“My place is closest,” Rafi said as the doors of the SUV closed between them and the rain. Julian in the passenger seat, wet hands struggling with the seatbelt, was as water-sleek as a seal. Rafi didn’t figure it looked as good on him. He dashed water-logged curls out of his eyes and cranked the car.
“Your place, then,” Julian said, flinching and turning off the air conditioner that had switched on with the engine. “Before we both die of pneumonia.”
It was a silent drive; conversation would have taken too much effort, over the pounding rain, and Julian’s earlier high spirits seemed to have been, well, dampened. Rafi had had worse silences, though. This one didn’t teem with words and the debate over whether to say them; it just sat quietly in the car with them, catching its breath.
The s
