"Do you think he bought it?"

I was flushed, running away from the one man I thought would always have my back in this life while running towards one I had only just met a few weeks before, but one that I would inherently trust over my father.

Where that level of trust had come from, and so quickly, I had no idea, but there was no going back now.

The skies opened up just as we stepped outside of the small Italian restaurant, globe accent lights being swallowed up by the black night and sweeping swollen clouds.

"Did you drive? I don't have an umbrella," I told Eli just as he grabbed my hand underneath the only solace the canopy outside had supplied.

"Nope. We're making a run for it."

Why did it always seem like that was our motto in everything that we had done and would do together? Making a run from my father, from the rain not too long ago, and finally once more, making a run from the torrential downpour that would surely soak my favorite dress, and would keep me from returning it to the store that I'd purchased it from before realizing that I would soon be cut off, or cut myself off...it was all still so complicated, and it felt like I didn't have time to catch my breath.

Eli's mischievous green eyes held a glint of something I couldn't quite yet identify, but as soon as he tugged me out into the rain and didn't actually start running towards his car, I almost groaned out in annoyance at the fact that my hair would soon be completely destroyed, shoes ruined and dress utterly soaked, but that smile on Eli's face?

That damn smile was sure as hell worth it.

"What are you doing?!"

"I parked three lots over, there was no way I was making you run in those shoes. I figured we could just take a nice walk instead."

"A nice walk...through the pouring rain?"

My question was pointed, though held no anger, and only punctuated the fact of how crazy he was considering I had to shout over the loud pattering of raindrops slapping the asphalt and collecting in large puddles around us.

One more step and I went careening into one of those larger puddles, but Eli was there in an instant, arms scooping me up with him, and even if there was no chill in the air or in the sting of the pelting rain, I still would've shivered at his touch, but not due to the cold.

Tiny bumps peppered my exposed skin, crawling down my body in a trail ignited by his hands on my body and where I had once been feverish by having to restrain myself when sitting directly beside him in the restaurant, outside in our freedom, I clutched onto him with just as much fervor as he did me, and the sheer need that I felt to have some part of me touching him at all times was jarring.

Hands intertwined and his free arm tucking me into his side, we walked, not ran, through the pouring ass rain while the people around us looked at us like we were insane.

Suddenly, when finally back up on the sidewalk, Eli let go of my side and twirled my body around him like I weighed absolutely nothing, when I knew that was hardly the case.

"What are you doing?"

I couldn't keep the laughter out of my voice, even as I tried to see him through the half blinding rain. I could tell he was laughing, too, so I kept my face neutral, before I started fake glaring at him.

"If we're going to ruin my car, we're going to make the most out of it."

"So that means...?"

There were no longer any cars or people rushing around with their umbrellas firmly protecting them. We were surrounded by nice lawn care and flowers, large trees decorating the buildings lining the sidewalks of the strip mall where the restaurant had been located.

Eli tugged me close to his body, the warmth seeping from him being leeched onto by my own body, soaking up everything he had to give when his hand came to rest upon my cheek, the other glued to my hip.

His forehead touched mine as he leaned down, not allowing any rain to fall between our two bodies, but as I peeked up at him through rain laden lashes, a few drops slid down his cheeks and the wet mop of hair atop his head, though messy, was probably the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.

Vivid green eyes stood out against impossibly dark lashes, framed by equally dark eyebrows, and while his day old stubble grew black and dusted his cheeks slightly, the whisper of them against my skin was not unpleasant, but thrilling and evocative.

"You are so totally unexpected, Virginia Bruins."

I wheezed out a breath while it felt like my lungs had just exploded in my chest, the organ that pumped blood to the rest of my body nearly bursting with the meaning of his words, the power and intensity behind them, piercing the constant smattering of rain against the treetops, the leaves beside us, the concrete under our feet.

Steam rose up from the ground below us, the heat seeping from the ground as it chilled to the same temperature as the rain. Eli caught my chin with his hand, tilting my eyes up to meet his directly, and it was all I could do to keep my feet steady underneath me.

Far off in the distance, a bird's cry called out in the thunder storm, lightning crackling in the sky and piercing the overcast grey while a rumble in the air rocked the ground beneath our feet, much like his words had done to my world.

"Is unexpected a good thing?"

He cracked a small smile, those lips plush and pink against his stark coloring, showcasing his perfect white teeth against the perfect backdrop of olive skin and a shadow of a beard growing.

"More than you know."

The affection seeping from his words out into the air had me nearly bent over at the waist, waiting to go home and analyze every twitch of his lips, every dip of his eyebrows, every slight lilt in his voice, but his hands were moving again, a fire set off inside me that he'd created and only he could extinguish, though I wouldn't know why he would want to.

"Thank you, for coming to rescue me," I said timidly, our breaths mingling as a booming crack of thunder permeated our air, and I became increasingly aware of the fact that standing beside a tree in a parking lot was not the smartest idea, but neither was pulling away from Eli.

The lightning cascaded across the sky a few seconds later, its neon tail illuminating Eli's face in white brilliant light, the reverence in his features on perfect display.

"You didn't need to be rescued, you did just fine on your own, but I was happy to be of service."

His belief in my abilities to stand up to my family was enlightening, but I wasn't sure if it was real or if he was just trying to get me to up my self confidence when it came to them.

He was right, though, but not in the way that I would've described.

Before he'd arrived, my father had been railroading over me in the conversation, telling me everything that I needed to do in order to get my things back, car included. Those things included, but were not limited to, changing my major immediately to business and quitting theater and drama, coming home every single Friday as soon as my classes let out, and if Eli couldn't bring me then I was to take the bus, and oh yeah, staying the hell away from Eli, not to mention dropping out of the showcase that I'd just auditioned for that day.

Sara had joked, saying that I probably wouldn't even have to drop out because I most likely hadn't even made it to the finalist spot, but I was going to show her, show them, and especially my father, that I wasn't going to be steamrolled, controlled, or talked down to. That was why, when Eli showed up like a knight in some damn shining armor, that I opened my mouth and let everything I had been wanting to say just roll out of me like I'd been waiting to since we had sat down at the table.

I didn't look around to see their faces, but I knew the little ruse with Eli at the end would have my dad feeling invincible. I wasn't sure what I was going to do the next day at the game when we'd inevitably have to sit next to each other, but that was a worry for another day, as Eli's face was just inches from mine, his lips hovering so close yet still not touching, and I refused to allow this moment to be tarnished by the memory of that disastrous dinner.

"Well, thank you for believing in me, but I definitely needed you there to help me get through it."

"I'll always be there for me when you need me, V. All you have to do is ask. Sometimes, not even then."

Was that my heart bleeding out in my chest? Probably, because he'd just said always, and I knew in that moment that I was done for and completely and totally his, because after that there was no way that this was just a fling for him, just something that he was doing to pass his time or to have a little fun by messing with his coach's daughter.

This was real, so real, that as I raised my hand to his chest, I could feel his pulse racketing in his chest like it was about to run away from him.

His heartbeat ramped up after my hands were on his body, and a shiver rolled off of him that I hoped had nothing to do with the damp chill seeping through his clothes.

The rain slacked up, but his pulse did not. Mine didn't either, it couldn't, because how could it as we stood there mere centimeters apart, eyes locked and never turning away, hands on each other and never straying.

His lips descended upon mine and as one last crack of thunder and lightning crowded out the rest of the noise in the air, my sigh of contentment was only heard by my ears alone, a perfect sigh that screamed, finally. Finally, this was what home was supposed to feel like.