When it rains, it pours; figuratively and literally.
As we walked back hand in hand from the coach faint splattering sounds came from the floor, hissing as lightning struck the sky. I could hear the wind tugging at the trees, and small droplets of water left trails as they rolled down dark glass windows of the houses around us. A large boom echoed into the far away hills, and I couldn't help but feel the rumble of the clap through my body. The beautiful harmonies from the rain tapped on cars and various objects surrounding us. I loved the thrill of a thunderstorm, like some primal instinct coming to tell me to run far away from this mighty storm.
"Wow this storm came out of nowhere!" Tori pulled me into a small sheltered area under a palm tree. Her clothes were soaked through; her once beautiful, bouncy hair was now stuck against her head with beads of water dripping off it.
"You need to learn to wear waterproof mascara, Tor." I wiped my thumb under her eyes, trying my best to remove the black smudges that has quickly formed under her watery eyes. Every time she blinked more droplets would fall from her lashes onto her cheeks. "You look like a panda." I laughed.
"A cute panda, right?" She cocked her eyebrow up at me as she now attempted to wipe away the darkness from under her eyes. "This reminds me of our first date."
"Oh yeah. We got stuck in the rain then too." I chuckled.
"And we danced." She held her hand out at me, her eyes eager.
"Not a chance." I shook my head at her. Water falling from my hair as I shook. "I want to get home. I need a coffee in my life. Plus, it's my birthday and what I say goes." I said, smug.
She smirked at me, a little pout on her face as she grabbed my wrist. "It's past midnight, no longer your birthday Miss West." She seized the opportunity quickly, moving her hand from my wrist onto my hand and tugging my body close to hers. She turned us elegantly, her body in tune with the slowing rain. I didn't quite care at the moment, about anything. Was it because I had fallen in love with a girl I hardly knew? The warmth between us grew more powerful by the second. My heartbeat was growing steadily along with it. Our dance was perfect; everything from our breathing to how our feet moved in sync.
As she let go of me I rolled my eyes the best I could. I never hated when she made me do cheesy stuff like that. In fact I loved it, though I would never admit that to her. "Happy now?"
She kissed me gently, her wet nose brushing against mine softly. "You're a good dancer, Jade."
"Thank god my parents paid for those thousands of hours of ballet class then so I could dance in the pouring rain with my crazy girlfriend!" I put my arm around her neck, resting on her shoulders and linking my hand with hers as we walked. "Let's get home my little ballerina."
"Did you have a good birthday?"
I nodded. "It's been the best birthday I've had since I was five!"
"What happened on your 5th birthday?" Tori scrunched her nose up at me; a look of confusion covering her face.
"My parents broke up."
"Oh." I could tell I'd made Tori speechless. I never really spoke of my past or my childhood to her. "Why?"
"It's a long story."
"But we have all night. Your Mom said I could stay over tonight remember?" Tori pleaded with me.
As we reached my drive way Tori stopped talking quickly. "What's that?" She pointed to the side of the driveway towards the grass.
"Shit." My mouth dropped open in surprise; a gasp escaping from my lips. "I can't believe it." I raised a hand to cover my beating heart as I took in the scene in front of me. "I really cannot believe it."
"I am SO glad I don't have to keep this a secret anymore!" Tori's face beamed. Her eyes excited as she glanced between the new car and me.
"You knew?" I couldn't take my eyes off the present in front of me.
Tori nodded eagerly. "Your Mom told me a couple weeks ago and made me promise not to tell you. It's been sooooo hard keeping it from you!" And I know you hate surprises and what not but-"
I couldn't control myself any longer. I leapt into Tori's arms so quick it made her stumble over her feet as she tried to keep her balance. We melted into each other as we embraced. The world around me felt like it had stopped as I held her so close with gratitude.
"It's not me you have to thank." She giggled.
"I know. I'll thank my parents in the morning. I just cannot believe it. I've been hinting for a car for months now but I never thought they'd actually get me one." I finally got close to the car, moving my way around it slowly taking it all in. "It's the best."
"I wish my parents had got me a car for my 16th!" A hint of envy in Tori's voice.
"It's fine, you don't need a car. I can drive us everywhere now."
