The Beginning Of Rain In December Read online

  “Oh,” she finally said, too embarrassed to meet his eyes and instead sat up with her back towards him, fingering the bottom of the hem of his shirt. Nervous and with butterflies in her stomach. “I don’t much remember last night, after we went to the bar downtown. I could say that I never drink and I never have sex and I am sure that you would highly doubt both but I don’t and I don’t know what else to say.”

  He was quiet for long moments until finally she turned, meeting his sleepy eyes, a smile upon his face. “I believe you,” he finally said. “You, I think you are a virgin, or you hadn’t made love to anyone for a very long time. You were quite nervous last night. It wasn’t right to try anything with you especially because you had a little too much to drink.”

  “Oh, did I make a fool of myself?” She asked quietly and in embarrassment.

  “No you didn’t. You were very talkative, however, but it mostly centered on Mark’s and Belle’s children.”

  She dropped her head in embarrassment and heard him chuckle.

  “Don’t be shy,” he said, sitting up in bed and pulling her towards him, as she politely averted her eyes, the sheet dropping low onto his lap. “You were beautiful and funny and your wall came crumbling down. I had fun. We watched a movie in bed and I gave you my shirt to wear to sleep. You said I could go to sleep in the nude but you put a barrier of pillows between the two of us. I have never been so politely rejected.”

  “I’m such an idiot,” she said, finding herself smiling nonetheless, glad that she hadn’t had sex with a near stranger on a first date, but also, there was an ache within her that wanted him to fill it, wanted to know his touch.

  “Far from it,” he said, his voice deeper, smiling at her as she became mesmerized by his beautiful eyes.

  She didn’t know if it was she who leaned closer to him or if it was him who pulled her closer to him only that their lips were touching, hers hesitant in curiosity and a burgeoning need, his in perfect masculinity but careful, as if with a doe, not wanting to frighten her away, she was so skittish. Afraid to live, afraid of anything except security and privacy.

  The kiss deepened, touching each other, low moans escaping from their mouths. He pulled her to the bed gently, not breaking their kiss and her arms slowly and hesitantly wrapped around his masculine neck, the feel of his kiss upon her was unbearable, filling her up with passion, a passion that she knew was alright to feel, but still did not stop her thoughts from crashing in upon her, the realization that she was kissing a man, she’d never kissed anyone, that she was allowing someone to see her vulnerability.

  Her breath started quickening, she didn’t want to appear foolish but she had to get up, away from him, away from this.

  She started shaking her head, her hands dropping and he instantly stopped, pulling away, tuned to her needs. “What is wrong?” He asked gently, his breath rough, his manhood already hard.

  “I, we shouldn’t. I don’t want to appear to be a tease but this isn’t…I don’t feel right.” She said and expected his anger, lashing out at her.

  “Okay,” he replied.

  She stared at him in distrust, it couldn’t be that easy. She started scooting from the bed, watching him, waiting for him to move, hurt her, attack her, but he didn’t move, simply staring at her.

  “I will never hurt you,” he replied.

  She didn’t agree or disagree. Simply stood on the opposite side of the bed and met his eyes. “I think I should go home, now,” she said. “Where is my dress?”

  “On the chair behind you.” He returned.

  Nodding, she picked up her shoes, her dress, coat and purse, hearing her keys rattle within the black clutch bag. “And the bathroom?”

  “You can use my bathroom, through the door behind the chair or the guest bathroom, down the hall and to the right,” he said, once again still, as if he was with a frightened deer, not moving, not wanting to scare her away.

  “The guest bathroom,” she finally said and made her way through his bedroom that was large, impeccably done in masculine woods and simple furnishings, the large window open and she noticed for the first time they were in a sky rise apartment downtown, his condo overlooking the beauty of the city and the harbor.

  She walked briskly towards the bathroom, found it, and hurriedly put her clothes on, wrapping her coat around herself and taking out her pepper spray, placing it in the pocket of her coat. So far he hadn’t attacked her, she didn’t feel violated, and he had been calm considering her skittish behavior.

  She opened the door carefully, calling him, not wanting to go back to his bedroom, and placing the shirt he had given her last night neatly folded upon his dark leather couch in his living room, staring at the view of the city as she heard his footsteps walking towards her.

  “Are you ready?” He asked, dressed in black slacks and a black shirt, looking as handsome as he had last night.

  “I will call a cab to pick me up,” she said, going towards the door.

  “Rain,” he began. It was a command, her heart stopped in her throat. “I will not hurt you.” He repeated again. “I will drive you to your car.”

  Shaking her head, she reached the door, unlocking and opening it. “No, that won’t be necessary. Thank you for last night. Good bye.” And with those words she escaped.

