Selah and Jude step out of the bookstore at the same time and both stop instinctively, taking in the weather. Selah tucks her arms in slightly, the thin straps of her sundress doing little against the damp air.
Jude glances at her, concern arriving easily now. "Which way's your car?" he asks.
She points down the sidewalk. "That way."
Jude nods. "Mine too."
They moved under the awning, the rain tapping harder now. No longer background noise, but present. By the time they reached Jude's car, it had picked up into something steadier.
Selah glanced up, then out toward the lot. "Oh my God," she said, half-laughing. "This is getting bad."
Jude followed her gaze for a moment. "I got you," he says.
He opened the back door of his car, reaching in without hesitation. The umbrella came first, then his jacket, pulled free in one smooth motion.
By the time she turned back to him, he was already stepping in closer, opening the umbrella above her.
"Storm watch."
She laughs, surprised, as he drapes the jacket around her shoulders before she can even respond. The fabric is warm from the car. She doesn't question it. She just lets it happen.
"Yeah," she says, stepping fully under the umbrella. "Storm watch."
They walk.
Jude stays slightly outside the shelter of the umbrella, angling it so she's covered completely. The rain darkens his t-shirt, clinging now, but he doesn't seem to notice.
Selah does. She notices everything.
They reach a car. Selah clicks her fob.
Nothing.
She clicks it again, frowning slightly. Not upset. Just annoyed enough to be real. "Don't tell me this thing picked today," she mutters.
Jude gestures gently. "Try locking it?"
She does. A car a row over honks. They both freeze for half a second, then look over.
Selah blinks. Then laughs, shaking her head. "Wow. Okay. That's embarrassing."
Jude smiles. "Looks like someone else has good taste in cars."
Her shoulders relax immediately.
They find her actual car. This time, the door unlocks. She gets into the car, then turns toward him, rain tapping softly on the car roof. "Thank you," she says.
Not just for the umbrella. Not just for the jacket.
He nods, suddenly aware that this moment matters.
"Can I—" He hesitates, then steadies himself. "Would you mind if I checked up on you later? Just to make sure you got home okay."
She considers him for exactly the amount of time it takes to decide she already trusts him.
"That would be nice," she says.
Jude pulls out his phone and it slips from his hand. It lands perfectly still on top of Selah's and their contacts transfer.
Jude glanced at their phones, still connected.
"Looks like a perfect match."
He gave a small shake of his head, almost to himself. "That sounded better in my head."
She smirks. "Yeah," she says. "I get it."
The rain keeps falling. The jacket is still around her shoulders, warm, grounding. She looks down at it for a moment, almost like she's deciding something that doesn't need words.
"I should probably—"
"Keep it." Craig's reply came easy. Not rushed. Not forced.
She looked up at him.
"It's still raining," he added, like that explained everything. "And…you might still need it later."
A small pause.
"Okay," she said. "That works for me."
She starts the engine. Jude steps back, finally letting the rain take him fully. As she pulls out, she glances once more through the window.
Selah runs her fingertips across the sleeve of the jacket. Right now, it just feels good.