Bent rubbed his nose. It looked like it still hurt from where his martial arts trainer hit him. Heading back from the kitchen, they made their way through the room with the enormous couch. It lay sprawled under the large television screen that hung suspended in midair. Lightning illuminated the sky lights above them, followed closely by an explosive crack of thunder. “Storm’s pretty awesome, huh?” Bent said. He stared up through the sky lights, watching the lightning. “If we wind up losing power, I’ve got a monster of an electric generator. So no worries.” That was comforting, but Sarah continued to shudder. The thunder was really intense. Even from inside Bent’s massive fortress of a house. “Will Princess be all right?” Sarah asked, thinking of her beautiful horse out in the nearby pasture. Bent nodded. “The horses tend to retreat into the barn during storms. Don’t worry. They’re quite safe.”Sarah felt better. She pulled her phone from her bag as Bent continued to watch the lightning. She wrote a quick message to her mother to let her know she’d be spending the night at Erin’s. She reminded her mom that she’d be back home Sunday night after her trip to Miami.After she sent that text, she called Erin. Erin answered on the first ring. “What’s up, Chica? You ready for Miami Beach?” Sarah cleared her throat. She stepped away from Bent for more privacy, keeping her voice low. “Hey, I need a favor,” she said.”Why are you whispering?” Erin whispered back, mimicking her and giggling.Sarah tugged at Bent’s sweatshirt nervously. “I’m, uh, I’m not home. I need you to grab my suitcase tomorrow morning from my house. It’s at my front door.” Erin was quiet for a moment. “Let me guess…your host this evening is powerfully tall and broad, has midnight dark hair, is exceptionally handsome, excruciatingly charming, and is fabulously loaded? Not to mention to die for?” Sarah started to crack up. It was hard not to when she was literally looking right at Bent while his swoon-worthy physical attributes were being described. “That’s about right,” Sarah said. She heard Erin slap her leg. “Good for you!” she said. “I’m guessing you told your parents you’re staying at my house?” “Yeah,” Sarah said. “No hay problema,” Erin said. “Anyway, are you going to sleep with him? Imagine how gentle his strong hands will feel against your–“”ERIN!” Sarah hollered, momentarily forgetting where she was.Bent whirled around. He had the cutest expression on his face. It was a combination of alarm and curiosity. “Everything okay?” he mouthed, seeing she was on a call. Sarah almost dropped her phone. Lip-reading with him while his muscles were all out in the open was simply too overwhelming. She shook her head furiously at him and turned around, hoping her face wasn’t as red as it felt. She could hear Erin cracking up loudly on the other end of the line. “Fine. I’ll get your suitcase tomorrow,” Erin said after she’d caught her breath. “I’m staying at Trevor’s tonight. He lives pretty close to you.”Sarah groaned. “Well keep your voice down,” she said. “Trevor is the biggest blab ever.” Erin clicked her tongue. “No duh. Think I don’t know my own boyfriend?” She laughed again. “You still have your spare key to my house?” Sarah asked.”Yeeees,” Erin said. “Can I goooo now, Mom? You don’t want to keep that mega hunk waiting.” Sarah smiled to herself, shaking her head as she ended the call.