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The rain came down in sheets. Thunder rumbled in the distance and streams formed at the corners of homes and washed down the cobblestone streets of Soulford. Citizens retreated under awnings and in businesses. They held hands overhead in a vein attempt to shield themselves from the afternoon onslaught as they dashed for cover. Summer storms were refreshing, a sigh of relief exhaled from the heavens to cool the earth for a time.
Gan laughed as she finally made it under the cover of an ancient lean-to with soaked hair and sodden clothes. Her feet sloshed in her boots.
“I thought we had at least another hour,” Logan said in disbelief as he joined her, green eyes wide as he looked out to the trees as they bent to the will of the storm.
“So did I,” Gan admitted as she wrung the water from her short braid. Her clothes were hopeless. She would have been dryer if she’d jumped into the river. Logan was no better, she noted, as he ran his hand through his mess of brown locks and assessed himself. Her afternoon of picking edible flowers was on hold now, while she waited out the storm. It had been a lovely day, the most relaxing she’d had in a while. Searching the graze lands for the delicate purple blossoms of violets was a needed distraction. The discovery of wood sorrel had been a bonus, as had the unexpected company of Logan. He’d looked hot and tired when he’d approached her, Strider was being shod today having thrown a shoe earlier in the morning, and he had been walking his patrol.
Convincing him to stay had taken little effort and she’d offered him the heart-shaped leaf of wood sorrel to try. Undoubtedly liking the slightly sour and lemony flavor she’d noted, with a bit of pride, that he’d taken to eating some as he helped her forage.
“The storm shouldn’t last long,” Gan said, as she slipped off her boots and emptied the water from them. She set them aside and stepped close to the edge of the lean-to and stuck out her hands. Water pooled in her palms, rain washed over her forearms, and a mist sprayed her face as the wind whipped around her. It felt heavenly. Glancing back to the tall Garrin as he fussed over the leather of his armor she grinned wickedly before she tossed her handful of water back at him. It splashed his face and he looked up to her in disbelief and shock. She laughed and cupped her hands again, collecting more ammunition.
“Miss Ainm, you’re playing with fire ,” Logan threatened and she quirked a brow at him.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m fireproof ,” she said and flung more water at him. His look of surprise dissolved into mischief and Gan knew she was in for it. She darted out into the rain, the grass clung to her bare feet and ankles, she splashed through puddles, and spared a look over her shoulder to see Logan eagerly kicking out of his boots while shedding his sword and belt. When was the last time she’d ever done anything so childish, so care free and simple? Had there ever been a time like this in her life when she’d tossed all inhibitions to the wind and ran out into the rain?
A frighteningly cold splash of water jolted her from her thoughts and she heard Logan laugh before she turned to face him. His laugh was deep and bright and beautiful and she couldn’t help but join in his mirth. She leaned over in the puddle she stood in and splashed water toward him before she ran a few steps away. A game of cat and mouse as he returned fire. She lifted her arms in defense and grinned at him before she turned her attention and bounced from one puddle to the next. Logan watched her for a moment before she turned and kicked water in his direction.
“That’s hardly fair,” he chuckled.
“All’s fair in love and war Logan,” she teased and giggled when she saw him blush, his defenses lowered, she leapt forward and splashed close to him before darting off again.
“Oh, you’re in for it now,” he threatened playfully and Gan ran away from him, laughing like a child. She felt weightless as she ran in a wide circle while Logan chased her. Whatever demons had haunted her thoughts before were washed away with the rain and the sound of his laughter. Gan wanted this to last forever, this simplicity, this happiness. She wanted to stay here in Soulford for the rest of her life, living for summer showers, for flower picking in pastures, for the taste of wood sorrel as she worked, and for the sound of Logan’s laughter.
The thought made her trip and she stumbled over her feet and then her dress. Her momentum kept her moving forward and Logan, too tall and awkward in rain-soaked armor, couldn’t stop either. She tumbled to the ground, Logan tripped over her, and rolled onto his back. Gan struggled to her hands and knees and looked over to her fallen companion. He laid, dazed, looking up to the sky.
