Page 36 of Swiped

They pulled their robes over their heads and ran into the field.

Nat shrieked again as they splashed through the soaking grass.

The robe-tent over her head echoed the happy panting of her own breath.

All she could see were her bare feet sloshing in the soft mud.

She heard Thom give a high-pitched howl.

She laughed between her breaths and peeked out from under the robe.

Thom had reached the barn and stood in the rain holding the door open for her. She raced inside.

He caught her with strong, soaking arms. He wrapped his slightly less soaked robe around her.

They huddled in the dark, empty barn, catching their breath through racing hearts.

Chairs and tables draped in white cloths lined the space.

Dark strings of Edison bulbs looped through the beams. Nat could practically see the happy ghosts of the beautiful weddings that had happened here.

Nat nuzzled her face into the patch of hair on Thom’s chest. She closed her eyes. Both of their heartbeats thrummed in her ears.

“I didn’t plan this rainy bit,” he said through panting breaths. “I promise.”

“Maybe I did,” she teased, cheek still pressed on his warm chest.

“I see.” She felt his voice purr under her ear. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the woman who designed a dating app knows romance better than I do.”

She met his eyes. “Sorry, not sorry.”

She watched Thom’s deep blue eyes flicker over her face. “I think you might actually be sweeping me off my feet.” He stroked her cheek with his hand. “Honestly.”

She wrapped her hand over his.

Thom laughed a quiet chuckle and looked at a faraway spot in the distance.

“It’s funny because the lads at the office said I should give BeTwo a go now that I was stateside.

Try to have fun, whatever. I agonized and read up on the app because, I don’t know, I’d had some bad experiences before.

I only just signed up last month.” He held her face with his palms and gazed into her eyes.

“But it led me right to you.” Those secret doors in his eyes welcomed her. “Your brilliant app,” he whispered.

“It did.”

The soft patter of the rain filled the quiet, like music. The sweet, earthy smell of the land curled around Nat and relaxed her senses even more than the fruit of its vines already had.

“It seems we might be stuck here for a while.” Thom’s lashes were still heavy with wet. “Can I make you more comfortable?”

“You can,” she whispered and leaned into his soft kiss.

He tightened his arms around her. Her wet skin pressed against his. Her legs rubbed against the hair of his strong thighs. She tilted her throat to him and deepened their kiss.

The rain pattered on the barn roof. He ran his hands down her back, dropping the robes to the floor. He pulled off a nearby tablecloth and spread it into a kind of nest on the wood planks. He kneeled and reached for her, and she let him gently push her to lie on her back.

She braced her hands on his muscled shoulders as he nuzzled his nose between her legs.

His hot breath sent waves of desire burning through her hips.

His fingers slipped into her wet waistband, and he teased it taut before letting go with a soft smack .

She gasped, then giggled and sunk her fingers into his wet curls.

He pulled off her swim bottoms.

She gasped, then moaned as his tongue explored her.

Deep swells of pleasure filled the hollows all the other dates had left inside her heart.

She let her body melt open as he spread her legs.

Tingles coursed up her thighs and throbbed into her hard nipples.

He licked her like he could never get enough, and his hands tightened around her ass, drawing her in. She let her arms fall over her head.

He slipped a finger inside her and the sensation exploded into her breath.

He traced circles inside her wet pleasure.

The tension trilled in her thighs. She raised her hips for him and he drew her deeper.

He flicked his tongue against her, fast and slow and soft and hard all at once.

Buzzing waves rolled through her body, and she released them with soft moans.

He pulsed his finger in and out, slick and smooth with her.

Her body tightened around him. He pulsed faster. She arched her back.

Her cries echoed in the rafters.

* * *

Rami grumbled and shifted in his moist sweater.

The back of the cab smelled like wet dog.

He peeled the thick collar from his neck with a damp slurp to attempt some kind of ventilation.

He felt like a giant slug. Allison sat beside him, just as soaked but somehow not looking like a used dishrag.

Her athleisure seemed to have dried perfectly.

He sighed. The cab inched forward through the dense traffic, which he could barely see through the fog condensing on the windows.

“It was really nice of you to get us a ride,” said Allison.

“Never leave your birthday to the whims of public transportation,” Rami offered meekly.

