A thick carpet of dark storm clouds began to creep over what used to be clear, starry sky. The temperature dropped slightly as the wind gradually picked up speed. In the intense heat of the summer, it was a welcome change.
"Come on, Ann. The car's only a few blocks down." A blonde haired man in his early thirties picked up his pace when he noticed the change in weather. Although the weather app on his phone had said that there was only a twenty percent chance of rain, it was just his luck for it to start pouring the moment he made any plans.
"Slow down, John! I brought an umbrella. Anyways, it's just a little bit of rain. Remember what you said this morning about enjoying the little things?" A pretty brunette held the man back, clutching his arm to her chest with her fair, porcelain arms. She gave him a smile, which quickly morphed into her blowing a raspberry as the wind blew her hip length hair into her mouth.
John turned around as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear. "I've told you so many times to cut your hair a little shorter if it starts to become a hassle. You go to the spa almost every other day, why don't you take a quick stop by the barber's once in a while too?"
Ann quickly let go of his arm and turned around, exaggerating her expression as she pretended to pout. "Why do you always want me to cut my hair? You think I look ugly with long hair, don't you? If-" She was abruptly cut off as John sealed her mouth with his lips. She froze, flustered by his actions. After a moment of processing, she quickly pushed him away.
"John, I know we've been married for almost a year now, but you should know how I feel about public displays of affection." She began fixing her hair as she spoke, taking out the nonexistent creases in her Chanel dress. She had recently bought it during one of the many shopping sprees she had went on last month.
"Don't worry, I won't kiss you in public anymore." John pretended to be sorry, but only for a moment. "Next time, I'll do much more." He smirked as he slowly walked closer to her with his arms outstretched, obviously unashamed of his actions.
Before he could grab her once more, she stomped on his toe with her new pair of Christian Louboutins, and swooped beneath his arms to get away from him.
"OW!" He let a loud yelp, and quickly spun around. He had an evil grin on his face as looked at his wife. "Uh oh, now you made the monster mad!" He went to grab her again and she tried to dodge once more but to no avail. "You think that would work twice in a row?"
He managed to finally grasp her in his embrace, albeit she was in a bit of an awkward position. "Look, you made me drop the umbrella! I don't want to hold it if it gets dirty!" She tried to distract him by changing the topic.
"Well, I don't care how dirty it is, so I'll hold it, but first, let me enjoy some quality time with the woman I married." Their faces were mere inches apart as he attempted to whisper to her seductively.
Ann tried to wiggle out of his arms, but he had her held securely. "Quality time? In the middle of the street? Among all these people? We're a short walk away from downtown, for crying out loud!" She tried to reason with him, but she knew it was akin to talking to a wall.
He turned his head to look around and smiled. "I guess my luck isn't too bad after all. The upcoming storm must have scared them all off. That means that we have this street all to ourselves. Just you, me, and Tlaloc, the rain god." He closed his eyes, preparing for another kiss. The wind blew the scent of her flowery perfume towards his nose, making it nearly impossible for him to resist any longer.
As he savoured the moment, she looked up towards the stormy sky and quietly whispered, "I don't want him to see this." Suddenly, the world seemed to go silent. It seemed as though the wind had temporarily ceased playing with the randoms bits of trash along the road and the thunder had taken a break from its incessant roaring.
John opened his eyes as he studied her face, a tinge of worry hidden behind his otherwise calm expression. "You don't want who to see this?" He gently asked his question, almost in a playful manner, refusing to allow any tinge of doubt to cloud his relationship. He looked at his wife with loving eyes, waiting for an answer.
Ann waited a moment, trying to to gauge whether he had loosened his grip or not. She looked back into his eyes, and opened her mouth to speak, when she abruptly relaxed her body like a noodle. She tried to slide out of his arms while he was in a moment of possible shock or worry, but he plan was unsuccessful. Instead, he utilized the moment to alter his embrace, now holding her in a cliche pose, as though he had caught her mid fall in a romance movie.
With a playful smile on his face, he repeated the question. "So who do you not want to see this?" After seeing her actions, he was now assured that there truly was nothing to be worried about. She had probably just said that in order to distract him so that she could get away from him.
She looked at him with a frown before she finally spoke. "If you want to know, you have to let me go. Hmph." She turned her head as far to the side as she could to compensate for the fact that she couldn't cross her arms, and make her statement final.
"Okay."
Ann was confused. Surely he wouldn't agree with her so easily? Not a moment later, she felt his arms loosen as he released her. Suddenly, she let out a scream as she realized that she was falling. John had quite literally let her go as she lay in his arms, much to the dismay of the latter.
