Will never used to like rain much. The other students would get a ride to school on rainy days, or drive themselves in their battered pick-ups and old Chevy's, but he'd still be stuck cycling in. His dad had looked askew at him the one time he'd asked for a ride, and called him a wimp.
It was just one more thing that Rawley Academy had changed for him. To start with, there was the luxury of not having to leave the building on a rainy day if he didn't want. He could just gaze out of the window during class, and enjoy the sound of it against old windows. And summer rain showers were always short, so when the sun came out, the grounds looked clean and fresh and reborn, not muddy like the garden at home. A little Eden, he'd think secretly to himself, knowing that Scout would mock him mercilessly if he said that out loud.
And now, well, Eden was all about discovery and temptation and giving in. And that's what today's rain shower had given him. And while God might have cast out Adam and Eve for giving into temptation, he was still here in his own personal paradise.
There'd been no threat of rain this morning when he and Scout had set off for the lake. They'd planned some half-hearted studying and some whole-hearted babe watching. But the girls from Rawley were all conspicuous by their absence, and Will had suddenly remembered Caroline mentioning an excursion for this Saturday. He'd made a few sounds of disappointment that he didn't really feel, and then they'd found a quiet spot, spread out the huge blanket they'd illegally brought outside, and settled down to do some actual studying.
They were in the middle of working out the probability that the second marble out of a bag would be black, given that there were six black and 8 red marbles in the bag to start with, not knowing the color of the first one removed (and Will had to wonder what on earth the point of that was), when an appropriately marble sized splash landed on his text book. Then another, and another, blurring the ink on his math book, so that the neat diagram he'd been drawing started to spread out and look more like the Nile delta than a probability diagram.
And that's when it all started to happen, the discovery and giving in. He'd looked up to see Scout closing his books rapidly, rain trickling down his fringe already, about to fall onto his face. It had been an unconscious act to stroke his fringe back, and once his fingers were there, they didn't seem to want to leave. Scout's hair felt even silkier than Caroline's used to, back in the days when they'd dated. And Scout had looked at him, and they'd had one of those frozen moments, which felt so very, very long, but probably only lasted a second in real time. It wasn't the first such moment: there'd been one the very first night they shared a room, but then they hadn't known each other, and a few overly casual words had got them past it.
But now they did know each other. A whole summer together, the last few weeks just the two of them most of the time, had dulled the fear that crippled Will when a 'moment' happened between them. So this time, he didn't speak, didn't try to pretend nothing was happening, he just moved. Moved inwards, inside Scout's space, too close. Not close enough. And now Scout was moving too, and Will still had his fingers lightly touching his hair, so he knew that Scout hadn't even begun to move away from him, felt the lean towards him even before he could see it.
And when they met in the middle, the rain was streaking down their faces, so the first touch of lips was a curious mixture of cold water and warm skin. Which was perfect. A few simple kisses, tentative at first, and then comfortable, because they were friends after all. And then they'd pulled back and Scout had wiped a huge drop of rain off Will's nose, and they'd laughed. But they didn't pretend it hadn't happened.
And now, here they were, curled up in Scout's bed, listening to the rain battering the windows still.
Summer Rain
It was just one more thing that Rawley Academy had changed for him. To start with, there was the luxury of not having to leave the building on a rainy day if he didn't want. He could just gaze out of the window during class, and enjoy the sound of it against old windows. And summer rain showers were always short, so when the sun came out, the grounds looked clean and fresh and reborn, not muddy like the garden at home. A little Eden, he'd think secretly to himself, knowing that Scout would mock him mercilessly if he said that out loud.
And now, well, Eden was all about discovery and temptation and giving in. And that's what today's rain shower had given him. And while God might have cast out Adam and Eve for giving into temptation, he was still here in his own personal paradise.
There'd been no threat of rain this morning when he and Scout had set off for the lake. They'd planned some half-hearted studying and some whole-hearted babe watching. But the girls from Rawley were all conspicuous by their absence, and Will had suddenly remembered Caroline mentioning an excursion for this Saturday. He'd made a few sounds of disappointment that he didn't really feel, and then they'd found a quiet spot, spread out the huge blanket they'd illegally brought outside, and settled down to do some actual studying.
They were in the middle of working out the probability that the second marble out of a bag would be black, given that there were six black and 8 red marbles in the bag to start with, not knowing the color of the first one removed (and Will had to wonder what on earth the point of that was), when an appropriately marble sized splash landed on his text book. Then another, and another, blurring the ink on his math book, so that the neat diagram he'd been drawing started to spread out and look more like the Nile delta than a probability diagram.
And that's when it all started to happen, the discovery and giving in. He'd looked up to see Scout closing his books rapidly, rain trickling down his fringe already, about to fall onto his face. It had been an unconscious act to stroke his fringe back, and once his fingers were there, they didn't seem to want to leave. Scout's hair felt even silkier than Caroline's used to, back in the days when they'd dated. And Scout had looked at him, and they'd had one of those frozen moments, which felt so very, very long, but probably only lasted a second in real time. It wasn't the first such moment: there'd been one the very first night they shared a room, but then they hadn't known each other, and a few overly casual words had got them past it.
But now they did know each other. A whole summer together, the last few weeks just the two of them most of the time, had dulled the fear that crippled Will when a 'moment' happened between them. So this time, he didn't speak, didn't try to pretend nothing was happening, he just moved. Moved inwards, inside Scout's space, too close. Not close enough. And now Scout was moving too, and Will still had his fingers lightly touching his hair, so he knew that Scout hadn't even begun to move away from him, felt the lean towards him even before he could see it.
And when they met in the middle, the rain was streaking down their faces, so the first touch of lips was a curious mixture of cold water and warm skin. Which was perfect. A few simple kisses, tentative at first, and then comfortable, because they were friends after all. And then they'd pulled back and Scout had wiped a huge drop of rain off Will's nose, and they'd laughed. But they didn't pretend it hadn't happened.
And now, here they were, curled up in Scout's bed, listening to the rain battering the windows still.
Will would always love summer rain.