They sat in steamy silence.

He rubbed a small circle into his fogged-over window. A bus rolled up, unencumbered in its special lane. Rami glared as his wheeled nemesis whizzed past them.

Allison gave a tiny sigh and subtly checked her phone.

* * *

Nat held Thom’s hand as they walked down the sidewalk to her apartment in the streetlight.

After the rain had let up and they’d made themselves decent, they’d left the winery and grabbed dinner at an Italian bistro in her neighborhood.

Her belly was full of pasta, and her body hummed with satisfaction.

Thom carried her to-go box. Walking next to him, it was easy to feel like they’d time-traveled from first date into falling in love over the last few magical hours.

She could even start to imagine that the last few solitary years, and especially the last few weeks, had only been a bad dream.

An older man in stained clothes was sprawled on the sidewalk in front of them. He watched them closely as they neared.

“Lady goes on the inside!” he shouted.

“What?” Nat took in his thick gray beard and sunken eyes.

He gestured toward her with a gloved hand. “The lady goes on the inside!”

Thom switched their places, so he was walking along the curb instead of Nat. “Fair point, mate.” He handed the man the box of leftovers. “Here, take care.”

The man took the food and grumbled back into his squat on the sidewalk.

Nat waited until they were out of earshot. “That was nice,” she said.

Thom shrugged. “I try to do whatever I can. You know, if you give those people money, who knows what they might do with it.” His voice rose as another couple passed them.

“But it doesn’t cost anything to just give them something that was probably going to go bad in your fridge, anyway.

” He nodded to the couple with a pronounced, “Good evening”.

They shot him weary nods.

Nat squeezed his hand with a tight smile. “Uh huh!” Something dark pinged in her mind, but she brushed it away. She checked her phone. Still no response from Rami. Her day had been perfect, and now she really wanted to rub it in his face over a martini. “That’s really nice of you.”

They reached the iron gate to her apartment building.

“This is you, then?” Thom rocked back on his heels like meeting an old friend. “Seems charming.”

The reality of being at her home poked into Nat’s wine-soaked fantasy. She felt the patterns of her old life, and her old self, tugging at her like hands shooting out of a grave. “I’d invite you in, but . . .” She trailed off.

“No, no, we need to save something to look forward to.” He drew close to her and tugged her coat closed underneath her chin.

Nat blushed. “I had a really nice time today.”

He nodded with a question in his eyes. “So? Shall we?”

“Kiss?” she said. “You don’t have to ask every time.”

He gave a low chuckle. “I meant, shall we give it a go?” His sapphire eyes searched hers. “You and me.”

Nat realized that she hadn’t officially asked him to the event, yet.

Or told him about her ongoing public dating competition.

But at the winery, he’d said that he had read up on her, right?

Maybe he already knew about the BuzzFill thing and was fine with it.

And maybe it was also fine if she just assumed that and didn’t actually confirm it.

She produced a bright, perky grin. “What if you were my date to a party next week?”

“What kind of party?”

“Oh, nothing big . . .” Nat hedged. “Just a work thing. Probably totally boring but you know . . .” She rubbed his bicep. “I just need some arm candy.”

Thom lit up in spite of the joke. “Oh, I see! Well, then, by all means, sign me up.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” He leaned toward her with bedroom eyes. “As long as it means I get to spend more time with you.”

Something in Nat hesitated as he nibbled at her neck.

“It’s hard for me to let you go,” he cooed against her skin.

Nat smiled and thought of sliding onto a bar stool at the jazz bar. “I know, but I don’t want to rush this.” She pulled away.

“You’re right. Proper dates. Like your work party.” Thom winked and nodded. “I’ll be there.” He raised her hand to his lips for a soft kiss. “ Bonne nuit. ”

Nat leaned in her doorway to watch his figure walk away. A few feet away, he turned around and met her eyes. Her stomach flipped. He blew her an air kiss.

She pulled out her phone. Rami still hadn’t responded, but she was too wound up to sleep without a cocktail and a chance to flaunt her victory. She texted him one last time.

Nat: See you at the postmortem.

* * *

Rami and Allison pulled up a long driveway in their cab. Their muggy journey had finally come to an end at Rami’s next birthday surprise — the California Academy of Sciences.