The rain was coming down so hard that when I went to jump over the curb from the road and keep my feet from getting wet, I didn't jump far enough and landed in a large puddle on the sidewalk, generating a giant splash that ensured that both my legs ended up soaking.
I finally made it to a sheltered doorway and stood there, waiting for the storm to pass through. I wasn't dressed for the weather at all, as I'd been working from my downtown apartment and ducked out on a whim dressed in chino's, a big old T-shirt and sneakers without socks to get an espresso coffee and take a break from programming when the storm hit. If I'd bothered to check the weather forecast, maybe I'd at least have an umbrella with me. By now it was too late anyway. The rain was coming down even harder by the minute. If my pants had been dry before, the ricochet splashes would have fixed that. I just had to wait it out.
A young woman came running through the rain. Like me, sans umbrella and coat, headed straight for the awning I was standing under. Ah, I thought, someone as stupid as me. I grinned at her when she made it under the awning. In fact, I started laughing a little, and she joined me.
'Two drowned rats, eh?' she said, a faint accent evident.
'Yeah,' I replied, 'but it saves on the cost of showering.'
Despite being completely wet and her hair bedraggled, I could see she was very pretty with a nice curvy body with what looked like a great ass and B-cup breasts, like a gymnast might grow into. Her eyes and hair were brown, though I couldn't be sure of the color since it was wet and dark. She kept her arms folded over her chest, as the coolness of the air was even effecting my own nipples.
'Hi,' I said after a minute of silence. 'I'm Chris,' and I put out a hand for her to shake.
'Hi. Angie.'
She smiled a rueful grin, and pulled a cell phone from her jeans and tried to use it.
'Fuck! Piece of shit!' she said. 'Oh, I'm sorry – I didn't – '
'Don't worry,' I said, covering my surprise. 'What's wrong?'
'My cell phone. I slipped over around the corner and now it's not working.'
'Maybe it got wet,' I stupidly said. 'Sorry. Look, try mine,' and I handed her my phone.
'Thanks,' she said. She dialed a number, and turned away from me to talk into the phone. I tried, but not too hard, to ignore her conversation.
'Hi, Patrick it's me,' she said, 'the car won't start – it must be the rain.'
She waited while the other party spoke.
'No, my phone's not working either...just a guy. He lent me his.' Another pause. 'Can't you come and pick me up? I'm on West 4th Street, outside a Qwik-Copy place.'
I don't think it was my imagination, but she sounded like she was getting pissed at whoever she was talking to.
'You can be such a prick, do you know that?' and she hung up, fuming. I could see the tension effecting the whole set of her body, and in fact she'd dropped her arms and I could easily see her dark taut nipples through the light cotton of her top. I was impressed with their erect size, but forced my eyes away. Maybe she would put her arms back up to prevent me making a ass of myself by getting caught staring.
'Boyfriend?' I asked.
'Not for much longer,' she said with feeling. 'He's "too busy" to help and come pick me up.'
Even though the storm had eased off, it was still raining and dusk had come in the interim, so the temperature had dropped even further.
'Do you mind if I call for a cab?' Angie asked.
'Go ahead.'
She held the phone to her ear for quite a while before disconnecting and handing it back to me with a sigh.
'There's an hour backlog.'
'Listen,' I said, reaching into my back pocket and pulling a business card from my wallet. 'Call someone else, let them know you're with me and tell them to pick you up from this address. It's getting too cold and dark to hang around here.'
She looked surprised and disbelieving.
'Uh, look, I appreciate the offer,' she began, 'but I don't even know who you are or anything.'
Mentally I shrugged. I was offering an alternative to hanging around here until her uncaring boyfriend showed up, but if she didn't want to take it, that was her business.
'OK, sure,' I said, 'but I feel bad about leaving you here to freeze while I dry off and get warm. Here, keep my phone, put it in the post to me tomorrow or drop it at this address. I rarely use it anyway.'
'Oh,' she said, clearly surprised.
'Take care,' I said, and left to jog back home.
I was just getting out of the shower when the foyer phone rang.
'Hello,' I said.
'Hi, Chris? It's Angie. You know, we just met. Ah, does that offer still stand?' I could hear her teeth chattering over the intercom.
'Of course. I'll buzz you up so just come up to the second floor. Do you want tea or coffee?'
She laughed. 'Coffee, please.'
'OK.'
'And Chris?'
'Yeah?'
'Thanks.'
'I like your place,' she said.
'Thanks.'
We were sitting opposite each other at the dining room table, drinking our coffee's and chatting. The storm, as seen through the lounge room window across the lake, continued with a moderate lightening display. Angie had dried off, and was dressed in some spare clothing I'd found. I must say, I thought she cleaned up nicely.
'You've got a nice place here, and you work from home? What do you do for a living?'
'I write computer software for brokerage companies.'
'Stock brokers?'
'No, customs brokers. Companies who declare imports and exports to various government departments.'
'Your accent - Australian, right?' I asked.
'Oh, yes,' she said, sounding surprised. 'Most people can't really pick it.'
'Yeah, I thought that's what it was. I spent some time in London which seemed to be populated with Aussies and New Zealanders.'
'Really? I lived in the UK for a couple of years.'
'Working?'
'No, I was studying there, doing a masters in history.'
'And now?'
'Now? I'm trying to get a full-time job at the university.'
'And the prick on the phone?'
She blushed and looked embarrassed, squirming a little in her seat. For half a second a gap in the shirt she wore opened, and I caught a glimpse of the underside of one bare breast, and my mouth went a little dry.
'I'm sorry. You must think me so rude for swearing.'
'Are you kidding? It's refreshing to hear it again. Where I worked in the UK was pretty working class, and I soon got used to the, er -'
'The earthiness?'
'Ha, yeah.'
'Well, the guy on the phone was my boyfriend. Soon to be ex-boyfriend, actually.'
'So you said.'
'I honestly don't know why I've stayed with him this long. Even though he can be nice when he wants to, he doesn't seem to want to very often.'
'Well, I'm sorry.'
'Oh, no. I just need to get it over and done with, you know? I've been putting it off because it's not a real nice job.'
One of those moments of silence happened, where you know that to speak would be to break some spell. Angie wasn't looking at me, though her face was towards me. I could see she was lost in thought. It was during this moment that I realized I really liked the shape of her lips. Though they were thin they were perfectly formed and, to be frank, a luscious color, like wine. I looked down at my coffee cup, seeing it was empty.
'If you like,' I said, 'I could run you home.'
'Oh. Um – yes. That would be – '
'Or you could stay for dinner, if you don't mind eating whatever I can find to cook.'
I looked up again, into her eyes this time.
'I – ah – I think that would be nice. Yes.' She smiled prettily, and blushed a little.
I looked at my watch, and couldn't believe what I saw.
'Ah, Angie?'
'Yes?'