Dance With Me In the Pouring Rain

Tory left early the next morning. There were no teary goodbyes, just a hug and a kiss and a promise to keep in touch. It wasn’t until I was waving goodbye as she drove away in her mum’s car that it hit me – she was leaving, and she wasn’t coming back.

I didn’t go back to bed. I went and sat in the kitchen, still dressed in only my boxers, and held my head in my hands. I wouldn’t cry. I couldn’t. But it felt like a part of me had been ripped out.

My phone interrupted my little pity party. It buzzed insistently; I had a text. Flipping my phone open, I read it, and a smile spread involuntarily across my face.

Missing me already? Lol I am. Tory xxx

We texted back and forth as the morning dwindled away. Dad walked in at one point, while I was waiting for a reply from Tory. I explained what was going on, and he just smiled before leaving again.

He drove me down the next day and we helped Tory and her family unpack and settle in. When we finished, Catherine and Alan invited Dad to sit and chat with them or whatever it is grownups do these days, and Tory gave me a tour of their new area.

We ended up in a park, of all places. It was much smaller than the one at home, and sitting on a bench didn’t feel the same, but it was oddly comforting to see something so familiar.

“School tomorrow,” I commented, in a momentary lapse between conversations. “I’m not looking forward to it.”

Tory grimaced. “You’re not the one who has to start afresh at the beginning of Year Eleven. It’s going to be hell. Not to mention I’ll have to adapt to the different syllabuses and get used to different teachers and-”

“Tory,” I interrupted, “stop worrying. You’re a genius, you’ll be fine.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks. I think.”

“Seriously, though, you’ll be fine,” I assured her. “You’ll make friends in no time as well. And you’ll meet tons of boys to take your mind off missing your lovely boyfriend.”

“Well now you mention it there are some pretty good-looking guys around here,” she teased.

I straightened up, scowling. “Like who? Tell me their names and where they live. I’ll punch their noses in, then they won’t look so pretty.”

She rolled her eyes again. “I thought you were over your anger issues.”

I shrugged. “I was. But now I don’t have you to calm me down, do I?”

“Something tells me you’ll be just fine without me,” she told me, rubbing my shoulder. “Though don’t you be chatting to any fit girls, mind.”

“So not fit girls are okay, then?” I asked mischievously.

She nudged me. “I think you know full well the answer to that question.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. “And who said we wouldn’t be able to make this work?”

“It’s been a day, Fletch,” she reminded me. “Two, if you count yesterday. And I don’t think it’s enough to judge-”

Whatever else she was about to say died on her lips as I kissed her, holding the back of her neck to keep her in place. When I pulled away, she smiled wryly.

“Okay. Maybe that’s enough to judge,” she admitted.

I smiled back. It felt good, sitting there, talking about the future. We didn’t know what it held. You never do. But if you don’t take a chance, if you don’t risk the fall, you could be missing out on something amazing. Like Tory and me. If I hadn’t taken the risk and told her how I’d felt we’d still be just friends and we’d never have got this close. Sometimes, you just need a little faith that things will turn out okay. And even if they don’t, at least you can say you’ve tried, instead of living with what-ifs.

“What are you thinking?” Tory asked curiously, smiling.

I shrugged. “Just stuff. I’m glad we got together.”

“Me too,” she replied. “Life would be a lot less interesting without you in it to keep me on my toes.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I said sarcastically. “Kidding,” I added quickly, at the look on her face.

Chuckling, she looked up at me. “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”

“Yep,” I agreed. “I’m pretty sure we will.”

Just then, the grey clouds above, which had been threatening rain all day, poured out torrent after torrent of water. Within seconds, we were sodden.

“You have got to be kidding me!” I yelled, as Tory laughed. “We’re going to get soaked!”

“Come on,” she grinned, taking me by the arm. “Dance with me in the pouring rain.”

And so, albeit a tad reluctantly, I did. With the rain pounding our skin and soaking us to the bone, we got up and danced. I didn’t feel foolish. I didn’t feel stupid.

Because I was there with the girl I loved, and at that moment in time, that was the only thing that mattered.