Page 11

Finn

At six thirty-one, I heard a knock at the door. I was on my feet and out of my room when I heard someone open the door.

There was a pause. Then Dad called out, "Finn! There's a handsome man at the door for you!"

Oh fuck. Kill me now.

Trying and failing not to blush, I hurried down the stairs, where Padfoot almost made me trip over the last step by trying to jump on me.

I scrambled back to keep him from getting a hold of me, knowing how easily he could ruin my sweater. His bed was covered in the ruins of my wardrobe already, and he didn't need more.

"Be good, Pads," I admonished, and he whined, but settled down and let me pass.

Of course, the interruption had given Dad the chance to do what I'd been hoping he wouldn't do: talk .

"I'm here, I'm here, let's go," I said over Dad, who had been in the middle of saying something that would probably make me want to dig a hole and bury myself in it.

"There's no rush," Levi murmured as his eyes roamed over me, and I shook my head insistently, taking his hand.

"There so is. Let's go."

"Just—wait a sec," he said, squeezing my hand, and I sighed, resigning to my fate.

"Ah, sir," Levi started, and Dad grinned widely.

"Please, call me Raphael. We can talk about Dad once we get to know each other better."

"Dad!" I hissed, and he held his hands up in surrender.

"What did you want to say, Levi?" he asked, and Levi pointed down at his foot, on which Greta stood watching everyone.

"I was wondering if I could leave Greta here?"

"Of course. We'll take care of her."

"She's scared of Padfoot, so be careful," I told Dad, and he patted my shoulder.

"I will, don't worry. You kids have fun. Come on in, Greta. Have you met Neya yet?"

Taking advantage of Dad's distraction, I grabbed Levi's hand and started leading him toward his car, much to his amusement.

"Your dads seem nice," he said, a smile in his voice, and I sighed, feeling much better about them now that there was some space between them and Levi .

"They are. Most of the time," I amended, making him chuckle.

We got into his car, and I breathed in the scent of fried food. Peering into the backseat, I spotted paper bags from Lena's , Trick and Vo's food truck. They were part of the clan, and no one was a better cook than Trick.

"Not dinner at a restaurant, then," I said, and Levi glanced at me as he started the car.

"Hmm?"

"I'm trying to figure out what we're doing tonight, and I've removed a restaurant dinner from the list of potentials."

Levi chuckled. "Yeah? Those could just be the appetizers."

"Four large paper bags worth of appetizers? I may eat more than an average human, but even I don't eat that much."

Levi snorted, then reached over and took my hand in his with an ease that surprised and delighted me. I felt like it was the first time, even though we'd held hands yesterday as well. Would I always feel like this, or was it just because it was so new?

It wasn't like I had no experience at all.

I'd been on a few dates, and I'd had my share of hookups.

But I'd never gotten past the first few dates, maybe because I struggled to trust people or because they could see something broken in me.

I'd never figured it out, but a part of me was afraid it would be the same now, even though Levi was my mate.

How fucked up would I have to be to be unable to make things work with my mate ?

My basilisk side huffed, as if he thought I was crazy for thinking I'd fail. I wasn't sure how his confidence in me made me feel.

"Finn? Everything okay?"

I jumped, then tried to wave it off by turning to look at him. "I'm okay. Just trying to puzzle out where we're going."

The sun had set already, and it was dark outside, save for the streetlights lining the road. But then those disappeared too, and I peered out the windshield, then blinked in surprise.

"We're heading out of town?"

"Sort of. You'll see."

Pursing my lips, I held back the questions popping up in my head. If this was a second date with a stranger, I'd be panicking and calling someone for help. But Levi wasn't a stranger, and I trusted him, even if he was driving us through the dark into...a field?

Levi stopped the car in the middle of the field, the land bare save for some weeds and brambles. There was nothing but grass on all sides.

"Uh..."

"Come on."

I followed Levi out of the car, then watched as he opened the trunk and took some things out. A thick blanket, two pillows, a pink rose, and a...candle?

He held the rose out to me, and I stared at it for a moment too long before taking it. It was a dark pink, almost red in the faint light from the moon .

"The color reminded me of your blush," Levi said, and I was glad for the dark because there my cheeks went heating up again.

Levi made me stand there while he carried everything to the front of the car.

He spread the blanket on the ground in front of the car, then placed the pillows on it.

He lit the candle—it was in a glass jar—with a lighter he pulled out from his pocket, and then placed it on the ground near the blanket but far enough that we wouldn't accidentally lie on it.

Then he brought out our food, and placed it beside the candle as well.

"Come on." Taking my hand, he led me to the blanket, then sat down on it. I lowered myself beside him, and he smiled before lying down. He tugged my hand, and I followed, our arms and thighs pressing together as I tried to stay on the blanket.

Levi was warm beside me, dressed in a sweater similar to mine—did he get cold too?—and I resisted the urge to throw my arm around him and cuddle into him.

We were still holding hands, and Levi raised our joined hands to point at something in the sky.

"See that bright star over there? That's Alioth. Along with six other bright stars, it forms the Big Dipper, which is a part of the Ursa Major."

