Then Brina becomes a teenager, and her feelings for her friend start changing and deepening. New desires stir within her. As soon as Brina realizes how those feelings complicate her friendship with Eagan, she runs away from him.
A few years later, Brina is twenty and Eagan is twenty-five, they find one another once again.
~Excerpt ~
[...]I was wearing a yellow sundress and clutching the handle of my guitar case. Eagan offered to carry it for me, but I shook my head, for he was already bearing the weight of his huge backpack.
A part of me was glad he hadn't been able to hear me play. The piece I had chosen was an acoustic cover of one of my favorite rock songs. The acoustic version was utterly sentimental; it expressed perfectly the way I felt about Eagan. After my performance, all my professors and fellow students admitted that they'd never heard me play with so much feeling. I wasn't certain I wanted Eagan to discover that part of my soul yet.
We embraced awkwardly. I noticed that his eyes were red and tired. I also remarked that he was tanned and that he smelled good, as always. Of course, I didn't reveal my sentiments.
It was a bright summer day. We went to a park, we sat, we didn't talk much. After a while, Eagan lay back and fell asleep.
I braced one of my hands on his arm and the other one on his muscled chest, then I leaned toward his face, keeping my eyes open. I let my mouth linger over his and breathed his breath then, finally, I whispered a kiss across the side of his mouth, then I licked his upper lip. I waited. He didn't stir. So I closed my eyes and brushed his lips with mine once more. I became greedy. My tongue pressed between his parted lips and stroked his tongue once, twice and then again until I moaned and an unbearable ache surged between my legs.
My fingers gripped his sweaty T-shirt. I kept kissing Eagan until he groaned softly in his sleep.
“I love you,” I murmured against his lips.
I moved away from him. I forced myself to stand, I grabbed my guitar case and I left.
On the bus, I kept licking my lips; I tasted him, the salt of his sweat, and a hint of cinnamon.
(A Veil of Glass and Rain: Special Edition, by Petra March)
A Veil of Glass and Rain an emotional journey between two friends that eventually become lovers. Briana and Eagan first meet when she was 9 and Eagan was 14. The bond that sears them together are the fact that both their parents are photographers and that are totally devoted to each other. Through their parents Briana and Eagan find themselves with the pleasure of each one's company through many years. Eventually, as adults, Briana and Eagan find themselves both living in the beautiful city of Rome, each trying in their own way to develop what has always been present to that of lovers.
This book is very beautifully written. I would venture to say that it is not the what I would consider "normal" written romance book. Saying that, don't give up on reading this book; it is definitely worth the effort The book is such that it is written in almost a free-verse poem. Readers are lucky enough to see how the story develops through the eyes of both Briana and Eagan. I found myself intertwined into Briana and Eagan lives, rooting for a love that has always existed.