An Umbrella
607 Words
Rain poured over the city before sunset.
The kind of rain that blurred skyscrapers into shadows and turned the streets into mirrors.
Lia stood in the lobby of Blackwood Tower, staring outside.
She had forgotten her umbrella.
Again.
"Perfect," she muttered.
As if the day hadn't been bad enough.
"Going home?"
She turned.
Ethan stood a few steps away, one hand in his pocket, his suit jacket draped neatly over his arm.
"I'm waiting for the rain to stop."
"It won't."
"You sound very optimistic."
"I'm realistic."
Lia sighed.
"So what am I supposed to do?"
Without a word, Ethan held out a black umbrella.
She blinked.
"You carry an extra umbrella?"
"No."
"...Then how are you getting home?"
"I'll use this one."
She frowned.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It does."
It absolutely did not.
The driver pulled the car around to the entrance.
Ethan opened the umbrella.
"Come."
Lia hesitated.
"It's just to the car."
"It'll take five seconds."
"You'll still get wet."
"I've survived rain before."
He looked at her patiently.
"Miss Santos."
She sighed in defeat.
"I'm starting to hate it when you say my name like that."
"I know."
They stepped into the rain together.
The umbrella wasn't very large.
Not for two people.
Lia instinctively moved closer to avoid getting soaked.
Their shoulders brushed.
She immediately stiffened.
Ethan didn't seem to notice.
Or maybe he did.
He simply kept walking.
The rain grew heavier.
Wind pushed cold droplets beneath the umbrella.
Lia shivered.
Without a word, Ethan tilted the umbrella toward her.
Most of the rain now landed on his side.
His shoulder was already getting wet.
"You'll catch a cold."
"I'll be fine."
"You're getting soaked."
"So are you."
"No."
She looked up.
He was right.
The umbrella covered her almost completely.
He was the one standing in the rain.
"Why are you doing that?"
He glanced at her.
"Doing what?"
"Making sure I'm dry."
His answer came so naturally that it almost sounded obvious.
"Because that's my job."
His job.
Right.
She shouldn't have expected anything else.
Even so...
A tiny part of her felt disappointed.
The car stopped in front of them.
The driver quickly opened the back door.
Lia climbed in first.
Ethan followed a moment later, brushing rainwater from his sleeve.
His hair was damp, and a few drops slid down the side of his face.
For the first time since meeting him...
He looked less like an untouchable billionaire...
And more like an ordinary man.
The drive was quiet.
Streetlights reflected against the rain-covered windows.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable anymore.
It was... peaceful.
Halfway through the drive, Ethan looked at her.
"You're staring."
Lia's eyes widened.
"I wasn't!"
"You were."
"I was looking out the window."
"My face isn't outside."
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
"I wasn't looking at your face."
"Hm."
"There it is again."
"What?"
"That 'hm.'"
"It's effective."
"It's annoying."
A faint smile appeared on Ethan's lips.
"I know."
The car stopped outside Lia's apartment building.
She reached for the door.
"Thank you."
Ethan nodded once.
"Get inside before you get sick."
She stepped out into the rain.
Before closing the door, she looked back.
Ethan was already reading documents on his tablet, as though the quiet walk beneath one umbrella had meant nothing.
The car pulled away.
Lia stood under the apartment awning, watching its taillights disappear into the rain.
She touched her shoulder unconsciously.
The place where it had brushed against his.
Then she laughed quietly at herself.
"It's just an umbrella," she whispered.
But deep down...
She knew it hadn't felt like just an umbrella.
- Writer