Instinctively, she grabbed onto his shirt, clutching for dear life. Before she knew it, his arms had caught her from hitting the pavement and she was a trapped bird once again.
"There, I let you go but you grabbed onto me. Now that I fulfilled my end of the bargain, it's your turn to fulfill yours." Ann let go of his shirt and looked at him in shock and when she realized what he had just done.
"That wasn't fair! You cheated!" Tried to beat his chest with her fists but she could barely move them an inch.
She glared at him with indignation, unwilling to give up so easily. "You know what? Fine. You can just hold me like this for the rest of the night then. I'm not going to tell you." Although she actually wanted him to let her go, she did not want to give him what he wanted so easily. When she had realized that she had been tricked, it had served to strengthen her resolve to not reply to his question, regardless of what the answer was.
John's initially calm smile grew wider when he heard her words. "Don't mind if I do." He took the opportunity to hug her closer, their noses almost touching. The two stared at each other's eyes, both of them lost for just a moment before Ann spoke up.
"If I tell you who I was talking about, will you let me go?" She looked him directly in his eyes once more, but this time with resolve. She refused to back down.
For a few moments, John acted like he was considering her offer and then he replied. "Fine.
She looked at him once more, now knowing not to trust him when he agreed so easily. "First, you have to promise me that you'll first help me stand properly, and then you'll let me go if I tell you who I was talking about." This time, she was more careful about how she worded her sentence, trying to be as specific as possible.
Her effort to be precise made John smile as he let out a small laugh. "Okay, I promise." Although his love seemed a bit pushy at first, he only did that to tease Ann. If he ever thought that he was going overboard, or if she seemed excessively uncomfortable, he would stop immediately.
Usually, he would be the ideal husband by pampering his wife with gifts, time, and most importantly, his love. He never forgot any of the special dates that the two shared and although the two had been married for just over a year now, he still occasionally sent her a surprise bouquet of flowers, or a diamond necklace, or anything else that he ever noticed her paying special attention to.
That being said, he still enjoyed teasing her on occasion and he knew that one of the easiest ways to mess with her was public displays of affection. In order to ensure that she was not too uncomfortable, he made sure that he only kissed her on less crowded streets, or in a place where there wouldn't be a lot of people looking.
Today, it had simply worked out perfectly after the movies, when the two were walking back to the car, which was parked a few blocks away, closer to a specialty ice cream shop. Although he was willing to find parking closer to the cinema, she had insisted on parking by the shop so they could grab a scoop of her favourite dessert, and walk to the cinema, and make a miniature date out of the excursion.
Now that the movie was over and they had watched the sun set over the river, it was time to go home. With night settling over the city, and the possibility of an incoming thunderstorm, small streets like the one they were on layed practically abandoned.
With such a prime opportunity lying at hand, it would be a shame to waste it, so he extended it as long as he possibly could, taking the time to appreciate the beautiful princess he had the fortune of calling his wife.
"No, I want you to say the whole thing, all together." He snapped out of his bout of admiration at the sound of her voice, and chuckled.
"You really are being strict about this, aren't you?" This was exactly what he loved about his wife. She wasn't like most other girls, who would chase after him for his money, and do whatever they could to please him. Ann had a set of values that she lived her life by, and she wouldn't compromise them for anything or anyone, and he admired that.
She continued to stare at him, waiting for him to make his promise. "Fine, I promise that I'll help me stand properly, and then let you go." He made his vow, waiting to hear who this mysterious person was afterall.
"No, you have to repeat my exact words, except with the proper pronouns." She refused to be satisfied with anything less than what she expected. She looked at him again in anticipation.
"Um, I sort of forgot what you said." Ann glared at John's reply.
"I know that you remember every single word I said. You have a wonderful memory." She expectantly waited for him to make a complete promise that she could rely on.
"Okay, fine. I promise that I'll first help you stand properly, and then I'll let you go if you tell me who you were talking about." He made another promise. She looked deep in thought as she attempted to find any nuances in her phrasing that may result in the vow backfiring on her. Deciding that it was sufficient, she decided to tell him at last.
"I guess that's satisfactory. You ready for this?" She seemed like she was stalling for time, but he doubted it. If she had the opportunity to escape, why would she waste time by asking useless questions like this?
"I mean, I made the promise, didn't I?" John was calm, but inside his head, gears were turning. 'Is she… enjoying this?' Although the idea seemed a bit unlikely to him, he couldn't think of any other reasonable explanation.
