life's rain // bruno mars

chapter two

chapter two

He was standing there, bathed in the golden streaks of sunshine that filtered through the interstices of the trees. It caressed the tan of his skin, the dark of his eyes. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked amused, his mouth curved upward. “Bruno,” I said, breathless. “what are you doing here?”

He walked closer to me, the ground crunching softly under his Converses. “I was hanging out with friends. My brother is the patrol officer here.” He stopped, leaving a foot of space between us. “We keep him company because he gets pretty bored.”

“You saw me?”

“I saw you.” His eyes darted quickly behind me at the sound of a scurrying animal. “They didn't.”

I started to trace around my camera lens, feeling the smooth surface under my fingertips. “How did you know it was me?”

His smile became bigger but he didn't say anything. “Wanna come hang?” he asked finally, not answering my question.

“With your friends?” I looked behind him as though they were there.

“Yeah,” he said, the smile twitching on his lips. “There's only two others.”

“Okay,” I agreed, not even a second skeptical. There was nothing else better for me to do today other than take pictures of marine animals anyway. “Sure.”

“All right.” He turned around before throwing a look behind his shoulder. “Come with me.”

* 

We were walking side by side through the trees. Our arms were brushing lightly against each other's, making my skin tingle. When the thin forest opened to the field of grass was when I spotted two figures about ten feet away, standing next to a golf cart. When we were close enough so I could make out their faces, Bruno turned to me suddenly. “Listen—”

“Yoooo!” A male's voice cut through the air and to us. It was from one of the guys. “Bruno been hunting! He caught something!” Laughter erupted from them. Bruno was shaking his head, but a small smile was on his lips. “I meant to warn you, these guys are idiots.”

“Don't worry,” I told him, thinking of my best friend. “I'm used to it.”

One of the two guys had dark skin. He was wearing a fedora and his eyes were hidden behind big glasses that were thickly framed. “This is Phil,” Bruno introduced us. “Phil, Lena.” Bruno turned quickly to the other guy, his brother, who was dressed in a dark blue officer's uniform as Phil and I shook hands briefly. His skin was fairer than Bruno's, a yellowish tone to it. His hair was black and cropped short, and when he smiled he had the same crinkling eyes as Bruno. “This is Eric, my older brother,” Bruno said. “Eric, Lena.” 

“What's up, Lena?” Eric greeted me, taking his flashlight from his belt and shining it on my face. I shielded my eyes, stumbling away a bit. “What are you doing out here, hmm?”

“Eric.” Bruno put his hand in front of the beam so it wasn't on me anymore. “Stop.”

I blinked rapidly, seeing spots. “I was just watching an officer fail at doing his job.”

“Damn.” Phil threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to his side. I was still blinded from the light and could barely see. I shut my eyes. “Lena, sweetie, you're going to fit right in.”

“All right, all right. She got me. Sorry about that.” Eric held out a hand. I took it. “Very nice to meet you, Lena.”

“Phil, you just met the girl.” Bruno was sitting on the rear seats of the golf cart, flipping a lighter between his hands. “Give her some space.”