James and I finished eating our sandwiches and were left sitting at the table, sipping the remainder of our warm drinks. There was an awkward silence that had fallen over the both of us. Nothing intelligent or witty could come to mind that I should've said, and I certainly wasn't going to say something dumb just to make conversation. Then, I really would look stupid.

James, on the other hand, appeared more interested in glancing back and forth between our table and the pouring rain outside. Either he was thinking of something to say, or was zoned out like he was at the dance club the previous night.

Finally coming out of his "zone", James glanced at his watch and said to me, "We probably better get going now, or else I'm going to be late for work. Then, my boss will most likely end up killing me."

"Well, in that case…"

We both laughed and quickly gulped down the rest of our drinks before we tossed them in the trash buckets waiting by the door. Since it was still raining out, I pulled my coat on, prepared to face whatever awaited outside.

I went out first and James ran behind me. We dashed to the car with James madly pushing the automatic unlock button on his keyring. As soon as we reached the black little car, we both collapsed inside, soaked completely from the pounding rain.

And, for some unexplainable reason, the moment we looked at each other, we began to laugh. Perhaps it was the fact that we were drenched-completely. As in the clothes are sticking to your skin drenched, and your hair is hanging like limp noodles while dripping water in your eyes drenched.

Slowly, the laughter died down, and we both straightened ourselves in the seats and prepared to go back home. Well, for me to go back home anyhow.

James turned on the engine and let it idle for a minute before pulling away from the curb, driving away from the restaurant. After we were on the road, he turned the heater on because we were both rather cold and wet. Soon, the car became warm and comfortable.

"You know how to get back to my place?" I asked him.

"Yep. What? You don't trust me?" he replied with an arched eyebrow.

"Considering the fact that we haven't crashed yet, yeah, I guess I trust you. But, I just wanted to make sure."

"I happy to see you have so much faith in me."

"I try," I remarked.

We arrived back at my apartment sooner than expected, but the rain was still pouring down. James pulled up alongside the curb, next to the building, as we both sat in mute silence. Finally, being the daring person I was, (yeah, whatever), I broke the silence, "James?"

"Yeah?"

"Y'know…we've been like seeing each other more than necessary…and I…uh…" I stuttered. It was so embarrassing! Why couldn't I just ask it and get it over with? "Are we like…Oh geez…This is going to sound crazy-"

"Try me."

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but will you…are we…a couple?"

He looked away from the windshield from which he had been staring out as I had talked, and he turned his attention to me. His eyes revealed nothing, but a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"I think we both know the answer to that question," he replied. With one finger that was still slightly wet from the rain, he brushed my soaked hair out of my eyes and tucked it behind my ear. We stared at each other for some time, unsure of what to say. My mind was screaming with joy and frantic pleas. Suddenly, without thinking, I leaned in and kissed him.

James stiffened slightly, having not been expecting that, but soon he relaxed and returned the kiss. The heater was blowing hot air onto us, toasting my toes and flouncing my hair every which way. Still, I ignored it.

When we both pulled away, James smiled fully this time. "Does that answer your question?"