Page 17 of Places We've Never Been

CHAPTER 4

“One hundred and thirty-four degrees,” the man standing in front of our group at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center said. “The hottest air temperature ever recorded on earth was right here in Death Valley.”

“Whoa,” Paisley said. “That’s hot.”

Today it was only one hundred ten degrees, which might’ve sounded hot if we didn’t reach that temperature every summer in Fresno for at least a week, sometimes many weeks. The temperature had been displayed out in front of the center on a digital sign, like a badge of honor. And, of course, our moms made us take a pic next to the unimpressive temperature. I stood on the opposite side of the sign from Skyler. I was determined not to take a picture next to him the whole trip. It sounded childish but it was my small act of rebellion that only I (well, and Willow) would know about. Just the thought of this immature goal made me happy.

“Who would like to know what a hundred and thirty-four degrees feels like?” The man swept his hand to the side, presenting a wood-paneled freestanding room of sorts.

“Is that a sauna?” Mom said under her breath next to me. “They can get way hotter than a hundred and thirty-four.”

The man patted the door. “Anybody?”

“Skyler would,” Paisley said, shoving her brother forward.

Skyler pulled her around to his side. “Paisley was just telling me this morning how she wished she knew what one hundred and thirty-four degrees felt like. This feels a lot like fate.”

Olivia chuckled, obviously thinking her son was amusing. As his mom, she was required to think that.

“I’ll try,” I said. Again, I sensed I was only sayingyesbecause Skyler saidno,but I was okay with this. Plus, I was determined to experience all the things I could on this trip.

The man’s face lit up. “Thank you. Come forward, young lady. This demonstration is much more effective in the winter when it’s cold outside, but I think you’ll appreciate how different even twenty degrees can feel.”

“I’m sure I will.”

“Can two people go in?” Paisley asked.

“Yes, would you like to go?” he said.

“No, but my brother really would like to try. He’s just embarrassed.”

“Paisley, turn off sister mode,” Skyler said.

Both Austin and Paisley were now pushing Skyler forward as if this was sibling payback for some previous wrongdoing. Or maybe this was the two of them teasing him about me. Austin was the one Skyler had told about my supposed crush.

This all happened so fast that before I had a chance to change my mind, we were both ushered through the opening and into the small space, the door shutting behind us. My breathimmediately left my lungs as the heat radiated off the wood all around me. There was no steam in the air like I had seen in movies. It was just dry. So very dry.

“What was that about?” I asked, sitting on the bench that ran the length of one side, just barely big enough for two people. I really wanted him to refute the internal dialogue I’d had moments before and confirm that it had nothing to do with me.

“What?” Skyler asked, and rather than sit beside me, he remained standing. Still, our knees were millimeters from touching.

“Did you trick Paisley and Austin into doing one of your chores or something? This feels like payback.”

“Oh, yeah, they’re always ganging up on me. It’s their favorite.”

“It does seem like a fun pastime.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” I tucked my hands beneath my thighs on the bench. I was going to drop my suspicions about Paisley and Austin’s motives. I refused to be embarrassed about something that wasn’t true. “I think this was really built for one person.”

“Me too.” A line of sweat trickled from his temple. “How long did he say we were supposed to stay in here?”

“I don’t think he did. How long do you think you could stay in here if you had to? An hour?”

“You want to stay in here for an hour?” he asked, eyes widening.

“Don’t be stupid. I said if you had to.”