"You're soaked," Jacob said, touching the curls at my temple.
"So are you." My gaze strayed to his chest. The wet shirt, almost transparent thanks to the rain, clung to the contours of his lean muscles. My mouth dried, my tongue felt thick and useless. I ached to touch his broad shoulders and the ripple of muscles across his stomach and chest. My fingers twitched at my side. I licked my lips...
"Even your eyelashes are wet," he said in a faraway voice.
I looked up. He was staring at me with that curious intensity that made my insides do odd flips. I smiled at him tentatively.
He smiled back then laughed again, his attention no longer on my face but in the direction we were heading. "I'm sorry," he said. "But we're thoroughly wet now. Do you still want to run?"
"Walking is fine," I said.
He was still smiling when we reached Druids Way. Occasionally he glanced up at the sky but never at me again.
"You like the rain?" I asked.
His smile widened. "I'd forgotten what it was like. It's good to feel it on my skin after all this time."
"Is it cold?"
"No. I don't feel heat or cold. But it does feel wet. And fantastic!" he shouted. He spun around again, finishing the twirl with a flourish by kicking a puddle.
I giggled all the way to my house. We climbed the steps to the front door and huddled beneath the porch. Not that staying dry mattered anymore. I opened my reticule but didn't search for my key. Jacob would leave as soon as I was inside and I wanted this moment to last just a little longer.
"Will your sister be mad at you for being out in this weather?" he asked.
"Probably. But she's my sister, not my mother and she can scold me all she likes, I don't care."
He smiled but it was wistful, perhaps even sad. "She cares about your health, Emily. As I should have done. Go inside and warm yourself by the fire before you catch your-." His lips clamped together as if he were stopping the next word from falling out: death.
I blinked up at him. "Jacob? Are you all right?"
He shook his head. "Your eyelashes," he murmured.
"What about them?"
"They look even longer when they're wet." He backed up to the steps. "Go inside, Emily." He turned to leave.
"Jacob. Wait. I still plan on visiting your parents this afternoon. Come back at two and we can go together. Or I can meet you there if you prefer." I preferred to walk with him. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could, even if we spent it in awkward silence-a distinct possibility considering he was not meeting my gaze again.