Chapter 17
Finn
SUNRISE, SUNSET, REPEAT BY LUKE brYAN
Rowan’s sprawled out in the sunshine, and I’m convinced that she's the most beautiful woman in the world. Her hair’s damp from the waterfall, and her cheeks are flushed pink, her lips still kiss-swollen.
Her skin gleams in the sun, all dewy, soft, and marked with little reminders that she is just mine.
God, she’s so beautiful she could practically knock the air out of my lungs just thinking about how lucky I am right now.
I unpack the picnic like a man trying to pretend his entire world didn’t just get rocked.
My hands are steady, but inside, I’m a damn mess.
For years, I’ve imagined what it would feel like to be with Rowan.
To know what her breath sounds like when she says my name against my skin.
To feel her tremble and make her come and have her look at me the way she just did under the falls.
Now I do. And nothing’s ever going to be the same. I could die a happy man now.
Sandwiches. A sad little bag of chips. Two sodas I shoved in my bag this morning without a single thought in my head except don’t forget the drinks, idiot. She props herself up on one elbow, squints at the chips as if she's confused.
“You brought one bag of chips for both of us?”
I shrug, because if I speak too much right now, I’ll say something stupid like I love you—and it’s too soon for that to spill out, even if it’s been sitting in my heart for years. “I didn’t realize I was picnicking with a non-chip sharer.”
Her mouth drops open, all faux outrage, and then she laughs. Not polite or careful. Real. That laugh is a sucker punch to my ribs, a reminder of every night I wanted to hear it this close.
“You’re lucky you’re hot,” she says, swiping the chips like the adorable menace she is. “And that I do share.”
I lean back on my elbows, watching her crunch a chip.
My heart is still beating too fast, too hard.
I’ve kissed her a thousand times in my head.
Touched her in a hundred different what-if dreams. But none of those daydreams came close to the real thing with Rowan, warm and glowing and completely, terrifyingly real beside me.
“Yeah,” I murmur, rough around the edges. “Lucky.”
She playfully tosses a chip at me. I catch it midair and pop it in my mouth without breaking eye contact.
“This is the perfect day. I love it out here. I haven't been here since I was fifteen. It’s funny to think that the last time we came out here was when Ivy had a crush on Cal. I’m going to tease her about that when we get home.
It’s funny to think she had a crush on Cal but ended up with Remy.
I couldn’t imagine her with anyone else. Her and Remy are perfect.”
“Yeah, they are,” I say, grinning. “And I'm glad we came out here.”
Her cheeks flush just enough to give her away, and something shifts low in my chest. She bites her lip like she’s fighting back a smile, and that’s it. I’m gone.
When we finish eating, she peels off her shorts and wanders toward the water like she was born to make me lose my mind. The waterfall sparkles behind her, and she glances back over her shoulder, mischief in her grin.
“C’mon,” she calls.
I already know that tone is full of trouble. “What are you up to?”
She twirls her finger in the air. “Let's do the Dirty Dancing thing where I run and jump and you lift me up.”
I snort. “Absolutely not.”
“Finn.” She splashes water at me. “You’re not scared you can't do it, are you?”
“Oh, I know I can do it.” I scoff.
She splashes me again and I wade in. She grins like she’s won.
“Okay, Baby,” I tease, “don’t drop me.”
She rolls her eyes so hard it’s a miracle they don’t fall out. “You’re Patrick Swayze in this scenario. I’m the one getting lifted.”
“Tragic,” I tease, but she’s already backing up, ready to run.
She charges toward me, laughing so hard she can barely get a running start. I grab her waist, water swirling around us, and lift her straight up. She lets out this gorgeous, breathless laugh that wraps itself around my spine and doesn’t let go.
She’s slick and glowing and completely ridiculous, and I swear I’m going to remember this day for the rest of my life.
“Look at you,” I say, trying not to lose my grip as she wiggles.
“Look at you,” she shoots back, breathless. “You’re actually doing it!”
“Don’t elbow me,” I grunt.
“My boobs are in your face,” she says, and we’re both laughing too hard to breathe.
"That's the best part," I pant.
When I lower her down, her legs slide against mine in the water, her hands cupping my cheeks like she’s already made up her mind about me. She kisses me, wet, messy, perfect. My hands find her hips, and for a second, there’s no ocean, no world, just her mouth and my heartbeat trying to catch up.
We tumble back onto the blanket, damp and tangled, still laughing. She stretches out on top of me, her cheek pressed to my chest. I trail my fingers down her spine to hear that soft little sigh she tries to hide.
