Twenty-Seven

Paislee

It was raining. 

Rain made me happy, and nothing was ruining it for me. I didn’t care what the guys said to each other. They could be beating each other’s heads in at that very moment, and it wouldn’t have affected me.

Letty said I was crazy. She took off running for cover as soon as it started. Maybe I was crazy, but it didn’t matter to me. The rain wouldn’t hurt me. It was the people that ran from it that had all the power. 

I spun around until I was dizzy, and could barely see straight. I found myself stumbling through the grass, barely able to stand. That was just the way I liked it.

Someone caught me. My eyes were only half open, and someone’s arms were wrapped around my waist. I rested my hands on their arms to regain my balance, and then looked up. I had to squint through the falling raindrops, but I knew immediately that it was Jude. 

“Hey Darlin,” he said.

Why? I looked all the way up waiting for the rain to explain. It was my rain. It was my joy. 

“I need to talk to you,” he said, and I wanted to tell him no. So badly, I wanted to say no, but I couldn’t. 

He was so freaking beautiful standing in my rain. The rim of his hat was catching the rain and keeping it from hitting his face. He moved in closer so it would block my face too. There was something gentle about the way he looked at me, something soft that made my stomach take flight. 

“Can we go somewhere?” He asked, and I had yet to speak. I could barely find my footing, let alone my voice. Those pouty lips of his were distracting me. 

“We can talk here.” I finally said. He was standing in my rainstorm.

“Okay,” he said above the noise of the thunder. “I’m sorry.”

I bit my lip as the words came tumbling out of his mouth. 

“I didn’t give you a chance. I screwed everything up, because I was confused. I thought things with you and Josh were way more serious. I feel like a complete jack-ass.”

I smirked at him. “You were,” I agreed, and I truly meant it. He was a royal ass-hat to me, and I felt like I didn’t deserve it.

He smiled. “I know, and I’m really sorry. I thought that it made more sense for me to just walk away instead of trying to stay in a situation that I was sure I didn’t belong in. I’m probably not making any sense right now. But I saw you kiss Josh, and I just lost it.”

“That’s what this was about?” I asked him. I could feel the ground getting softer beneath my feet as the rain continued to pour down. Before long, we were going to be three inches deep in mud. 

“I know. I was stupid. Josh told me everything.” He pulled me closer to him. “I can’t apologize enough.” His eyes were tearing up. “It’s no excuse, but with everything that’s happening at home, I just didn’t care. I wasn’t interested in wasting time with someone who didn’t want to be with me. I thought being friends would be easy, but it wasn’t.”

My lip started to tremble, and I was fighting it with everything inside me. I was only about three seconds away from losing it, and I needed him to stop talking. 

I looked down at my feet and watched the rain as it was hitting the ground. “What are you saying?” I asked.

“What?” He leaned down closer to me. “I can’t hear you.”

“I said, what are you saying?” I yelled. “What do you want, Jude?” He was going to have to tell me, because this girl wasn’t putting herself out there again. I’d been there and done that.

He reached under my chin and lifted my face up so that he could see me. The tears were filling up in my eyes, and the vulnerable little girl was back. I hated being so damn sensitive. Stupid boys!

His finger grazed my bottom lip, slowly. “I want to start over,” he said. “I want to try again.” His hand ran slowly over my cheek, as the tears fell from my eyes. “I want to take you to dinner. I want to sit next to you in class. I want you to be there with me when I bury my dog.”

“Dammit, Jude,” I cried like the biggest baby, the snotty nose cry that couldn’t be contained. 

He pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arms so tightly around me. He held my head against his wet chest. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

Just as easily as he’d broken me, he’d put me right back together. He had a way of pulling out all the emotions in me, and it was real. Every single thing I felt when he was near me was real, and on a different level than I’d ever felt. I just wasn’t giving myself the chance to see it. 

“Okay,” I cried into his shirt. It was a muffled –okay, but I think he got the gist. 

“Oh, Darlin,” He lifted me up off my feet, and swung me around. “You mean it?” 

I told him yes, and buried my head in his neck. It was the closest that the two of us had been, and it felt right. It felt like I was right where I belonged.

He set me back on my feet, and looked me in the eyes. “So you and I,” he grinned. “We’re starting over?”

“Yes. We’re starting over.” I smiled back.

He backed up a couple of steps, and held out his hand. “Hello, beautiful. My name is Jude.”

“Hey, Jude,” a smile stretched across his face, that matched mine. “I’m Paislee.”

My wet hand slid gently into his, and he quickly yanked me back to him, making me giggle. “Is it too soon to kiss you?”

I shook my head no. 

He pulled me close and dipped me back like we were dancing, and placed the softest, sweetest kiss on my lips as the rain came down on my face. 

That was the rain I loved. 

And maybe the boy…