I know.

Twenty Nine

"What was that princess?" I giggled, stepping backwards but not taking my eyes off Fin.

"Nothing."

"Did you just say I'm weak?"

"Definitely not." I shook my head, squeezing my lips together to fight back my laugh as it was dying to escape. A beach day, no matter how chilly and miserable it was, could never be a bad shout to me. It had been the most amazing weekend away from everything. I'd loved it. We hadn't seen a single other person, other than food delivery drivers, since Friday and now we were on our way home. We'd stopped off here. A little beach we'd found on the outskirts of town years ago. It was always empty whenever we came and today was no different.

I didn't want to go home. I'd said this to him at 2am this morning when I was fighting sleep, Fin barely awake. Going home meant he was leaving and I wasn't ready for him to leave. 5 nights I'd had him beside me and I was dreading him not being there tomorrow morning. I knew for a fact it was going to ruin my day and I was going to hate every second he wasn't here. I knew this was coming. I wasn't stupid. I just felt like it had snuck up on me.

"Are you sure that's your answer?" I nodded quickly. "Because I'm pretty sure you said you could lift more than me and rolled your eyes."

"Nope. You've got me confused with another girl. I think she went that way." I pointed behind him and he stupidly turned his head, giving me the chance to turn around and start running.

It's weird when you've spent 7 years stuck in one place and then you're out in the world when you're least expecting it. As much as I loved my little town. I love the routine and everyone there and knowing everyone and everyone knowing me. I didn't know until this weekend how much I needed to set myself free of all that sometimes.

This weekend was the first time I'd felt even close to what I thought was the real me. I used to feel this way on a Sunday with mum. Church and then we'd go to the lake, eat chips and play some game she'd brought with her. A football or some cards. Me and Pip would run around whilst mum and dad would just sit watching us going mental.

Other than that, I felt like this once. The weekend before mine and Fin's argument. I'd had an argument with my dad over something stupid and stormed out, banged on Fin's front door until Moira answered, Fin behind her. He took one look at my face and grabbed his jacket. He was driving at this point so we got in his car and he started driving. I ended up with my head out the window, wind blowing it around like crazy but nothing mattered in that moment. Fin's hand on my waist so I didn't fall out as he drove way too fast. Irresponsible but free. Not tied down to anything that hurt like my life seemed to be now.

Until Fin came back.

His arms wrapped around me, lifting me up from the ground, spinning us both around in a circle. His laugh rippled against the skin on my neck, wind in my hair, bare feet in the freezing sand. This was it. The moment I knew this was right. One split second, way too soon. But I knew. Everything with Griffin had always been rushed. He never did things lightly. If he did something, it was all or nothing. I loved that about him. Nothing was ever up for guess work. You knew what he was doing and it was always intentional. He put thought into everything. He'd never been one to leave anything up for someone to misjudge him or spin his words. He liked everything very specific.

"You're a little shit Aurora."

"Your little shit though." I chuckled, my feet touching the ground for just a second as he spun me around and picked me back up, wrapping my legs around his waist.

"That's right baby. Mine. No one else's."

"You did always have problems with sharing." He scrunched his forehead together and I put my head back on my shoulders as I laughed, clinging to the back of his tee-shirt. I pulled myself back up and grabbed a hold of his face, kissing him passionately until I felt his feet stumble under me.

"Jesus Ror. Give a guy some warning before you kiss him like that."

"But where's the fun in giving you warning?"

"Where's the fun in us falling over?"

"That is the fun." I did it again, gently biting his lip until he sucked in a sharp breath, his hands squeezing my ass tightly until I gave up, giggling as I took my face away from his.

"You're feeling more confident than you did on Friday."

"Gotta send you off to London with a reminder of who's waiting for you back here." He sighed, tilting his head at me. "Maybe I should just leave you a big mark on the side of your neck. I can imagine the press would have a field day with that. You turning up to start of season practice with some girls mark on your neck. I'd pay to see that."

"You would?"

"Mhm." I nodded.

"Let's go."

"I'm kidding."

"Nope. You spoke it out there. Gotta do it now."

"I am not leaving-"

"Yeah you are."

"Fin. Your mum will literally kill you when she sees the picture."

"Good reason to go out if you ask me. Better than being run over because I was listening to Taylor Swift." He headed back to the car, pulling open the back seat and looking around before sliding in, pulling the door shut behind him. "Go ahead."

"You're not serious."

"I am deadly serious Rory. Mark me as taken."

"Like I'm a vampire or something?" He chuckled.

"Ror. Please do it. I'd love for people to know I belong to someone. Maybe girls will stop flirting with me everywhere I go." I pouted and he chuckled. "Come on, the bigger, the better. Let it be seen from space." He tilted his head and I sighed, leaning down and taking his skin between my lips, sucking on him until he pushed me down into his hips, breathing getting heavy.

"Hold still." I chuckled, turning my head and leaving another overlapping the first. I lifted my head up, running a thumb over the heart shaped bruise I'd left on his skin. "There." He pulled out his phone, looking at it in the camera then back at me. "Like it?"

"You're leaving me one of these every time I have to go."

"What about when you're back here?"

"You can leave them every time you see me." He laid me down on the back seat, tugging at my shirt until it became untucked. "Take this off."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to have one too but I can't leave it on your neck can I?"

"No."

"Exactly. Top off please."