29 | dance with me

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CHAPTER 29

You have to listen to Chase Atlantic or The Weeknd while you read this - it's non negotiable ;)

Sunlight fell onto my skin and I could practically feel myself glowing from the inside out.

This. This is what London had been missing.

The feeling of sand under my bare feet as I ran down to the shore and the joyful laughter that I couldn't stop from escaping while I did.

The weather was unusually agreeable today, which was perfect since I couldn't think of a better way to spend my last day in Cornwall than to get fully acquainted with the beach.

Sandcastles, hidden seashells, all of it.

I didn't even care that it might have seemed a little childish. The best parts of us are often found in our childhood selves.

"You sure you wanna get in?" Gabriel asked, his eyes travelling to the sea which was looking a little choppy. "We can just dip our feet in for a while."

I shook my head defiantly. I needed the full experience. "Nope. I want in."

He shook his head but since it looked like a mix of fondness and exasperation, I took that as a yes.

I took the summer dress that I was wearing off quickly before he changed his mind, revealing the swimsuit that I had on underneath.

It was the same one that I had been unsure about packing in the first place — showing a lot more skin than I was typically used to in zigzags that cut across the blue fabric.

I didn't know what had brought me to put it on today, or at least that's what I was telling myself.

Because when Gabe's eyes met mine and I saw the look in them, I immediately knew exactly why I had put it on.

Every single inch of the skin that was exposed began to tingle, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

The look in his eyes was raw and unrestrained. Desire in its purest form.

He looked like he wanted to eat me alive. And the strangest thing was that at that moment, I don't know if I would have stopped him.

The silent staring match went on like that for about five minutes straight. Our eyes left the trails that our hands wanted to instead, but we both held back.

Probably for fear that once we started, we wouldn't be able to stop.

He ended it when he took his shirt off, leaving him in nothing but a pair of swim trunks.

I don't think I'd ever wanted anything more until that moment.

Ivory coloured skin painted itself onto every ridge of his lean build, and I was in awe just looking at him.

I smiled at the thought that his body fitted his personality. Carved and imposing at first glance, but a little softer the closer you got.

"Cora. Stop looking at me like that." My eyes jumped up to Gabriel's face at the sound of his voice, and I watched him as he gritted his teeth.

Confusion flitted across my features. "Why?"

"I can't control..." His sentence trailed off and he shook his head.

I probably should have just left it and gone down to the water, but something about the intensity I could see swirling in his eyes made me want to push him a little more.

"You can't control what?" I asked quietly, watching as he paused, perhaps to think over his answer.

A tingly feeling settled in my stomach when the silence ended and his voice dropped to something I could only describe as a growl.

"Myself, Cora." He replied darkly. "I can't control myself when you look at me like that."

My breathing quickened but I held my ground, albeit a little shakily. "Who says you need to?"

Anticipation flowed through my veins until I felt dizzy, and I waited for what he would do next.

Something in his eyes changed. It was like a flip had been switched, and he started to prowl towards me.

For somebody who had been so bold just a few moments ago, it was almost funny how I started to back away.

One step at a time, my eyes locked on him as I did.

"Stop running." He said, a small smile falling onto his mouth.

Not the sweet, lopsided one he usually gave me.

No. This one was darker. Dangerous.

If I had been unsure of his intentions, that smile made them pretty clear.

I squealed when he caught up to me, but didn't try to resist him when he tugged me possessively into his arms.

"Got you." He whispered softly, leaning over until his mouth was against my ear.

He pulled back and I could feel the heat of his gaze on my lips.

It was too much for me to bear and I pulled the bottom one between my teeth, only to have his thumb remove it.

His eyes bored into mine. "Is it bad that I want to bite that lip for you?"

"I-" My response was barely out of my mouth before he spoke again.

"So flipping badly." He groaned, moments before he crashed his lips to mine.

Skin on skin, we melted against each other like the ice creams we'd had the day before.

There were no clothes to tug on so I settled for his hair.

Pulling.

Tasting.

Taking.

One after the other in a cycle that seemed never-ending.

More and more until it felt like it would never be enough.

I whimpered and he groaned and it was all happening too fast for me to take in.

Quick tongues and hot breaths and soft lips.

And the sting when he did exactly what he'd promised, soothing it with the hum of his tongue against the same spot.

I could feel nothing and everything. And then everything all over again.

The feeling of his hard body pulled flush against mine.

