Bitter (wlw) (teacherxstudent)

forty-three

"Everything growing back after the cold of the winter. A fresh start and all, right?"

"Exactly" I smiled.

"My first spring here didn't really allow me to enjoy it" she said, and I didn't question it further because I knew what she was referring to. "So I'm glad to be spending this year with you. Another kind of fresh start"

"I'm glad to be here with you too. Very glad" I squeezed her hand a little tighter.

The bright sun made her eyes look spectacularly blue, and I just couldn't shift my gaze to anything else once I noticed.

"You wanna sit on a bench or something?" she said right after softly kissing the top of my head.

"Sure" I replied as we found a nice spot right in front of a small water fountain with trees around it.

"So, how are you?" she asked as we sat down.

"Huh?"

"How are you? Like, in general. I feel like we haven't been talking to each other about things like these enough recently" she shrugged, scooting closer to me.

"Oh. Oh, uhm" I stumbled on my words, not expecting such a question. "I'm good actually. Very good"

"Yeah?"

"Pretty much" I replied.

"I'm glad, baby" she wrapped an arm around my waist.

"And you?" I added. 

"Same. I feel refreshed and definitely more serene than I'd been feeling a while ago. Being in London for so long made me realize how much my life is slowly becoming New York and not there anymore. And for the first time I'm happy about it. Like, really happy"

"That's nice. I'm happy for you" I moved closer to her as a light breeze blew through my hair.

"And you played a big part in me being happy about it. Probably the biggest, if not the only one. I feel like I don't tell you how happy you make me enough"

I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just smiled at her, pressing a kiss on her cheek. It felt really good to hear her telling me that.

We just stayed there talking for a while, enjoying the feeling of the spring weather and the sun on our skin, until it suddenly started to get cloudy again.

"Oh, shit" Sam said as she looked up.

"Maybe we did need an umbrella after all" I sighed.

"I'm sure we'll make it to the car before it gets worse" she confidently said. Maybe too confidently. 

"You sure? We literally walked, like, twenty minutes to get here" I asked, doubtful. 

"Hm, I'd say so. Nothing to worry about" she got up, pulling me up from my hand still being in hers.

"We'll have to come back a day we're sure the weather will be fine" I said as we started to head back.

"Yeah, we've got plenty of time to come back. Now let's just think about not getting rained on"

"You're worried about ruining your hair?" I joked.

"Actually, yes. And don't judge me for it" she played along.

"I'd never" I giggled.

But maybe her worries were legitimate, because it soon after started to lightly rain and we weren't even halfway through the walk.

"Oh my god, I hate how unpredictable the weather here is" she groaned, attempting to cover her head with her jacket.

"We can switch jackets if you want. Mine's got a hood and I don't really care about my hair" I suggested, finding her sudden change of mood quite funny. 

"It's fine, I'll just accept my fate. Plus, yours would be short on me, I'd look ridiculous"

"You wouldn't, but okay" I laughed. "Let me know if you change your mind"

Once it actually started pouring we ended up half running through the storm, still holding hands, both hysterically laughing in the meantime while trying not to slip and fall.

"This feels good" Sam unexpectedly said as we approached the gate we'd come in from.

"Weirdly cathartic" I snickered, not caring if I was soaked from head to toe at that point.

"Exactly. I would have never said so" she laughed as she wrapped her hands around my body from behind me.

"We should do this more often" I joked, her wet clothes in contact with mine making me colder than I already was.

"Maybe not, love" she kissed my cheek, moving back next to me.

We got to the car a few minutes later, still laughing because of the whole situation.

"We'll probably soak your car's seats" I said as I waited for her to get her keys out.

"It's fine, I don't care" she mumbled, seemingly not even reaching for them in her bag.

"What are you doing?" I laughed as she just kept looking at me.

"Nothing. I just really really love you. Like a lot" she plainly said, as if it was the most obvious thing she could say. 

"Oh. I really really love you too" I smiled, feeling like fireworks were going off inside of me after hearing those words from her after so long.

I didn't care if I was right under the pouring rain, shivering from the cold and completely drenched in water. The only thing I could care about in that moment was how in love I was with the woman holding me, whose face was an inch away from mine, creased into a smile.

She kissed me before I could, and I immediately felt like that was how my life was supposed to be. Everything finally felt right, again.

We eventually arrived at her place and dried up, still finding the whole situation extremely funny and acting more smitten than in a long time.

"I'd better not catch a cold because of this" Sam groaned as we curled up on her couch, my head resting on her shoulder and my knees almost on her lap.

"If you do, at least it was worth it" I giggled, placing the mug I'd just finished drinking my tea from on the nearby side-table.

"Was it though?" she looked down, a few strands of her tied up hair still visibly humid.

"I mean, I'd say so" I furrowed my brows. 

"I'm just playing with you, of course it was" she laughed. "It reminded me of how much in love with you I am" she added, leaning down to kiss me.

"I love you" I said as I smiled into the kiss.

"I love you too baby" she replied.