Counting Down with You(91)

Later, we’re holding hands and walking back to Ace’s house when something splashes against the back of my neck. When I turn to Ace, there’s a drop of water sliding down the ridge of his nose.

A clap of thunder sounds, and I jump in surprise, clutching Ace’s hand tightly enough to cut off circulation.

“Are you scared?” he asks, having the nerve to sound amused.

I scowl. “No. I just don’t want to get a cold. Your house is a long walk from here.”

Ace rolls his eyes but his lips curl up in one corner. “You’ll be fine, Karina. Plus, haven’t you always wanted to kiss in the rain? It happened in like half the Bollywood movies we watched.”

“You’ve seen like four.”

“It still happened.”

“I resent that.”

Not a moment later, the rain decides to pour down in buckets, drenching us both.

Ace laughs in delight, because I’m apparently dating a lunatic. His bad mood from before has all but evaporated, as if the rain is the equivalent of sunshine for him.

He slips his hand out of my grasp and extends his arms on either side. I watch as he tilts his face toward the sky and closes his eyes, a wide smile across his face.

“What’s wrong with you?” I say, shouting to be heard over the pouring rain.

“Join me!” Ace says back, eyelashes fluttering open to reveal striking kaleidoscopic eyes. “Live a little.”

I give him an unimpressed look as I push wet hair out of my face. “You can’t keep saying that, you know. I live just fine, thank you.”

Ace laughs again and shakes his head. “Baby, come on.”

I jolt at the endearment and the way my pulse starts rocketing. It’s nothing like his joking sweetie in front of his family, in front of my friends. This isn’t for show.

This is me and him, alone in a storm, and he’s giving me the most beautiful smile and calling me baby.

Despite the freezing rain, I feel impossibly warm.

A bolt of lightning flashes across the sky, capturing Ace’s attention before he can press further. He looks up with wonder written across his face. “Isn’t it amazing?” he asks before looking back down at me. “It reminds me of you.”

Holy shit, he’s going to kill me. “You’re ridiculous,” I murmur.

Ace somehow hears me through all the noise, and his cheeks dimple.

I cross the distance between us and press my lips against his before he can say anything else. Maybe it’s to shut Ace up, or maybe it’s to stop myself from saying something completely foolish. Either way, I’m kissing him in the rain, just like he wanted.

When we pull apart, I tilt my head and ask, “If I’m lightning, then what are you?”

Already, I can imagine Ace teasing me but instead, he smiles and says, “I’m thunder. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

I don’t have an answer for that. He doesn’t look like he needs one.

“Karina,” he says softly, his hand coming up to brush my cheek. “Will you go to prom with me?”

“I already said yes,” I remind.

He shakes his head. “You said yes when we were pretending. Will you go to prom with me?”

I stare at him for a long beat of silence, warmed by the stars in his eyes. “Yes.”

Ace laughs quietly and leans forward, kissing my temple and pulling me into his arms.

When Ace shifts again, it’s to shrug off his leather jacket. “Here,” he says, holding it out for me. “I don’t actually want you to catch a cold.”

“Now you’re worried about my health,” I say, but slip my arms into the sleeves, letting him situate it around me. The smell of cinnamon makes my heart sing. “You can explain this to Dadu.”

A look of horror passes over his face and I laugh, tangling our fingers together as we start walking toward his house again.

That night, I lie awake and listen to the storm. Ace is on FaceTime but he’s fast asleep. The sound of his breathing is soft compared to the harsh beat of the rain against the roof. Slowly, it lulls me to sleep.

rain, rain go away
come again another day...
that’s what they always say
but what if you want rain to stay?
being addicted to the storm
wanting to see it transform
I’m lightning, he’s thunder
my God, he’s a wonder
I’m quick, I’m fast, I glow
and him?
he follows me wherever I go


42


T-MINUS 6 DAYS

“Be prepared.”

Ace looks at me in alarm as we swipe our ID cards and walk into school. “For what?”

I shake my head. “You sweet, naive soul.”

It takes approximately two seconds for Cora and Nandini to show up and approximately one second after that for Nandini to drag me away while Cora stares at Ace with her arms crossed and foot tapping.

“Karina?” Ace says, gaze darting between Cora, Nandini, and me. His expression is cooler than I’m used to. However, I’ve come to accept that Ace has trouble being his true self around people he’s not fully comfortable with.

Hopefully he’ll be comfortable with my friends one day soon. I don’t doubt it will happen. I just don’t know when.

“Alistair, sweetie, so nice to see you again.” Cora smiles warmly at me before she looks back at Ace, her expression shifting to something cold and terrifying. “All right, let’s talk business.”