Fall Like Rain (Full version)

Chapter 14

Cams' back was to the door so she didn't see him coming, but she saw the look on my face and her laughter faded, too.

"Rain? Are you okay?" she asked, just as Mark got near us.

"Hey, Rain!" he said happily. Cams froze, her eyes wide. She flashed me an alarmed look before she slowly turned to face her ex-boyfriend.

I watched as Mark's expression changed from happiness to one of shock, then finally, embarrassment. I should have expected that the three of us would be in one place together at some point, but of course I didn't think it would be this soon.

Can anybody spell awkward?

Cams snapped out of it first. "Hey, Mark. This is...a surprise."

Mark followed her cue just as smoothly. "Yeah, this is kind of a surprise. Hello, Cams, it's been a while. You look good."

"So do you."

I watched their exchange, and before I knew it, my mind was on overdrive. What was this, their mutual admiration society? Were they seeing each other again?

I shook my head to dispel my thoughts and firmly reminded myself to quit overanalyzing. Those were just niceties; there was no reason to think that they meant anything else.

Fortunately, our name got called out by the barista. I was about to turn to the bar to get our drinks so we can leave, but Cams gripped my elbow firmly and turned around herself. She started chatting amiably with the barista, leaving me to talk to Mark alone.

"Hey," he said again. He took a step toward me and leaned closer, so close that I could smell his cologne. The proximity shocked my senses despite the fact that I had been hanging out with him so much the past weeks. I forced myself to stand still and resisted the urge to step even closer.

"This is a little bit awkward," he said in a low voice, his mouth so close to my ear that his breath tickled me. "I'm sorry."

I turned my head just a little bit and saw his smile. Awkward as it felt, it wasn't that bad, and I found myself smiling back. "It's okay."

"Really?"

"No, not really."

Mark made a funny face, and I laughed softly. Cams turned around just then, and we stepped away from each other a little too quickly. This earned us a knowing look from her.

"What brings you here, Mark?" she asked casually, handing me my drink.

"My meeting finished early, so I thought I'd go here and wait for Rain," he replied. He turned to me to ask, "We're having dinner tonight, right?"

"Right." We had made plans that morning, and it was the only thing that had kept me sane against all these annoying, jealous feelings inside.

"Well, looks like you have to wait a little bit," Cams observed, nodding at my watch. "We have a few more hours until quitting time."

Mark shrugged. "I don't mind."

"You sure?" I asked.

"I'm fine. I can work while I wait," he patted his backpack that carried his laptop. He looked around the shop and pointed to an empty table. "I can stay there."

Cams gave him a dubious look, which he met with a suspiciously cryptic look. Then she nodded slowly, a knowing smile spreading across her face. There were too many strange looks between the two of them, and I was starting to get a little annoyed. Cams stepped aside to give way to the people behind her, and then looped her free arm through mine.

"I won't keep her tonight, I promise," she said to Mark.

"Thank you," he replied, somewhat looking grateful. He looked at me and said, "I'll wait for you here, okay?"

I nodded, and then Cams started to usher me out. I glanced back as we stepped out and saw he was looking at us. He waved at us one more time, before we finally walked away.

"That wasn't so bad," Cams said when we were in the elevator. "This is the first time I saw him again after a long time. Kind of surprising to see him here, though, especially if his meeting ended early."

I took a sip from my drink and looked at her through the elevator mirrors. "He's been early every time we met last week. He always waited for me there."

Cams gave me another knowing look. "Really, huh? He was only ever early when we started...well, you know..." She glanced at me as she trailed off.

"When you started going out?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she sounded relieved that I brought it up, and for the first time, it didn't feel too awkward referring to their past.

"Anyway, when did Mark start working in coffee shops?" she asked.

"I...don't know. We only started hanging out again last week."

"I remember when one of his meetings ended early and we were supposed to see each other. I told him he could find a café to work in while he waited for me, but he insisted on working from home."

I was with him when he bought his desktop computer earlier last year, so I knew it was faster than his laptop and that was why he preferred working at home. But I always thought he was fine working outside, since he had the freedom to do that. I mean, when he would pick me up even before I introduced him to Cams, I always thought he was working. And wasn't that what he has been doing ever since we started seeing each other again?

"We even had a fight about that. Then we decided that we'd only meet if he didn't have a meeting," Cams continued.

We arrived at our floor, the doors closing silently behind us as we walked out together. I processed what Cams said as we headed back to our office. How could I have not known that about Mark? And what did this mean for me?

When we got to the war room, Cams told me she had to pick up something from her workstation. Before leaving, she smiled and nudged me gently with her elbow. "Don't fret too much about it. I think he really wants to see you. So if you want to go out early later, Rain, just let me know and I'll cover for you."

With that, she winked, and left.