The Beach

Chapter 26-

Slipping the red silk over my skin and pulling it down just above my knees, I looked up in the mirror. I hair fell softly down my back and my eyes we're lined with just enough eyeliner, my eyelashes extending far from my face. 

I blinked.

It was incredible how much I had changed over the past half a year. I felt happier. I looked happier. I smiled at myself in the mirror. Being in love is the best feeling. Finn was perfect in every single way. Yet there was still the silent threat of Amy and her violent ways in the back of my mind.

I shook the thoughts away, grabbed a pair of black heels and walked out into the kitchen. Finn had gone home and was picking me up any minute now. As if I could predict the future, there was a knock on the door. I slipped on my heels, ran into the lounge to give a last check in the mirror and made my way to the front door.

Opening to door slowly I saw him standing there infront of me. He was wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt, buttoned right up to the top. His legs we're hugged by tight, black denim and his hair perfectly styled, just to the side.

A huge smile broke across his face and mine soon followed. It still took my breath away seeing him like this. He reached his hands out and placed them on my waist. He was looking down at me with hungry, passionate eyes and pulled me towards him. I reached my arms up to him face, stroking down his jaw line. Pulling his face to mine, I planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Hey beautiful" He murmered.

"Hey handsome" I whispered back.

"Lets go" He winked cheekily, taking my hand and pulling me away from the doorway. 

It was a warm night so I didn't need a jacket. 

"Where are we going Finny?" I asked in a jokey childish voice.

"Suuurprise" He said, sqeezing my hand.

We walked hand in hand for about 10 minutes into the town centre- avoiding the subway.

Soon, we had arrived at a posh looking restaurant with dim lighting and smooth, italian music. I looked up at the name of the restaurant- "La Bella".  

"Just like you" Finn said, noticing me staring.

Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, threatening to fly away and take me with them. Finn pulled me into the restaurant and over to an Italian looking man with a short, pointy mustache.

"I've got a table booked for Harries" He said in a deep, sexy voice.

"Just over here Sir" The man said in a faint accent as he lead us over to a small, two person table.

The table was cute, surrounded by vines that hung from the ceiling and a single candle in the middle. It was romantic.

Finn pulled my chair out, letting me sit and then took the seat opposite me, smiling.

"Here you go Sir, Madam" The waiter said, passing us menu's.

"Thank you, can we have a bottle of..."  he looked and me quicky  "your best white wine please" and gave me a cheeky wink.

He knew white wine was my favourite.

"Coming up"

Finn sighed deeply and reached over the table, taking his hands in mine.

"Well this is posh Finny" I teased him. It was true, whenever we usually went out we would go to Nando's or Wagamama. This was totally different.

"Only the best for you dear" He said in a 'posh' voice, making me giggle.

We sat and talked, ordered our food, laughed and ate. He was so perfect.

The waiter came to take our plates away and Finn had gone quiet.

"Whats wrong baby?" I asked, stroking his hand with my fore finger. He looked up at me and gave me a genuine, heart-warming smile.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Actually I'm more than fine. I'm perfect. You make me so happy Zoey. And sitting here with you now, seeing you smile and laugh, makes me feel like the luckiest man alive" 

He reached into his pocket and pulled something shiny out. Oh shit. He saw the look in my eyes, stopped and let out a small laugh.

"Don't worry you, its not what you think"

I let out my breath. What is it then?

"Look, Mum and I have been saving up some money since I was 13. Putting £20 in a pot each every week. It's got me a pretty decent amount of money built up and I thought it was time to do something with that money. And for a while I've been earning a decent amount with my job and other things"  He pulled out a key and layed it on the table infront of me. 

I gasped. Oh. My. Gosh.

"It's nothing huge. But it's ours"

I got up, walked round the table and threw myself at him. I kissed him deeply and wrapped my arms around him, holding him close to me. We were going to live together. Just me and him. 

"It's got 3 bedrooms" He said, looking at me with cautious eyes.

Images of brown-haired, green-eyed children ran through my mind. I held onto him tighter.

"I love you so much Finn" I said. And it hit me right there. I was in love with this boy.

"I loved you too Zoey" He ran his finger down my cheek and I could see in his eyes that he felt exactly the same. 

The door to the restaurant opened. We didn't turn to look, we were too busy focusing on eachother, talking about our life together.

Out the corner of my eye, I saw the Italian man seat the couple on the table behind us. I vauguely made out the shape of the woman walking away to the toilet, leaving the man on his own.

For some reason, I felt uncomfortable, showing this much affection to my boyfriend infront of other people. Luckily, the waiter had arrived back with our desserts, so I placed myself back on my own chair, stealing a glance at the lonley man behind us.

Shit. His brown hair was covering his eyes as he looked down at the menu, his teeth biting his lip. He flicked his hair to the side and made his eyes visible. Beautiful, hazel eyes stared down at the menu, flicking back and forth between choices.

Lewis. My Lewis. My ex Lewis.

I whipped my head back around to face Finn, praying that he hadn't seen me. 

Lucky for me, Finn didn't know what he looked like or that he lived close. I just faced away and looked at Finn. My heart was beating so fast. Seeing him for the first time since he left LA was strange. Strange but weirdly nice.

Then a thought struck me. He was here with another girl. Jealously ran through my whole body at the thought of him with another girl. Then Finn smiled at me and I realized that it didn't matter. I have him now. And anyway, if he saw me here with another man then he wouldn't be happy either. Its natural.

"You okay?" Finn asked.

"Yeah I'm fine" I smiled at him as normally as I could.

My thoughts drifted back to our apartment together..

The loud sound of heels interrupted my thoughts. His girl was back. A whoosh of brown hair appeared directly behind me and she sat with he back close to mine. 

Finn's eyes turned dark. What was his problem? He stood up slowly.

"Finn?"

He was staring at the brown haired girl behind me and I turned around. She was staring back, her familiar eyes full of an unknown emotion.

"Finn?" She said.

"Amy" He practically growled.

Her Latin features curled into a grimace as her eyes fell on mine.