AllFreeNovel
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Everything around us is drenched in moments. Phillip grabs my arm, pulling me under the shelter of a huge bearded fig tree. The thick branches block most of the heavy rain, leaving only errant droplets to make it to us.
“Oh my God.” I brush a wet tendril of hair back from my face. “The sky just split in two!”
“Who’s the cynic, huh?”
“Fine,” I say, grinning. “You’re a realist.”
“Thank you.”
I dig through the pocket of my thin cotton shorts for my phone. “We should keep valuables dry,” I tell him and slip it inside my sports bra. It’s the classic move I’ve done a hundred times at the gym or when I’m walking around at home, listening to a podcast, and my shorts don’t have pockets.
His eyes linger on my chest for a heartbeat before he looks away. “Good idea,” he murmurs.
I watch as he does the same, tucking his phone into the inside pocket of his backpack. His hands move slowly, solidly, looking large against his bag.
The tree’s foliage provides shelter from the rain, but only right next to the trunk, forcing us to stand close.Men don’t kiss women as favors,I think.
My heart is beating fast, and I need to do something, to be something, to avoid this clawing feeling inside. I pull my phone out and hand it to him.
“Keep this safe, too.”
He takes it with a frown. “Where are you going?”
“Into the rain,” I say and back away from the tree. It only takes a few steps for the few drops to turn into to turn into a deluge. The ground beneath my feet is dark and spongy from rainwater.
“Eden!” he calls.
I tip my head back at the sky and close my eyes. It’s rare to be able to do this, to stand in the warm rain and not be worried about ruining your makeup or your clothes, or your electronics. The rain hitting the ground and leaves around us is a steady beat. It sounds like hands on a drum.
“You’re really staying out there?”
“Yes!” I shout. “This is my next crazy thing. You said you wanted to keep me around for that, right?”
I hear him curse, and I laugh, spinning around. My hair is soaked and the T-shirt I’m wearing feels plastered to my skin. It’s magical. The air smells earthy—wet and fresh, with a hint of sea salt. It's warm against my face and tastes like the promise of a kiss.
I feel alive.
A firm arm wraps around my waist. I blink my eyes open to see Phillip’s face. His hair looks darker in the rain.
“You’ll get cold,” he says.
“No, the rain is warm.”
“But after it’s over, you’ll be soaked.”
I nod at his own clothes. His T-shirt is sticking to his chest and molds to his shoulders. “So will you.”
He shakes his head, his lips tilting up at the corners. His arm is still around my waist and I lean into the contact.
“I watched you by the pool,” he says. “One of the early days after we met. You were smiling at the tropical rain when everyone else was scrambling.”
Water sluices down my body but I can barely feel it. His eyes are on mine, and I can’t look away. I don’t think anything in this world could make me.
“It’s so rare,” I murmur.
He reaches up with his free hand and brushes a lock of my hair back from where it stuck to my cheek. I can feel the heat from his hand, even in the rain.
“Yes,” he says. “It is.”
