“I’ll say. Last time I saw it rain this hard, we were—”

I instantly stiffened. Ryan stiffened up, too, stopping himself.

Streaks of car lights flickered through drops of rain in my thoughts; the sounds of tires screeching on wet road and a horn blaring at me to get out of the middle of the street in downtown Miami swirled into one painful flashback. That horrid memory, that feeling as if I’d just been eviscerated seeing him kiss Lauren, that wishing to have all the pain just go away washed over me. It was distant but instant. Thankfully, I was able to keep that memory separate from this current moment, not allowing those bad moments to pull me under.

“I shouldn’t . . . I didn’t mean,” Ryan fumbled, followed by the whisper of a curse to himself.

I gave him my attention, trying not to let it blow out of proportion. “It’s all right.”

Suddenly he snagged my wrist, pulling me to the opening on the porch. “I. Fuck. Come,” he ordered.

“Where are we going?”

Ryan stepped off the porch, then stood directly under the water overflowing from the gutter above.

“What are you doing?” I asked as the water poured onto his head. He smiled wickedly and shook the water off his head before bending and catching me behind my knees. I felt the whoosh as I was hefted over his bare shoulder and then cold rainwater pelted my hair, my shoulders, and my back, causing me to squeal.

“Ryan!”

“Come on, baby.” He walked us down the flooded driveway in his bare feet. He only had a pair of track shorts on since we were lounging around the house.

The rain was cold but refreshing and instantly blocked my thoughts out, giving me the space to only worry about getting soaked.

“What are you doing?” I giggled as he hustled down the long drive.

“Makin’ new memories,” he said in a rush, stopping when he reached the torrent of water flowing down the street.

Just when I thought I couldn’t love him any more than I already did, I fell another few miles deeper in love with him. He twirled us around, holding my legs out so I was balanced over his shoulder on my stomach. Heavy rain pelted my legs as I laughed from his playfulness.

“You’re crazy!” I felt so giddy and free.

Ryan motioned like he was going to dump me on the ground. “Do you love me?” I grabbed the back of his wet shorts.

“Yes!”

He raised my legs higher. “What?”

“Yes!” I giggled louder, exposing the top crack of his ass as he hung me down his back.

He splashed into a huge puddle. “Say it!”

“I love you!”

Ryan spun us in a circle. My wet hair whipped around, sticking to my face. “What?

I can’t hear you. It’s raining. You’ll have to speak up.”

“I love you!” I shouted, wiping the wet hair out of my eyes with one hand while holding his shorts with the other.

“You what?”

I smacked his perfect, soaking-wet ass. “I love you!”

“You love me?”

He was making me dizzy, jumping and twirling us around like that. “I love you!” His hands gripped my thighs. “You gonna marry me, Mitchell?”

“Yes! Don’t drop me!”

He dipped me back farther; my wet shirt gathered uncomfortably under my breasts.

“Yes? Yes, what?”

I was laughing so hard, I was getting one of those side-stickers in my ribs. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

He set me down in the cold, streaming rainwater; one hand grasped my hip while the other got stuck into my hair at the base of my head. And then he was kissing me. In the downpour. In the stream of water running against the curb in front of his parents’

house outside of Pittsburgh. Kissing me with everything he had and then some. Smoothing back my wet hair. Biting my lips. Swirling his tongue with mine. Mingling our hungry breath into one.

Marking my memories with new thoughts of the rain.

Shining his brightness on me in the midst of a dark storm.

My hands were on his smooth, muscular back, his ribs, his neck and face.

Mine.

Mine, mine, mine.

“I love you,” he murmured.

“I love you more.”

He broke away to grace me with his killer smile. His happiness, knowing I was a huge part of it, was like a gift. One that I’d cherish forever.

But I still had to get him back for spinning me upside down. I bent down, gathered up a handful of water, and tossed it at him.

“Oh yeah?” He skimmed his big foot through the stream, sending water splashing all over my shins.