"Great Bear," I murmured in a choked voice as my vision went hazy. Fuck, I hadn't thought about those nights in a while. They'd been the few moments of brightness in a life of dark.

For a few precious moments in the night, I'd been able to let someone else take care of me. I'd lost myself in the tales of all the stars Levi had promised he'd show me someday.

Levi

Showing Finn the stars made my chest ache, and I could tell from the way his eyes gleamed so brightly that he was just as affected, if not more.

I was so grateful to Amelia for triggering me into remembering those nights. I couldn't believe I'd hidden those memories away. They were some of the best I had, if you ignored the darker aspects of them.

After we'd traced the Ursa Major in its entirety, I convinced Finn to have some food before we looked for another constellation.

As we ate, Finn brimmed with excitement as he talked about stars in a way he hadn't even as a kid.

His delight was almost childish in its innocence, and I hated that I hadn't been able to give this to him when we were still kids.

It was clear he'd read up on stars in the years since the last time we talked about them.

If I hadn't run away, if I'd waited it out for a few more months, how different would things be? We could've grown up together, been there for each other through all the ups and downs.

"Or we can do something else, if you're bored," Finn said, and the note of disappointment in his voice broke through my spiraling thoughts.

"What? No way. I love this—I promise. Are you having fun?" I asked, even though the answer was pretty damned obvious.

"So much! I can't believe you remembered."

I thought about letting him believe that, but it didn't seem fair.

"I didn't, not at first. Amelia contacted me, and I was having trouble deciding what to do for our date. She mentioned you like stargazing, and then I had a dream about one of the nights we spent talking about stars."

Finn winced, then nodded. "I can relate to that. There are a lot of things about that time I've forgotten, mostly the bad stuff. I only remember it when someone says something that triggers a memory."

I hummed, then felt the need to explain myself since I'd forgotten what was essentially a good memory.

"After I came back and found the place empty, I thought the worst. I thought you were all dead, and it was my fault because I didn't take you with me.

That's why I buried all my memories of that time. I couldn't live with the guilt."

Finn's face softened, and he pulled me into an awkward, one-armed hug. "I'm sorry. If I'd had any idea you were alive, I would've made sure they found you."

"Okay, enough of this guilt fest. It's all in the past, and we're both here now. We should enjoy the present," I declared, hoping saying it firmly would make it easier to do.

"You're right—we should. How about we finish up and then you show me some more stars?"

"Sounds like a plan."

We finished eating, then lay back down. I showed Finn all the stars and constellations I remembered from my studies years ago, and he asked questions about each one, his face bright and beautiful under the open sky.

When I'd exhausted my knowledge bank, we started giving the other stars random names. We named them after ourselves, after Finn's siblings and our friends, after anyone we could think of. It was silly, but fun.

At some point, we turned on our sides and ended up face to face. Our eyes met and stuck, a million thoughts and wishes and memories passing between us without either of us uttering a single word.

I placed a hand on Finn's cheek, and he hummed, then pressed into my touch, his skin smooth and warm. Leaning forward, I nudged the tip of my nose against his, making him laugh.

"May I kiss you, Finn? "

He sucked in an audible breath, then gave a shallow nod.

Smiling, I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his in a feathery touch.

He sighed, his breath tickling my lips before mixing into the breeze around us.

I ran my thumb over his lower lip, admiring how soft it was, then kissed him again, lingering a little longer this time.

"Stop teasing me," Finn murmured when I pulled back again, and I smiled.

"Oh? What are you going to do if I don't?"

Finn growled under his breath, a sound that wasn't all human, then pulled me close and pressed his lips firmly to mine.

He took control of the kiss, and I hummed against his lips as they caressed mine. We moved in sync, our bodies moving against each other like partners in a dance they'd practiced a million times before.

I didn't try to push deeper, and neither did he, but we kissed until we were breathless, which wasn't as quick for us as it was for humans.

Finn moved, and I followed, and suddenly, he was on his back with me plastered on top of him, our lips still locked.

Then Finn placed his hand on my chest and pushed, and for a moment, I thought I'd taken things too far, but then he turned his head, and I saw what had caught his attention.

The candle had rolled to its side, and the grass around it had caught fire. It'd already spread a foot in the other direction, and was just about to reach the blanket we were lying on .

Finn jerked away, taking the blanket with him, while I placed a hand on the ground and pushed my powers into it.

I could feel its vibrations through my hand, and I molded the ground to my will, making the soil rise up and cover the grass, the cycle repeating until all the flames had been extinguished and all that was left was blackened grass covered in dirt.

"You okay?" I asked Finn, and he nodded, then smiled.

"That was an impressive use of your magic."

"Thanks," I said with a laugh. "I didn't mean to almost set us on fire. The candle was a bad idea."

Finn shrugged. "No harm done, and I liked the scent."

I smiled, then leaned forward, giving him a teasing smile as I said, "How about you give me a kiss for saving your beautiful hair from catching on fire?"

"Okay," Finn answered simply, taking me by surprise, and then he kissed me again.