The Storm Inside

“You don’t have to do that.” I said trying to stop him but he held the front door open for me and stood next to me. I could feel the heat from his body.

“I’m not going to let you go out in this weather. Let’s go.”

I walked into Mike’s hallway and followed him to the elevator. We went to the lower level parking garage and got to his car.

“Wait…is this yours?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Mike said unlocking my car door.

“Is this…”

“Yeah, it’s the one I was working on with my dad. I got rid of my Honda.”

“Wow.” I said taking in the cherry red ’69 Mustang.

I slipped into the passenger seat and buckled up as Mike started it up. I wish I could say that the ride back to my apartment was magical but it wasn’t. It was awkward as hell.

We sat in silence as the car maneuvered through the slick city streets. I looked out the window as rain pelted the car all around me and snuck glances at Mike to see if he felt as uncomfortable as I did. I decided to break the silence mostly because I couldn’t really take it for much longer.

“Hey, Mike, Sarah told me about your dad. I’m really sorry. I know you guys were close.”

Mike had a look on his face that was hard to read. His jaw was set and he looked almost angry but he softened.

“Thanks.”

We were silent again and I winced at just how awkward this whole night had been.

“Faith…I don’t think I ever thanked you for sticking around when my mom died. Not every person would do that and I think I took that for granted. It was a pretty rude awakening to figure that out when my girlfriend bailed after my dad died.”

I studied Mike’s face as he stared ahead at the road. He looked over at me and smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry, Mike.”

“Eh…we were on the rocks anyway.” He said it mater-of-factly and shrugged.

I felt bad for him. His life was obviously very different than when we broke up and it seemed like he was trying his best to cope with it all but was clearly struggling. I also thought about the last time we saw each other and how painful that was for me. It had been right after Amber’s attack and I had been confused and stressed and we ended up kissing right before he told me he was seeing someone. It was a brief encounter but the memory of it was something that I couldn’t ignore and I’m sure he was thinking about it, too, considering how awkward this ride home was turning out to be.

I spent the rest of the drive telling Mike how to get to my new apartment until we found ourselves sitting in his car in front of my building.

“You know, Anna died a few months ago.” I said.

I don’t know what made me say it. I think I just wanted Mike to know he wasn’t alone when it came to grief. I put my hand on his and squeezed.

“I’m sorry to hear that. She was a good person.” He looked at our hands and squeezed mine back.

“Your dad was, too.”

“…yeah.”

“Okay…well, thanks for the ride. Tell Sarah I’m sorry about what happened with her friend.”

I reached down and tried to undo my seat belt but it wouldn’t release.

“Oh, here, it’s kind of tricky. We had to put in new belts and the locking mechanism keeps catching.”

Mike leaned over and tried to help me release the seat belt clip. His hands brushed against my outer thigh and his face was next to my shoulder. I held my hands up to get them out of his way but the clip wouldn’t release. He looked up at me laughing with frustration.

“This car is such a piece of -“

He looked up at me and our eyes locked; instantaneously his hand cupped the side of my face as his lips pushed against mine with hesitation and then with confidence. I kissed him back firmly until the seat belt released and flew up between us. I gave a yelp and we both froze before bursting into a fit of laughter. There was a brief silence that settled between us.

“Um. If you take a right up here you can park your car…” I pointed out.

Mike pulled into Molly’s parking space and we walked quickly to the front of my building. We were both completely soaked by the time we got into the elevator. I stumbled with my keys in the lock but finally got the door open and as soon as it closed Mike’s mouth was on mine. My apartment was dark and lit only occasionally by flashes of lighting. I could hear the water from my clothes and hair dripping on the floor and Mike’s hand roved over the small of my back and into my hair, which had been pulled out of a bun within seconds.

We pulled each other’s clothes off as we stumbled across my apartment and into my bedroom. I pulled a condom out of my nightstand and rolled it onto him before he entered me and we began moving together.

After, I found myself wrapped in my sheets and Mike’s arms as we watched the rain continue to fall outside. His fingers were lightly stroking along my forearm.

“I’ve missed you.” He said quietly.

I turned my head and kissed him gently.

“I have to go, soon. If Sarah notices I’m gone, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

I nodded.

He untangled himself from my sheets and I watched as his silhouette collected the clothes strewn about my apartment and got dressed. He leaned over me and kissed me.

“I’ll call you later, okay?” He said.

“Okay.” I watched him go and then laid my head on my pillow.

I stared up at my ceiling and couldn’t believe the events of the night. I wanted to just be happy about it but I knew that Mike and I needed to talk. I needed to at least make sure he understood that I had only just ended a serious relationship. But that also scared me because what if that made Mike change his mind about…whatever it is this was? Were we getting back together? Was this just a one-time thing?

Yeah. We definitely needed to talk.