A moment of silence passed between them.
Then he laughed.
Gan blinked in surprise. He lay in a puddle, shoulder splattered in mud and grass from his fall, chest bouncing with voiced glee, as he looked up to the sky. She wasn’t sure if she had ever seen Logan laugh like this. The moment was raw and unmasked and he was delightfully vulnerable. Gan found herself grinning despite herself and their current, muddy, predicament. She knelt by him, rinsed her hands in the pooling water, and leaned over him.
“Has the heat finally gone to your head?” she asked him and he met her eyes, her stomach flipped involuntarily. It was always his eyes.
“No, not at all,” he said as he sat up, dark brown hair plastered to his forehead, lashes dripping with rain, face littered with grass. He had never looked more handsome, she thought, as he did now and the thought warmed her chest and tightened a nervous knot in her gut. She reached up and plucked several blades from his countenance and his smile waned but didn’t leave his eyes.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh like that,” she said and he took her hand in his and she felt a flutter of anticipation prickle at her fingertips.
“The same could be said of you,” he said and, with marked intention, he lifted her hand to place a kiss on her knuckles. Gan felt a blush light up her chest and ears despite the cool rain.
“I finally have a reason to,” the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. The press of his lips on her fingers made her honest and she was powerless under the attention and the intensity of his kind eyes.
“You do?” he asked, voice lower than it had been as he leaned into her, brought his free hand up to rest against her neck, and gently stroked the soft curve of her jaw with his thumb. Her heart raced in her chest, a shiver of anticipation coursed up her spine, and she wanted nothing more in that moment than to close the gap that lingered between them and kiss him.
“I do,” she whispered, barely audible over the shower, as she reached for the collar of his gambeson and pulled him to her.
She kissed him. Once, twice, then a third time and each brush of his lips on hers made her smile wide and without abandon. He made her giddy with delight but the fleeting kisses hardly seemed enough and she closed the distance between them a fourth time, held on tightly to his collar, and drank him in. His kiss was gentle, careful, and each movement made with intent. He tasted of wood sorrel and summer rain and all she could think of was him and him alone. The brush of his stubble on her chin, the warmth of his hand on her neck, the steady whisper of breath on her cheek, consumed her senses. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed, and the whole world fell away and was replaced by unimaginable bliss.
She wished this moment would never end.
Against her desire, it did.
The embrace ended but Logan lingered. He kissed her cheeks, each press of his lips to her flushed skin was slow and measured before he stood and offered her his hands. She took them and he pulled her to her feet and she noticed that the rain had all but stopped. Gan could not bring herself to say anything and, evidently, neither could Logan. She wasn’t sure what she should feel in the aftermath of such an intimate encounter. Her heart screamed one thing and her mind another and she knew she’d have to address harder questions in the future. Yet, selfishly, she relished in the turn of heart, the awkward and beautiful shift in their dynamic. How many kisses could she steal? How frequently could she make him blush, or tie his tongue? She smiled despite herself.
“Gan?” Logan pulled her out of her thoughts, dumb grin still firmly in place. He chuckled at her and then his ears turned red as he handed her boots to her. She slipped them on. “The road from here to town is nearly always vacant and I was wondering…” he paused, idly adjusted his sword and belt, and struggled for words. “I was hoping we could walk hand-in-hand,” he said and she giggled.
“Yes, yes we can,” she said and watched his shoulders relax. Had he really been that tense about asking such a simple thing? Had he not just been kissing her in the rain? Gan picked up her small basket of wet flowers and Logan slipped on his boots before he reached for her hand. His grasp was warm and gentle and he threaded their fingers together. Gan felt joy swell in her chest with Logan’s hand in hers as they walked the road back to Soulford. Nothing, she thought, would ever rob her of this happy memory.