Natural (Disaster)

Instinctual

Mia

The moment she took my hand in hers, all I could do was focus on the heat of her touch. I could feel the warmth spreading through me as we ran. I could feel our heartbeats falling in sync as she led me and we ran, trying to beat the rain. The sudden crack of thunder and roar of the rain starting to pour down told me we wouldn’t have such luck. 

“f**k, I guess we’re getting wet anyway. On the plus side, that’s my place,” she said as she pointed at a blue building about fifty feet away. 

“It’s okay, I don’t think I’ll melt” I tried to joke, but there had been a feeling of sadness and pressure building in me ever since her question about my parents earlier. It was something I often tried not to think about. I had tried to look for information about my birth parents after turning eighteen, but there were no records I was able to access and no answers to be found. 

“I have towels and I should have something that you can change into,” she said as we reached the door and she unlocked it and turned on the light.  The first room we entered appeared to be a very small and minimally furnished living room. There was a couch, two bookshelves on one wall, a smaller television mounted to the wall, and a coffee table. “Sorry if it’s a little minimalist in here, I’m not much of a decorator,” she said apologetically as she caught me examining the room. 

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t know what to expect.” I wasn’t sure why, but I suddenly felt shy as she looked me over. I could still feel the warmth that had moved through me and my cheeks burned with it. The rain had caused my shirt to cling to me, and the thin fabric had become semi-sheer, clearly showing my bra. My long hair was completely soaked, and I could feel loose strands coming out of the tie I had put it up with this morning. I must look like a mess.

“Give me a second, I’ll go grab some stuff so we can both change out of these wet clothes,” she said as she headed into another room that looked like it may be her bedroom.it only took her a moment before she was back with an arm full of clothing. “I have a couple of oversized T-shirts and a couple of pairs of leggings,” she said as she held the options up. I reached out and grabbed the pale pink shirt and one of the black pairs of leggings. 

“Thank you” 

“No problem, you can use the bedroom to change if you want”, she pointed to the room she had just returned from and I nodded before heading in that direction. The bedroom was also very simple. There was a small dresser with a mirror, what looked to be a queen-sized bed with all-white bedding and mint green accents.

“When you’re done you can bring your stuff out here and we can hang them to dry,” I heard her call from the next room as I slid my jeans off. 

“Okay-” I was cut off by another loud crack of thunder that shook the building and the lights went out, sending a chill down my spine. The clouds were so thick and dark that there was nearly no light. I quickly pulled my shirt off and hesitated, unsure if I should take my bra off too. After a moment, I decided to just leave it on and throw the shirt over myself. 

As I walked back into her living room, I felt my eyes instantly drawn to her. She had lit a few candles around the room which cast a beautiful golden glow over her skin. Her damp hair had taken on an even deeper red tone in the candlelight and I felt that warmth coming back once again.

  “That rain came out of nowhere, and who knows how long the power will be out,” she said as she looked over at me with a small smile. 

“Yeah, it did.” 

“Are you alright? You seem distracted...” the concern on her face was apparent, but not my first concern as my body moved on its own across the room to her. 

“Distracted is one word for it…” I trailed off as something primal and instinctual took over and I kissed her. Soft as first, then deeper when she began to kiss me back. I didn’t know what I was doing, and this wasn’t like me at all, but all I wanted at that moment was the beautiful creature in front of me.