Page 25 of A Country Kind Of Love

“Or... We could just embrace it.”Cleo shrugs.

“Okay.” Peyton doesn’t say anything else. She doesn’t question what exactly “embrace it” means. She links hands with Cleo and they walkon. Waiting.

One droplet, two. Each one leaves a cool patch upon her skin. The world around them starts to leak with the smell of premature rain.

They walk by a large section of grass next to the riverfront. Crowds of people disperse in every direction. Some run, some drag their children behind them, and others haul prams and children’s toys across the pathways. The chaos contrasts how amazing Peyton feels in the moment. The rain gathers momentum, but she’s looking up at Cleo with no care forthe weather.

“Can you dance?”Cleo smirks.

What a strange question.

“Erm... A little.”

Cleo reaches out her hand and Peyton looks around for the cameras; she must be joking. She’s being pranked. The only time anyone dances in the rain is in the movies, and even then, it’s slightly cringey. She can’tbe serious.

“What are you doing?” Peyton laughs nervously.

“We’re dancing.” Cleo’s face is deadly serious. The corners of her lips turn up marginally to give off a mischievous look. Peyton thinks it’s sexy. Especially the way the creases beside her lips create dimples.

Stopdigressing.

“You’re crazy.” Peyton laughs.

Cleo smiles, as her hand lingers. Peyton looks down at her relatively clean sneakers. She isn’t sure they’re suitable footwear for dancing in the rain, but she can make them work.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”Cleo smiles.

“Sure, why not?” Peyton shrugs. Her brothers are always telling her to be more spontaneous. They’ll love hearingabout this.

It’s raining harder as she places her hand in Cleo’s. The faucet in the sky starts to pour. Peyton raises her head to gaze around. Her heartbeat quickens. Cleo spins her in a wild circle. The manoeuvre is jerky and unbalanced in a comical way. Then she pulls Peyton in close, gracefully adjusting her hips so their bodies are intimately aligned.

“Why do I feel like you’ve done this before?” Peyton says. A rush of adrenaline surges through herentire body.

“I have, once or twice, but not as a ploy to get someone into bed if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh, so this is a ploy?” Peyton smirks. She isn’t usually the type to tease, mainly because she’s terrible at it, but every time she hears Cleo laugh it makes her want todo it more.

“Stop, you’ll makeme nervous.”

“I doubt that.” Peyton laughs. Cleo doesn’t seem to have a nervous bone in her body. She oozes confidence; it’s enviable.

After a minute Peyton ignores the stares from the casual passers-by along the riverbank. Only the people who came prepared with umbrellas remain.

Relax a little.

She feels the urge to dance. Hopefully the rain will wash away any doubt she has about looking ridiculous. It’s liberating. She jumps from one puddle to the next. Her body feels light and nimble. She spins in a circle, over and over, sending droplets flying in every direction with the tips of her hair acting aspropellers.

She recalls the excitement that came with dancing in the rain as a child, the joy of looking to the sky with her arms outstretched, the taste of fresh drops on her tongue, her brothers sliding in the mud, and her mom yelling for them to be careful. Her mom never was good at enforcing discipline, so after five minutes she would join them. It was the simple things that Peytonremembered.

When Peyton feels as though her legs will collapse, they take to shelter under a large tree. Beads of water begin to drip from the leaves above. The mesmerising pitter-patter adds to Peyton’s hypnotic state. Reminiscing takes her to a place she tries to avoid, one of vulnerability and helplessness.

Peyton shivers.

“You cold?” Cleo asks.

“A little.”