"Yes, you did, I guess, but that doesn't mean that you are ready. Answer me, are you ready for this?" She insisted on receiving verification from him before proceeding.
"Sure, I guess." John was getting more and more confused, but his previous theory began to gain some traction in his mind.
Ann looked at him with a serious expression on her face. "No, you can't just say 'I guess.' You have to be sure that you are ready. You have to be one hundred percent."
With that, he was completely sure that she was simply trying to delay the moment because she did not want to leave his embrace. Despite the fact that she was quite caring at home, this was the first time that she had reciprocated his feelings in public. The realization made him ecstatic. Joy gripped his heart as his smile got wider than it ever was before.
"Yes, of course! I am one hundred percent sure I am ready for whatever you have to say." Although he was completely clueless about what she was about to say, he couldn't wait any longer.
Ann gestured for him to come closer, and he did so. She gestured him closer, and he could feel her warm breath on his face. She gestured for him to turn his head and move even closer. She then leaned forward slightly and gently whispered, "Tlaloc."
It took him a moment to process why she had mentioned the Aztec God, but when he did, he burst into a bout of laughter. Ann looked at him in confusion. She had built up to a very anticlimactic climax, but it wasn't very funny. Sure, a small laugh or chuckled was warranted knowing John, but not such a hearty laugh.
As she stared on in innocence, John eventually began to calm down, using his shoulder to wipe the tears from his eyes so he wouldn't accidentally let go of her. "I'm sorry to inform you, but Tlaloc will always be watching this, even if it's not raining." As soon as he said that, he burst into another fit of laughter.
Ann, on the other hand, became even more confused? What did he mean by 'Tlaloc will always be watching?'
Having recovered from his laughter once more, he continued, "Unfortunately for you, along with being the God of the Rains, Tlaloc is also a God of Fertility, and he's not the only one. Among the various religions and cultures, there are a variety of Gods and Goddesses of Fertility, so if you ever think we'll be alone, think again." John started laughing once again, but this time, Ann was not staring at him in confusion.
"You stupid anthropologist! Nobody cares! Shut up!" Instantly, she regretted choosing to say 'Tlaloc.' Her previously white cheeks became a bright red as she blushed with embarrassment. She just wanted to get away from him and hide in a corner.
As she struggled to break free, she realized that he was not letting her go. "Hey! Why aren't you letting me go now?! We had a deal, remember?" Trying to forget the matter and move on, Ann tried to change the topic as quickly as possible.
"Ah, yes. I did say that I would let you go once you told me, didn't I?" Although he initially planned on listening to her, after realizing that she too did not want to end the moment, he decided to keep going. "Too bad I didn't say when I would let you go." The evil smirk he had from before returned to his face.
Ann gasped when she heard his words. "You- you lier! You cheated! You- You- UGH!" She couldn't think of anything else to say to him and resorted to letting out a frustrated sigh and she struggled and tried to get out with brute force. Unfortunately, she had been skipping out on the gym the past couple of months and eating brownies instead, so although her quick metabolism prevented her from becoming fat, it couldn't stop the atrophy.
John sighed before deciding to give her some ground. "You know, you could have been free for a long time now if you had just given me one kiss." He was determined to get that one kiss from her before they went back home. After all, this wasn't going to be the first time the two of them had kissed, so it should have been no big deal.
He leaned forward with his eyes closed, and this time, she didn't struggle either. Resolving herself to her fate, she too closed her eyes and decided to accept this one last kiss.
Just before their lips could meet, the sound metal hitting the ground nearby suddenly disrupted the moment. The two looked over in surprise, but they saw nothing. Just then, the first drop of rain began to fall. A look of worry flashed across Ann's face for just an instant, but that was long enough for John to notice.
"You okay? That sound was probably just a cat knocking over a trash can." He looked at his wife with concern as he spoke. Usually, she wouldn't be frightened by such menial things. The rainfall began to get stronger. He helped stand straight, and finally let her go.
Ann quickly fixed her dress and her expression before replying, "Ya, I know. I just remembered that I forgot to feed Cerno before we went out today, so I was a bit worried." John nodded his head when he heard her reply. She picked up the umbrella off the ground, and shook it clean before opening it. "Here, come under my umbrella before you get soaked."
John walked towards her. "Let's just get home, then we can feed him before we go to bed. I'm sure he'll be fine." John reassured her and the couple began to walk towards their car. They still had about a block to go before reaching it.
"I'm sure he'll be fine too, I'm just not so sure about you, Romeo." A deep voice resounded from the dark alleyway behind them.