Rain
Leslie cursed. Of course her car had to break down on the one day it was pouring it down, right in the middle of her commute to City Hall. She had managed to pull over and was now sat in the car, trying the engine. No joy. The rain was battering the roof of her car.
Ugh, she was going to be late. She didn’t even care about her car- it was an old piece of crap and she needed a new one- badly. But her first priority was getting into work.
She called a company who said they would come and collect the car, but that didn’t solve the issue of getting into work. Maybe she should call a cab, or even ask the car guy to give her a lift?
Before she could think on that for too long, she spotted a set of headlights coming down the road, and then the car next to her beeped softly. She squinted to see who was in the passenger seat and groaned again, but this time it was for a different reason.
It was Ben- cute, funny, amazing Ben, who she definitely had feelings for but, well, Chris had sort of banned that. If she wanted to keep her job? No cute Ben.
Ben rolled down his window. Leslie did the same, and the sound of the rain got much louder.
“Are you okay?” he called. Leslie winced.
“Car trouble- don’t worry about me!”
Ben frowned. “Have you called somebody?”
“Yeah,” Leslie told him. “I called some scrap people. This car is totally busted. Now I’m just waiting around.”
Ben frowned harder. “That’s not fun. Do you want a lift into work?”
Leslie’s brain said no. No- don’t spend too much time with him. It’ll only make it harder when inevitably you have to-
“Yes! Yes please, that would be great.”
So less than five minutes later, Ben and Leslie were on their way to work. Leslie thanked Ben again for the car ride, and Ben was as polite as usual.
“It’s really no problem,” he told her. “I couldn’t leave you stranded.” Ben laughed. “You practically run that place. It’d burn to the ground without you there.”
Leslie’s heart fluttered a little. “Err- thank you.”
They smiled at each other, but now they were sat in silence. The tension was killing Leslie. Especially when they hit a red light and Ben took his hands off the wheel for a moment. They hovered in the air, before settling on his legs. God, he had nice legs. God, he had nice hands. Leslie wondered what he could do with those hands.
No! Stay focused. You want to be president someday. You can’t be president if you get involved with him.
“So, what are your weekend plans?” Ben asked with a smile, and Leslie fell a bit in love with him.
***
Leslie sighed. It had been a week since she and Ben had broken up- amicably, of course, and Ben had been a total sweetheart- but she had felt that weight on her chest since then. It was Friday now, and Ann had invited her round for movies, but she had a few hours in between. Maybe she could get some crying in and then fix her makeup before she went round to Ann’s.
She left City Hall just as huge droplets of water fell from the sky. It matched her mood, to be perfectly honest.
As she walked to the car park, she felt a rush of anxiety as she spotted Ben walking there too. He had a huge umbrella, of course that man was prepared for anything. Leslie had checked the weather this morning and it had said sunny. But now it was raining.
Why was he coming over to her? God he was getting closer, he was-
“Do you want to share my umbrella? We’re walking the same way.”
“Err- no thanks, Ben.”
“But you’re getting soaked,” he commented, giving her a classic Ben look of disapproval.
Leslie cursed inwardly. “Alright, fine. Thanks.”
The two walked in silence. He was holding the umbrella, so all she had to do was walk. Just walk to her car, politely thank him, then drive home and cry and then eat a bucket of ice cream.
“So, what are your weekend plans?” Ben asked, and Leslie’s heart broke a little.
“Nothing really,” Leslie replied. “Work.”
Ben chuckled drily. “Is that all?”
“I’m seeing Ann tonight,” she said quietly, and Ben nodded.
“That’s nice.”
“What about you?”
“Not much. I might give Twin Peaks another spin.”
“That’s cool.”
They finally got to their cars, which just happened to be parked one car away from each other. Leslie hesitated, before giving him a smile.
“Thanks for the umbrella, Ben.”
“No problem,” he replied.
The two stood in silence. Ben moved slightly, and Leslie thought he was going to say or do something, but then he pulled out his keys and unlocked his car. Leslie was disappointed. Why was she disappointed? It had been an amicable break up. She had her career to think of.
“Well… see you around, I guess,” Ben murmured.
“Yeah, see you around,” Leslie echoed, and the two of them looked at each other miserably.
Leslie got into her car and watched him drive away into the rain.
***
The rain hitting a roof had always been a pleasant sound. Leslie had loved it, ever since she was a child. It made her feel so content, so at peace. It helped her brain switch off.
She was sat on the couch, listening to the rain, feeling happy.
“Are you comfortable?” his voice said beside her.
“Of course I am, I’m leaning on you,” she replied with a giggle. He laughed.
“You’re lucky I don’t mind being leaned on.”
She turned and looked at Ben, and he gave her a smile. They kissed gently, but it never got old.
When their lips parted, she turned and looked out the window again, watching the rain as it lashed down onto the street.
“So, honey, what are our weekend plans?” he asked her. And Leslie smiled.
“Anything, as long as we’re together.”
Ben sighed contentedly. “That’s fine by me.”