That’s when a flash of black catches my eye. A dragonfly lands on my shoulder.
Rowan gasps. “Oh, I love dragonflies. I always see them when I feel like my dad is trying to tell me something.”
I glance down at it. "I sure hope your dad didn't see what we just did under this waterfall.”
She smacks my chest lightly. “That’s a good sign. Dragonflies are good luck. Basically, a saying of trusting the change and transformation.”
I grin at her. “What does it mean if it sticks around?”
“It means the universe is saying we're going to end up together,” she whispers dramatically, eyes wide.
I laugh, pulling her closer, feeling her shake with laughter against me. She tilts her head up, all flushed cheeks and wet hair and the kind of smile that wrecks a man.
“Finn,” she says softly, like a secret she doesn’t know she’s telling, “this has been the perfect day.”
Yeah. It has.
I press my lips to her temple, breathing her in like I’ll never get enough. And as stupid as it sounds, with that dragonfly on my shoulder and her heartbeat against mine, it feels like something bigger than just a fling.
It feels like the start of something I won’t be able to walk away from.
“We're in trouble,” she whispers again, forehead resting against mine, breath hot on my lips. "I can't stop kissing you."
“Yeah?” I murmur, tracing my thumbs along the soft dip of her hips, feeling her shiver. “Good thing I’ve got a thing for trouble.”
She rolls her hips enough to make my breath catch and my dick twitch. Enough to make the edges of my control fray. I slide a hand up her back. She’s warm, damp, and soft under my touch, and when she exhales, it’s a quiet, shaky sound that hits me straight in the gut.
The world doesn’t exist anymore. Just me and her, straddling me in the sun with a smug little grin because she knows exactly what she does to me.
Her hands fist in my shirt, tugging me closer until our mouths meet again.
This kiss isn’t soft like the first. It’s deeper.
Hungrier. Her fingers slide into my hair, tugging just enough to make me groan into her mouth.
Her hips rock again, slow and teasing, and I swear I could lose my mind right here on this blanket.
“Rowan,” I breathe against her lips, half warning, half prayer.
She grins at me, wicked and sweet. “What?”
I tilt my head, brush my mouth against the curve of her jaw, down her neck. She shivers, letting out the softest gasp, and my hands grip her hips tighter like I need to anchor myself. Her pulse flutters under my tongue. She tilts her head back, giving me more.
God, she’s sunshine and sin and everything I’ve ever wanted.
I shift us lower, rolling her gently beneath me. She lets out a breathless laugh, and I can’t help but grin against her throat. Her legs wrap around me without hesitation, like she’s been waiting for this just as long as I have.
“Still just want to be my friend?” I rasp against her skin.
She laughs, breathless and gorgeous. “Maybe.”
“I said I was going to ruin you for any other man,” I say, dragging my lips back up to hers.
She smirks. “You’ve already done that, Finn.”
I kiss her again before she can finish teasing me until the edges between us blur. Her fingers slide up my chest, nails scratching lightly, and I tremble against her. The heat builds fast, like it never really left us.
Her body arches into mine, warm and soft and right. I know this rhythm already because it’s her. My best friend. My everything. Every kiss, every sigh, every brush of skin feels like it’s always meant to happen right here.
The sunlight warms our skin, the blanket rough under my hands, her breath hot against my mouth. She whispers my name again, soft and shaky, and that’s it. The last thread of control snaps.
I kiss her deeper, my hands sliding beneath her shirt, memorizing every inch of her. She gasps against my mouth, her back arching, hips rolling against mine in a way that leaves nothing between us but heat and want.
“What do you want, baby?” I whisper against her lips.
Her eyes meet mine and are steady. “You.”
And just like that, I slide into her and the world falls away, nothing but her breath in my mouth, her nails in my shoulders, the cool rush of water around our hips, and the sun warming every inch of skin we can’t stop touching.
This is years of wanting finally catching fire, burning bright and right and inevitable.
When it’s over, neither of us moves for a long moment. The waterfall crashes behind us like a heartbeat, steady and wild, but everything between us is quiet, soft, humming with something deeper than just wanting.
Rowan rests her forehead against mine, her breath warm and uneven. I stroke her back, feeling her shiver, not from the cold, but from what just happened between us.
Eventually, we pull apart, both reluctant. She laughs under her breath, pushing wet hair out of her face, and I swear I feel that sound in my chest.