second the words leave my mouth, rain starts to pour from the clouds, so thick and heavy it’s like laundry is being wrung out over our heads.
“Come on,” I say, pulling her along with me.
“You can’t run,” she objects
“We’re getting soaked.”
Around us, people scatter, running toward cars and buildings, while others pull out umbrellas and lift the hoods of raincoats.
She looks at me, squinting as the rain hurries down. “I’m pretty sure this is your fault for suggesting Brits put ham and cheese on their crumpets.” Then she laughs, the raindrops sliding over her features, slicking the dark hairs to either side of her face.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I have no idea.” She shakes her head as she tilts her face toward the sky. “I had no idea it could rain so hard. Or how ticklish it would feel on my skin.” She’s still smiling as we remain on the sidewalk, getting soaked.
I take her hands and spin her around like a ballet doll—like my dad still does with my mom in the kitchen while she’s cooking dinner. It takes Liv only a second to follow my lead, and when I grip her hands and follow the moves I’ve memorized from watching my parents from all those years, she trips and stutters with her feet and laughs even harder. I plant my good knee, bending as I dip her, and she lies back, trusting me to hold her up as she tilts her face skyward.
A car passing by honks and screams a cheer from their window, and a couple who is sharing an umbrella claps. I pull Liv to her feet, and her laughter echoes with the rain as she does a curtsy.
Then thunder rolls, and Liv’s laughter slows. “I think that’s our cue to go.”
We continue another block, the rain slowly lessening but just barely. “Were we this way?” Liv asks.
I point forward and stop, grabbing Liv’s hand. “What is…?” She stops, and we watch as a group of five guys ahead of us follow two girls. They look young, barely into high school-young.
“Stop it!” One of the girls yells. “I have you on live video. Whoever’s watching this, call the cops. We’re trying to walk, and these creeps keep following us.”
Another reaches for the girl’s ass.
“I said stop it,” the girl says, spinning to face him.
“You know you want me. And today’s your lucky day. You can get five for the price of one.”
33
Olivia
“Hey!” Arlo yells, his voice cutting across the distance easily.
A couple of the guys turn to look back. The others, including the grossest of the bunch who made the vulgar statement, keep their attention on the girls who stop, relief flashing across their faces as they look at us.
“Stay here,” Arlo says.
“What? Are you crazy? There are five of them.”
“Stay here,” Arlo tells me again in a hushed voice before turning his attention forward. “You guys need a cab or something?” he asks, walking closer to them. I follow behind him, watching as the guys snicker and move, pulling their hands from their pockets like they’re preparing for a fight. My heart is beating so fast that I can feel it in my throat as I reach for my phone. It’s dead. I’d forgotten to charge it last night and used it all day to take pictures. Regret and fear have bile rising in the back of my throat.
A guy with dirty blond hair and a thick build smiles, and it’s pure warning. “We’re fine, they’re fine. Why don’t you take your girlfriend home before I do? She looks nice and … wet.”
My skin crawls with his insinuation and the way he’s undressing me with his predatory gaze.
Arlo doesn’t turn to look back at me, but his shoulders grow rigid as he comes to a stop, his feet spaced the width of his shoulders. “They asked you to leave them alone. So, get the fuck out of here.”
A guy who’s tall and skinny with matted brown hair laughs. “Are you going to make us?” He starts to walk toward Arlo, his strides wide and purposeful, making my heart somehow beat even faster. I glance around, looking for something—anything that I could use as a weapon. Before I can look toward the wall of brick at my left, Arlo shakes his head.
“I’m not looking for a fight, and they’re not looking for your attention. If you need a ride, I’ll call one for you.”
Behind them, one of the girls narrates what’s happening. As she continues streaming the