Follow The Rain

Sixteen

Matthew clasped my hand tightly in his and led me slowly down the road. I pulled my jacket tighter around me as a cool breeze broke the still autumn air. I tried not to stumble in my heeled boots as he all but dragged me along with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Matthew had arrived at my house with a bunch of flowers and, despite the biting cold, revealed that we would be walking to our destination. He hadn't told me where and he knew I hated surprises. This guy, I sighed inwardly.

He didn't reply, instead pulled me along a little quicker so that we were walking against the wind. The sun was behind us and warming my shoulders but the rest of my body felt bitter with cold. The sound of the sea grew louder as we carried on and the air began to moisten. Then Matthew halted abruptly, only just stopping me from moving before I could fall over.

"Here we are," he stated casually and told me to sit down. I did, albeit cautiously, but found myself on hard ground. I didn't have to ask to know that we were on the beach promenade. The saltiness and decrease in temperature gave that away. The promenade held many memories from our childhood and was often a favourite place to go to escape reality. I remembered finding Matthew one day standing alone, looking out at the ocean with a sombre expression. That was, I later found out, the day his parents told him they were divorcing. It seemed as though the combination of the promenade and the sea and the air held a comfort within itself. It was a refuge to which we could just exist in the moment with nothing probing our thoughts.

"So," he started. "What do normal people talk about on first dates?"

I shrugged. "No idea. Never been on one."

"Me neither," he laughed. "So, how about-" he rummaged through a bag noisily, "-chocolate tasting?"

"Are you making fun of my disability, Matthew?" I said, feigning hurt.

"No, but you love chocolate so... plus, you won't be able to cheat."

"So it's a competition?" I asked eagerly.

"Well, no..."

"Then what's the point?"

"You get to eat chocolate. Look I hope you don't do this the whole evening because I spent ages planning this."

"Right, sorry." Then, out of nowhere, I burst out laughing and had to control myself for fear of falling over the edge of the promenade.

"What?" asked Matthew, clearly bewildered. I shook my head while coughing from the laughter and smiled widely.

"It's just, you're taking this so seriously," I answered and held back more chuckles, causing more of a cackle to come out of my mouth.

"Look, do you want chocolate or not?"

I nodded and he placed two blocks in my outstretched palm. "Orange," I stated with the pieces still in my mouth.

"Oh, so you're participating now?"

I shrugged and took the next block from his hand, my fingers brushing his. His hand tensed at the motion but I felt nothing out of the usual. No sparks, no rushing heat. That only happened in fiction. "Dark," I stated then paused, savouring the aftertaste of the chocolate on my tongue. "Ninety percent."

"Damn, how can you tell?" he wondered out loud.

"Lots of practice," I reasoned. He handed me another and I took it mindlessly, popping it into my mouth. I grimaced when I realised the flavour of chocolate he had just given me. "Ugh, ew. Why would you do that?" I exclaimed as the strong peppermint took over my taste buds. "You know I hate mint."