The dinner with Hailey was nice. It wasn’t as awkward to talk with her about John as I thought it would be. It was a relatively easy to topic to bring up with her, but I didn’t want to harp on something that would bring down my mood, especially since we were having such a good time. The storm was a wonderful backdrop for our meal. It forced us to take our time and simply relax. It gave me some time to study her and how beautiful she looked in an outfit that had probably taken her no time to throw on before she headed out the door.

It was refreshing to meet someone like her, a person who lived life like she did without being tortured and depressed. I could see why her spirit would be so uplifting to a community she found herself in, and the more we talked, the more I gravitated toward her.

I could see the smile of relief on her face as we drove back by the gallery. Her passion and her desire to protect her building filled me with something I couldn’t quite explain. She took pride in her work, something that wasn’t always apparent with business owners, and I didn’t take it as an insult at all that she wanted to keep checking up on it.

It only enhanced the beauty that was inside of her to begin with.

We drove back to her place in relative silence. All of San Diego had been drenched in a torrential thunderstorm, and by the looks of it, the storm was just beginning. Clouds were growing darker as we inched closer and closer to her apartment, and by the time we pulled up, it was beginning to rain again.

“Why don’t you come up and have a cup of coffee? You could wait until the storm breaks again before you try to head back.”

I had to admit, going up into her apartment seemed nice. I wasn’t quite ready for the night to end, but I knew the sparks were flying between the two of us. Every time my skin touched her, there was this electric current that shot throughout my body. Her smile and her laughter, they warmed a part of me I’d ignored for a very long time. I had cast my dating life aside to build my business, grieve the death of my brother, and try to repair my damaged family.

Going up and having a cup of coffee with her didn’t just tug at my stomach.

It tugged at my pelvis as well.

“I think that sounds like a good idea,” I said.

We rushed up the steps to her apartment before we both fell into it. She shut the door behind her as the wind began to kick up, and she needed a bit of help getting it shut. She locked the door but walked around to all her windows and opened the blinds. I could see the relaxing smile that crossed her face as the thunder started to roar again, and I watch as the lightning played off her supple curves.

“A fan of thunderstorms?” I asked.

“They’re my muse,” she said, smiling. “I love everything about them, their torrential strength and life-giving grace. I love the way they’re capable of destruction while lighting up the sky with the most beautiful light show I’ve ever seen.”

Her intensity was astounding and not the least bit stifling. I watched as she walked over to the coffee pot and started making some, filling her small studio apartment with its comforting scent. She started grabbing for mugs and sugar and creamer, setting everything out as I slowly made my way toward her.

Every part of me was yelling out to touch her, lay my hands in the dip of her waist and feel her soft skin underneath my touch.

Part of me wondered if taking her up on the coffee invitation was a good idea. I hadn’t known her that long, and she was one of my clients for the company. But as I watched her fix us two cups of coffee with that cute little grin on her face, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to her. The lightning played off her features again, followed by the rumbling sound of thunder as the storm barreled towards us. Where most people would cower away and find anxiety, Hailey found strength and relaxation.

She was mesmerizing, and I wasn’t ready to leave her side yet.

Hailey was living the life she wanted. She wasn’t tortured. Wasn’t haunted. Sure, we all had a past, but she didn’t allow it to follow her. At least, not like I allowed mine to follow me. She seemed grounded. Rooted. Unlike most artists who always had their heads in the clouds or were stuck in their dank, dark caves of desperation and despair. She was sweet and free but had a final goal in mind she was reaching for.

“You know, people always say I think about the future too much,” she said as she handed me my mug of coffee.

“Why do they say that?”

“I’m not sure. I mean, I’ve always had future plans, but I like to think I live in the present. I guess because I always talk about what I’ll eventually do with my artwork and what I’ll eventually show to the world. My sister thinks I spend too much time dreaming over the future instead of enjoying the current state of my life.”

“Well, it’s better than dwelling on the past,” I said.

“You can change the future, you know? Maybe that’s why I always look toward it, because nothing’s set in stone until it’s already happened.”

“That makes sense,” I said as I leaned against her kitchen counter.

“Do you look toward the future?” she asked.

“I think I dwell more on the past and thinking about how I could make up for it. I tend to focus on all the mistakes I made and how I wished I could change them. It’s a nasty habit.”

“I wouldn’t say you always do that,” she said. “I mean, you have a future goal to always take on the homeless employees. That’s not dwelling on the past.”

“But it is linked to my past,” I said.

“That doesn’t mean you’re dwelling on it. It just means that passion was born out of something that happened to you. Welcome to the rest of the world, Bryan,” she said, grinning.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

We both leaned against the edge of her kitchen counter and drank our mugs of coffee. It was actually great coffee, and I drank it faster than I probably should’ve. The storm outside was only growing in momentum, and at this point, I wouldn’t be able to see if I did attempt to drive home. Hailey took my empty mug, our fingertips brushing against one another as a surge of electricity ricocheted up my arm.

Only this time, I saw goosebumps cascade up hers.

She set the empty mugs in the sink before she pulled her wrap tighter around her shoulders. Her eyes flashed with the lightning cracking across the sky, and it wasn’t until I could smell her berry perfume that I realized I was looming over her. She panned her beautiful eyes up to mine, hooking her gaze onto my face as the air around us grew thick. Maybe it was the electricity crackling around us outside, or maybe it was how inviting her body was. Maybe it was the way we seemed to view the world similarly, or maybe I was simply attracted to the beauty of her artwork.

Either way, it drew my lips to hers, and when I felt her lips pucker against mine, my hands slid slowly around her waist.

Her wrap fell from her body as her hands grasped my shirt. She pulled me closer, our lips massaging one another’s while she stood on her toes to reach me. The tips of our tongues ignited a fire that raged throughout my body. I breathed her in as my head tilted off to the side, and I knew I was about to cross a threshold I could never come back from.

“Hailey,” I said darkly.

“Mhm?”

“I have to be honest with you about something.”

“What is it?” she asked.

Her eyes were wide with innocence even as her pelvis ground into mine. I groaned with her movements, feeling my body rise to attention as her hands slid down my chest. She wrapped them around my waist, holding me close to her as her body comforted me. I lifted my hand to cup her cheek, admiring the flush that poured over her creamy skin.

“I want you,” I said.

“Bryan, I would never have invited you up if I didn’t want the same thing,” she said.

“Should we—I mean, do we need to use some sort of protection?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “Not if you don’t want to. I’ve, well, I’ve got an IUD. I mean, if that’s why you were asking that question.”

My eyes danced between hers, watching as her pupils dilated with want. I pressed my lips to her forehead, hearing her sigh as she pressed her body to mine. Slowly, delicately, I lifted her into my arms and gathered her close to my chest. She curled into me instinctively, like she’d done it for years, and I carried her over to her bed that was stashed haphazardly into the corner.

The storm raged outside as the thunder shook the walls. Our clothes came off leisurely as if peeling back the layers of a fruit before getting to its succulent, juicy center. Soon, we were clad in nothing but our own skin, my tanned hide contrasted with her milky softness. I sank between her legs, feeling her warmth and wetness grow against me as my lips sank back down onto hers.

My body was alight with electricity, and the storm surging outside would provide the perfect soundtrack to the noises I would pull from her body before the night was finished.

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