TRIS POV
It is summer again.
Usually I don't enjoy summer—the heat combined with boredom tends to be a turn off—but this year is different.
This year I have a boyfriend, and my brother is permanently returning home from college, at least until he can get a job. There are plans to look forward to. I have a feeling that this summer is going to be a blast.
And is there a better way to kick off the summer than taking a yacht out to the ocean? I think not.
I will admit that it is annoying that my parents finally have time to spend with me and decide to invite a few of their politician buddies to chill along with us, but who cares? I've got a delicious lemonade in my hand, and I am standing next to my secret boyfriend while they all chat about boring politics. Lame for them; I plan on having fun today.
I am especially excited for the ball my parents are hosting at our mansion tonight. Hundreds of government officials will be coming, along with their significant others, and this time I won't feel left out because I have one. Tobias isn't too ecstatic because, as he puts it, "Dancing isn't my strong suit." But I think I will be able to get him to loosen up.
Speaking of Tobias, he kisses my cheek when my parents aren't looking and whispers, "You look great in that bikini."
I used to be nervous when he gave me compliments like that; after Peter tried to force me into things, I became wary of any guy that said nice comments about me or my body. But I am no longer afraid because I have become comfortable enough with Tobias. I trust him completely.
But that doesn't mean I am any better at taking compliments. Blushing, I nudge his chest and tell him, "Stop. My parents are right there."
We both look over our shoulders to see them preoccupied with entertaining the other ten people they brought along.
"They're not looking," he counters.
"Their friends are! They think you're just my bodyguard, remember?" He doesn't seem to care.
I set my ice cold drink on a nearby table and stretch while yawning widely.
"How are you tired right now?" he teases. "I'm hyper. We should go for a swim."
"Seriously?" I laugh at his antics. He is practically bouncing with the itch to do something fun, which is unusual for him—normally he is broody and acts more like an adult than he should, given how young he is. And although I don't exactly feel like swimming or getting wet in general, I have to admit that the navy ocean below looks tempting, since I have begun to sweat due to the scorching sun.
"Yeah. Ready?" I tilt my head at him, not knowing what he is planning, so I am taken aback when he pushes me off the yacht in a space where there isn't a rail guard.
Letting out a scream, I plummet into the water below, flailing on the way down. Fortunately, I turn around just in time to see when I will hit the water, so I am able to hold my breath and not get any water in my nose or mouth. Still, I come up from the water with a scowl on my face, and my frown deepens when I hear Tobias laughing on the boat above me.
"Not funny!" I shout to him.
"Hilarious!" he calls back at me.
"Why don't you get your ass down here then?!"
He says something that sounds like, "You asked for it..." I try to swim back, predicting that he will attempt to land on me or at least close enough to scare me, but I barely end up moving because of the movement of the waves. So when he jumps off the boat and looks as if he is going to hit me, I scream again.
But he misses me, of course, and I am startled to feel his hand yanking me down with him when he lands in the water. We both go down, and I don't know what to expect until I feel his lips on mine underwater.
Mentally rolling my eyes at his strategy to get us alone, I kiss back anyway, leaning back towards the "he's the best" thoughts, rather than thinking about which way I should kill him.
When we surface, I am holding onto him, pouting. It gets him to chuckle and pull me closer, though I stop him when I look up and see everyone watching us from above, drawn by my loudness.
"You just wanted to kiss me," I whine. "We could have done that on the opposite side of the yacht!"
He shakes his head. "I can't help myself. Besides, this way was funner."
I splash him. "'Funner' isn't a word, idiot." After staying quiet for a second and focusing on staying afloat, I tell him, "I hate you."
"You love me," he jokes.
Yes, I do.
xXxXx
TOBIAS POV
This party is too fancy for me.
Even though I am dressed in an extremely nice suit that Tris bought me for my birthday a while back, I still feel out of place and awkward at this politicians' ball. Most of them haven't started dancing yet and instead stand around showing off and drinking. My father used to go to these gatherings with my mother a lot, and then by himself after they got divorced.
So that probably explains why I have a problem with these parties.
"There you are," Tris says as she walks up to me. She is clothed in a black dress that goes down to about mid thigh. Her hair is down and covers the straps on her shoulders, making it seem like she is wearing a strapless dress. I have never seen her wear high heels before, but tonight she is wearing them and damn...
"Take a picture. It will last longer," she teases, pressing on my jaw to close my mouth, which I didn't realize was open in the first place.
"You look...amazing," I tell her in awe. But that sounds stupid, so I amend my statement. "Beautiful."
As expected, a blush takes over her face. "You don't look too bad yourself."
I wrap an arm around her waist to pull her close to my side, and then I guide her through the crowd to find someplace where I can get her alone for a few minutes. A couple of people give us strange looks when they see how close we are pressed together, but other than that, we slip out of the main party area unnoticed.
The hallway we end up in is secluded, though we can still hear the music coming from the ballroom. When I decide that we are in the clear, I gently press her back against the wall and lower my lips to hers.
She sighs against my mouth in relief and grabs the back of my neck, right above one of my longest and deepest scars, which stretches across my back and up to the base of my neck. But I don't stop her; I will not let my past interrupt this, us. Instead, I kiss her harder in defiance.
I reach her neck, and she tilts her head back to give me better access. "Tobias," she hums in pleasure.
And I know I should stop because we are at a party and someone could walk in on us, but I can't stop because her neck smells like that perfume I like and her skin tastes sweet and—
"Excuse me?"
The anonymous man's voice causes Tris and I to spring apart and snap out of our moment of ill judgement. We turn to look and see that he looks disgusted by our display of affection.
