Tonight

Chapter 7

Dianne pushed her wet hair back off her face as she tried to breathe oxygen into her struggling lungs - the run across the festival grounds to the VIP overnight tents had been more difficult than she had expected - partially because she hadn't worked out in a while, but also because Joe's legs were longer than hers, and she was extremely conscious of his warm hand in hers pulling her along, and his bright blue eyes that would occasionally glance back to ensure she was keeping up.

"I'm soaked," Delilah groaned, squeezing water out of her thin dress, glaring at Joe who Dianne noticed was intentionally avoiding eye contact. Dianne was sure Delilah hadn't envisioned them sharing the VIP overnight tent with the king sized bed when she'd booked it - and definitely not after their biting conversation in the ferris wheel. Still, Dianne suddenly felt the urge to scream at the woman who had said such horrible things minutes earlier.

She bit her tongue, choosing to focus instead on kicking her combat boots off and peeling her soaked leather jacket off her shoulders, letting it hang heavily on her and Joe's conjoined wrists. Unable to stay quiet as Delilah began to peel off her dress, she finally exclaimed, "Are you really stripping naked right now?"

Delilah glared at her, flopping down onto the large bed that sat in the middle of the room, letting her soaked dress fall back down. "Ugh. Why are you even here? I don't even want to look at you both."

Joe finally spoke, his voice full of tension, "That's fine, we'll leave."

The storm chose that moment to light up the sky with a bolt of lighting and a loud crack of thunder. Dianne gazed nervously at Joe, who was clearly second guessing his declaration.

Delilah groaned, "Whatever. Just don't even think about touching me in bed, Joe. Not while you're attached to her."

Joe rolled his eyes, mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Won't be a problem." Dianne hid her smile, and took a moment to look around - noticing that in addition to the cozy bed, there was a small heater against the wall of the circular yurt, a large throw rug soft underneath her feet, and two bedside tables. Beyond that, the room was bare, but in a sophisticated way, bathed in a soft yellow light from two small lamps.

"So this is how the other half lives," she murmured, running her hand across the soft fabric of the tent wall, jumping slightly as she felt Joe's hot breath on her neck as he stepped behind her.

"It's really nothing special," he mumbled, shrugging off his coat and leaning around her to toss it on a coat rack. Dianne swore she could almost feel his lips brush against her skin as he slowly moved back, faintly murmuring into her ear, "Besides, I always say, it's the people that make the place."

"Joe what are you--" Dianne was cut off by a loud whine from Delilah about the thread count of the sheets and an even louder groan from James as he tried for a third time to call a car to pick him up. Dianne stifled a sigh - she had honestly forgotten he was with them. She had realized  during that jog away from the ferris wheel ride from hell, that she had become completely disconnected from him. Even while sat next to Joe, the man who she started the night hating, she felt even less happiness when she gazed at James.

They hadn't officially ended anything with the short ambiguous conversation they'd had before it started to pour - much like how they had never actually defined their relationship, Dianne realized. But now, looking at him in this tent, Dianne knew it was over.

Sighing again, she stepped away from Joe, making the mistake of looking over her shoulder and falling into those stupid blue eyes. She wasn't sure when her feelings toward him had changed - he was still infuriating and cocky and annoying but when she looked at him, the rage she once felt was no longer there. It was weird, she thought, how she suddenly felt the most comfortable with the man she'd started the day hating - and the most uncomfortable with her supposed boyfriend. Who was now angrily throwing his phone into the tent wall, watching it bounce off and land with a thud on the canvas floor.