  She walked downtown when she left his apartment, it was early Sunday morning, and the city seemed strangely vacant, empty. Finding a Starbucks close by she ordered a green tea and sat at the bar overlooking the deserted street with a few other people before pulling out her cellphone to call a taxi service. She felt as strangely empty as the street before her, the quiet of the Starbucks, her thoughts empty of the past twelve hours, not wanting to remember. Not about his beauty, his gentleness how he had reacted to her behavior. She wanted to forget the embarrassment, her lack of sophistication even though she was nearly thirty one, her loneliness, her past that would not die although she wished more than anything it would.

  When the taxi arrived she hurriedly escaped into the warm confines and gave the taxi driver the address of the restaurant where her car was.

  The ride was long, the taxi driver had on soft classical music lulling her into some sort of peace.

  “Thank you,” she said when the taxi driver parked behind her car. She pulled out the cash and a tip to pay him and walked towards her car warming it up as she sat shivering in the cold, turning on some music and feeling an overwhelming since to cry. “You are stupid and childish, Rain. You have to get over your past, or else they will win.”

  She drove home, took a shower, brushed her teeth and escaped to her bed where the very image of Enlai refused to leave her mind’s eye.

  “So how was the date?” Belle asked as they met each other for tea first thing in the morning before they began work at the museum where she was a director of East African studies and Belle was director of children’s studies.

  She stirred her tea in the small, family owned coffee shop where they always met, it being the complete opposite of Starbucks, where the barista’s knew your name and order within two visits and the employees treated the customers like family. She found it strange that she did not want to tell Belle the details of the date and especially how childish and skittish she had been around Enlai.

  “It was nice,” she finally admitted. “He is very…different.”

  “Different in a good way or bad way?” Belle asked interestedly.

  “Just different. I’ve never met anyone like him before. He was very patient, intelligent, kind…but hard, masculine. He, he definitely was not a metrosexual; he radiated masculinity, rawness, a tough exterior. I don’t know, like I said he is very different.”

  “Did you all set up another date?” Belle asked excitedly because Rain never spoke about any of the past dates in such in depth terms. Had never seemed remotely interested in any of the men Belle had set her up with.

  Rain shrugged, Enlai had called but she had not answered. He’d also left her a voicemail asking her if s
he wanted to do just that, meet for dinner next week. She had not returned his call. She couldn’t. “No, I think it would be for the best if we don’t meet again.”

  Belle screeched before staring at her best friend. “Now listen here, Ms. Rain, you shall not chicken out, this man is perfect for you, I knew it the minute I saw him. Stop being a big chicken and take life by the balls for once and live!” She told her emphatically. “Stop letting your past dictate your future, if you do you let them win.”

  Rain was shocked at her best friend’s outspoken speech but instead of finding offense she stared at her friend before finally relenting. “You are right, Belle. I will call him at lunch today,” she said.

  Belle smiled, hugged her friend in glee before pulling away. “Enjoy it, Rain, don’t regret it. Just enjoy the time you have with him. Okay, just enjoy your life.”

  Rain called Enlai on her lunch break, feeling slight nervousness and hoping he wouldn’t answer his phone but he did, his deep baritone voice held warmth when he said her name.

  “Rain, it’s good to hear from you,” he began as his voice trailed along her body, causing her insides to quiver.

  “You to, Enlai. I wanted to know if you still wanted to meet up this Saturday?” She asked, trying to feel calm even though she felt anything but.

  “Of course,” he said smoothly. “There is a gala opening on Bainbridge Island, it begins at three. Would you care to go?” He asked. “Dinner afterwards.”

  “That sounds perfectly. Which pier should I meet you at?”

  “Pier 52, at 2 p.m.”

  “Okay, and, thank you for the other night, I did have a good time.” She said.

  “I’m glad you did.”

  They hung up after saying goodbyes and Rain felt a small smile on her face. Her assistant, William stared at her interestedly; he was a European from Johannesburg and smiled impetuously. “New love interest?” He asked, trying to deny the slight jealousy in his voice, he had wanted Rain the first moment he had seen her, her beauty was breathtaking and yet she had kept up a careful, distant and professional wall between the two.

  Shaking her head in denial she smiled slightly, staring at William from behind her desk. “No of course not, just a friend.”

  Yet the smile upon her face was anything but speaking of just a friend.

  The week went exceptionally well; the feeling of uneasiness that had hounded Rain for the past weeks seemed to have abated until she almost forgot about it. Rain was busy with opening up a new wing of the museum that detailed more the life of the eastern African people, their history and religion. The opening was a large success due to an increase in marketing funds from new donors. When she finally left the evening of Friday, walking towards her car, one of the last people leaving for the night, she knew, something was going to happen to change her life.

  “Ms. Rule?” A voice said from behind her, she was near across the lot of the underground parking area, too far away to see their security guard, Tony who had waved her goodbye a couple of minutes ago.

