AFTER THE RAIN (Bonus edition)

9. Maybe there's a self-help group for it

"Double oops," Stormy said, this time with her back pressed up against a hard metal towel rail on the bathroom wall.

They peeled themselves off each other with a squeaky sound, once again both reeling from what had just happened. AGAIN!

Stormy was almost positive she remembered doing something that might have resembled an actual cartwheel at some stage. Possibly even a headstand and a pirouette.

"I don't think double oops quite cuts it, Stormy," Marcus said, wrapping a towel around himself and looking positively sheepish.

"Okay, well, triple-to-the-max-oops," Stormy countered.

"We've got a serious problem here," Marcus replied crisply, walking out of the bathroom briskly.

"Maybe there's a self-help group for it. We could get a sponsor and a key ring," Stormy joked flippantly as she followed him out.

"Sex addicts anonymous?" Marcus suggested in jest.

Stormy shook her head. "This only happens when I'm around you."

"Really? I doubt that." The sarcasm in his tone instantly rubbed Stormy up the wrong way, and – still naked – she assumed her hand-on-hip pose.

"What are you trying to say? That I'm some kind of slutty-slut-slut who randomly sleeps with strange men at the drop of a cap?"

"Hat."

"What?"

"Drop of a hat."

"Same thing!" she said, stamping her foot and feeling utterly exacerbated by his irritating habit of correcting almost everything that came out of her mouth.

"Not the same thing. Crap, put some clothes on, why don't you."

"Fine!" she huffed. She turned back into the bathroom and found the rugby jersey dangling from the light fixture... how the hell had it gotten there?

"You wear both on your head. Caps and hats. Same thing," she called out from the bathroom as she pulled the shirt on.

"Fine," Marcus conceded. "I don't want to argue about head apparel. Can we just talk about this thing that keeps happening between us?"

"What is there to say? We keep having sex. Clearly there's an attraction between us and it's very powerful and we can't seem to control it. It's in our stars."

Marcus sat on the bed and held his head in his hands. "You seriously never do this with other guys?"

Stormy shook her head as she emerged from the bathroom again, this time fully dressed. "Never. And never like that!"

"Like what?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly very calm sex, was it?"

"No. I guess not," Marcus responded, smiling a little.

"I mean, it wasn't exactly gentle."

"No."

"It was hot and wild and hard and fast and –"

"Okay, okay, you can stop now! I was there too, I know what kind it was."

There was a pause as they both thought about their options.