CHAPTER19
Ihead back to the overhang. It’s just beginning to rain when I arrive.
A lot of people hate the rain. Not me. I’ve always enjoyed the rain.
Yes, I would actually love to dance out in the rain if I could find a willing partner. A kiss in the rain has to be so romantic.
My mom and I used to always talk about the rain. She hated the rain. We would argue about the rain. Honestly, it was one of the few things that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on.
But storms have a way of calming me down.
After my mom and I fought about my having a bike, I leave the house. I don't have a car, so I just walk and walk and walk. I'm a good ten-minute walk away from our house when it starts to storm.
Although if I continue in this direction for another five minutes or so, I would reach a diner and could go inside and wait out the storm, but I don’t. I just hold out my arms, close my eyes, and tilt my head back to welcome the rain.
All traces of my anger fade away.
And then I hear the purr of a motorcycle engine. I open my eyes and glance at the road. The guy doesn't have a helmet on, which is stupid. Yes, if you've completed a motorcycle operating trainer course, have insurance for motorcycle injuries, and are over twenty-one, you can opt not to wear one. Still not smart.
The guy has to stop at a nearby stop sign. He glances at me, and I wave.
He revs his engine. “Want to hop on?”
“Not without a helmet.”
“Afraid we’ll fall in the rain?” he asks. “Why not live a little?”
“That’s just it. I want to live longer.”
He laughs and speeds away.
I never see him again, but that’s fine. Katie would’ve yelled at me, asking me if he was ugly, if that’s why I turned him down. Honestly, I can’t say if he’s hot or not because I cared about his bike more than him.
I start to walk some more and then change course and head back toward my house. When I arrive, I keep on walking past. I should've headed in this direction in the first place.
Ten minutes later, I arrive at Katie's. I'm drenched, and her older brother opens the door.
His name is Kyle. Kyle Quake. Katie’s made it quite clear that he’s off limits. She never had to worry. I never looked at Kyle twice.
“Katie’s not here,” he says. “Mom took her out shopping, I think.”
“Ah. Great. She won’t be back home until after the rain stops,” I say.
Mrs. Quake didnotdrive in the rain.
"You can come in, though," he says. "Get dried off. You could take off your clothes and put on some of Katie's, and I could toss your clothes into the dryer."
“What’s the matter? No maid service today?” I tease.
He shrugs and grins at me.
Never realized that he has a dimple before. Katie has two dimples, but her brother only has one.
He is cute. Blond hair like Katie but with darker eyes. Not blue. More gray. He’s a senior in high school, two years older than us.
“You really don’t want to come in?” he asks.
The rain starts to come down even harder now, and I grin at him as I walk backward, my arms out. I glance behind me so I can make sure I walk down the steps of their porch without falling. Laughing, I spin in a circle beneath the rain.