POV: Savannah
Colin and I parked the car beside Tony's and headed up to the Guinness Storehouse. We walked inside and I turned my head to the right, making direct eye contact with Ryan.
"Hey everyone!" Colin waved happily, going over to hug his mom and dad.
He patted Ryan on the back and studied Courtney's every move. No matter what I did, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Ryan, and he was having the same problem. Eventually, Tony realized what was happening, and decided to step in.
"So! I'm Tony, Ryan's former student, and current best bud!"
"Is that a weed reference?" I joked, making light of both of their sobriety, "Just kidding, I'm so proud of you both for getting clean."
"Thank you," Tony blushed.
Ryan and I couldn't act like this the whole time, the tension between us was just too strong, so I decided I had to do something to level it out.
"Ryan! It feels like it's been so long!" I exclaimed, forcing a smile and walking over to him with open arms, "It's so weird seeing you without the girls!"
He smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, as if the world was ending and it was our last moment together...
"I know right! They really miss you though... You should come visit sometime... or call..."
I pulled away, and looked into his eyes.
"You know I can't do that..."
He smiled at the ground and walked back a few steps. I glanced over to Courtney and I could tell she felt like something was up. Colin put his arm around me and I jumped a little bit, startled from the interruption of my thoughts.
"Mom, dad, I know we didn't really leave off on the best of terms last time all of us were together, but I can assure you now that everything is how it should be!"
"Really?" Mrs. O'Donoghue asked, "and how's that?"
Colin looked over at me and back to them.
"Well, Ryan has Courtney, and I have this breathtaking lass!"
"Are you sure this time?" Con joked.
"Definitely!" Colin laughed, looking over at me once more, "Right love?"
I stared back at him with confusion on my face. His arm was still wrapped cozily around me.
"Uh– I mean– Sure..."
Colin tilted his head and a nervous smile spread across his face. He removed his arm and looked into my eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked concernedly.
Less than ten minutes in and this was already off to a rocky start...
"I just meant that I didn't know we made it official—"
"I'd like to make it official... If you're okay with that?"
I could see stress and doubt glistening in his eyes as he grabbed my hand and kissed it.
"Of course Colin, I love you, I just didn't know if you'd ever want to try to be in a serious relationship with me again since Ry—"
He pressed his lips against mine before I could finish my sentence. The kiss only lasted a few brief seconds before he pulled away and wrapped his arms around me me.
"What happened with him doesn't matter anymore," he whispered into my ear, "The only O'Donoghue name I want to hear coming out of your mouth when we're talking about any kind of relationship is mine..."
My body shuddered as his words sent chills through my spine.
"I only want you to say my name ok?" He insisted, pulling away and looking into my eyes.
I nodded and everyone began clapping. My eyes remained focused on Colin for two reasons. Reason number one being the fact that if I were to look around, I would get embarrassed and realize how awkward that was in reality. The second reason being, Colin's crystal blue eyes were piercing my soul, and his demanding tone was a major turn on.
The moment finally passed and I felt safe to look around when everyone stopped clapping. Tony was all smiles, and Courtney looked relieved to know that I wasn't on the market for her precious Ryan, even Colin's mom seemed to approve.
"I'm just glad she knows which one is good for her," Mary joked.
Everyone laughed and I looked around for Ryan, but he was nowhere in sight.
"We can get going after Ryan comes back from the bathroom," Courtney insisted cheerfully.
"When did he leave?"
"About the time that you and Colin kissed... I guess he figured he wasn't missing much. He's not a very emotional guy when it comes to watching these things..."
I smiled and looked down to the floor. That's how I knew that Ryan was different around her. Ryan was one of the sappiest, most emotional guys I knew. Whether it was actually sweet, or just crude humor, he was always down for things like that. The only difference was the fact that he wasn't ready to let us go...
A few moments later Ryan came back, and we headed off to start the tour. Colin was attached to my hip for most of the time, and Tony was directly behind me. Con and Mary were in front of us, and I assumed Courtney and Ryan were behind. About half way through, we came to an area that gave us a little more free space to roam around in, and discover more facts about the company.
Colin kissed my cheek and told me that he was going to go explore a little bit, and Tony tagged along. Don't get me wrong, I loved holding Colin's hand, but it got to the point where my hand actually slipping out of his, due to the sweat and body heat during the tour, was no longer fun. I was actually thankful to finally have a moment to air out a little bit.
