The shrill ring of his mobile phone startled him.
He opened his eyes and rolled over, fumbling for the annoying interruption to one of his favorite dreams.
"That's a place I won't be able to get back to for a while." he grumbled as he picked up his phone and glanced at the screen. Two pieces of information were displayed. One, the time, stating it was 2:30am, on a Monday morning no less. Great, five hours till work. The second was much more intriguing... It was the Caller ID - Kate.
He hesitated at the name on the screen. Kate was his best friend of more than eleven years, and he had last seen her under a wet and moonlit sky, saying goodbye. She was leaving on a whirlwind trip of London, followed by almost two years of service as a masseuse aboard a luxury cruise liner. It had been terrible weather that night, and they had spent most of the evening in the car, talking loudly to each other so as to be heard over the rain. The thunder had eased and Kate had unexpectedly jumped out of the car, racing away from him towards the middle of the car park. She stopped, already soaked through, and turned to him. He would never forget those next few minutes.
Kate was incredibly striking, she always had been. Her blonde hair was always well groomed and framed her face delicately. Her blue eyes had a piercing gaze that could melt even the most stalwart of men (and some women, although that's a story for another time) and her figure made you want to grab hold. They had known each other for a lifetime, and he had fallen for her long ago. He had never told her, for fear of losing her altogether, but always was there for her, whenever she needed him. And she needed him now.
She stood, wet to the core, and beckoned for him to join her. It was a simple gesture, a flick of a wrist at most, but it made him come running. The rain chilled him instantly, and, bracing himself against the cold, he strode across the deserted car park toward her. He closed the gap between them, but stopped short, about a foot away from her. She was on the verge of tears.
"I'm scared."
He almost didn't hear her. The rain had picked up and whipped her blonde locks across her face. Her bottom lip trembled slightly, either because of the cold, or because of what she had said. Maybe even a little of both. When she became worried, or lost, or scared, he had always seemed to know how to calm her. And he did what he always did. He opened his arms, an offered a warm and welcome embrace.
She bridged the gap between them instantly, folding his arms around her so that she was safe, protected, secure. She buried her face in his chest and he could feel her body shake as she let out little sobs. He gently placed a hand on her head, and held her close.
"What are you scared of, Kate?"
She looked up at him, her azure gaze penetrating deeply into his dark brown eyes.
"I don't know what's going to happen while I'm away." She began, "Everything will be different when I come back. Even you."
The statement hit home for him. He had considered that maybe they would never be what he wanted them to be, and that, while Kate was abroad, he would find someone special. But he hadn't considered that Kate had been thinking about that, too.
"I'll never change, Kate. I'll always be here for you. You know that."
She squeezed him as he said it. She found comfort in his words, weather he meant them or not, but he felt sincere.
"Kate...?" He faltered. Was he really about to tell her how he felt? Now, of all times, when she was about to leave for the opposite side of the planet? Would he get a better opportunity? Probably not. He lifted her chin gently, taking his time, pacing himself. Then, cautiously, deliberately and very delicately, he uttered three simple words.
"I love you."
He tilted his head to hers, and their lips met. She smelled amazing, even in the rain. And a crack of thunder and lightning illuminated the scene in spectacular fashion. Much to his delight, he found her kissing him back. A gentle nudge against his lips made him part them slightly as her tongue pleasantly found it's way against his own. The kiss lasted only a few moments, but it would be the kiss he measured every other in his life against. When he broke the passionate embrace, she smiled up at him, warmly.
"Thank you." She said, knowingly, "That's exactly what I wanted."
Their evening was almost uneventful after that. They continued to talk as though nothing had happened, although they held each other for the remainder of the night. He kissed her goodnight, and then, early the next morning, she flew out of his life for the next two years.
That had been eight months ago.
While they had swapped emails and discussed the details of her trip, they had never discussed that night. But now, here, at 2:30am in the morning, she was calling him direct from wherever she was on the other side of the world.
He answered the call. "Hello, Kate."
"Oh my God! It's so good to hear your voice, I missed you so much!" She was crying.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Oh, just homesick, I guess, and I've been drinking, and I miss you and everyone back home, and I'm just feeling lost."
"Surely working on a luxury cruise liner can't be that bad." he offered.
"You don't understand. I have no one."
