AFTER THE RAIN (Bonus edition)

33. Someone's got it ba-aa-d

The wait for his flight felt like the longest two hours of Marcus's life. Being separated from Stormy felt wrong. They'd spent every second together for the last few days, and being apart felt like he'd just had a limb amputated. A tad dramatic, perhaps, but that's how it felt. Her absence caused a phantom itch that he just couldn't scratch. He wandered around the airport in a Stormy daze, where everything reminded him of her. As a result, after the two hours, he'd bought her an entire airport of stuff:

An extra huge bag of colorful M&M's had reminded him of her hair, so he'd bought them...

A strange-looking spiritual magazine with a person on the cover covered in colored aura lights (or something) had made him think of her, so he bought it too...

Likewise the colorful pens and note pad full of butterflies from the same shop, so he'd bought those too...

As did the rainbow-colored knee-length socks, and the fluffy pink Hello Kitty slippers. He'd never, ever imagined he'd be buying Hello Kitty, let alone for his girlfriend.

Girlfriend.

He rolled that word over in his mind several times, and even said it out loud a few times, just to hear what it sounded like.

He loved the sound of it. "Hi, this is my girlfriend, Stormy-Rain." He chuckled out loud, thinking about his work colleagues' reactions. Not that he cared. Anyone would see what a special person she was after spending just five minutes with her.

The flight finally took off. He'd told Damien to let the ceremony go on without him and that he'd catch up at the reception, because he might be as much as two and a half hours late, but Damien had insisted they would wait. The guests would be more than happy to do some more sightseeing or relaxing at the hotel, he'd said, and he suspected the ladies would love the extra time to get ready. Besides, he was secretly grateful, he'd confessed – he was still trying to get his vows perfect, and had been practicing them with Jess. Plus, with any luck, Lilly's mom would have passed out by then!

Marcus laughed, remembering what had happened the first time he'd met Lilly's mom. Damien had warned him about her, but the warning hadn't quite adequately prepared him. It was at their engagement party; she'd got up and made a terribly inappropriate (and totally unplanned, unsanctioned and unexpected) speech about the "terrible difficulties of marriage" – such a great thing to say to a newly-engaged couple in love. And after that, she'd fallen off her chair. Obviously accustomed to this, Lilly's family had just dragged her to the other end of the room, given her a pillow and put a blanket over her. Marcus had found the whole thing pretty shocking.

He suddenly imagined what it must have been like for Lilly and Stormy to have lived with her. His stomach twisted as he thought about her childhood and how terrible it had been. It made him furious, and even more determined to treat her like the most precious gift he'd ever been given – which she was. He wanted it all with her. And he hoped they could have it. Because he wanted the whole damn thing: the house, the kids, the dog, even the white-picket fence – which he would probably land up painting pink, under Stormy's instructions, and that would be okay. It was absolutely crazy to feel this way about someone so soon, but he did.

By the time Marcus arrived in Prague and caught a taxi outside of the airport, it was already dark. He knew that it was meant to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but he hadn't been expecting this – lit up against the night sky, it was utterly breathtaking. Everything had a golden glow to it, which reflected in the waters as he drove past the iconic Charles Bridge and into the main part of the city. Huge, glowing steeples and towers loomed above him. This had to be one of the most romantic places in the world, and he was here, and so was Stormy. An involuntary smile broke out across his face.

"You made it," Damien greeted him at the door of their hotel room once Marcus had finally arrived.

"Sorry, it was touch-and-go there for a while."

"It's okay. You're here." Marcus and Damien gave each other one of those manly, back-patting hugs.

"Hey," Jess got up and walked over. "So I hear you and Stormy are, like, getting jiggy with it?"

"Crap, Jess!" Marcus exclaimed and turned to Damien. "Does everyone know?"

Damien made a face like he was thinking. "Uuuh... Yup. Basically."

"You guys waste no time," Marcus said, smiling as he shook his head. It was impossible to be mad when the hot topic of gossip was something that made him so happy.

"So I bet she's, like, a wild child in the sack," Jess said matter-of-factly. It was more of a statement than an actual question, and although he had known Jess for years, and she was a lesbian, he still hadn't quite gotten used to talking about women like that with her. Even if she and Damien told each other everything!

"It's not like that... I swear." Suddenly he felt himself blush, actually blush. His face went warm and clammy and his palms started sweating.

"Oohhhh," Jess made a playful girly noise, which was so not her usual style. "Someone's got it ba-aa-d!" She picked up a brochure from the table and fanned Marcus's face with it, smiling. "Need to cool down there, hey?"

Marcus just smiled, and judging by the looks on Damien and Jess's faces, it was a stupid, giddy schoolboy smile. Jess's face softened.

"Oh my God! You have got it bad! For real!" she exclaimed. Marcus nodded sheepishly and Damien's eyes widened.

"Just how bad have you got it?" he asked Marcus.

Marcus had actually been dying to say this out loud to someone, and this was his first opportunity. "We're together," he said, unable to keep the hint of pride from his voice.

Jess made another girly noise. "Like boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Marcus nodded and smiled. It sounded so good to have someone else acknowledge it. "We are."

Jess nodded in approval. "Don't blame you, she's totally hot." She looked at Damien who seconded her with a nod.

"She's more than that, though..." Marcus trailed off. "Much, much more than that."

Damien smiled at his cousin. "I think it's great. I'd like to see you as happy as Lilly and I are."

"Speaking of Lilly..." Jess said, her voice taking on a tone of urgency. "We don't want her to think she's been left at the altar again. Time to get this show on the road, guys."

Marcus went to the bathroom and changed into his suit, brushed his teeth and sprayed on some cologne. The anticipation of seeing Stormy again was building by the second.

"Ready!" Marcus declared, coming out of the bathroom. Damien inhaled a long breath, and suddenly started looking tense.

"Nervous?" Marcus asked his cousin.

Damien shook his head. "Excited. Just so excited to see her."

Marcus smiled. "I know the feeling."

Jess put her arms around them both. "Okay then, let's go get you married."