You might have called us daft, but the sun had been shining amidst a sea of blue this morning -- it would have been criminal to have taken an umbrella. But Mandy and me felt the change just after we got off the bus, on the way home from uni. Without any warning, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. It might have been August, but I gave a little shiver.
'I guess you need the shitty weather, Debbie, or you'd not be grateful when the sun comes out,' Mandy said to me with a giggle.
I glanced sideways at her -- taking in the wide band of pale skin in between her white crop top and ripped denim shorts, and the long stretches of leg that reached right down to her colourful flip flops.
'I'd kind of like some advance notice though,' I replied, taking a pointed look upwards. 'I could swear those black clouds weren't there a minute ago.'
I didn't have far to walk -- ten minutes or so, and it was about as far again to Mandy's. I guess that's what she gets for living in a slightly nicer area -- everyone's too posh to get the bus so they don't go too near. Anyway, I had a bit more protection than her too -- a regular tight T-shirt, black leggings and trainers. Where Mandy seemed to have gone all out to be sexy, I'd just pulled on comfy stuff without giving it much thought.
Now, our weather does tend to be a bit all over the place, but what it lacks in predictability, it makes up for in moderation. We get plenty of miserable days, but nothing too extreme. Or so I thought. Anyway, I wasn't concerned in the slightest when I felt the first few splashes on my face, or even when I heard a crack of thunder behind us.
'Thank God we're nearly home,' I said. 'We should miss the worst of it.' By this point it was decidedly chilly, but a few drops of rain weren't going to kill us.
But even before we reached the end of the street, I was wondering if I'd been too optimistic. Suddenly, the rain was coming down thick and fast. I could feel myself getting wet all over. The water had already soaked through everything I was wearing. Even my feet were starting to feel a bit soggy.
'Thank God I didn't wear much today,' Mandy said. It was only when I gave her a quizzical look that she added, 'Isn't it better to get your skin wet than to take a bath in your clothes?'
'Either way, I'd like the water to be a bit warmer,' I answered, 'but I don't remember the last time I forgot to strip off before getting in the shower.'
'Hey, come this way then,' Mandy said, grabbing my hand and leading me into the local park -- we'd just been passing the entrance. 'Now's your chance -- get those soaking leggings off and see if it feels better.'
'What a good idea,' I answered sarcastically. We both instinctively took refuge under a tree. 'I've never been so wet,' I continued as I took hold of the bottom of my T-shirt and squeezed it in both fists. A stream of water fell on my feet.
'This is fucking crackers,' Mandy said. 'Two minutes in the rain and we might as well have jumped in the pond.'
'Don't let me stop you,' I said, gesturing across the grass to where we could see the ducks swimming around.
I spotted a woman with a dog hurriedly leaving the park by the far entrance, but otherwise it was just us two -- we had the whole place to ourselves.
Just at that moment, there was a flash followed quickly by a loud crack.
'You know, sheltering under a tree when lightning's this close isn't the brainiest thing we've ever done, is it?' I asked.
'I hope my phone's OK,' Mandy said extracting it from the pocket of her shorts with some difficulty. 'It's supposed to be waterproof, and I guess this proves it.' She held it up to me -- it was still working, despite being covered in spots of water.
I took my mini backpack off my shoulders -- it was only just big enough to hold a phone, my keys and not much else. I felt inside for my phone -- I didn't know if it was waterproof or not, but I didn't need to worry as thankfully it had stayed dry.
There was another flash and an almost instantaneous bang. The rain was coming down heavier than ever now -- I could see the water jumping as it hit the path, and the grass was rapidly turning into a swamp.
'You know what,' Mandy began, 'we couldn't get any wetter if we tried. Shall we just make a run for it?'
'You're on,' I said, and, without waiting for a reply, I set off at a jog.
The road was already starting to look like a river, with streams of water flowing down each side. No one else seemed to be out and about -- either they'd got lucky, or had paid more attention to the weather forecast than us, or had already found refuge somewhere or other. There weren't even any cars out -- maybe their owners didn't fancy driving through floods. I turned round to see Mandy doing her best to run while keeping her flip flops on her feet. Her white top clung tightly to her skin.
'If you're going to be that slow, maybe I better leave you to swim home by yourself,' I teased.
'Fuck it,' Mandy said. She lifted up first one foot then the other, and took her flips flops in her hand. 'Let's run.'
She was away and past me before I'd begun to move, but I didn't get the impression that she was finding running bare foot to be much of an improvement on the flip flops. I jogged behind her, keeping a safe enough distance not to get splashed, but it was easy enough to keep up. I could see she was doing her best to run on the balls of her feet, but she also had her head down watching carefully where she put them.
I'm not sure if we got even wetter from the running than we would have if we'd walked, but I was so soaked through by the time we turned onto my street that I could have stayed outside all afternoon and not got any more soaked. Still, if I hadn't been running, I would have been shivering.
Now, I'm not a mean person, but I'm not beyond having a bit of fun now and again, so I stepped up the pace and sprinted the last hundred metres or so. I fished my keys out of the bottom of my bag and quickly let myself in before closing the door behind me. I was glad to be out of the rain, but water was dripping down my face and I was beginning to make a bit of a wet spot on the carpet. 'Hiya,' I called out, but there was no reply. It looked like no one else was in.
There was a banging on the door, so I slipped the chain on and opened the door as far as it would go. 'What's up?' I asked Mandy innocently through the crack.
'Let me in you fucking bitch,' was the charming reply.
'Can you wait till I've got dried off?' I asked.
Mandy replied by throwing a flip flop through the gap.
'OK, I'll let you in on condition you don't traipse water everywhere,' I said, trying to sound charitable. I opened the door and Mandy stepped inside.
'You're a lot soggier than I am,' she said. 'All I really need is a towel.'
'Even so, you're not coming any further in those wet clothes,' I said, as I began to pull my T-shirt over my head. I dropped it on the floor and started to take off my leggings, being careful not to pull down my thong at the same time, but Mandy didn't make any move to get undressed herself. That more or less confirmed what I'd already guessed -- she was braless, and maybe knickerless too.
'What's up?' I asked with a smile as I pulled off my sopping socks.
Mandy looked a bit shocked, and it occurred to me then that I might be showing a bit more than I intended -- I wasn't bothered about being in my underwear in front of Mandy -- she'd seen that much of me plenty, but I didn't know what effect all that water would have had on my knickers -- could Mandy see right through them?
Well, I didn't want to lose face, and it was a bit too late to worry now anyway, so I resisted looking down to check. 'I'll just go grab some towels. Don't you dare budge off the doormat until you've got your wet things off.'
I headed upstairs. Before I got the towels, I took a good look in the bathroom mirror, and yes, my aureoles and neatly trimmed pubes were clearly visible -- the water had made both top and bottom more or less transparent. This made me even more determined to have a bit of fun with Mandy, so I grabbed us both a pair of towels and headed straight back downstairs.
