The night smelled like rain and sin.
Thunder whispered above New Orleans, low and mournful, like the sky was trying to warn me.
It was supposed to be one of the most happiest days of my life- my eighteenth birthday. Our one year anniversary. Alex had planned everything down to the candles and the music. He said he wanted to give me "a night I'd never forget".
He did. Just not in the way either of us expected.
Because tonight, I kissed his father.
I should've been celebrating with Alex, laughing over candles and cake, feeling loved. But instead, I was standing in his father's study, with the rain tapping against the window and my heart still trembling from what had just happened.
One kiss.
That's all it was. One stupid, breath-stealing, world-breaking kiss.
His cologne still lingered in the air, faint but unforgettable - the kind of scent that stays with you long after the moment's gone. I pressed my fingers to my lips, trying to erase the taste of guilt, but it clung to me like a second skin.
Eighteen.
The age you're supposed to feel free. But that night, I only felt trapped - between love and desire, between right and the man i was never meant to want.
Because just before him, my world was simple.
Before him, it was Alex - just Alex.
One Year Earlier...
It was raining the afternoon Alex asked me out.
Not the kind of storm that ruins everything - this one was gentle, silver, almost romantic, like the world had slowed down just to listen.
I was standing with my best friends, Lila and Camilla, under the old oak tree behind the art building, trying to protect our sketchbooks from the drizzle. We were halfway through laughing at something Lila said when I saw him.
Alexander Gabriel - running across the courtyard like the rain was part of his plan. His white shirt soaked, his dark hair sticking to his forehead, and he was smiling - that infuriating, stupidly charming smile that always got him out of trouble.
"Janine!" he called, waving as he came closer.
Camilla rolled her eyes, "Oh no, here comes your hopeless admirer again,"
Lila grinned. "Honestly, I think it's cute. He runs through the rain for her - that's romantic in a slightly insane way".
I tried not to smile. "He's just-"
But before I could finish, he was there, standing right in front of me, dripping water onto the wet pavement and breathing hard like he'd just finished a marathon.
He pulled off his jacket and held it over my head, shielding me from the rain.
"You're already drenched" I teased.
"Yeah, but I don't mind. You hate the rain".
I blinked up at him, surprised. "How'd you know that?"
He shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You always run for shelter the moment it starts. I've been paying attention".
Lila and Camilla exchanged a knowing look behind me.
And then, just as thunder rolled softly in the distance, Alex took a step closer - close enough that I could see the drops clinging to his lashes, the nervous flutter in his jaw.
"Janine Flores", he said, his voice quiet now, "I've liked you for a long time. I tried to ignore it because I didn't want to lose what we have, but..." He hesitated, then laughed softly, "Screw it. I'm done pretending. Be my girlfriend?"
The world went silent - just rain and heartbeat.
For a moment, I couldn't speak. He looked so unsure, so unlike the confident, teasing Alex I'd always known. I could feel Lila and Camilla holding their breath behind me.
Finally, i smiled - small at first, then real. "You really picked a storm for this?"
He grinned. "I figured if you said no, at least the rain would hide my tears".
I laughed, shaking my head - and before I could even answer, he leaned in and kissed me.
It wasn't perfect - we were both half soaked and shivering - but it felt like everything i didn't know I was waiting for.
That was how it began.
With rain. With laughter. With a boy who made the world feel simple again.
For months, everything was perfect - movie nights, long walks by the park, whispered dreams about the future.
Seven months passed, and by then Alex and I were solid - the kind of couple people pointed at and said "They'll last".
We'd survived exams, stupid arguments, and every small thing that usually breaks people apart. He made me laugh when I was moody, dragged me out for pastries at my favorite place Café du Monde whenever I wanted to stay home and always left little notes in my locker signed "From your favorite nuisance".
He was light - the kind that filled a room and made everyone else want to stay.
And somehow, he'd chosen me.
The week felt endless, we spent afternoons at my favorite café near school, sharing fries and pretending to study. Sometimes, he'd walk me home, holding my hand like it was a promise. Everything was simple. It all felt very easy and steady like a rhythm we'd both learnt by heart.
To anyone else, he was the boy everyone wanted - funny, confident, effortlessly charming. But with me, he was quiet, thoughtful. Sometimes, he'd hold my hand a little tighter, like the world scared him in ways, he'd never say out loud.
It was a Tuesday. The sky was overcast, and we were sitting on the hood of his car, watching the clouds drift lazily across the city.
"My Dad called," he said suddenly.
I turned to him. " Really?"
"Yeah". He nodded, fiddling with his keys. "He's coming home next week".
There was something unreadable in his tone - not quite excitement, not sadness either. Just something tight.
" That's good right?, you should be happy", i said softly. "You haven't seen him in... years?"
"Four", he said quietly. "He's been busy. Work and stuff".
Something in his voice made me glance at him. "You don't sound excited".
He gave a small shrug, eyes distant. "I don't know. He... after Mom died, he just- disappeared".
He hesitated then said, "Aunt Georgia told me he used to be different. Before Mom died".
I stayed quiet.
"She said he laughed a lot, loved to cook, even danced in the kitchen when she was pregnant with me." A faint smile tugged at his lips, then vanished. "But after she died... he stopped everything.
Started working nonstop. Traveling. He's my Dad yet I barely know him. Guess it was his way of running.
My chest ached a little for him.
"You were just a baby", I murmured. "You never got to know your mom".
He shook his head. "Three months old". He looked down at his hands. "Aunt Georgia raised me. She's been more of a parent to me than he ever was."
I touched his arm lightly. "Maybe this time will be different. Maybe he's coming back because he wants to try again."
"Maybe," he said, but his voice was hollow.
He turned to me then, a small, fragile smile appearing. "You always believe in happy endings, don't you?"
"Someone has to," I whispered.
He chuckled softly and brushed a strand of hair from my face. "You're too good for this world, sunshine."
That made me roll my eyes - but then he kissed me, slow and familiar, like he needed to remember what peace felt like.
And for that moment, the world was quiet again.
I didn't know that the man returning to his life - the one he still called Dad - would soon turn mine upside down.