Chapter 30: Why Did The Cow Cross The Road?

When Caph opened his eyes, he found himself with his head in Ran's lap.
Ran had her head tilted forward towards him, her eyes closed, lips parted slightly, breathing deep and steady.
He thought he was dreaming, so he reached out with one finger to poke her on the nose.
She opened her eyes and blinked at him.
His eyes were blue again.
Sunlight streamed through dusty glass panes, casting a surreal white glow over the dark garage office from the night before.
'It's morning,' she remarked.
Vicky was curled up on her other side, torchlight poking out from under her paws.
'Why didn't you wake me up when the rain stopped?' Caph asked.
The sunlight made her black eyes look grey and soft.
She looked away, stirring the dust motes floating through the air.
'You were tired.'
Caph had run across half the continent the night before, then followed her around Punggol Town all day and only took a two hour nap in the truck. But she had forgotten all about that and almost elbowed him away when he fell asleep.
She felt bad, so she shifted him into a more comfortable position.
Then, she had nodded off.
He smiled at her indulgently.
'I'm all rested now,' he said, voice husky.
His blue eyes told her he had not forgotten what happened last night.
She hadn't either.
Ran pushed him into a sitting position and scooped Vicky into her arms. 'Great. Let's go home.'
In the truck on the way back to Punggol, Caph was quiet.
He stared out the window the whole time, his head tilted away from her. Brooding.
What did she expect? He had told her he had asked her why she refused to admit they were bonded to each other. Then, today, instead of giving him an answer, she ignored his attempt to rekindle the conversation. She could not have made her feelings any clearer.
It's his fault, Ran told herself, stomping harder on the acclerator. She had been about to explain her reasoning last night but he interrupted her and fell asleep.
He did that on purpose.
He had seen the answer in her eyes and decided he didn't want to hear it.
Well, okay. She wasn't going to say anything anyway.
Awkward silence ensued.
Ran became hyper aware of the distance between them. He sat obediently in the middle of his seat, not at the edge of it like yesterday, when he was straining to be close to her as much as he possibly could.
Her arms prickled uncomfortably, yearning for the static warmth of his touch.
He was so far away today.
This was the way their arrangement was supposed to be.
Only in public did they have to want each other.
There was no need for this unnecessary distraction—
She fumbled for the brakes. The truck squealed and ground to a violent halt just inches away from the errant cow.
The animal eyed the truck haughtily and lumbered slowly to the other side.
Ran slammed her fist down on the car honk multiple times, hissing through her teeth.
The cow didn't seem notice at all.
The only reaction to be had came from Caph who was trying not to laugh.
Her vision blurred, red at the edges.
'This is your fault!' she yelled at him. 'I keep thinking about what you said, what you did last night; I can't concentrate on getting us home!'
She sucked in a deep breath.
'You agree to being friends but then you kiss me and keep trying to seduce me and bringing up that bonded mates thing. It's really confusing! This was just supposed to be a temporary arrangement.'
Caph's blue eyes pierced through her film of tears.
She wailed, 'What am I supposed to think now?'
Then, his warmth was everywhere. His touch was feverish, fierce. Electricity thrummed through her again. Her heart sang.
His lips crashed into hers and she could taste him between her teeth. His hands cupped her head on both side so she wouldn't be able to escape.
She didn't want to anyway.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
When he pulled back, both of them were breathing hard. Caph from kissing her, Ran from crying. Her hands had dropped off the steering wheel and found their way around his waist, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling it taut like a leash.
He loomed over her, half standing in his seat, blocking out the windshield.
'Whatever you thought just now, think about that.'