Brody tosses his head back, possibly annoyed, maybe frustrated, but he stops and waits for me to catch up. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Maybe. “I like the rain.”
“No, you don’t,” he argues.
“How do you know?”
“You like to be cold and wet?”
I shrug. “It makes me feel alive. It’s like adrenaline mixed with an electric shock running through my blood. I like it.” I might exaggerate a little, but I do like to end my hot showers with a burst of cold water for a boost of energy.
“You’re crazy. You know that?”
“I’m well aware,” I respond.
It takes a good five minutes to make it to the Jeep, and I don’t think either of us could be wetter if we took a dip in a pool. “We’re going to get your seats wet,” Brody says.
“They’ll dry.”
Brody reaches for the door, but I haven’t unlocked the Jeep. “Get the locks,” he says, trying to open the trunk gate.
I reach into my pocket, slowly searching for the key, watching as he wipes away the water cascading down his face. His hair is soaking wet and his eyelashes have drops falling from the tips. I unlock the doors, and Brody tosses the bag of DVDs into the trunk. “Do you want me to drive?”
“It’s okay,” I tell him, heading toward the driver’s seat.
He follows me.
“I can make it to my door, Brody.”
“Good,” he says, grabbing my arm and spinning me around. “I don’t think you’re going to make it there for a long minute, though.”
His hands press against my cheeks with force, and his body shoves mine up against the side of the Jeep. He lowers his head and crashes his lips against mine. I close my eyes, feeling the warmth of his wet lips, the water falls from his hair onto my face, his grip tightening with need, and his body constricting air from my lungs. He takes a breath, only parting his lips to do so. “Is this what you wanted?”
I press up on my toes to reclaim his lips to offer an answer. I wanted him to see me for me, not for what’s wrong with me or what happened in the past. I want to be desired—it’s all I need. I loop my hands around his back, clenching the soaked material of his fleece, holding him against me, telling him not to let me go. His nose sweeps against the side of mine, and the tip of his tongue dances around the inside of my lips. The currents running through my body erase the rain and the cold sensation.
The kiss continues for longer than a minute, both of us gripping each other as if we have no other choice. Brody’s lips pull away from mine, and he sweeps a wet strand of hair from my forehead as he holds his stare on my eyes. “Please, let me stay,” he whispers.
I bite down on my bottom lip, left without words worthy of a response. He steps away, and I open the driver’s side door. “Come on, we’re getting wet,” I say, closing myself inside.
He smiles before jogging around to the passenger side of the Jeep and hops inside. I turn the ignition on and blast the heat, feeling the cold seep into my bones.
Without question, I drive us back to my apartment because it’s where his car is, but I don’t know what will happen next.
Before stepping out into the rain, Brody drops his hand onto my thigh. “Hold it, stormy …”
I glance over with a smirk. “Yes?”
“I’m coming upstairs.”
“What if I say no?” I tease.
“No? Journey, trust me when I tell you, you’ll be saying, yes, faster than you can imagine.”
“Is that a challenge?” I reply, raising a brow.
Brody jumps out of the Jeep and runs around the front, opening my door and yanking me out. “I’m not standing in the rain any longer tonight,” he says, pulling me to walk faster and jog up the stairs until we reach the back exit.
I press my hand against the door and turn around to face him. “I told you, I like the rain.”