I casually walked in the opposite direction of Colin and Tony, and saw Courtney inspecting a sign out of the corner of my eye. Directly behind her, Ryan was sitting down on a bench, looking at his phone. I lingered for a few moments, waiting to see what Courtney was doing, and as she walked further away, I moved in towards Ryan.
When I made it to the bench, he looked up for a brief moment, looked back down, and mumbled something under his breath.
"Hey Ryan..." I said cautiously, "What's up?"
He sat there, scrolling through Instagram, and not saying a word to me.
"You just gonna act like I don't exist now? That's cool I guess... What do you you plan to do when Ella and Grace ask about me though? I mean you can't just—"
"Please go away," he interrupted, "I'm trying to get over you and this isn't helping..."
I sat silently for a while, and stared at him.
"Ryan I want you to be happy... I want you to be with Courtney—"
"I want me to be happy," he insisted, looking up from his phone, "I want to be happy with Courtney too, but I can't do that with you always in the back of my mind. You just don't understand... all I think about is what could've been... I'm torn between two people I love. One loves me back, and the other has told me to pack my bags because she loves my brother, but I just can't..."
Concern plastered my face, and I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Ryan the feelings are always going to be there... I still think of you more than you may ever know, but I just find other things to focus on—"
"Like Colin?" He asked, gazing into my eyes.
"Yeah," I smiled, "Like Colin..."
He put his arms around my waist and laid his head in my shoulder. I didn't know what Courtney was talking about when she said he wasn't that emotional... Maybe he was just too hurt from our relationship to show any emotion whatsoever to any other woman.
I squeezed him tight and we both buried our faces onto each others necks. We sat on the bench in a huddled sort of hug, and I watched as tears splashed onto the bench, and stained our pants. I knew we had to get a grip before we attracted anymore attention than we probably already had, so I made sure my tears were dry, patted him on the back, and pulled away. He rubbed his eyes, stood up from the bench, and I followed suit.
"I love you Savannah," he insisted hugging me one last time.
"I love you too Ryan... Never forget that..."
He nodded and walked off to find Courtney. I then met back up with Colin and Tony. It wasn't long before the tour group gathered again and we were off to our next destination. Colin's hand went for m mine once more, but instead I directed his arm around my waist.
He looked over at me and smiled, "That's unusual... You okay love?"
"Not really," I insisted, "but knowing I'm here today with my one true love makes me feel a little better..."
"Awww," he gushed adorably, "I hope you aren't talking about Ryan!"
"Of course not love," I smiled, going in for a kiss.
"Did you just steal my word?" He questioned playfully, nudging my arm, "You're my love, get your own word!"
I laughed and glanced back to see Ryan and Courtney smiling lovingly at each other, and having a good time. Ryan looked up at me during his conversation and smiled as I turned my head back to look at Colin. This time it wasn't a pity smile, nor was it an alluring one... it was just a friendly 'thank you' sort of smile.
"They're cute... Don't you think?" I asked innocently.
"Yeah," Colin agreed, "We're cuter though—"
"Oh, definitely!" I laughed.
We continued in with the tour, having a blast together, and sampling the sweet nectar of the Guinness gods. Colin limited his intake, in order to prove to me that he wasn't an alcoholic I assume, but Tony on the other hand was practically begging for more. We decided it was best to get him home, and said we would see everyone later tonight.
Colin exchanged hugs with his parents, Ryan, and even Courtney, before we led Tony out of the nearest exit. I ended up having to take Tony's car and drive him back since neither of us trusted him to make it home safely or without stopping by a bar on the way back... He may have kicked his drug problem, but he definitely picked up an alcoholic card along the way.
Once we got inside the hotel room again, Tony went to sleep off his buzz, and Colin and I enjoyed a little television time to ourselves alone in the living room.
"What's good on Netflix?" I asked, sitting down beside him on the couch and cuddling into his arms.
"Anything is fine with me love," he smiled, "Just as long as you're here in my arms."
I leaned in for a kiss and his lips met mine.
"Colin... are you still paying for that room across the hall?" I asked seductively, running my fingers through his hair.
