Forever August ✔️

chapter twenty-one

"i lost myself between your legs.
your medicine is in my head."
- jaymes young
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AURORA WOKE UP the next morning to the sound of rain. She tip-toed out of bed and pulled back the curtains to see that the sky was a dark grey, rain clouds dangling above. When lightning struck, illuminating the hotel room, she shut the curtains quickly to not wake Gus.

"Leave it open." Aurora spun around to find Gus laying in bed, watching her. The smile stretched slowly across his face. "I like storms," he added.

Her breath caught from the way he was staring at her. Like she was the lightening, powerful and bright. Aurora returned to bed, nestling herself against his side. His skin was warm, dark curls spilling over the tangle of white sheets.

"Why's that?" she asked, kissing his chest.

Gus' arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling Aurora closer. "The thunder was always louder than my parent's yelling," he said. "You know what I realized, Rory?"

"That last night was the greatest night of your life?"

"No." Gus chuckled. "Well, yes," he added after a moment. "Seriously, though, we kind of cheated last night."

Aurora lifted her head from his chest to stare at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Gus began, twirling a strand of her dark hair around his finger, "last night was supposed to be a one-night-stand. Right?" Aurora nodded. "But I have no intentions of never seeing you again, Rory. So technically, last night wasn't a one-night-stand."

Aurora rolled her eyes to fight off the burning in her chest. "Then what was it, Gus?"

"I don't want one night with you," he said, lips finding hers. "I want every night."

Thunder seemed to shake the room, lightning lighting up the walls from the cracks in the curtains. Aurora pulled back slightly, the sadness creeping in. "Gus..."

"I know," he said, laughing lightly. "I'm just saying that a forever would be nice."

"You know we don't have forever," Aurora said.

Gus placed his palm on her cheek. "No," he said," but we'll always have August."

Thunder rang loud through the room again and Aurora was sure the storm raging outside was nothing compared to the one Gus coaxed out of her. His lips were warm, slow, and she wanted to lose herself in him. She wanted to die kissing him. And from the way her heart was beating, she was sure it was possible.

Her hands found their way below Gus' waist before he grabbed them, stopping her. "What's wrong?" she asked, peeking up at him.

"I need to tell you something." Gus straighten himself until he was sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard. "You're not going to like it."

"Okay," she said, stretching out the word as she sat beside him. "On a scale of one-to-ten, how bad?" Gus chuckled as he pulled the blanket above his waist. Aurora raised her eyebrow, he simply shrugged. "Is it a ten?" she asked.

He chewed on his lip. "Higher."

"Gus," she emphasized, crossing her arms. "What is it?" Lightning struck, reflecting in his eyes like they were being lit up by thousands of tiny stars. Aurora reached for him until she straddled his lap, hands hooked firmly behind his neck. "Tell me," she said again.