“Y’all both can. You can use my shower if you want.”
“You sure?”
Jaxon grins. “It’s not like you haven’t used it before.”
Sara gives him a mock glare as she stands, tossing him a playful look over her shoulder before disappearing up the stairs.
Sara gets out of the shower, the steam still clinging to her skin, and gets dressed. The house is quiet. No sign of Jaxon. She peeks out the window—his truck is still in the drive. The faint hum of running water from the other bathroom tells her Jaqueline is still mid-shower concert.
A few minutes pass before Sara wanders onto the back deck. The breeze has picked up now, and the scent of salt and storm fills her lungs. She spots him out near the railing, back to her.
“There you are.”
“Were you looking for me?” he asks without turning around.
“Yeah. I was going to tell you I was out of the shower.”
“I know.”
“Uhh... how did you know?”
“I came in to grab a drink. I heard the water shut off.”
“Oh.”
“I wasn’t spying on you,” he teases with a laugh.
“Well, what are you doing out here?”
“Waiting on the storm.”
Sara nods. “Yeah… I can see that.”
“I like to watch it roll in.”
“So do I. The way the thunder rumbles, the lightning cracks in the distance, and the smell of rain—there’s just something about it. It brings me...”
“A sense of peace?” Jaxon finishes for her.
Sara’s eyes flick to his. “Exactly.”
And just like that, the storm isn’t the only thing building. The air between them shifts—charged and waiting. They’re both staring at each other now, and it’s not the sky that’s pulsing with electricity. It’s the space between the two rocking chairs.
It feels like something’s coming.
Something more than rain.
And just as they both lean in—just a breath, just an inch—the screen door slams open.
“What are y’all doing?” Jaqueline calls out.
“Waiting on the storm,” Sara answers quickly, pointing to the clouds rolling over the sound.
“I felt like a teenager and a parent walked in,” Jaxon mutters under his breath.
Sara chuckles and pulls Jaq into her lap, wrapping her arms around her, grounding herself with the weight of her.
They sit like that for a while until Jaq decides to go inside to watch TV before the storm knocks the power out.