"So you like it then?" The front door opened, letting in the light from the hallway as a slim figure stood quietly. From the position of her body I could tell she was nervous, something unusual for her.
I paused before rushing over to her and standing just inches away from the small woman. Her dress was whipping around her knees and her blonde hair was flowing from the passing storm. For once she didn't smell of alcohol or cigarettes. She smelled only of her sweet, flowery perfume that my Dad always got her for Christmas. I collided with her sturdy frame, my arms wrapping around her. She stood stiffly, not moving for a few moments. I tightened my hold, and slowly, unsure of herself, she raised her arms and pulled me close. "Thank you, Mom." I whispered into her ear.
"Happy birthday, darling." She replied so genuinely and loving I thought she might cry. "Now get inside the pair of you and get yourselves dried off. I don't know why you girls enjoy getting drenched in the rain so much, but one day you'll both get ill from it." She pointed to the hallway as she let go of me, a small smile across her red lips.
"Yes, ma'am." Tori rushed in straight away, leaving a trail of water behind her.
…..
Tori sat at the end of my bed, an old tshirt of mine swamping her tanned body and a dark towel wrapped around her head. She had her concentration completely on her toenails as she delicately painted each tiny nail a shade of red. Her tongue was poking out of her mouth with every stroke of the brush. Her face was bare, long gone were the smoky black eyes and heavy face of make-up from earlier on. Her natural beauty was shining through in the most innocent form. Even when completing something so simple as painting her nails she had a powerful way of making me watch her without even doing anything. I was always in awe of her beauty.
"So are you going to pour me a glass of wine or am I going to have to waddle over in this state and do it myself?" She questioned, finally glancing up at me with a cheeky grin on her face.
"Of course your highness. Anything else you may need while I'm up? A midnight snack? A fan? Some grapes fed to you?" I mocked in an old fashioned voice.
"Well now you mention it some grapes would be lovely, but no seeds in them if you please." She replied without missing a beat.
I tried to suppress my giggling, but ended up bursting into loud laughter at her. "Here, just stick to the red wine for now. There's grapes in that." I passed her the full glass, still laughing at her.
"To the birthday girl." She held her glass up at me.
I shook my head. "No. My birthday's over now. Here's to us."
Tori's smile stretched from ear to ear as she clicked her glass on mine. "Here's to us." She responded softly.
I felt so lucky every time I watched her smile. It was like she was lighting a fire inside me with every grin and giggle. For once in my life it felt like my luck was changing and it was all down to Tori. Everything seemed to be clicking into place. Tonight I'd even hugged my Mother for the first time in years and not wanted to throttle her. She was changing dynamics not just in my life but in my family's life. She wasn't just mine, but she was my family's good luck charm. She's my serendipity; a happy, coincidental and fortunate occurrence in my life.
"You know I hate the big light." I stepped over Tori's legs that were now hanging off my bed, cotton stuffed between each toe as she blew gently onto the freshly painted nails to turn off the switch.
"Well I like bright lights." She lent across my bed, switching the main light back on, raising her eyebrow at me.
"Feeling brave tonight, Vega?"
"Depends." A devious smirk pulled across her lips. "What do you have in mind, West?"
I sat beside her, letting my body fall slowly onto the soft bed underneath me. My eyes closed gently as the bright light hit them. Turning my head my eyes rested on her feet beside me. "You missed a spot."
A shocked and dramatic gasp left Tori's lips. "What? Where?" She pulled her feet up towards her face. "No I haven't!"
"God you are so easy to fool."
"So are you." She replied quick.
"What's that meant to mean?"
"Nothing." She pulled the damp towel off her head and threw it at me pathetically.
"Eww. I don't want your wet hair towel on me." I let it slip to the floor as I sat up, using my elbows to rest.
"I thought you liked having my wet on you?" Tori mimicked my body position. She turned to face me, and those gorgeous, breathtaking eyes were caught in the bright light. A perfect blend of chocolate brown and emerald green, they seemed full of life as her mouth opened in a broad smile.
I cocked my eyebrow up at her. "So you are feeling brave." I grabbed at the cup beside my bed. "God, I need some coffee, badly."
Tori rolled her eyes at me, falling onto her back again. "Oh? How badly do you need a coffee?"
