Free Seven Days by Josie Leigh

looked like a balcony. Finally taking a step into the room, I walked to the opposite side and opened what was, in fact, a balcony door, letting the sounds of the rain fill the room. I loved the smell of monsoon storms. The hint of disturbed desert dust and humidity that permeated the air settled my concerns before they could consume me.
    “You have another five minutes to enjoy the storm before we head back down,” Ryan announced from beside me. “I hope you don’t mind sharing a bed again tonight. I wanted a balcony room and they only come in one size.”
    “It’s beautiful,” I breathed, having not actually looked anywhere in the room aside from the bed and the balcony, but it was enough. The storm had stolen most of the sunset from me, but I knew the sunrise from this spot had to be absolutely memorizing. Even the small tufts of dying light peeking through the clouds overhead made my heart beat just a little faster.
    “Yeah, it is,” he agreed, standing beside me in the doorway. “I don’t think I ever noticed something as simple as a rainstorm until right now,” he continued, softly. “I know that might sound cheesy or lame, but seeing how big your eyes are as you take it all in, seeing the childlike wonder on your face, it makes every single one of these moments worth the journey. Thank you so much for taking this trip with me.”
    Heat bloomed across my cheeks as I kept my gaze fixed on the valley in front of me. Lightening extended from the clouds overhead to connect with the ground miles away and the rumble of thunder followed closely behind the flash. The heavy rain had stopped and a misty drizzle was all that remained, even though I could see darker clouds moving in behind the ones that were passing overhead. “Shouldn’t that be the other way around?” I asked, my voice gravelly with emotion. “Shouldn’t I be the one grateful that you’d want to share this experience with me?”
    “No,” he denied, and I could feel the heat of his body move closer to mine. All I had to do was turn my head, find his lips again and our ghost hunting would be forgotten. My pulse raced at the possibility, but my head told me not to take things any further than I already had. I couldn’t let myself get involved even though every cell in my body seemed to crave him. I wondered how he would feel moving inside me. Would he show me everything I’d been missing out on these last eight years? Or what he be just like the others, taking what he wanted from me and leaving me with nothing?
    “So,” I swallowed my desire, still watching the larger storm move closer for fear that if I saw what was in his eyes right now, I might not have the strength to stop. “Shall we hunt some apparitions?” I finished, stepping back from the balcony and heading toward the door to the room. “We might have to battle the rain later for our bags,” I pointed out, waiting for him to join me.
    Dropping his head down quickly in mock defeat, he looked up at me with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I knew that my continued evasiveness whenever we seemed to be heading toward an escalation of intimacy was starting to get to him. However, he walked back to where I stood and offered me his elbow before escorting us out of the room and back toward the lobby to meet the other guests on tonight’s tour.
    As much as I was holding back, I knew my control was on edge and would snap very shortly. He was on the brink of getting what he wanted from me, because I wanted the same thing from him. I just hoped that he would be able to take what I was willing to give and not think we could ever last beyond this small window of time together. I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to walk away if he decided to ask me to be with him.
    **
    “So, what do you think?” Ryan asked when we got back to our room that evening. The tour had been better than I would’ve imagined, complete with ghost hunting equipment that we got to keep for the night to log