Something in the Rain

- “I have to tell you something.”

The words are heavy as they escape Bryan's lips, almost like he can’t stop them. They linger on her face, just for a moment, making it look softer somehow. Her cheeks are pink and there are red splotches on her nose. She looks so beautiful standing there at the edge of the bridge. He’s never seen anything more beautiful than her in his entire life.

Her lips are slightly parted as she stares up at him, waiting. Waiting for what? He doesn’t know. It all feels too fast; they’ve only been dating for two months now. She hasn’t even kissed him yet. But there is something about her that has always drawn him in. The way her eyes light up when he says something silly. How soft her smile looks when he kisses her on the chick. Even when things get difficult, she’ll still do that thing where she makes him feel better.

He knows what he wants with her. He just doesn’t know how she feels about him. There is nothing but pure adoration in her eyes when she looks at him. Yet there is also a glimmer of fear. He doesn’t know whether it’s because she thinks she could lose him or she thinks losing someone would be painful enough that she might not want to risk that again.

Still, Bryan cannot deny his own feelings. He’s pretty sure she feels them too. He’s had dreams since he was eleven. Dreams where they were kissing under the stars. Where they made love beneath a warm blanket, wrapped in each other’s arms. Dreams where Bryan told her everything about himself. His fears, his hopes, his dreams. Every little bit of who he really is.

But now that they’re here, standing under the bridge, watching the rain fall down around them, he realizes he’s been holding back. If she knew everything about him, why didn’t she say anything? Why did she wait until today to come clean? To tell him that she loves him too?

- “What is it?” she asks, shifting nervously on her feet. “Is this about the project?”

Bryan shakes his head. His mind races through several different thoughts before settling on one he’d considered many times over the past few weeks. It’s not an easy decision to make. He’s scared. Scared of rejection. Scared of being hurt. Scared of losing her. But he knows he needs to do this. Needs to tell her. Needs to hear her say those three little words.

- “No,” he finally answers. “It’s not about the that. Or the project, really. It’s…” he trails off, trying to find the right words to explain the sudden feeling bubbling up inside of him. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something important.”

She nods slowly, seeming confused.

-“Okay…”

- “I…” he takes a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. “I think I’m in love with you.”

For a moment, she doesn’t respond. Then she lets out a small gasp and steps closer to him.

- “You…you mean…like…like…like me?

Bryan nods shyly, unable to meet her gaze. - “Yeah. Like you.” He chances a glance up at her then and finds her staring at him like he hung the moon.

- “I thought you said we weren’t going to talk about this.”

Bryan laughs quietly, trying to hide how embarrassed he is from the situation. He knows if she found out he’d been thinking about this for a long time, she wouldn’t take it well. Still, he’s glad she brought it up now. That way he won’t screw up their relationship. And maybe he’ll finally find out why she’s been ignoring him these past few weeks. Maybe she’ll have an answer to the question he’s been asking himself for years.

- “I know,” he replies, giving her another half smile. “But…it’s hard to ignore your feelings when you don’t speak.”

She frowns. “That’s weird.”

Another laugh escapes him. God, he loves her. He hates himself for wanting this so badly, but he does. “Maybe, but that doesn’t change the fact that I do like you. I really do.”

-“Oh, okay,” she mumbles, seemingly lost in thought. A moment later, she raises her head and smiles softly at him. “I think I liked you when you first started coming to my house. I was kind of annoyed by it at first, but then I realized that you were actually nice. You were funny and smart and you listened to me when I talked about stuff I wasn’t comfortable talking about.”

Bryan blushes at the compliment.

-“Thanks.”

-“And you’re really cute,” Before he can even process the information, she leans forward suddenly and plants a quick kiss on his lips. She pulls away with a bright grin on her wet face and a sparkle in her eyes that he can’t help but match.

-“So?” she asks. “How did you like it?”

- “I liked it.”

- “I like you too,” she grins.

Bryan wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. “Good.”

They stay like that for a while, leaning into each other comfortably, listening to the soft patter of the soaking rainfall above them and looking out over the water as it rushes by below the bridge. After a while, Bryan pulls back enough to look into her eyes.

- “Can I ask you something?”

- “Of course.”

- “Are you…do you love me?”

His voice comes out quieter than he intends and he curses internally at his nervous tone. But luckily, his girlfriend doesn’t seem to notice. She only giggles and gives him a quick peck on his wetcheek.

- “Why wouldn't I? Of course I do. I love you,” she repeats, emphasizing every word carefully as she’s saying it for the first time.

He beams at her. His heart flutters slightly, like it often does whenever she calls him cute or sweet or anything remotely like that. He’s never felt so happy before in his entire life, but he tries not to let it show. He’s afraid it will scare her away if he does. Instead, he just squeezes her tighter against him and rests his chin on top of her head

-“Thank you,” he mutters softly, as they moved in a worm embrace, slowly dancing in the rain.