STEPHEN

STEPHEN | 4

Dedicated to aquiveringly even though my lovely friend is reading this when she should not be.

4

Limerence.

That was state of a person was infatuated with another. Someone had used this word in the manuscript I had to edit a couple days ago. By mid summer, that was exactly how I felt about Stephen. I was completely and utterly infatuated with him.

No, that felt too small a word to use, I thought looking at the side of his profile. His eyes stayed on the window, the sound of rain hitting the window filled in the silence in the air.

Another anything Stephen loved to do at night was watch the rain.

He was a pluviophile.

He was a lover of the rain and would find comfort and relaxation staring outside. His eyes never wavered when he shifted on his feet, his fingers tapping against the windowsill in a distant pattern.

I listened to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees that very night. The crackle of thunder resonated in the air outside, making me flinch. Stephen chuckled lowly, rubbing my arms in a comforting manner. "Not fond of rain, are you?"

"I am. Thunder not so much." I mumbled, leaning back into him. The need to stay like this forever flooded my mind with future thoughts of what Stephen and I could be.

I held in a wince, feeling fatigue as a slight headache came on again. It was possibly due to the stress of work but it seemed my own job was becoming too much these days. One of the best things to look forward to was the man behind me. The same man who noticed my slight discomfort and turned me around. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's just headache," I looked him in the eyes and it was obvious. He wanted to tell me something. My hand touched against his and I took note of the way he didn't move it, although his eyes glanced down before he stared back into my eyes. "What is it?"

"Juliana, I won't be in town for a couple of days." He said after a moment.

I didn't bother questioning him on where he was going. I didn't truly have the right to and that bothered me. Stephen and I were no more than strangers who had become accustomed in each other's beds. Strangers who had met during an unfortunate event but made something out of it. We merely used one another for pleasure.

I wanted more.

But I didn't ask for it.

Stephen left and I didn't hear from him for a week. I had gone from seeing him day by day to having no communication with him for seven full days. I kept track, my mind wandering on the possibilities of what he could be doing now. I thought of him constantly, missing his presence overall. I grew more infatuated with him as the days went by even though he wasn't near me.

I rolled over in my bed, pressing my nose into my pillow that lingered with his smell. His masculinity. Sighing, my heart sinking when I opened my eyes to realize he truly wasn't here with me.

Getting up, I walked out of the house not telling Genevieve where I was going since she was rather occupied with the man she had met two days ago. The two getting lost in one another on our couch. I walked down the street, my eyes glancing over at the few people passing my way. I sondered, wondering how their lives went. If they were feeling as conflicted as I was about someone who had come into my life not so long ago.