The Rain: The End by Marietta Standlee (good summer reads TXT) 📕

A line of storefronts a little while later stops me dead in my tracks and turns me speechless as the old Vivian makes a rare appearance. The Vivian who liked make-up and expensive things stares enviously at the multitude of stores with names like Gucci,Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Fendi.

My mouth drops open, and Colin snickers. "Want one?"

I'm almost tempted to say yes, almost. There was a time where I desired one of those bags with every fiber of my being, knowing that I would never be able to afford one. And here they are, ready for grabs, so pretty and so utterly useless.

But one black bag grabs my attention. "That one," I say, pointing.

With an amused smile, Colin smashes the window and hands me my prize. A black, waterproof MCM backpack. It's large enough to hold items we may need, and it makes the old Vivian inside of me somersault. I grin and give Colin a kiss. "Thanks, honey, you're the best."

He smiles indulgently and shakes his head, but his eyes sparkle, and I know he enjoyed this as much as I did. I can't stop my fingers from caressing my new backpack's smooth texture; at least it's not completely useless. I swing it over my shoulder, impatient for when I'll be able to fill it with whatever we find and need on our long journey and take Colin's hand.

When it gets dark, we pick an apartment for the night on the fourth floor, and after barricading the front door, we decide we'll both be able to get a good night's rest, no need for guard duty; we've both learned to sleep lightly. If anybody tries to get in, we'll hear it and wake up.

The pantry isn't as well-stocked as the others, but we find enough food to fill us up for dinner and some water bottles to replace those Colin and I used up during our march through the city.

Inside a chest of drawers, I find clean underwear for both of us; I'm not overly excited about wearing somebody else's undies, but beggars can't be choosers. I even put some into my priced backpack for later use.

"Tomorrow, we should find a store with some good socks, "Colin suggests yawning while stretching on the bed. "And clean clothes."

I nod and snuggle up next to him, my body yearns to be closer to his, but at this point, we both stink so badly neither one of us is in the mood for anything sexual. I close my eyes and think of all the things I would trade for a shower or bath before falling asleep.

It's as if somebody heard my plea; the next morning, it doesn't rain, it pours—normal, healthy rain. Colin has a mischievous smile on his face when he invites me to follow him to the roof. Standing inside the access door, we peer out at the downpour. I can hear thunder in the distance, but the rain is so strong I can't even see any lightning.

Now I understand what they mean by raining sheets. I turn to ask Colin something, but my breath gets stuck in my throat as I watch him peel all his clothes off. He smiles at me. "Chicken?"

In his hands, he holds a plastic bag filled with soap, shampoo, conditioner, you name it. A grin spreads over my face as I follow his lead and take my clothes off as well. There's no danger of anybody seeing us, as it is, I have to be careful where I step, lest I fall off the stupid roof because I can't see anything.

The rain is so hard it almost hurts, but it's worth it. I wash and rinse my hair as well as condition it. It feels awesome. And after we're both clean, Colin steps next to me, his eyes searching mine in the downpour, with irises so large and black they seem to devour me. I swallow and feel myself yearning for his touch. Slowly he pulls my chin towards his until our mouths meet. His tender kiss turns demanding, and I answer the call of his body with all the yearning of mine.

Afterward, we lay cuddled up under the slowly lessening downpour, kissing, touching, and just happy to be with each other. Not caring for the slight chill in the air and our wet bodies. When the rain decreases so much that we can see the outline of the building next to us, we reluctantly return to our room, happy, satisfied, but wishing for more.

Chapter 4

The days go by, each one seems like the one before. After two days of walking, we clear the city limits, the day of the rain, as I call it, delayed us a whole day, granted towards the afternoon we could have gotten out, but a day in bed had sounded awfully good to us, and since we're not really in a hurry, we took full advantage of the offered excuse. The only thing that changes is the scenery; we have yet to see any living soul, maniac or not.

On the morning of the third day, we decide to try a car, opting for speed versus stealth, since stealth hasn't gotten us very far yet. We find a Mercedes Benz SUV with keys and no blood inside. Colin siphons gas from other cars and we head out. Finally, the miles seem to speed by. After passing some farms, it's all woodland around us.

Nothing is like in the United States, where you can drive for miles without seeing any houses or buildings; here, even on the furthest mountain tops, you see one building or another. The sight of a castle excites me for some reason to no end. I've always thought I would make it to the Old World one day, but in my wildest dreams, I didn't imagine it would be like this. The temptation to ask Colin to stop and explore the castle is great. And it's not as if a couple of hours delay