"Yes, sir?" I ask after clearing my throat.
"Do you know where the restroom is?" he grumbles.
Tris points him toward the bathroom. "Down that hallway and to the right," she directs.
The man doesn't even thank us, alternatively steering clear as he walks past us. When he shuts the bathroom door behind him, I let out an embarrassed laugh at being caught, which makes Tris giggle along with me.
"We should probably go back," I say reluctantly.
"Yeah. Wait!" she exclaims. I tilt my head, not knowing what she is referring to until she wipes the remnants of pink lipstick off my lips and fixes my hair. "Okay. You're good."
Rolling my eyes, I slide my fingers in between hers and lead her back to the ballroom.
The night drags on, becoming more and more boring as two hours pass. It is filled with Tris's parents introducing her, and then Tris introducing me as her bodyguard in turn. More people have begun dancing, and I severely hope that she won't want to...
"Tobias, let's dance."
Of course.
But I don't let her down. I let her drag me onto the dance floor with all the older couples, and unfortunately, right in the path of someone I wished to never see again.
I hear my screams when I look at him. I hear the metal of the belt buckle hitting my back. I feel the searing pain that was ingrained into my mind along with the phrase, "This is for your own good, you worthless bastard."
He looks almost identical as he did the last time I saw him, which was five years ago, when I enlisted. Except, his hair has passed the point of graying and has begun growing white in some places. His eyes—my eyes—scan me, and even now, even though I am a grown man, he still patronizes me with his gaze.
"Tobias," my father says, shocked by my presence. I am surprised he even recognizes me; I have passed six feet and packed on muscles so defined that I doubt he would even dare to antagonize me now.
"Marcus," I reply curtly.
Tris looks back and forth between us, confused, while I casually move to stand partially in front of her. She doesn't know what he is capable of, and I am not about to let her find out.
"What are you doing here?" He sounds polite, but I know without a doubt that his innocent-sounding question is anything but; it is a warning of some sort. If I had to guess, he does not want me associating with Andrew Prior's daughter because someday I would inherit a large sum of money if I stayed with her. I know that it would drive him insane—well, a lot more insane than he is now—to watch me become rich.
My father raised me on the bare minimum and would not let me or my mother obtain anything we desired, only necessities. He had a decent amount of money since he was and still is the mayor, but he put on this facade of a kind-of-sort-of-not-really rich man who hid his wealth to remain humble. So if I got money and could buy whatever I wanted, he would rot watching me.
Not like I care. I'm not with Tris for money.
"None of your business. Now, if you'll excuse us..." I pull Tris along with me because she seems unable to move, and I purposely hit his shoulder with mine as I pass him. It feels great to finally be able to stand up to him, to not feel any fear around him.
I am powerful now. Two years in the military and three years in Dauntless have changed me.
"Fair warning: I have no idea how to dance," I say to break the ice.
Tris chuckles and shakes her head, momentarily forgetting about the awkward, recent confrontation. "It's pretty simple. You go like this..." She guides my hands down to her waist. "And I go like this." Her arms move to wrap around my neck. "And we basically just sway. Nobody will notice."
"Right."
At first I feel embarrassed, just rocking uncoordinatedly in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by other people, but soon we fall into the rhythm of the slow music. And she lays her head on my shoulder, and I rest mine against hers, and suddenly dancing is not so bad anymore.
"How do you know Marcus Eaton?" she mumbles, only loud enough for me to hear.
I swallow, not wanting to lie to her but not wanting to tell her right now. "Can we drop it, just for tonight? Please," I beg. "Let's not ruin this." Undoubtedly, telling her about my father would wreck both of our evenings.
So she immediately agrees, and I am thankful for her understanding.
We dance for about a half hour straight, talking to each other in between until the lights are dimmed and our feet start aching from standing for so long. I couldn't care less about that though, because it is when we are simply embracing each other that I come to the realization.
It hits me like a train, too quick for me to comprehend it but still a powerful surge that consumes me. It leaves me awestruck, and I almost forget how to breathe.
"Tris." I nudge her head with mine so she will look up at me and give me her full attention. She removes her head from my shoulder, and her gaze sets me on fire and gives me the courage to say what I need to say. "I love you."
I am in too deep.
Her sharp intake of breath and watery eyes make me tense. Was it too early? Did I do it wrong? I need to explain to get her to see from my perspective.
"I don't believe that it is too early to say it," I continue. "Think about it. We have been together for about nine months—known each other for almost a year—but we have spent almost every minute of every day together. If we didn't live together, then we would have to date for a few years to be able to reach the amount of time we have spent together. Technically, we have been together a lot longer than it seems."
Tris covers her mouth with one hand as tears spill from her eyes, and now I'm starting to really think that I have scared her.
"I don't even know what love is, but if it is the thing that makes me want to spend every second with you, or makes me willing to take a bullet for you, then I love you, Tris."
This was never supposed to happen. It feels so right to say, yet I know it is wrong. I should not promise her something that I cannot stand by. If I have to leave her—
No, don't think about that. It doesn't matter right now.
"Tobias," she sniffles, and it is all that she can get out before she hugs me tightly because it is the only thing she can do in public. But it is more than enough, and I feel whole for the first time in my life when I hold her.
Should I care that her mascara is rubbing off on my expensive, white shirt? Should I care that people might be suspicious? Should I care that I was supposed to kill her, not fall in love?
No, I shouldn't. Because when she says, "I love you too," it feels infinite.
xXxXx
Okay, good news: no more huge time skips from here.