Colton kisses me in the way that makes my knees weak. He cups my face in his hands and kisses me softly and deeply. I don't hesitate to kiss him back and I wrap my arms around his shoulders and press closer to him.

I don't know what changed or why Colton's kissing me, but I can't seem to care. All I can focus on is how right it feels.

I take Colton's bottom lip between mine and press closer to him. His kiss deepens and becomes more passionate. I slip my hands under his shirt and my hands run over his abs. Colton pulls away and takes his shirt off and then he's kissing me deeply. My back hits the door and Colton pins my arms above my head.

His lips move away from mine and trail down my neck. I can't help the smile that takes over my face because it's like we're back in high school. My arms are around Colton's bare shoulders and I'm holding on desperately to him and pressing closer.

Colton's hands slip under my dress and I gasp and hold onto him. His mouth comes back to mine and my eyes flutter shut. Rain starts pouring down but Colton keeps kissing me until we're both sopping wet.

I pull my mouth away from his. "We should go inside," I whisper and he nods. We stumble inside and Colton's chest is to my back. He keeps his arms wrapped around my waist and he's kissing my neck again. 

"We should finish the...dishes," I say.

"If you want to," Colton murmurs against my neck.

"We can do them later." I shiver against Colton.

"Are you cold?" he asks.

"Kind of." My dress is wet and cold, but Colton is warm.

"What do you want to do?" he asks. I shiver again.

"I..." I trail off. I'm so distracted by Colton. His hands slip under my dress again and find my hips. His fingers are hot against my skin.

"I can stop," Colton says. "We don't have to—"

"No," I say quickly. "I want to."

My heart is beating so quickly. I pull out of his grip and turn around so we're facing each other. I push my hair back behind my ears and my eyes linger on Colton's.

"Just tell me one thing," I say to Colton slowly. He nods. "Please don't leave when I fall asleep."

Colton doesn't say anything for a minute and his chest is rising and falling quickly. "I...I won't," he tells me. "I promise."

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. I pull my dress off slowly and Colton's eyes are locked on mine. My dress drops on the ground. Colton swallows. I step closer to Colton and I take his hand into mine. I run my thumb along his palm and then I bring his hand to my lips. I trail kisses along his palm. Colton's breathing quickens.

Colton pulls his hand out of mine and he kisses me deeply. Colton lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. We don't stop kissing as he carries me down the hallway. Colton pushes the door to our bedroom shut and he sets me down on the bed.

"Are you sure?" Colton asks.

I nod. "Yes, yes," I tell Colton as I unhook my bra. "Of course."

**************************

When I wake up, Colton's not next to me. I sit up and I see him sitting outside. There's a door from our room that leads outside. I lay back down and bite my lip with a smile as I look up at the ceiling.

Something is different this time. I know Colton and I are going to be okay. He didn't leave and I can't keep a smile off my face. I stand up and slip Colton's shirt on. I walk over to the door and open it.

Colton turns around. "Hey," he says.

"Hey," I say. I shut the door and sit down next to him. I smile as I slip my hand into his and rest my head on his shoulder. "You didn't leave."

"I know," he says. His thumb runs along mine.

I look up at the sky. The storm is over and the stars are actually out. Everything is absolutely perfect in this moment. I feel my cheeks starting to hurt because I can't stop smiling.

"You're smiley," Colton tells me.

"I know. You make me smile when you're not a dipshit," I say. Colton laughs.

"Right," he says. He looks at his watch. "Guess what?"

"What?" I ask.

"Happy birthday," Colton says. He cups my face and kisses me. I pull my hand out of his and loop my arms around his neck. Colton deepens the kiss and I climb on top of him so my legs are around his waist.

I feel Colton smile against my lips. "You're eager, huh?" he murmurs.

"It's my birthday," I tell Colton. "All I want is you."

I hear giggling and then a door close. "Oh, shit. The parents are home," Colton says. I climb off of him and we both stand up.

"Are we going back inside?" I ask. Colton shakes his head. He grabs my hand.

"Come on," he whispers. He leads me over to where the gate is.

"Do I need shoes?" I ask. Colton shakes his head. He shuts the gate behind me. I never looked behind the gate but it's sand before the ocean. I didn't realize we were so close to the beach. "Are we going swimming?"

"Not exactly," Colton says. It doesn't look like anyone else is around.

"Won't the parents notice we're gone?" I ask.

Colton shrugs. "Who cares?"

He stops walking when we're a few feet away where the waves lap the shore. The sound is really peaceful.

"Colton," I say and he looks at me. "What changed? Why did you let me in?"

He sighs. "No regrets, right?"

"Right," I say.

Colton lays down in the sand and I lay down next to him with my head on his chest. I feel Colton playing with my hair lightly. I have my hand resting on his heart and it's not beating quickly for once.

I take a deep breath in and I release it. The stars are bright and the waves crashing on the shore are like a lullaby. There's a light breeze that makes the weather perfect. Everything is peaceful and perfect and it feels like a fairytale. And I'm not worried that Colton is going to leave.

"I don't know why I didn't see it before," I tell Colton as I run my fingers along his chest. 

"You didn't see what?" Colton asks.

"I didn't see how right you were for me," I tell Colton. "Back in high school. I loved you and you were right for me, but I didn't see it. I don't know why."

"Don't worry about it," Colton says.

"You're too good for me," I tell Colton.

"Trust me," Colton says. "You're too good for me."

I sigh. "I don't know how the fuck I ended up with Bryce. We were horny I guess. And he was good but..." I trail off.

