Caught in the Rain

Daniel opens the door and exits the bathroom, leading him back to the small but crowded pizzeria. It wasn’t difficult to find his friends. They were lucky enough to grab a table while most people who weren’t as lucky were just standing around.

He rejoins his fellow rowdy crew who were drunk and talking louder than most of the other patrons in the room. His friends were all in their mid-twenties, Daniel included. Most of them were all coupled up as well. There was Nathalie and Travon, Sasha and Paul, and Yahaira and Sylvia. Yahaira and Sylvia were on and off again. A lot. This was the eleventh time they decided to be on again. The only two who were single were Daniel and…

“Hey, where’s Jules?” Daniel asked concerningly.

“Oh, she got kicked out.” Travon tells him while stuffing two garlic knots into his mouth.

“She got kicked out. For what?”

Travon chews on his garlic knots very quickly before swallowing them also rather quickly. “She got into some argument with one of the pizza dudes and he kicked her out.”

“Getting kicked out of a pizzeria. Classic Jules.” Nathalie piped in.

“Oh, Jesus. I’ll go finder her. She usually doesn’t wander off far. Usually… ” Daniel leaves his friends to search for Jules. Before Daniel opens the door to the entrance, he sees it’s pouring rain outside. “Oh great.” He mutters.

Daniel steps outside and is immediately drenched in precipitation. He looks around hoping to find Jules close by. Thankfully she was. Jules was a few feet away from Daniel and the pizzeria. She was standing in the middle of the rain, not even trying to hide from it. Jules had her face looking up at the sky with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She welcomed the rain. Daniel couldn’t help but admire how striking she was. He studied her big lips spread into a smile across her face, her light brown her now a shade after being soaked in the rain, and how her pale skin glowed in the moonlight.

Daniel had been in love with Jules for over a year. The same amount of time they’ve known each other. On their third encounter, he fell for her hard and fast. He hated to admit how easy it was for him to develop such a strong attachment to her. All his other friends knew it immediately which was followed by unrelenting teasing. The only one that didn’t seem to know was Jules. Or maybe she did. But they became such close friends and Daniel was afraid of losing that by telling her his true feelings. So, he stayed quiet despite all his friends telling him she liked him back.

Jules finally opens her eyes and catches Daniel staring at her. She looks at him and grins. “Hey.”

Daniel snaps out of his little trance and walks towards her. “What are you doing? It's pouring, you lunatic.”

“Please! This is a drizzle. And you know I love the rain.” She says in delight.

Daniel stops two feet away from her, afraid that if he got any closer then he wouldn’t be able to leave. “I know you do. But this isn’t a drizzle. It's the beginning of a flood.”

“I'm a great swimmer.”

That comment makes him chuckle. “And if the flood doesn't kill you, hypothermia will.”

“I'm naturally warm. My core temperature is hot as the sun.” Jules retaliated.

“Not physically possible. Let's go crazy.”

“Five more minutes!”

Looking at that pouting face, Daniel didn’t know if he was strong enough to say no to her. Daniel takes his eyes off hers for a second when he spots a beer bottle in her hand. “Wait. Where'd you get that? They didn't have any inside.”

Jules remembers she was holding an open bottle that was half full. “I brought it...with me...from the bar.”

Daniel goes from looking at her with affection to disbelief. “You're out of control.”

“You like that I’m out of control.” She says with a smile.

He did. Daniel shakes his head but smiles back. “You're not boring. I'll give you that.”

Jules takes a step closer to him. She takes a sip and then offers the bottle to Daniel. “Just admit I'm your favorite person already.”

She was. He takes the bottle from her hand and takes a sip. “My favorite person wouldn't make stand in the rain.”

“Or would they!” Jules squeals.

“Why are you so difficult?” He asked but didn’t need an answer. Her stubbornness didn’t bother him that much. In fact, he found it to be quite charming in a strange way.

“Because I choose to be.” She proudly announces.

“You're such a child!” He declares.

“No! I'm such an adult!” She defends.

As much as Daniel enjoyed being alone with her, the rain was getting to him.

“Jules, you're killing me here. Come inside before the both of us get sick.” He tried to plead with her.

“But it's so nice out!” She wines.

“Okay, that's the hypothermia talking. Let's go.” He makes a move towards the pizzeria hoping she would follow. But he knew she wouldn’t.

“Never!”

“Jules I really don't want to be out here anymore.”

“Really? If that were true you would have left already. But here you are. Still out here...with me.” She takes a step closer to him.

Daniel feels his heart skip as she closes the distance between them. “I…” Daniel notices the mascara running down the side of her cheek because of the rain. To him, she was a beautiful mess. He walks up to her and brushes his thumb over her cheek.

“You're such a pain in the ass.” A rush of boldness takes over Daniel as he presses his lips against hers. It takes no time at all for Jules to kiss him back. What felt like an eternity for them was only a couple of seconds. They release each other from the kiss but Jules wraps her arms around Daniel’s neck.

“I knew I'd find you a reason to like the rain.” She says sweetly.

“Still don’t like it.” Daniel says as he grabs her waist and pulls her closer.

“Shut up.” She silences him with another kiss as the rain washes over them.