The Truth About Love

Electric

A dark grey tinge painted the once blue skies, darkening clouds covering any remnants of the sunny mid-july afternoon that was. She bent down, scrambling to grab her books, preparing to shield herself from the onslaught of yet another midsummer's thunderstorm.

With her hood secured over head, she peered up at the sky, almost black now with rage. The first bright flashes of lightning struck across the sky, dancing through the clumps of spotty clouds. Her feet froze, mesmerised by the intensity of the crack of the first hit of thunder roaring through the city.

Through her daze, she could faintly hear shouting. Her feet, still firmly planted beneath the swaying branches of the weeping willow, seemed to be frozen in time. The next crack of thunder brought the onslaught of cool rain, rolling through the branches to soak her down to tank top. The shouting continued, somewhere in the crevices of her mind, she realized the shouting was directed at her.

The creak of a snapped twig brought her attention down to a broad shouldered figure looming just beyond the tree. His features slowly came into focus, even in the depths of the mist wafting from the rain. A strong jawline, piercing grey eyes and a smooth ruffle of soaked auburn hair.

"Are you out of your damn mind?" One rather large, densely muscled arm banded around her shoulders, tugging her away from the tree and into a nearby gardening shed for cover.

He continued to scold her the whole way, his smooth baritone voice cutting through the storm, and her heart, in a way she wasn't sure if she could acknowledge just yet.

The arm unwound from around, leaving her feeling strangely empty. She tugged her hoodie closer to her form, slowly peeling the soaked hood from her head. She ran a hand through her dampened curls, hoping to salvage her image in front of this beautiful brute of a man.

"Are you going to tell me why you were standing in the middle of a thunderstorm, trying to get struck?" Even with his back turned to her, she could still hear the venom dripping from his voice.

"I got lost in the scenery, I guess" she shrugged softly, feeling completely out of her element in his presence.

"Why don't you try getting lost in the scenery on a day where you're maybe not a prime target for a lightning strike" he whirled around, his grey eyes darkened, frustration echoing through his form.

"I'm sorry", she whispered under the whistling of the wind. She felt his eyes slowly run down her soaked form, visibly softening. Wordlessly, he draped his warm sweatshirt across her form.

She opened her mouth, ready to protest but at the sight of his expression she gave in, wrapping the sweatshirt around her shivering body.

"We can leave as soon as the rain lets up." He muttered, rearranging his dripping coat to somehow get warm. He shuffled around, trying to warm himself up.

She gazed upon his rather awkwardly muscled figure, taking up the majority of the shed, even if he was huddling. Quietly she extended his sweatshirt out to her side, inviting him to join her. His expression turned incredulous, shaking his head vehemently in answer.

She sighed, unwrapping the sweatshirt and throwing it at him. He groaned, deep and rough under his breath before pulling her into the sweatshirt with him. His hard shoulder aligned perfectly with her head, if she leaned closer, she would fit like a puzzle piece. His body, somehow still radiated warmth seemed to send her heart into a riot, her pulse hammering away in her wrist.

For the next hour, she fought to keep her eyes open, sleep fighting to claim her. Somewhere between the sparks every touch with him seemed to ignite and the thoughtful expression of his handsome face nudged at her heart. She melted against his form, her arm tucked against his, her head cradled perfectly by the nook of shoulder.

Suddenly the idea of the storm ending, the idea of leaving him seemed sickening. Not when he had finally given in to her draped across his form, not when she could faintly hear the thud of his heart when she leaned into his strongly corded neck.

He heard the stop of rain before her, the loud patters dying down to a faint tap. She could feel the turn of his head, his burning gaze on her mass of frizzy, rapidly drying curls. He made no motion to move from their position, but his stare forced her to look back at him. He gazed at her in a brand new way, strangely with a hint of adoration. He softly tucked a stray curl behind her ear, brushing across her face in the process. The brush ignited another zing of attraction between them, enough to start another thunderstorm.

Shocked by the spark, he quickly rose to his feet to dust off his pants. He actively avoided her gaze, trying to race to the door.

Whatever spell was ignited in that shed was broken, she thought gravely as she too got up, clutching his sweatshirt in her fist.

She didn't allow the emptiness to set in as she set into action. She caught up to him at the door, his hand clutched at the handle. She passed the sweatshirt from her position behind him and murmured a thank you.

"That's all?" He whirled around, eyes blazing.

She stated at him, trying convey what she was feeling through her eyes. She didn't know what this was, but despite her soaked clothes and the mud caked on her pants from the shed, she knew something between them was magnetic.

He prowled forward, backing her into the wall, with his eyes shifting from her eyes to her lips ever so slightly. He brought down his hand next to her head, caging her in.

"No more standing in the middle of thunderstorm okay?" She sighed at his words, not what she wanted to hear. She nodded, not meeting his eyes. Using two fingers, he lifted her chin, bringing her gaze back up to him.

"I don't know what this is, I think you feel it too I think ---" his words came fumbling out, he sounded almost nervous.

"But it's like, between you and I, it's..." He seemed to caress her face with his eyes, looking for the right words.

All of sudden, it seemed to come to the both of them, mingling with the roar of lone strike of thunder. Gazes locked, they breathed the word in reverent unison,

"Electric."