[Featured in FreetheLGBT: Diverse Literature reading list and Humor: Young. Dumb. Full of Fun list]
Colin Mitchell, a photographer at a well-known store, Snapshot, is openly gay--mostly. His ideal experiences are sexcapades that are always subtle, n...
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Peter watched the rain drops trail down the glass of the only window in his dorm room, staring beyond the blurry lines, and at the virtually empty parking lot receiving first-hand contact of the sky's frustrations. A beating from the harsh sound of rain banging on rooftops and scraping the gravel beneath. Tears from the wetness that brought in dreary thoughts and gloom-- which brought in comfort and peace.
When Peter had commented that it looked like rain a few minutes ago, Dakota had disagreed with him by saying the day was too bright and clear for it to rain. A single dark cloud couldn't do much. But here they were.
"I should have bet you on this," he lamented, picking at the small balls of lint that stuck to his clothes before looking back out the window. Under the protection of a large, blue umbrella, a couple rushed through the rain, huddled so close you couldn't tell there were two people under there, but for the double set of limbs.
"Shut up," Dakota replied, voice scratchy and irritated.
Peter tore his gaze away from the couple who were halfway across the sea of gravel and looked to the blonde who sat a few feet away. Her chest was pressed to the bed, and her butt lifted high in the air.
Initially, Peter didn't want to comment on the current position Dakota bent her body into, but he couldn't resist as he noticed the light, back-and-forth rocking she was doing. "Are you okay?"
"Don't worry about me. It's just---I'm trying to get comfortable," Dakota dismissed. She was rocking harder now.
"Wait... comfortable?"
"Cramps, Peter." Oh, that. "I'm trying so hard not to cry right now. So don't bring up any stupid topics, otherwise you'll be out in the rain crying," she snapped at him, lifting her eyes to pass him a look of irritation. The action was swift and rushed, causing her to fall on her side. She didn't move an inch after that.
Peter stared in silence, and trying to figure out whether she was still alive, called out. He was honestly a little ruffled by her threat, but she couldn't kick him out of his own room, right? "Um, Dakota?"
"What?" Her voice was muffled by the sheets that had bunched up during her fall.
"Do you want help getting up?"
"Why would I want to get up?" She lifted her head, chin pressed into the mattress. "This is the most comfortable I've been in all day." A small smile grew wide on her face as she tucked her legs closer to her body, subjecting her body into a fetal position when she curled into a ball. Her voice was calmer now, no longer the storm it had been seconds ago. Just a light pitter-patter.
"Alright," Peter said. "Are you done with all your papers yet?"
"Got one more on Friday then that's it," Dakota answered. "You?"
"I finished last week."
"Then what the fuck are you doing here?" Dakota lifted the upper part of her body, staring at Peter like he had lost his mind. "Don't tell me you actually like staying in the dorms."
