Rainstorm
The rain beats down on the window and it sounds like horses galloping across the countryside. It's our futile source of light during this storm, save for the vanilla scented candles burning on the coffee table. But my eyes remain focused on the window, or rather, who is at the window. Despite the power outage, the streetlights are still aglow, illuminating her face against the darkness. The thunder crashes and lightening flashes in the epic battle between warm and cold air, but she is unfazed, her eyes scanning the roadway and her right index finger sliding around the rim of her wine glass, making it resonate. Usually the sound would infuriate me, but because it comes from her and that at the moment we aren't talking, any sound is welcome.
She turns and looks at me at my place on the beige couch. There's a faint smile on her lips and her brown eyes are smiling along with them. I return the expression.
"Some storm," she says in that voice that sounds like music to my ears.
"Yeah," I agree.
She walks over to the couch, sets her glass down on the table and sits close to me. Very close to me. I can feel my heart begin to beast faster. It was calm before, but now it's feeling like it did before she came over. Maybe this whole concept of dinner at me house was a mistake.
No, no, I remind myself. Not a mistake. It took me years to overcome my intense fear of almost anything to do with the opposite sex, and now, here we sit, me, the supposedly smart one who's clueless when it comes to dating, and her, the supposedly clueless one who knows everything when it comes to dating. Maybe that's what I find so attractive about this. We fill in for each other when one doesn't know what to do. Opposites attract, as they always say.
I remember when she showed up at my door, smiling brightly and trying to keep her hair out of her eyes. Everything went uphill from there… until it started to rain.
It had been threatening to pour all afternoon, and when it finally did, rain came down in sheets. The streets appeared flooded, cars were stopping along the side of the road to wait out the rain a while, and the lights flickered a few times. We were sitting on the living room couch, talking and laughing, when the power went out.
I can't remember what exactly happened after that. I think we finally ran out of words, and she ended up at the window, and I remained on the couch.
Now is the point where I being getting nervous.
"You know, you're the first guy in a long time who's invited me over to his house without the sole intention of getting into bed with me," she tells me in all seriousness.
I can feel my ears turning red as I search for something to say. "Really?" is all that squeaks out.
"Yeah," she says. "It's nice for a change." Her hand finds its way to mine and rests on top. I hope she can't feel it shaking or anything, and I turn my hand palm up, so we're holding hands.
Handholding… good start, I think, slowly relaxing. I find myself staring at her again, looking right into her eyes. Normally this would be the point when… I try to shake that thought from my head but I can't, and obviously, she's thinking the same thing. She runs her free hand through my hair and it comes to rest on my shoulder, sending a shiver up my spine.
She notices, and a funny look crosses her face. "Are you okay?" she asks. I try to stammer a reply, but she knows. "You're scared, aren't you?"
"I-" I realize there's no hiding now. "Yeah," I admit, averting my gaze to the floor.
"Hey, it's all right," she says, lifting my chin so our eyes meet again. "I am too."
"You hide it well," I murmur.
"A somewhat useful talent," she agrees. "But I've learned that there really isn't anything to be afraid of, so…" As she continues to speak in reassuring tones I notice her face is slowly drawing closer to mine, and on instinct I'm doing the same. The power flickers back on but I don't notice, nor do I care.
The light pressure I feel when our lips finally meet is astoundingly blissful. My emotions take over and everything after that is a happy blur. Some time later, I find myself stretched out on the couch, with her lying sleepily in my arms. I gently stroke her hair and she emits a small murmur of contentment, making me smile.
"What time is it?" she asks softly.
"Almost ten thirty."
She stretches like a cat beside me. "I should go home."
"You don't have to," I tell her. My mind momentarily shocks me. Did I just say that?
Slowly she sits up and gives me another one of her beautiful smiles. "Don't go turning into one of those other guys," she teases.
"Wouldn't dream of it," I say, falling back into the state of relaxation I was in before. I wrap my arms around her from behind as she puts her shoes back on.
"I can always come back again," she reminds me.
My look of mock concentration makes her laugh. "Okay," I sigh.
I walk her to the door and we share yet another kiss before she leaves. I'm lost in her smile again as she thanks me for dinner and we say goodbye. The door shuts behind her and I watch out the window until her car is out of sight. Leaning against the wall, I breathe, "I, Izzy Izumi, am in love with Mimi Tachikawa."