It May Rain

Chapter Seventeen

MARCH

"You've really improved since the first time you came here," Chloe praises me.

We've just completed the Saturday fun run, and for the first time ever I've not had to stop to catch my breath. My lungs no longer catch fire and my pace has drastically improved. Not only do I feel healthier, but the runner's high I get after each run puts me in such a good mood for the rest of the day.

"I know right! I never thought I'd make this kind of progress in such a short space of time."

"Well keep going, and you just might be able to keep up with me," she mocks.

"Let's see about that," I laugh. "Although I'm not sure how much more I can take of this rainy weather. I absolutely hate running in the rain."

We start walking towards our usual coffee shop and we're deep in conversation about Chloe's recent trip to Rome.

"My friend dragged me there to go see some bloody, gallery exhibition, or something. Totally not my thing, but it was great to get away. We ended up-"

"Mae!"

A man suddenly darts in front of us, slightly out of breath.

"Hugo!" I gasp under my breath.

Meanwhile Chloe scowls at him - I've summarised the history between us to her.

"Mae, can we talk?" he gingerly asks, somewhat withering under Chloe's death stare.

As he stands there panting from the effort of running over, he looks as wiry as I remember him and his hair is puffed up in its usual quiff, but today, he's not wearing a waistcoat and bow tie combo. He must have got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning...

The way he's looking at me like I'm the most important person in the room instantly takes me back to Sugar Rushes, when I used to catch him gazing at me when he was in deep conversation with somebody else, or the way he'd smirk at my food choices when we went for coffee, and a kind of warmth comes over my heart at the memory of it.

I weigh up my options, and knowing how persistent Hugo can be I know he won't give up until we've talked this out.

"Do you mind if we skip our coffee this week, Chloe? I'll catch you next week?" I sigh.

She narrows her eyes at Hugo before replying.

"Sure, no problem. I'll see you next week."

As she starts walking away I turn to Hugo, my arms crossed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you of course! Where have you been?"

"Busy."

"But why did you just disappear? All I got was a single message saying you weren't going to take the job and that you didn't want me to contact you anymore. And then you blocked me so I had no way of getting in touch," he says, a pained look crossing his face.

"When I sent you that text asking for you to not contact me, I meant it!"

"But why? What changed between us? Please tell me Mae, I'm so confused. I have to know," he implores.

"There is no 'us', Hugo. There never was."

"Yes there was. Is. I really like you, Mae, I'm not ashamed to admit that. And I know you said you're not interested in anything more than casual sex, and I respect that, but we can still be friends can't we? We have a connection with one another. Me and you, even though we're different we click, like...chocolate and orange in those mince pies that you love so much. Think about all those jokes I'd tell you and you'd laugh because you get my dark humour, and I know you secretly love my sarcasm, because you love using sarcasm too. No one has ever got me like you do."