A Rose and A Kiss in the Rain

Luke

I can't help but smile more than often. I'm lucky my dad isn't here. He would've asked why I'm so smiley and then hit me.

That doesn't matter. He doesn't matter now as I wake up with a new hope. That's what her smile is...My hope.

I arrive at work. I talk with her but she's been busy these days. Though, she said she was coming this week so I check my hair at a small mirror in the bathroom just in case she arrives at any moment.

I give my boss a happy nod and he notices this. He gives me a smile and says, "Morning, sunshine."

"What happened to your girlfriend?" Roy says as he comes up and puts an elbow on my shoulder. I roll my eyes at him. I know he will start.

"She hasn't been coming in a while..." another guy says now as he puts his other elbow on my other shoulder. "What happened? Did you scare her away?"

"Enough," the boss says with a chuckle. "Get to work. We have a few cars we need to get done today."

"Yes sir!" Roy playfully marches to one car and the other teasingly gives me a wink.

My eyes catch a glimpse of a familiar blue car parking in the lot. I quickly go to the back where there's a small mirror and fix whichever mess I have. I can see Roy from behind give me a smirk and gesture towards the parking lot. "Your girl is here."

"She even dressed up for you!" one of the guys says with shining eyes. My heart leaps to see a pretty flowered dress on her. She looks good in all the dresses she wears. And I happily go up to her as she gets out of her car. My lips eager to meet hers once again.

But I gently smile at her first as I take her hand. She gives it a small squeeze and my heart wishes I can see her blue eyes that hide behind her sunglasses.

"I came for that tire change you told me about..."

I chuckle at the excuse I gave her the other day so I can see her again. Though, her tires do need a check up. So I give her hand a light squeeze and lightly kiss her cheek. The touch of her skin makes my heart fly as I get in her car to drive it in the shop. I give her one last smile from the car window as she enters the office.

We rise up the car and the boss raises his eyebrows at me. I can only respond to his question about Lilibeth with a blushing smile. The boss does a gentle chuckle and continues on with another car.

I start to take off her tires and I make sure to carry them higher so she can see from afar. I turn to where she is and she looks through her phone. Disappointment runs through me that she doesn't see me, but I let it be.

Roy comes up to me and gives me a teasing sound of kissing. I shake my head at him with a smile and he points two fingers at me as if he's watching me.

When I roll over four new tires for Lilibeth, I straighten my back and wipe my brow. But my muscles relax at the sight of Lilibeth quietly watching me. My heart jumps and I stand taller at her smile. Our eyes shine at each other as she does a small chuckle.

"Can't handle all of them by yourself?"

I turn my head to see Michael standing there with a stern stance. I look back at Lilibeth and see a small frown starting at her lips. I clear my throat and politely shake my head at him. "I can handle it."

"Let me do it. It's my sister's car anyways. I wouldn't want you to do anything to it."

I want to shoot back, but I instead step back from her car and let him take over for me. Disappointment comes at me again as I slowly go back to the other car I was working on. I open the hood of this car and watch Micheal go through a side door, enter the office, and give his sister a serious look. She only returns his firmness as she watches him go into the restroom.

"You're screwed," Roy says in my ear as he passes by with a few car parts. I shake my head in annoyance now and prefer to just concentrate at the engine in front of me.

I sigh at one point as exhaustion threatens to weigh on me. The hood is blocking my view from the office so I can't even see Lilibeth anymore. But a lovely voice brings my heart back to life.

"Tired already?"

I turn to give her a warm smile. "I'm glad you came to get your tires checked up. They were not that good."

Her smile turns wide at this and I enjoy those bright eyes. "Though...I wish someone else could have been looking after my car..." Her eyes go towards her brother at her tires and does an annoyed sigh.

I chuckle at this and turn her face gently to me. Her eyes shine again and her smile sweetly starts at her lips. My eyes go down at her lips and my heart paces at the eagerness to feel those lips again. Just as I start to lean in, we hear a munching noise by us and we turn to see Michael eating chips with a stern look.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing your job? The client will be here any minute."

Lilibeth stares daggers at him as she walks back to the office. I give her hand one last squeeze and look back at Michael. He stays there for a moment more with his chips and then he slowly walks away, without looking away from me with those dark eyes.

As I take a bite of a protein bar, I go over to Lilibeth's car and smile at the brand new tires. I look into my wallet and see if I have enough to pay for these tires.

Then one of the guys comes up from behind me and softly says, "I think you're girlfriend is getting hit by Micheal..."

"What? That's her brother."

"What?!" he says with wide eyes. "Michael is her brother? Hey yo, Caesar!" I lay myself on the rolling board to check up if everything is alright under her car. Caesar pops his head from the side of a car and listens to him say, "Yo! Michael is her brother! Luke is so dead..."

They both laugh loudly at this that even Lilibeth looks over at us with furrowed brows. They stop laughing once they see Micheal come up to them with a scary look and crossed arms on his chest. I quickly roll under her car to hide my fear and red cheeks.

At last, I would fix up her oil leak but I prefer to keep that for a second visit here. She will survive with that small leak.

I finally start at the office once I park her car but Micheal puts a firm hand on my chest. He doesn't have to say anything for me to stop and stay at the lot instead. I pretend to walk away and watch from the corner of my eyes as she says goodbye to her brother. He doesn't see me and he finally disappears in the office. It's not that I want her all alone. He's just scary to look at when I'm with her.

But I come out of the shade when she opens her car. She sees me coming over and her smile lightens up my day.

"Thank you once again for your help, Luke," she says playfully. "I guess crashing your bumper had a good result."

I chuckle at this as I come closer to her and put a light hand on her waist. She lets it be and her eyes shine up at me. Our eyes seem to steal glances at our lips as she softly says, "So everything is okay? No more fixing to do?"

I let my smile start at my lips as my hand finds her soft cheek. "Well...I was seeing that you need your oil checked up. There's a little leak.."

Lilibeth clicks her tongue at this. "Then I guess you'll see me here again."

"I'll be waiting..."

With this, her smile is enough for me to finally close the distance and taste her tender lips again. My heart falls in love with her and I let it be. No matter the pain or scars I may get with this girl, I decide to take the leap of faith for her.