How to Love

Rain

I could still feel the warmth radiating off of him through his leather jacket that I wore. It smelled like him. Like the first breath of fresh air you get when stepping outside right after a rainstorm. Perfect.

We were at the park. I looked up at the underside of the plastic tunnel that we laid under, listening to him speak. I drank in the sound of his voice and the feel of his arm around me. Listened to the steady beating of his heart and felt the rise and fall of his chest as he took each breath. Perfect.

I rolled onto my stomach, propping myself up by my elbows and said something. I can't remember what it was, but it made him laugh. That wonderful, loveable, nothing-else-in-the-world-matters-but-you laugh. Something overpowered me and I couldn't hold back, so I leaned forward and kissed him. 

I had been doing that all night. Taking every single little opportunity to kiss him. It was difficult to stay away. He leaned up a little bit into the kiss and I giggled. Perfect.

It's silly, but sometimes when I kiss him I just get so incredibly overpowered with joy that if I don't let it out somehow it will bubble over and make me explode, so I laugh. Or sometimes we hit noses or teeth or something silly and that also makes me laugh.

I lightly traced the freckles on his lips with my pinky finger. My eyes wandered up and met his, already looking at me.

I looked into his eyes and wished that I could know every single detail that goes through his head. Wondering what I would find there that I didn't already know, or what he thought of me, or what he thought about when we kissed, or what he thought about at night. Or what he thought about when he was sad, or lonely. Or what he thought about when he was happy, or in love.

Suddenly, those adorable eyes lit up. They sparked, the way they do when he talks about guitars, politics, bad movies, our future, music, jokes, or anything that he's passionate about. When they shine like that, it's one of the most attractive things about him.

He started to get up, "We still have to kiss in the rain!"

I tried to protest but he had already climbed out of the tunnel and was brushing wood chips off his back. Rolling my eyes, I stood up and walked over to him. I grabbed his hand and he led me in the direction of the drinking fountain. "Oh great, are you gonna drop water on me?"

"...No.... maybe...." He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"That's not rain, you know."

He walked up to the fountain and started to put his hand in the water, but the facet sprayed him instead. I took this as my opportunity, still laughing, by cupping my hand under the other facet and throwing the water at him. He seemed shocked for a second, then threw some water back at me.

Water splashed back and forth for a few minutes. I tried to run away, making it only halfway around the building, before dodging some water and running back to the fountain. I tossed more water at him, attacking him repeatedly, not giving him any time to retaliate. He finally started to defend himself and I tried to run away again. Before I got very far he grabbed my hands and turned me around to face him. I realized that I was still laughing.

Our lips met and my hands ran through the wet hair on the back of his head. My heart pounded, half from the thrill of the fight and half from just being around him. He smiled at me, "That was better than I could have anticipated. That was so... us."

"That was perfect," I agreed.