Brazilian Summer

Chapter 14

The next morning Rachel sat with Rafa for breakfast and told her everything that her and Felipe had discussed the previous night over coffee. She was still kind of stunned at what had happened, running into him here in the South was definitely not something she could have anticipated or controlled. Rachel started to think that things worked out better if she just surrendered a little more. What was meant to be was meant to be, right?

It brought her much joy to be able to chat to Rafa: laying out the discussion exactly as they had had it helped her sort through all the feelings and look at things from Felipe's perspective again. The relief and happiness at having him back in her life in some shape or form was making Rachel talk fast and she couldn't quite believe how fate had played out.

Rafa didn't seem very surprised when Rachel was telling her about the kiss and that Felipe and her had sort of made up. She rolled her eyes at her in mock exasperation and smiled.

'Anyone at the samba bar could have told you that was going to happen from the start of the night, Felipe had eyes for no one but you.'

Just hearing her friend's comment gave Rachel a little flutter in her stomach. She couldn't wait for both of them to be back in Rio again. Suddenly it felt like they hadn't seen each other in a very long time and instead of musing over the lost days they had spent not talking to each other, all that Rachel could think about was how to make the most of the time before she left.

Ripping her away from her thoughts Rafa leaned in to place one hand on Rachel's arm. 'Do you want me to tell you a secret?', she whispered conspiratorially.

Rachel's eyes grew wide and she nodded eagerly, also leaning in to close the distance between them.

'He told me way before.'

'Told you what?', Rachel asked confused.

'That he was going to kiss you. It was one of the first things he said to me when you introduced us but I wasn't able to tell if he was being serious or not', Rafa explained. Rachel could tell that she was having a hard time to contain her laughter.

'Wait what? When you guys chatted in Portuguese?', Rachel needed to know more.

'Yes, he said something along the lines of: it's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you, let's have a nice evening together and that you looked so gorgeous that he wasn't sure if he was going to make it through the night without kissing you.'

'Why didn't you tell me?', Rachel exclaimed. She playfully hit Rafa in the side of her arm, the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach becoming more pronounced.

This time Rafa actually laughed. 'I wanted to keep it interesting for you. You were so nervous and excited, it was cute.' She shrugged a little and then caught Rachel's hand to squeeze it a little when she was trying to fake punch her again.

'I can't believe I have to wait an entire three days now to see him', Rachel whined. Right now that seemed like an eternity.

Rafa winked at her as they were getting ready to get up from the breakfast table. 'I know just what we can do to help make the time go by quicker. We'll plan a going away party for you, your flight is next Saturday already, right?'

~~~~~

Back in Rio Rachel was doing her very best to not constantly think about Felipe and what he might be doing at any given moment. Her plan was to seek distraction so anything that would keep her hands busy and her mind occupied would do, whether it was a beach date with Luisa, shopping for small souvenirs or keeping up with her usual training routine.

Felipe and her had texted casually but not nearly as much as before or as she would have liked. Rachel was trying her hardest to give him some space and to let him enjoy this time away with his friends. She was glad every time he would send her a quick message and once he even called when he was waiting for his friends to get ready for a hike they had planned.