AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This story has been submitted as part of the RAINY DAY STORY CHALLENGE set on the Author Hangout Discussion Forum. All criteria and build up can be viewed through this link:
RAINY DAY STORY CHALLENGE THREAD
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"
Hey, Tri-State! Wake up! Today is going to be a beautiful day! Rise and Shine sleepy heads! To get you going on your way to a happy day here's Bon Jovi and...."
Before I even hear what the "next song" will be, I hit the sleep button on my alarm clock. "Just 7 more minutes," I plead as I look at the numbers 6:30 blaring back at me in bright red lights. Wincing, I close my eyes and pull the covers over my head. I know full well that I will not be able to sleep for another 7 minutes, but just laying in bed and trying to wake up was worth it. The old adage, "Another day, another dollar" ran through my head. A dollar! More like chump change, but it pays the rent.
I slide the covers down just enough so I can see those red numbers ~ 6:36 a.m. Click! 6:37 a.m.
"Damn! I hate when that happens!"
"...temperatures could rise into the 90's today with a bit of overcast in the late afternoon. But I think..."
"I don't care what you think," I say as I shut my alarm clock off. Tossing back the covers and sitting up, I stretch and immediately feel a pain in my back. Still I smile at the memory of just why I have that pain and how I got it. I feel my body tingle as I close my eyes and recall every second, every moment of yesterday. Yes. It may have rained. But it was the best rainy day of my entire adult life...
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The day didn't start out annoying: it gradually became annoying.
I needed to go food shopping and headed up towards the grocery store a few towns away. It was an okay weather day except for the fact that the sun was hidden behind very thick, gray clouds. Even though the temperature said 85 degrees, it felt much cooler, so I didn't mind doing "indoor" chores. This Saturday the roads were pretty busy. Traffic was at a stop and go pace, so the trip to the store that would normally take me 15 minutes took 45.
The parking lot was crowded; it took another 15 minutes to find a spot, and that was at the other end of the shopping center. ARGH! It was not going well and my mood was getting darker and darker, as were the clouds in the sky.
I made my way through the grocery store, picking up just enough to get me through the week. Since I live alone, I usually shop week to week. I only go to the larger grocery stores for the more important products like toilet paper, paper towels and the like. Today, I was just getting things like milk, bread and such. As I get to the counter, surprise, surprise! Just about every item on the customer in front of me needed to be price checked! I could feel my blood pressure rising.
Just as I was about to take my items and find another line, I heard my cell phone ringing and fished for it in my pocketbook. I recognized the number and answered it.
"Hello?" I said a bit coldly.
"Hey. It's me. What are you up to?"
"Don't ask!" I replied, sounding completely done.
"Oh! Still mad at me, huh?"
"Yes. Plus today is not going too well." I said. "What's up? Where are you?" I started putting my grocery items back on the belt.
"Weeellll...actually I'm down the shore."
"WHAT?!?" I exclaim and then whisper into the phone. "What do you mean you are down the shore? Are you crazy?"
"I know."
I shook my head. So irresponsible, clear-headed, which was exactly what I was beginning to say before I was cut off.
"Look. I know. I know. But I rented a room for the weekend. I want you to come down here."
"No." Sounding quite pissed-off.
"Yes. It's going to be a beautiful day. Come on. We need this."
I couldn't deny that. I did need to just relax. Work was becoming very difficult to deal with and I was taking it out on the one person who meant everything to me. Every time I would come home my thoughts and conversation dealt around my job, my anger and the inabilities of everyone around me. Our relationship was becoming strained. We hardly talked about what mattered to "us" anymore and I knew that I wasn't helping much. We had a huge fight last night after dinner. The fight dealt with my getting older, being stuck in a dead end job and quite possibly a dead end relationship. There were quite a few colorful words spat at each other and instead of sleeping at my house he sped off to his apartment. I was still angry with him and really didn't want to see him. I thought of every excuse I could say but as I opened my mouth the only words that come out were, "Fine."
I heard his soft laughter from the other end of the phone and smiled. I pictured him in my mind. Tall, brown hair that was thinning, brown eyes and a gorgeous smile. He hasn't exercised much lately, but his body was still in wonderful shape. Although I loved feeling safe in his arms, the warmth of his body and inhaling his scent, something was missing. I missed feeling romantic with him. The passion in our relationship was starting to dwindle. I found myself fantasizing about other men, flirting with them, sometimes wondering what it would be like to be fucked by another man. Our lovemaking became rudimentary. Getting it in before it was too late, then giving a quick kiss before falling asleep. "I'm not getting any younger," I was beginning to think. "Is this all there is?"
"Great!" Mike said. "You know the place. Room 16. See you soon. Be careful!"
"Bye." I sighed as I hung up. I paid the cashier and started to the parking lot. I breathed in deeply when I saw the sun shining. "Maybe things will be brightening up after all!"
On my way home, I thought about what I would say to Mike. Perhaps ask him for a bit of a break. Just to see where my life is heading. But every time I tried to think what to say, I just couldn't come up with the right words. I was hoping that the ride down the shore would clear up my mind. Maybe I was looking into everything just far too much. He never seems to have a problem expressing himself and I knew he didn't want out of this relationship. I didn't either. I loved him deeply.
When I finally got home, I threw my bathing suit into my duffle, put on a pair of blue shorts and a tight, white tank top. Tossing my bag into the back seat, I hit the road. Since the weather was holding out, I put the top down of my convertible. I love this car. A 1969 blue Camaro SS with black "bumble bee" striping. The old man I bought it from rambled on about the 350 engine, the horsepower and how this model was one of the first to have air conditioning and blah, blah, blah. But all I saw and what won me over was the shape of the car and that it had hide-away headlights. "Women!" was all the guy said as I wrote him out a check and drove the car away.
Mike knows a heck of a lot more than I do about cars and racing cars. He stopped dead in his tracks when he first saw my car and I swear it was love at first sight. I often joke to him that if I got rid of the car, he'd probably leave me.
With the wind whipping through my hair and my music on, the time traveling down the shore was quick. Pulling into the hotel parking lot, I noticed a white note on the door of the room Mike rented. "Now what?" I thought as I reached the door and ripped the note off. It read:
"G - Didn't want to waste the sun. Meet me on the beach! - M"
I shook my head and tried the door. "Locked!" I laughed a not so funny laugh. I made my way toward the beach and noticed that the sun was going in and the wind became a bit colder. I looked up to the sky and saw that the clouds were getting thick and black. Not so surprisingly, the beach wasn't that crowded. It was nearing the end of the summer and most of the vacationers had already packed up on Labor Day, so this weekend it was pretty light. I shaded my eyes and searched for Mike. Kicking off my flip flops, I walked on the sand and was stopped by his voice.
"Hey, beautiful!"
I turned around in its direction and saw him standing there with his arms open. I walked slowly over to him and he embraced me. I breathed his scent in deeply and wrapped my arms around him. Everything that I hated about him at that moment faded away. I knew I loved him and wanted to be with him forever. In his arms was where I belonged.
"I am sorry about last night." He said into my hair, his breath tickling my ear.
"Me, too." I hugged him tighter and then pulled away to receive his warm kiss. The kiss was a familiar kiss. My mouth opened to receive his tongue as it flicked around mine, tasting me. Suddenly he pulled away.
"Hey...wait! Look..." he said as he pointed behind him. There was a blanket laid out on the sand, with a picnic basket on one side and a bottle of wine leaning next to it. I looked at him with my mouth open. He never did something like this. I wasn't even sure if he knew how. He grabbed my hand and walked me over to the blanket. He reached down, opened the bottle and poured me a glass of wine.