The concrete veranda felt rough and cold beneath him. The rain broke, as he stood there; barefoot, in the blackness of night.
It had started slowly at first, heavy raindrops, falling from above. His imagination tracked the journey of the very first one. Bursting like a squeezed lemon from the clouds overhead and falling silently through the air.
Comrades in arms, each drop screamed to the ground, never to be heard until they reached their destiny.
The way it built up reminded him of applause, starting quietly but infectiously erupting into a loud cheer. He was unsure if it was for him, or for that matter, whether he deserved it, but he accepted their ovation graciously nonetheless.
“I smelt you coming, Mr Rain…” He whispered.
He was soaking wet already, especially so on the top of his head. The rain was being guided down his face by his one sided fringe.
It flowed over his brow, straight down the side of his nose and then, at just less than perpendicular, the stream made a jagged angle down and off his chin once it reached the corner of his mouth.
When he spoke, although his lips had barely parted, the rain rushed right into his mouth. It tasted just as its smell had eluded; fresh and crisp.
He closed his eyes, completely changing the direction of the rain down his face yet again.
Her warm touch was as comforting as it was unexpected. She slid her hands in slow motion underneath his arms and along his ribs curling them up and hugging him from behind.
“What are you doing out here?” She said; her words muffled as she kissed his back.
He wasn’t sure what.
“What are you doing out here?” He replied cheekily, placing emphasis on the ‘you’.
Her mouth was still pressed up against his bare back, so she bit him softly, hugging him even tighter. Although she couldn’t see, it made him smile.
“I missed you Brittany.” He muttered, grabbing her hands then turning to face her.
She linked her arms tightly around his waist. Her ear suctioned against his skin as she nuzzled the side of her face into his chest.
“I can hear the ocean…” She started. “…oh and I missed you too Mat.”
They didn’t speak for a while. They just stood there holding each other in the steady blanket of rain. Every time one of them would tighten their grip, the other would do the same.
It got to the point where it was seemingly impossible to squeeze any harder, so they would reposition themselves a little to try and disguise the stalemate.
“We should go inside.” He suggested unpersuasively.
He didn’t want to go inside at all. He assumed by her silence that she most likely felt the same way. He wasn’t even cold. If anything, he was warmer even than before it started pouring with rain.
Her grip loosened and looking up at him she smiled. Everything about her body language was yearning for him to kiss her, and so he did.
Slowly, softly, rhythmically; they kissed in the rain.
His stream of face water joined onto hers and ran down the side of her neck and down between her breasts. Leaving hers, his lips followed its lead.
Kissing her neck and breathing hard, each breath out of his nose sprayed the rain in all directions.
She cocked her head back and let out a long low sigh.
“I know I said that kissing you in the rain would be way too cliché…” She said, “But I still like it…”
