Kiss in the Rain

Please

"Matt?" I sputtered in disbelief.

"Lee-Lee?" He said, in shock as I was.

The girl furrowed her brows. "You two know each other?"

"We three know each other," Ethan muttered. I looked at him and he was just surprised as we were. Good. Nobody expected any of this.

I shook my head as I try to gather my wits. I turned at the girl. "So, you must be Elise?"

She grinned at me, "The one and only."

How could I have not noticed her accent? Oh yeah, I was blinded by jealousy. I should have expected fate would find a way to twist our lives even more than it already was.

I looked at her suspiciously as I shook her hand. She surprised me when she tugged at my hand and enveloped me in a hug. "Oh, I am extremely buzzing right now. I cannot believe I finally met the girl that Ethan could not stop talking about!"

When she let go, I sneaked a look at Ethan in my peripheral and saw him blush furiously. We, girls, took a seat and the boys shook their hands hesitantly first before following suit.

The awkwardness at the table was palpable from miles away. I took a sip of wine and shuddered inwardly. I've never really been a fan of wines. I'd rather have my coffee. But then again, it's kind of inappropriate for this kind of elegant setting.

"I'm Natalie, by the way," I said with smile. Her grin grew widely.

"I know! I just could not believe that the Natalie that Ethan and Matt were talking about was the same girl. Oh, you must be really awesome, and that is a compliment, mind you--- people always get confused whenever I give one. They think I'm mocking them. I am not that mean anyway---"

Ethan cleared his throat and Elise stopped. She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm kind of nervous. That's why I'm blabbering."

I waved my hand to say that it's no big deal. I'm beginning to like this girl. "It's okay. It helps in diffusing the tension around this table. And, that's the ladies' job anyway when it comes to this kind of meetings. Boys usually just serve as accessories."

We both giggled and the boys scowled at us. The waiter came over and handed us the menu. I don't know what I want to eat and I guess Matt and Ethan are feeling the same way so when Elise volunteered to order for us, we all agreed.

I was taking a bite of the appetizer when Elise caught us all off-guard. "So, Matt and Natalie, you two are really close. Were you like a couple or something before Ethan showed up and kind of ruined your relationship?"

Matt choked on his drink and Ethan paled. I, on the other hand, am pretty sure that my cheeks were extremely red. "No! No, it wasn't like that. Matt and I are just best friends. He's like a brother to me just as I'm a sister to him. When Ethan came, he kind of put everything in perspective for us. Let's leave it at that, shall we?" I explained then took a big gulp of water.

"Yeah, something like that," Matt mumbled.

Elise nodded in understanding. Goodness, she's a curious one, isn't she?

Ethan cleared his throat. "Long time no see, Matt. How have you been?"

It took a moment before he was able to answer. I guess he's quite surprised that Ethan was being polite to him when his greeting for him way before was far from that.

"Um, I'm good, I guess," he replied. "Better, actually, after meeting her," he added as he gazed at Elise. She blushed and took hold of his hand. I felt Ethan tense beside me. I looked at him questioningly but his attention was focused on Matt and Elise.