Quinn made a cup of coffee to motivate herself to shower and dress so she could hit Starbucks before class. Her venti peppermint mocha was almost gone and she was going to need more, and possibly a bathroom. Soon.

“I’m thinking twenty-four ounces of coffee was a bad idea before class.” She said to the man sitting next to her. They had an informal no name relationship that was based on simple conversation.

“You’re brave. I had Captain Crunch with orange juice for breakfast.”

“That sounds healthy,” she said quietly as the professor walked in.

“No, I was out of milk. I put the OJ on my cereal. It was disgusting.”

“Yuck,” was all she managed before the lecture started.

She hit her dorm room after class, set the alarm on her phone to wake her up in two hours. Since her nap with Rain, falling asleep was easier. She pulled down a sleeping mask and dozed off.

If felt like she had just closed her eyes when her alarm went off.

She groaned and felt around for her phone to mute the alarm. Getting up and grabbing her toiletry kit, she headed to the bathroom.

She came back and grabbed a semi-clean t-shirt out of her closet that said Fries before Guys. It might not be totally appropriate, but she figured it was better than some of her other choices. Grabbing a pair of gray leggings, she pulled them on and found her worn pair of black Doc Martens.

Giving her hair a fluff she thought she should probably pick another color soon. She was feeling purplish. Maybe purple with pink tips. Change things up a bit.

But she didn’t have any time for any of that now. She needed to get down to the square and help set up for the rally. Her skin felt like it was numb, tingling with the anticipation of seeing Rain. It wasn’t what she should be focused on. She was hoping that they’d have a good turn out to raise awareness. It was definitely not the place to be flirting with Rain.

Shit, had she been flirting? Of course she had. It wasn’t voluntary. Flirting always seemed like a practiced skill that you had to get really good at. She had never practiced a day in her life how to talk to a boy. Her disinterest growing up, or more to the point her mother’s abject dislike of men had colored her feelings about them.

Keeping the opposite sex at arm’s length was so old hat that she didn’t know she was supposed to bat her eyelashes and laugh at their jokes even if they were bad. Quinn thought that was what girls were supposed to do. Then again that might be what you used to do, she had no idea.

She could only be herself, and so far Rain seemed to like that.

“Who care what he likes.”

“He likes what?” Harmony walked through the door and tossed her bag on her bed.

“I’m just obsessing like a seventh-grader.”

“Ahh, Rain on your mind?”

“The irony of a guy named Rain in Seattle is not lost on me. I’d start calling him by his full name, but that wouldn’t help.”

“What’s his full name?”

“Rainier.”

“Like the mountain or the beer?”

Quinn laughed. “I asked the same thing. He says mountain.”

“Sure, sure. So are you heading out?”

“Yup, there are tablecloths needing to be taped down I’m sure. Nobody ever wants that job. Arranging pamphlets is the coveted job.”

“Oh be still my heart, pamphlets. I’m going to shower and change. I’ll be out there when it starts. Lars is coming to pick me up.”

“Okay, see you there.” Quinn gave her a peace sign as she left.

It was a nice day and they had lucked out on the weather. No rain, a little sun, and only the slightest chill to the air. She hurried over to where they were meeting and saw a few people already trying to set up some pop-up awnings.

Being a go-getter, she jumped in and started helping. Between setting up tables and thanking people for coming early, she kept an eye out for Rain. As she was fanning out a stack of brochures, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Turning around she saw him walking towards the group. Behind him were his brother and a few other guys that looked suspiciously fratish and were laughing like they were in a zit cream commercial

His eyes were on her and his mouth was set in a firm line. That didn’t seem like a good thing at all. She’d automatically smiled the second she saw him, but now her smile was fading.

As he got closer she tried to read his emotions. But she didn’t get a chance to ask. The second she was within arm’s reach of him, he wrapped a hand around her neck and pulled her in for a toe curling, nipple tightening kiss.

She kissed him back without thinking. She threaded her hands into his hair and tangled her tongue with his.

It was a long moment before she heard a few people clearing their throats. Then there was a round of fake coughing.

Quinn’s brain was trying to tell her that everything that was transpiring was wrong place, wrong time. She finally listened to it and broke off the kiss. Rain dropped his head to hers as he breathed heavily.

“I’m sorry. Shit, that was bad form. I felt like I was going crazy yesterday being away from you. I kept thinking of ways to run into you, or hell, just show up where I knew you’d be. I didn’t want to freak you out, or push you, or rush you into anything. Yesterday fucking sucked without you, Quinn.”

She could hear the pain and frustration in his voice. He was seriously struggling. She felt a little better about her day of not being able to keep him out of her mind. It seemed like he’d had a tougher day.

“I thought about you too,” she admitted.

“Did you have someone purposely keep you distracted all day and then did you go for a five mile jog after you’d spent two hours rock climbing, just to burn off energy?”

Quinn looked up to him. “Uh no?”

“Fuck, you’re beautiful. I spent the day remembering your face.”

Holy crickets, she was at a loss. This was uncharted territory for her and she could feel dozens of eyes on her.

“Maybe we should talk about this later?”

She watched his head turn around at the assembled crowd. “Fuck, sorry. I lost my head for a minute.”

“I’m going to get an earful about this anyway. So are you here to stay?”

“Yes, I’m here as long as you are. But I do have to warn you. I’m thinking that we shouldn’t be going days without seeing each other, or at least talking. Phone calls, texts, anything. Hell, I’ll take funny GIFs or emojis.”

Quinn let out a giggle. “I think I can handle that.”

Rain quickly introduced the group that had followed him and they all fanned out to find places to help. Quinn ignored the rest of the group behind her as she turned back to the table and handed him a stack of paper.

“Make it pretty,” she whispered to him as he tried to straighten the stack and leave it in a pile on the table.

“What the fuck does that mean?” he whispered back.

“You know, like a fan, but make sure they can see there are lots so they feel like they can take one.”

“Is there a science to this?”

“I’m sure someone is majoring in it,” she laughed.

“Proper pamphlet placement 101,” Rain mumbled under his breath.

They worked together then stood back away from the tables and let the professionals step forward. The signs were placed along the pathways with their motivational messages. Everyone kept it casual so they didn’t look like an intimidating front.

Slowly people started showing up. They talked to counselors and even talked to campus security. The volunteers handed out whistles and phone numbers for free rides home if they got drunk at a party and didn’t have a safe ride home. All things to provide options and information to those that might need it the most. For many students this was their first time away from the oversight of their parents. It was a freedom that came with a lot of responsibility.

The event started to wrap up, and Quinn and Rain stuck around and helped clean up. They had chatted with others, and Quinn had introduced him around to her group.

When everything was tidied up, Rain grabbed her hand.

“Food, me, and you.”

It wasn’t a request it was a definitive plan.