"Very badly."
"I think the price of me getting you a coffee has gone up today." She turned to lean on her side, as she giggled.
"What? When did this happen?" Fake surprise in my voice. I was curious where she was going with this.
"When you rejected me just then for coffee."
"Get out." I kicked her arm from under her, watching her fall hopelessly onto her back.
She acted as though it hadn't phased her. Lying still on her back, letting her damp hair trail down the end on my bed. "Do you want the coffee or not?" She replied calmly, a small smirk still coating her face.
"For whatever this is, I want a lot of than just coffee."
"Well if you're good to me, you'll be getting just that." She winked at me effortlessly. Confidence oozed out of her as she spoke.
"I bet." My cheeks began to blush pink. Butterflies building in my stomach. I wasn't used to her being so in control. And I didn't realise just how much of a turn on it was.
"Would you like a muffin with your coffee too?" The word muffin rolled off her tongue with ease. I couldn't tell if she was being cheeky or just funny. Either way, whatever she was doing was working.
"Only if it has butter on it."
"I can melt some butter." She sat up properly, moving all her weight into her hands and knees as she crawled slowly towards me, her tongue brushing against her lower lip as she moved.
I felt a lump in my throat as I sat still just watching her move towards me. "I'm sure you can." It felt like all my confidence had left me and gone straight into Tori.
She smiled at me again, a small trickle of laughter leaving her lips as she slowly bent toward me, his lips grazing mine ever so softly. It was almost as if she was testing my boundary line. Her lips were warm and smooth as they brushed against my own. My hand instinctively met the side of her cheek, slowly urging her lips harder against mine. It was as if every ounce of me wanted her lips on mine, to feel her hands as they traced the contour of my body.
She stopped as I tried to pull her closer to me. "Patience, Jade." She loosened her grip from me, leaning over me softly.
I nodded, speechless. As she pulled away I took deep breathes, trying not to show just how vulnerable I seemed to be. I stiffened when her hands planted themselves on my waist boldly, but her light, heart-warming chuckle managed to loosen me up again. Moving her right hand up to the nape of my neck she seized my lips once again with her own only this kiss was more powerful more passionate sending heat to my cheeks, butterflies to my stomach and taking my breath away all at the same time.
"Still want the coffee?" She whispered, breathless into my ear. Nipping at my lobe between each word.
"No." I stumbled. My gaze moved from her eyes to her lips and once more her soft lips were against mine, one hand slowly but surely tangling into my wet hair.
"Good girl." Was her quick response inbetween kisses.
My lips parting this time to let her tongue explore my mouth and my own tongue feeling the pure pleasure of exploring her mouth as her hand searched the small of my back and back into my hair. Each intake of breath was another reminder of what was really happening, her sweet perfume, the way her hands tangled in my hair, pressing my lips against her with a more urgent pace.
When we finally pulled free, her eyes were wild and I knew they matched my own. A big smile crept across her face sending a matching grin a cross my face as well.
"Jade?" A small voice entered the silent room. "Jade what are you doing? Girls don't kiss other girls? I thought you only kissed Beck?" My bedroom door swung open, a silhouette of a small child in the doorway.
We both froze; Tori still leaning on me. I couldn't tell if it was her heart beating a million miles an hour or mine as no one spoke.
"Does Mommy know?" Jett spoke again, finally coming into the light of the bedroom. He looked bewildered and wide eyed, and really didn't look like he knew where he was or what he was doing. He kept looking around my room, his eyes darting back and forth very fast. He didn't look at me once, his eyes eventually landing on the floor.
As he finished his sentence Tori moved of me slowly, her face as pale as a ghost. She sat on the edge of the bed, cupping her face in her hands. Her face began to crumple as she looked up to Jett.
"No." I croaked. The jig was up. Jett was a kid and couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Our secret; mine and Tori's own little secret was now going to be exposed by an 8 year old.
"Is he going to tell?" Tori whispered, looking back at me. Regret and embarrassment coated her face. She watched as I nodded slowly at her. Her whole body shaking as she let out a silent sob; several tears rolling down her cheeks.
As the three of us stayed still in silence a loud crash echoed around the room, a flash of lightning shining quickly through the window. When it rains, it pours.