Forever August ✔️

chapter twenty-four

"i thought that i was dreaming
when you said you loved me."
- frank ocean
___________________________

AURORA AND GUS laid on his bed as the sun drifted through the sky, positioning itself directly in front of his window. The clouds parted and it shined through, resting on them, warming them up.

Gus' arms were draped securely over her shoulders, holding her back to him. She could feel his lips on her neck, feel his breath dancing across her skin.

Aurora stared at the clock hanging on his wall. Nearly an hour had passed since she arrived, and she knew their two-hour time limit was quickly drawing to an end.

"Questions," she said suddenly. She sat up on Gus' bed, clutching the blanket to her chest with her good hand.

Gus frowned, eyes following her movement. "What?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbow.

"I want to ask you questions," she clarified.

"Uh, okay." Gus chuckled, watching her curiously. "Why?"

"Because dying without knowing everything going on in there"—she tapped her finger against his forehead—"would be my biggest regret." Aurora leaned down and planted a quick kiss on his mouth before snuggling back into his chest. "Question one," she began, "what's your favourite colour?"

"Blue," he said quickly.

Aurora rolled her eyes. "I don't know why I even bothered asking that. Okay," she said, stretching out the word as she thought, "tell me about your birth parents. Would you ever want to meet them?"

She could feel Gus still and the tangible shift in the air. She peered up to find his eyes locked on the ceiling, mouth drawn into a line. "Gus?" she asked again, placing her hand on his cheek. His eyes shifted to hers and he smiled, kissing her palm.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess I would be curious, yeah. But I don't think they'd want to see me, Rory. I don't even think my dad knows he had a kid."

"I think it could be nice," she said absentmindedly, tracing circles onto his chest with her finger.

"Maybe my mom would want to see me," he added after a minute. "But she lives too far."

"How do you know?"

"She's from Jamaica, remember?"

"Yes, but that was eighteen years ago, Gussy," she pointed out. "She could have moved."

"Yeah." He nodded, thinking over her words. "It's possible."

"I think you should ask your mom about it." Aurora made sure the words were gentle, not wanting to push him.

Gus fingers grazed her cheek as he pushed her hair behind her ear. "Maybe," he said with a smile.

Aurora grinned, kissing him quickly. "Question two, tell me about your first kiss."

"That's not a question."

"Will you tell me about your first kiss?"

"Why, of course, Rory," he teased, squeezing her shoulder. "I was sitting on a cliff with a girl, and then she kissed me."