  She turned quickly, noticing the tall form in the middle of the parking lot. He was Asian, dressed simply and impeccably in a black suit and starched white shirt with a black tie with thin silver stripes. His hair was silky black, parted in the middle and hanging down to his chest in a perfect silk, ebony curtain. His face was more than handsome, almost angelic but masculine, hard and cold.

  “Who are you?” She immediately asked, backing up away from him, already feeling the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

  “I will not hurt you,” he said simply, his words an exact replica of what Enlai had told her twice. She didn’t believe the man in front of her, had barely believed Enlai.

  “My name is Song,” he said.

  Her lips tightened at his name.

  He smiled as if use to the disbelief. “My name is Song. I am a friend, of your family.”

  Shaking her head, she backed away from him. “I don’t have a family.” She admitted softly, trying to find the nearest exits.

  “You still do, you just do not know them yet but they know you,” he said. “They sent me to find you.”

  “Look, maybe you have me confused with someone else I have no family. So if you would excuse me, sir.” She said backing towards her car.

  The man, Song, did not move, simply staring at her. “We will be in touch again, Ms. Rule…Rain.”

  She didn’t respond, escaping to her car and backing away, by the time she had pulled out the man, Song, was nowhere to be found.

  When she made it home, she checked her cottage style craftsman house twice before comfortable that no one had forced entry. She locked her doors, closing all the curtains but turning on all the lights, alarming her security system, before going into her bedroom and there she opened up a small hidden door and walked into her panic room, turning on the power and playing her security tapes, the video cameras covering every square inch of her home, satisfied that her home had no intruders she opened up the draw underneath the flat screen surveillance televisions, pulling out a 9mm chrome glock, one of five guns that even Belle did not know she had. She kept the gun with her while getting ready for bed, taking a shower and brushing her teeth. She then locked her bedroom door and instead of sleeping in the bed she laid on the bench seat beneath her bay window directly across from the locked door in pitched blackness.

  Sleep failed her that night.

  She finally went to sleep at six in the morning, still upon the bench seat and woke up at twelve, not quite rested but having enough energy to make it through the day and her date with Enlai. Once again she took her gun with her while getting ready for her date and eating a light breakfast of scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast.

  She dressed in a heather gray form fitting sweater dress that hugged her curves and knee high black books. In her boot she placed a small derringer and a knife on a specially designed holster under her skirt. Along with her mace she felt somewhat prepared but knew that something was going to happen, for the good or the bad. The uneasiness had begun again, had set in as soon as she heard Song’s deep voice behind her.

  He could be a killer, she thought to herself, alarming her home and going to her garage to get in her car. The thought of Song penetrated her senses and she hated the thought but she had reacted to him just as strongly as she had reacted to Enlai. He was just as beautiful as Enlai, although different, just as hard, but there was something more, he seemed almost unreal, unlike Enlai who was completely masculine with scars upon his body and Song although masculine and tall was hard, but cold. There was something about him that she couldn’t place her finger on, just like Enlai.

  And she had not forgotten his words, that she had family that searched for her, but the very thought of any of her family being alive, especially her parents was a thought best not spoken.

  She parked in the public parking lot across the street from the piers, the Saturday afternoon crisp and clear, the piers packed with people traveling upon the ferry systems to the outlying islands and Canada. She saw Enlai before he saw her, standing perfectly tall, alone in a black wool trench coat, black slacks and black leather gloves. His scarf was perfectly tailored striped black and silver and he smiled when he saw her, pulling off his gloves and wrapping her in his arms.

  “Rain, thank you for coming, you look beautiful,” he said, a smile upon his face as he escorted them inside the building.

  “Thank you, Enlai,” she said, pushing thoughts of Song and his cryptic words behind her. Enlai was before her, real, masculine, radiating heat…safety. She had looked up the gala open online, knew that it was safe to go and not a set up. She was increasingly wary but wanted normalcy more than anything else.

  “I already have our tickets, I have a car waiting on the island,” he said. “Have you been to Bainbridge before?” He asked.

  She nodded as they stood in line waiting for the ferry with other travelers and tourists. “Yes, it is one of my favorite places, there is a wine and cheese bar right off
the dock that Belle and I visit often.”

  He nodded. “You and Belle are best friends?” He asked.

  Nodding she smiled. “Yes, she is like a sister to me, closer than a sister, I guess.”

  “You are strong despite your past.” He said.

  “Not strong enough,” she denied, remembering how she had slept with her gun just the past night, how the uneasiness would not leave her even though she wished more than anything it was. Maybe she was just imagining it. Maybe because she was so use to something happening every six years maybe it was all in her mind.

  But yet she could not forget the handsome Song meeting her in the garage the other night, meeting Enlai who seemed too perfect, too handsome. Shaking her head, Rain decided then and there she would put her past behind her. Forget all the pain in her life. She would live, she wanted to so very badly, wanted to forget the pain of her past. She was determined to do such.