Under the Street Light

"Hey, you're needed in the office RIGHT NOW" an annoying shrill voice spoke through my phone speaker. It belonged to my secretary Macy. It was the middle of the night and it was very out of character for her to call, it must be an emergency if she was risking losing her job over it.

"Alright, Alright, I'm on my way" I drowsily mumbled into the phone before pulling on my boots and raincoat and grabbing my umbrella heading into the downpour towards the office.

Exactly 3 city blocks from my home was where I worked, it was nothing more than a simple accounting firm, but because we were so small I had to deal with the security calls. I hadn't made it more than 2 blocks before my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, quickly checking the text before the rain coated my screen.

MACY: NVM we're all good here, you can go back home.

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME. I had already started back mid-text, she didn't deserve a response at the moment as I saw it. Still rushing I tried to make it home without completely soaking the pajamas I was still wearing under the rain gear. I looked up for the first time since I left the house, only to check the cloudy cover above, when I realized something I had missed on my walk over. A girl. She sat alone under a street light, dimly lit from above. How strange for someone to be out this late, let alone in the rain with no umbrella or jacket. I felt some weird form of sorry for this girl, I couldn't pinpoint why, she was just another girl in the world, there was a good chance I had seen her in a grocery store, or walking down the street, but there was something almost magnetic about her.

Before consciously deciding to sit next to her, I had already walked to her side, it was as simple as sitting down. My umbrella only covered half of this poor girl, resulting in the runoff drenching her more, she seemed unbothered, however, a smile even formed on her lips. She sat like that for around 30 seconds before scooting ever so slightly to me. Still in the rain and still smiling ever so slightly, the girl sat in the rain.

Again the magnetic feeling struck, the need to be there for this girl, for reasons I couldn't quite determine yet. Again before concisely deciding to move to have the girl under the umbrella, I moved, fully protecting the young woman from the rain. I started to study her, trying to find the reason I was drawn to her, she couldn't have been older than me so that left the lower 20s, maybe 23. She had rich chocolate brown hair that turned black by the rain. From this angle I couldn't see her face well enough for details, but while on the road I could tell she was beautiful.

"Thank you," she said ever so softly, in a voice that could mimic bells, "The rain was starting to bother me, but it's such a nice night out I couldn't resist just sitting in it"

"No problem" I awkwardly mumbled, not sure how to respond to such a strange statement.

"My name is Lauren by the way, I figured if you were kind enough to stop you should at least know who you stopped for," she said, never looking away from the road we were facing.

"I'm Eli" again awkwardly spewing out the words in a voice seeming more and more gruff by the second "Lauren is a very pretty name". I couldn't seem to form coherent sentences around her, just simple things she had probably been told her entire life, and I couldn't take my eyes off her either. Her hair outside the rain seemed to be so many more colors than I had initially thought. Notes of red shining through under the dim street light.

She adjusted her position, furthering the distance between her and the rain, leaning her head on my shoulder, and closing her eyes. The same tranquil smile came back to her face, at peace, content in the moment, I couldn't help but lean my head on top of hers. It seemed so right in this moment to be sitting here, although minutes ago I was sound asleep. We sat like this for seconds, minutes, hours maybe, in complete peace with the rain, the noise, with each other.

It was she who made the first movement after, it was almost painful to no longer have her close, for the separation of the most basic contact. She slid across the bench though, back into the rain. What a strange girl. I slowly lowered my hood and closed my umbrella, to sit in the rain beside her, to try and understand why this could be nice.

I heard a giggle just then, Lauren was looking at me for the first time since I had sat down. She had chocolate brown eyes that matched and complemented her hair perfectly. They were set in a beautiful face, naturally beautiful as there wasn't a trace of makeup on it. Lauren's smile had grown to be more than just a grin she had worn earlier. She looked almost on the verge of laughter.

"What?" I said laughing myself now "It looked relaxing alright"

"It is, and it's even better sharing this moment with someone else," her soft whisper of a voice said "I'm happy you're here to share it with me, Eli"

"I'm happy to be here" I responded, trying to mimic the softness in her tone.

She again surprised me by standing up, turning to face me, and reaching for my hands as a way to get me to follow. I happily stood with her, happy that she wanted me close. It wasn't till my arm was in front of me that I noticed my watch. Realizing it had been hours since Macy had called, I looked again at the girl, wondering what had happened to the time, and why the pull to her was so strong. I didn't have much time to think before she spun around, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close.

It was a familiar and safe feeling, something I had known for a while, but never known like this. She leaned back making eye contact, before slowly closing her eyes letting her arms drop to her side as she began to lean in. More than willing to end the night in the rain with a kiss, I closed my eyes and leaned what I thought would be the rest of the way in.

When her lips weren't where I thought they would be my eyes shot open in surprise.

She was gone, not a trace of her, the bench, or the street light. There was only the familiar glow of the bar and an empty bottle by my side.