “But whatever reasons people are watching us, there are more of them than ever.”
“But Noah, you think it’s harder now?”
“For new chasers online, definitely. The algorithm demands consistency, but the weather isn’t. I’m established enough that I can take weeks off and come back and my audience is still there, but these young guys will be punished by a machine that doesn’t even understand what we do. And that makes people do dumb shit, because storm chasing is expensive and they have to figure out how to pay the bills somehow.”
“You seem to have figured it out,” Claire said, looking out the office window towards Noah’s big house and four bay garage tucked behind a glittering pool. A flicker of something– contempt, or maybe it was scorn– made her jaw twitch.
“Mostly luck with a little hard work thrown in,” he sidestepped the observation of his wealth, which, despite the low cost of living in Tulsa, Haley knew was considerable. “Which reminds me, as fun as this has been, I have some edits to review.” He looked down at his watch, as if to drive the point home.
“That’s okay,” Claire said, standing quickly. “I think I got what I needed. Thanks, Noah.” She offered her hand to him.
They both looked at Haley after shaking, and she realized they were wondering if she was staying or going. She jumped up from the chair and downed her last gulp of Red Bull, knowing she had edits from the latest chase to review herself. They could wait another day or two, though, finding out why Claire seemed to be upset was suddenly much more important to her.
“So what now?” Haley asked. “There’s a place that has good iced coffee right up the street, if you want to keep going there.”
“I guess we’re done.” Claire sounded somewhat morose as they walked back towards the main street.
“I have to leave for Texas early tomorrow, so if you have more to ask we need to do it today.”
“No, I think I got everything I needed,” Claire repeated.
“So that’s it? The interview is just done?” But Haley was just getting to know her.
“Did you have something else you wanted to tell me?”
There were so many things, but nothing Haley wanted to see in print. “I guess not, but I just thought… we should go out and celebrate or something, right?”
Claire glanced over at her, a smile finally tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I figured you’d be glad to be rid of me prying into your life?”
“More like, you can’t get rid of me that easily,” Haley said. She was just starting to get used to having Claire around, just starting to get comfortable with the idea of opening up to someone who listened to her like she was the most important person in the world, and she wasn’t ready for it to end so abruptly. “I need closure.” She laughed like it was a joke, knowing full well it wasn’t. Too many things in her life had ended without it.
“Okay, let’s celebrate then. What do you want to do?”
“Something fun,” Haley said, thinking of what there was to do in Tulsa. She rarely went out, and when she did it was only after relentless badgering from Noah. “Okay, I have an idea. But I definitely need to shower first, so how about I pick you up at your hotel at around six?”
“It’s a date,” Claire said casually.
It’s just an expression, Haley told herself. It wasn’t a date date, just a thing people said when they were setting plans, but the tingle that shot through her body and made her want to jump up and down in giddy excitement told her she wished it was.
Chapter Thirteen
Claire rummaged through her suitcase a third time. She hadn’t brought anything for going out—just the casual button downs and slacks she wore to the office—and Haley had been tight-lipped about where she was taking her, saying it was a surprise. Claire would be surprised if Haley was taking her anywhere super formal, so she finally opted for some dark jeans and her brightest short sleeved button-down. She spritzed on some fragrance that was supposed to smell like fresh linen and sandalwood. Claire didn’t know about all that, but at least it smelled bright and clean. She didn’t know why she felt so nervous. She’d already spent days with Haley, so why should that evening be any different? But it felt like something had changed.
Haley picked her up right on time, looking jaw-droppingly gorgeous in a pair of tight jeans that Claire couldn’t tear her eyes from when Haley got out to open the door for her. Her hair was loose, and Claire had to hold herself back from running her fingers through it to see if it was as silky as it looked, to find out if Haley’s lips were as soft as her fingers remembered.
They made small talk as Haley drove to a Mediterranean restaurant that boasted they had the best gyros in town, shyly feeling out the new space they were exploring that fell somewhere between professionalism and friendship. The Greek food was as good as Haley had promised and Claire even ordered a second round of baklava just to have an excuse to keep the conversation going until the owner kicked them out at nine o’clock on the dot so he could close.
“Have you ever been two-stepping?” Haley asked. “There’s a place right up the street…”
“I don’t even know what that is,” Claire admitted, though at that point she would have followed Haley anywhere.
“Dancing.” Haley’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Texans will try to tell you it’s theirs, but we all know Oklahoma does it better.”
“I’m a terrible dancer,” Claire protested, but Haley had already taken her by the hand and was pulling her up the street, and so it was decided.
The bar they entered was crowded, but most of the people seemed to be on the large, square dance floor in the middle of it, and Haley was able to order them both drinks without waiting. Claire felt a little out of place in the sea of boots and hats and country music, but other than a couple welcoming smiles, no one seemed to pay her any attention. Haley, on the other hand, was attracting a number of stares and Claire fought back the urge to reach out and hold her, claim her. Because that was ridiculous. She was on a work trip. There was nothing to claim.
When their first beers were gone, Haley reached for Claire’s hand again, coaxing her towards the dance floor. Claire pretended to resist, but gave in when Haley shrugged and started to walk away. Any embarrassment caused by her two left feet was worth keeping someone else from getting to touch Haley so intimately without even realizing the value of what they held. Claire looked at the other pairs on the dance floor for clues on how to mimic the steps that seemed so intricate. Haley’s right hand clasped hers, and her left went to Claire’s waist, then slid up her back until it was resting lightly just beneath Claire’s shoulder blade, right behind her frantically beating heart.
