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| FIRST LOVE BY MARIQUA |
CHAPTER 2 |
"Is it supposed to rain?" Tea asked, looking skyward.
"Beats me," Todd said. He watched as she rose from her position and began gathering up the picnic items. She was picking up some utensils and didn't notice a knife lying in the folds of the blanket.
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she felt a sharp pain in the palm of her right hand. She held her hand up to see a line of blood where she had sliced her hand.
Todd grabbed her hand instinctively and looked at it intently. "Yep, you've got a nice little cut, Delgado. What'd you go and do that for?" he said very seriously while reaching for a napkin to blot up the blood.
Tea almost jerked her hand away thinking he was mocking her. Then she realized he was having some fun at her expense. For some reason, maybe it was the effect of the beer, but she all at once found the whole thing terribly amusing. "Clumsy me, I guess," she said with something of a laugh in her voice. Todd's eyes twinkled with humor and he continued his chastising. "That'll teach you to invite me to a picnic! You know you can always count on me to somehow hurt you..." As he said this, he wanted to take it back, but the damage was done. What a jerk! He thought.
Tea tensed with his words. These were the words that rang true in some ways and what he had said brought out into the open what had put such a strain on their relationship. He had hurt her, but Tea knew she had hurt him, too. I'm afraid of us, Todd. We have so much pain lingering between us.
One of the Frisbee gang called out to Todd as they left the park. "Thanks, man!"
Todd smiled and raised his hand up in a salute. "I think we'd better wrap this up, Tea. It doesn't look too bad, but you'd better treat it when we get home." A boom of thunder shattered the peacefulness of their surroundings and Tea tried to continue to pick up the things on the ground.
"I've got it, Delgado," Todd said, tossing things haphazardly in the basket. Suddenly the sky became almost black and immediately a torrent of rain pummeled down on them. "Todd!" Tea shrieked as the wind began to whip around them. Todd grabbed the basket and lifting the blanket over their heads like a canopy yelled, "Come on! Let's run for it!"
They ran like two crazed kids across the field -- the rain thoroughly soaking the blanket that they were under. Todd steered them to a small picnic shelter over near the edge of the park. They ran up under it as another crack of lightning sounded off near them.
Todd dropped the blanket on the ground. His hair was completely soaked, as was every other article of clothing he had on. He looked at Tea whose hair was also drenched and whose clothes seemed to be plastered against her body. Todd shivered when he saw her, and he knew it wasn't from the cold.
Tea looked down at her wet shoes and then at Todd. She burst into a nervous laugh. "Todd, look at us!"
"Hey, Delgado. Great picnic!" Todd said with heavy sarcasm. "Wanna go for a swim?"
Tea giggled halfheartedly and tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Did he have to look so incredibly masculine at this moment?
Outside the shelter the rain continued to come down in sheets. Tea shivered as the wind picked up and blew in a gust. Her wet clothes made goose bumps appear on her skin and she wrapped her arms around her body.
"Are you cold?" Todd broke the intense silence between them. She nodded wordlessly -- afraid to even speak for fear that her emotions would betray her. Please let the rain stop!
There was nothing but the soaked blanket to use for warmth. Todd brought it over to her, trying to shake out the dampness. He looked apologetically at Tea since the blanket was a wasted effort. He was having a hard time even looking at her because she was standing in front of him looking more beautiful than he thought he had ever seen her. I can't stand this anymore! Ever since that day when she had brought him home from the center, he had known something was happening to him. I've been falling in love with her and it's like the first time.
With catlike grace, he moved slowly towards her almost willing her with his mind to stay where she was. He could almost see the fear in her eyes as he approached her. He knew he had a lot to make up for with her though it had only just started coming back to him in bits and pieces. There were elements of his life that were missing and he had to have them to figure out why he and Tea had so much water under the bridge. For some reason he knew that there had been very good times but some very bad ones as well. She might never get past all that. She wouldn't believe that he would erase his entire life and start over if he could.
She didn't back up as he came within a few inches of her. "I'll keep you warm, Tea," he said very quietly. She didn't budge but kept staring at him, and he very carefully put his arm around her shoulder and helped her to sit down on the ground.
Tea's nerves were just about shot as she slid down to the ground with him. Never had she felt so completely protected and safe in a man's arms like this. His soaked shirt touched her back as he wrapped his arms even closer around her. A deep warmth began to emanate from his body and totally surrounded her. Her senses were reeling with the sensation of his nearness and the touch of his wet skin. Tea, what are you doing!
"Todd," she weakly tried to speak, but he stopped her. "Shhh..." his breath floated past her ear. She realized just then that she didn't dare disturb the bliss of this moment. The only sound to interrupt the silence was the heavy downpour of the rain. After a few minutes, she heard him speak.
"I like to hear you humming in the morning...I like it when you call me down on something...I like your large brown eyes and pouty mouth...He paused and seemed to be thinking again. "I like everything about you, don't you see? I've never had this feeling before. It's all new to me, Tea. You're the first."
With his long, powerful arms hugging her into him like this, she couldn't bring herself to say a word about Blair. One day he would know that she had been his first wife and all the good and bad memories would come flooding back for him. But for now she didn't want to spoil any of this.
"I've fallen in love with you," he said.
