Thunderstorm

The low rumbling raged on in the distance as Homie nervously fidgeted with her sweater, pulling at the sleeves as she paced back and forth in the living room of her Downtown DC apartment. A flash of lightening lit up the sky, and a monstrous crack of thunder sounded off a second later, making her jump in surprise, causing her to nearly collide with the coffee table mid stride. She had to hold out her hands to steady herself, fingers shaking from the mixture of adrenaline and caffeine that raced through her veins.

She hated thunderstorms. Always did. The rain, she loved. The lightening, she found fascinating. But the jarring thunder that seemed to shake the very ground beneath her always managed to put her on edge, every single time. It was the loud, sudden viciousness of it that announced its presence and demanded attention that made her heart start to race and sent shivers up her spine.

Checking the clock, she noted the time. 9:33pm. Damn. She still had a couple pages left of her report for the Mitchell account, and she wanted to get it completed and sent off to her assistant for notes so they could enjoy the rest of the weekend in peace. She'd gotten distracted when the storm had started about half an hour ago and had completely forgotten about it. Taking a deep breath, she plopped herself back on her spot on the couch and picked up her pen, trying to focus her mind on her work.

~~~~~

Across town, Erik had just finished up at the center before packing his things and heading out, pulling his gray wool overcoat on as he said goodnight to the security guard.

"Aight Marcus, Imma catch you on Monday, you stay warm out here and have a good weekend ya heard?" He calls out to his friend, giving him an air dap as he walks toward the elevator.

"Same to you Mr. Stevens. You take care of that pretty girl of yours, or I will!" The older man chuckles, returning the dap as he waves goodbye.

"Aye, watch yaself OG," Erik jokes with him, waving back while heading out of the lobby and into the elevator.

Riding down to the 3rd floor, he exits and quick paces over to his 2019 Acura NSX, dumping his laptop case in the trunk before climbing into the front seat. He speeds out of the parking garage and onto the street, immediately noticing the weather as soon as his tires hit the pavement.

It was pouring outside, the water cascading down his windshield in rivers that were swept aside every half second by the windshield wipers. All week it had been excruciatingly cold with no rain, but mother nature decided to switch up tonight. He couldn't wait to get home to his baby girl and snuggle up with her in this perfect cuddle weather, ready to let the stresses of the week melt away by the fireplace with her arms wrapped around him.

Orienting the car towards home, Erik stepped on it, smoothly navigating his way through the streets of Georgetown to get to Homie's apartment. While stopped at a light, a bone aching clap of thunder broke out through the night sky, so strong he could feel the earth tremble beneath his car.

His mind immediately went to the thought of Homie, and how she was holding up during all of this.

He knew she hated thunderstorms, even though it was something she'd never actually admitted it to him.

"How ironic that between thunder and lightening, I'd end up being afraid of the one thing that can't hurt you." She laughs, her pretty teeth flashing while she rolls her eyes at herself.

It was her favorite joke to tell whenever it stormed in DC, her way of sarcastically trying to write off one of her biggest fears.

While others may have believed her little attempts at humor, he knew her better than that. He could tell by the way she shifted her eyes to the floor and fidgeted with the hair behind her ear the first time he heard her say it that there was something more there.