“I’ll lead,” Haley whispered, her breath warm on Claire’s cheek. “The basic steps are simple.” She counted out the beats softly, her face half an inch away from Claire’s.
It made it hard to focus, and with a slight hint of pressure from Haley’s fingers on her back, Claire found herself swept away, shuffling clumsily across the floor as she tried to keep up. After a few moments, she settled into the pattern of short and sweeping steps in time to the lilting music, and after a few minutes more, she began to enjoy herself. Time meant nothing and Claire lost track of how many songs they danced through as Claire’s hand on her shoulder slipped lower and pulled her closer until their bodies were pressed together into one sashaying mass, and then the bartending was shouting for last call and she and Haley were stumbling out into the Tulsa night, their arms still locked around each other’s waists.
“I should take you back to your hotel,” Haley said. Claire felt her grip tighten on her waist, like she wasn’t ready to let go.
“It’s out of your way and you probably need to get home. I can just call a ride.” It was the safe, reasonable, responsible thing to do. Otherwise, Claire knew she wouldn’t be able to resist inviting Haley up to her room, and that was somewhere she couldn’t go.
“Then this is where we part ways?” There was no mistaking the longing in Haley’s question as she gave Claire another chance to change her mind. It was so tempting.
“I think my Ethics in Journalism textbook would say we have to.”
Haley pulled her in for a hug. She smelled wild like the storms she chased, of ozone and leather and tall grass and sweet goldenrod. Claire wanted to bury her face in her hair, her neck, and between her legs, to inhale every memory of her until that night was something that could never be forgotten.
“I hate this part,” Haley said, her torso heaving with a sigh in Claire’s arms.
“We’ll stay in touch. I’ll let you know when the story is going to run.” Claire had to remember why she was there.
“You promise to be nice to me?” Haley asked. “You won’t twist everything I said and make me look like the bad guy again?”
“Cross my heart,” Claire said.
And then she couldn’t stop it, her Ethics in Journalism class couldn’t stop it, no force in the universe could have stopped it as Haley’s lips parted and Claire was pulled into her gravitational field and they were colliding and tasting and exploring under a Tulsa streetlamp while the last patrons filtered out of bars and faded into the night. Haley kissed her urgently, her mouth demanding what Claire was all too eager to give. Haley kissed her sweetly, pulling back as if each brush of their lips would be their last, then returning for one more. Haley kissed her until every inch of Claire was trembling with the effort of holding the pieces of her body together, and then Haley kissed her again.
“Fuck your textbook,” Haley said, pulling away and leaving Claire reeling. “I had to know.”
***
Claire would have preferred to sleep in after staying up most of the night replaying the kiss in her head, but the hotel demanded she leave by eleven and she didn’t particularly feel like explaining a late check out fee on the business account to Whitney. There was a coffee shop in the lobby, so she set up there to kill time while she waited for her flight. She spent the first few hours typing up her notes from the week, trying to organize them and make sense of it all. Summarizing Haley into an article of a few thousand words felt like an impossible task; there was too much to say and none of it adequate to embody her.
Claire closed her eyes, picturing Haley on the first day they’d met. Had it really only been a week ago? It felt like they’d been through so much together, and they were bonded forever. Fueled by emotion and too many shots of espresso, she opened a new document and began typing.
Much like the conditions required to create a tornado, it takes a particular combination of the right ingredients to make a storm chaser…
Chapter Fourteen
It wasn’t just that Haley’s car felt too quiet without Claire, it was more that it felt too empty, as though the gasoline she fed it was no longer enough to power it and somehow it was Claire’s chatter and questions that had been propelling it forward all along. She started her stream early to distract herself from the absence, even if the conversations with her audience were painfully one-sided most of the time. Still, she was glad to have them along for the long drive to Texas because it kept her from dwelling on how stupid it was to kiss Claire and how worth it it had been.
Stupid because once she’d had a taste she couldn’t stop, and even though Claire had texted her early that morning to let her know she’d gotten back to Boston safely and would talk to her soon, Haley knew they would never see each other again.
Worth it because she couldn’t have spent the rest of her life wondering what loving her might have been, in a different world with different circumstances where they were meant to be.
Or maybe it had just been too long since she’d been fucked and pent up horniness was going to her head, convincing her she was in love with the first person who finally made Haley feel seen. Yeah, that was most likely it. Except that had never been enough in the past, and Haley’s own hand and a few preferred toys had always been enough to get Haley by. But Claire was different. Claire changed everything and Haley wasn’t sure she was ready to explore what that meant.
“Where should we get lunch today?” She asked chat to distract herself. “Anything good in Shamrock?”
Because the most severe weather wasn’t forecast until the next day, only a few thousand of her most loyal followers were watching the stream and the suggestions rolled in slowly.
“No, I’m looking for a drive-through,” she said when a few recommendations for a steakhouse came up. Sitting down in a restaurant to eat alone would give her too much time to think, and thinking was the last thing she wanted to do. It was all she had been doing.
She pulled over briefly at a rest stop and darted out to pose for her viewers with the “Welcome to Texas” sign, throwing up a peace sign in front of the hulking wall of wrought iron and stone with the outline of the state and a lone star shining at the top, then slid back in the driver’s seat to reply to a few messages before getting back on the interstate.