Colton chuckles. "What? Not as good as me?"

"You were the manwhore. I don't know it took four years for us to fuck," I say as I smile. "But you...you're fucking amazing."

Colton doesn't say anything and he keeps playing with my hair. "I feel like I'm fucking everything up," Colton says.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I sit up and look at him. Colton stays laying down and looking at the sky.

"You're so painstakingly hard to leave," Colton says. "And the more I'm around you, the less I want to leave."

"What are you saying?" I ask Colton.

He sighs as he looks at me. "I still have to leave on Tuesday," he says.

I sigh. "I know."

"I'm sorry, Andy," Colton says.

"Don't be," I tell him. A tear slips down my cheek and I wipe it away quickly. "You're like my fairytale ending."

Colton doesn't say anything for a minute. He sits up and his eyes search mine. "It's not a happy ending," he tells me.

Another tear falls. "I know, Colton. I know," I tell him. "I know the longer I stay with you and the more we kiss and the closer we get...I know it's going to make it harder. But I don't care."

Colton doesn't say anything, but I keep going, "Colton, there's one person for everyone in life. And you're my person. You're my fucking person. You're leaving though, and I know that. But I don't care. Tuesday is four days away. I'll take four days."

"You're not going to ask why?" Colton says.

I shake my head. "No. I already have and you didn't answer. I don't want to fight anymore. I just want to be with you," I say.

"Four days, huh?" Colton murmurs.

"I guess so," I say quietly. "Four days, four years...everything is four."

"Yeah," Colton says. He stands up and holds out his hand. I take it.

"Are we fucking in the water?" I ask.

Colton grins. "Not yet." He puts his hands on my hips. "Dance with me?"

I smile and loop my arms around his neck. I don't know how long we spend dancingly lazily and swaying to the sound of the ocean. I'm staring up at Colton, remembering exactly what he looks like and how it feels to be with him.

It really feels like a fucking fairytale.

*************************

Colton and I are stumbling back into the house at dawn. We spent hours on the beach talking and dancing and kissing.

"We should go back to bed," I tell Colton quietly as he shuts the door to our room.

"Yeah," he says. I lay down in my bed and Colton lays down next to me.

"Go sleep in your own bed," I tell him. "What if the parents check on us?"

Colton sighs. "Fine," he says.

He moves off of my bed and lays down on the couch pull out. I'm laying on my left side and he's laying on his right side, so we're facing each other.

"Wake me up when you get up," I tell Colton.

"What if you wake up first?" he asks.

I smile. "You're such a piece of work. Then I'll wake you up."

"And if we wake up at the same time?" Colton asks.

"Go to sleep already," I tell him. Colton grins.

"Fine." He doesn't say anything for a minute and I wish that we were laying next to each other.

We have four days together and that means that I have four days to get Colton change his mind. Maybe there's some way he'll let me in and tell me what's going on. And he'll tell me why he has to leave.

But I'm just beyond happy and relieved that we're kind of okay. Kissing Colton is more than enough. It makes it seem like all of the pain and heartbreak is worth it.

I toss and turn for a few minutes, trying to fall asleep, but I can't. I'm honestly exhausted, but I feel restless. I sigh as I get up and crawl into Colton's bed. I feel him smile against my neck and he drapes his arm around my waist.

"I know we're adults," he tells me, "but I feel like we're horny teenagers. We can't keep our hands off each other."

"I know. But I like it," I tell Colton. "Your touch feels so good."

"It feels good to be with you," Colton says. "I keep thinking that I'm dreaming."

"It does feel like a dream," I say. "I don't know what I'll do when you're gone."

"You'll figure it out," Colton says. "For what it's worth, I'm going to miss you."

I sigh and focus on how his hand feels in mine. "You promise that there isn't someone else? Someone you're in love with?"

"There isn't," Colton tells me firmly. "I promise. There's no one but you. Why would you think that there's someone else?"

"I don't know." I sigh again. "It's just...there has to be some reason why you're leaving. I wish I could figure it out. It would make sense if there was someone else."

"Who was that guy yesterday?" Colton asks.

"Hmm? Oh, Daniel," I tell Colton.

"Who is Daniel?"

A grin pulls at my lips. "Are you jealous?" I ask. "You totally are."

"Maybe I am," Colton says. "He didn't have to kiss you in front of everyone. And how do you know him anyway?"

"We met up a few nights ago and hung out. You were being a dick and I wanted to see if you would get jealous. And Daniel was down to help me," I explain.

"Why did you go through that much effort?" Colton asks.

"It worked," I say, smiling. "If you got jealous, it means that you have feelings for me."

"Obviously I have feelings for you," Colton tells me.

"Really?" I ask him. "What part of ignoring me makes it seem like you like me?"

"Fair enough," Colton says. He kisses my neck. "I'm sorry for all the shit I put you through. Maybe you'll understand someday."

My smile slips away. "I know you're leaving, but you keep saying shit like you're never going to come back. You said that you'd find me in another life and now you're saying someday...it doesn't make sense."

Colton goes quiet for a minute.

My face pales. "You mean it. You mean that we won't see each other again," I say, and it's like I'm thinking out loud. "But you're wrong. I'll find you. And my dad and your mom are together. We're going to see each other again, Colton."

"You should go to sleep," Colton says.

"How do I know you won't leave again?" I ask.

Colton sighs. "You can trust me, Andy. I'm not going to leave and we're kind of tangled together, so you'd notice if I left."

"Okay," I say as I yawn. I'm too exhausted to fight. "I have four days for you to be mine," I tell Colton before I drift off to sleep.