"Yeahhh..." he replied carefully, biting his lip, "I called to cancel today though... They gave me the rest of the day to move my things out—"
"So you still have the key? To an empty apartment? Where no one could interrupt us?"
He let out a subtle, loving laugh, stood up from the couch and held out his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up. We stood chest to chest and he looked into my eyes.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I smirked.
He leaned in, kissed my neck, and whispered into my ear, "Of course I am love..."
I gently pushed him back onto the couch and leaned in, resting my hand gently on his face.
"Race you," I said softly, darting off as soon as the words left my mouth.
Colin smiled and chased after me. I swung the door of our hotel open, and raced into the room across the hall. Colin entered soon behind, and I was already stripping down, making my way into the bedroom. Colin took off his shirt and grabbed my waist, pulling me in for a kiss, as I worked on taking off his pants. We were down to our undergarments when Colin laid me on the bed.
The kisses started from the top, slowly made their way to my chest, and all the way down to my stomach, he spared no mercy along the way. It was the first time Colin and I had actually had sex as a serious couple, and it was perfect. Everything went smoother than it ever had before.
If I had one wish, it would be to live in this moment with Colin forever. Slowly but surely, the exhilaration died down, until I I couldn't feel my legs, and the only thing I could hear was the sounds of our synchronized breaths, mixed with the pounding of my heart.
Colin rolled over next to me and kissed my hand. I hadn't noticed that I was still holding on to him with all of my might. I loosened my grip a little bit and he scooted in close, nestling his head directly above my shoulder. I gazed into his eyes and a smile slowly crept onto my face.
"What?" I asked innocently, reaching over to sweep the hair back from his face.
"Marry me..."
The smile on my face vanished in an instant, and I pulled my hand away.
"What?"
"I love you... I want to spend the rest of my life with you... It's always been you Savannah, and I can't risk loosing that again—"
"Colin we aren't even engaged yet or anything! I mean we just made ourselves an official couple maybe an hour ago? Where is this coming from?"
"We've been on and off for a while now," he explained, propping himself up on the bed, "You're the light of my life, and I would never want to live without you... The time you've spent with Ryan has made me realize that no matter what, I will do everything in my power to be with you... No matter how long I have to wait..."
I couldn't speak, the only the only thing I could do was look at him. I was in shock, and there was too much running through my mind to comprehend this situation.
"So what do you say?" He asked cautiously, holding on to my hand once more and speaking softly, "Will you marry me?"
The light fragmented off of his eyes, causing them to sparkle like diamonds in the rough. I couldn't look away, and I could see worry begin to spread across his face.
"You know what," he laughed nervously, "It was stupid of me to—"
"Yes Colin..."
"What?" He asked, as a glimmer of hope struck his heart.
"Of course ill marry you... I love you too! I mean, I didn't know you— Well I mean, I knew but I—"
"Stop talking love," he grinned, pulling me in for a passionate kiss, and embracing me in a hug.
He pulled back, and there was a permanent smile on his face.
"Then it's settled... When we get back home, I'm marrying you," he smiled with tears in his eyes, "We'll even have the ceremony aboard the Jolly Rodger... The place we were when I first realized that I was in love with you...."
I blushed and kissed him once more.
"Awe, Colin are you crying?" I whimpered, "Don't cry, it's gonna make me cry—"
"I'm just happy," he insisted, rubbing his eyes, "I can't wait to start a family with you, and I can tell you're going to be the best mom, just judging by the way you act around Ella and Grace..."
"How many do you want Colin?"
"Kids?"
"Yeah," I replied, "What does our ideal family look like?"
He smiled and gazed up at the ceiling as I laid my head on his chest.
"Well I want two children minimum—"
"Minimum, woah," I joked.
"I also want girls—"
"Now see, that's where we disagree," I insisted.
"You want boys?" He asked in a high pitched voice, "Why? I mean I guess it'd be fun to watch Star Wars with your son, and teach him sports—"
"Exactly!"
"I feel like every guy just needs a daddy's little girl in his life though," Colin insisted, "I guess I've always just been jealous of what Ryan has..."
"One day we'll have a family of our own, and we'll be able to see our kids grow up, and hopefully we'll even watch our grandkids grow up together," I smiled.
"I can't wait for that my love," he grinned.