The way the water rippled in time with our heavy pants.

Water.

Beach.

Beach.

"Gabe." I called his name to stop him, or at least I think I did.

To be honest, I lost all track of everything within the space-time continuum the second his lips found my neck.

He kissed it the same way he kissed my lips. Soft and persistent and...

My eyes closed and my head rolled back in ecstasy until it stopped. He stopped.

I scowled, finding myself scowling even harder when I opened my eyes to see that he was smiling.

"We're at the beach. I needed to stop before we scarred some poor kid for life." He explained, clearly trying not to laugh at the look on my face.

Somewhere in the back of my mind his explanation made sense, but my logic in that moment seemed to have been replaced with love hearts and googly eyes, so I couldn't stop myself from still feeling a little pissed off.

He stretched out his hand for me to take and dragged me down to the water while I attempted to stay angry. It wasn't really working.

My mind was still dizzy with the thought of that kiss, and my eyes were overwhelmed by the beauty of the town we were in.

I got the feeling I'd only ever had a couple of times in my life before that.

One that told me that everything was falling into place.

Life had always been a massive jigsaw puzzle. The kind that threw you completely off course by forcing you to lose a couple of pieces or adding some new ones randomly.

But at that moment, I felt a strange completeness.

I had all my pieces.

But for how long?

A shock of cold droplets landed on my face, instantly jolting me out of my thoughts.

What the—

"Oops." Gabriel smiled, chest deep in the water and wearing an expression that told me he hadn't splashed me by accident.

"You are such a—" I began to shout but was cut off by the sound of Gabe's voice.

"There are children here, Candyfloss. Careful." He had a teasing smile on his face and I couldn't tell whether I'd rather slap or kiss it off.

I settled for getting even with my hands, using them to send a wave his way and soaking him from head to toe.

The smile that fell onto my face when his dropped was uncontrollable.

This was everything I hadn't known I needed.

I didn't realise that I had been living the shell of a life, subconsciously letting my parents keep a hold over me and hiding everything but my paintings from the rest of the world.

Then Gabe came along and showed me.

A bursting sensation spread through my body, liquid happiness pumping through my veins.

The feeling was foreign to me, but it felt strangely familiar at the same time.

I found that it only got stronger as I left the water with him in a fit of giggles, batting his hands away as he tried to towel me dry.

"This may come as a surprise to you, but I can actually do that myself." I said, my voice light with amusement.

"What if you miss a spot?" He pressed, earning an eye roll from me.

"Shut up." I said, patting the towel to my skin until there were no water droplets left.

But then it hit me.

Forcefully, almost leaving me recoiling from the sudden impact.

I didn't want him to shut up.

At all.

I wanted him to keep talking for as long as time would let us.

And to listen as he did, next to him the whole time.

Uh oh.

Heat blazed from the fire a few metres away from where I was sitting, drawing my eyes to the flame.

I couldn't look away. Something about that fire was just as interesting to me now as it was ten years ago — the last time I'd been to a bonfire like this.

Back then I would sit and stare at it, right up until the point that all the adults would come out and drink together, shooing me away to hang out with boys my age.

But this time was different. I didn't need other adults to distract me.

The knockout that had just walked in was doing that entirely on her own.

Cora swept through the crowd of people that had gathered for tonight's bonfire, blissfully unaware of the way heads turned as she did.

Her beauty was effortless and that was what made it all the more intoxicating.

"Am I overdressed?" She asked when she finally reached me, face sweetly flushing as she spoke.

My eyes moved down and did a slow sweep of her body, lingering far longer than I actually needed to.

When they finally returned back to her face, I was thrumming with need.

Cora was hot. There was denying that.

But today, wearing nothing but a tight - too bloody tight - top, a skirt that showed off the smooth skin of her legs and that sweet smile that knocked me off my feet whenever she gave it to me, I could safely say that this was the most beautiful she had ever been.

"Gabe?" Cora sounded hesitant. Innocent. I wanted to—

"There you guys are!" My mum's voice interrupted my train of thought.

Her hands wrapped around my arm and she dragged me over to where she and Martin had been standing, Cora in tow.

She pointed forwards at the chalkboard black of the sky, positively beaming. "The fireworks are about to start."

I remembered that the fireworks had always been my favourite part of the bonfires held in our town and wondered if they were as good as now as they were before.

I found myself silently willing them to be. I needed Cora to love Cornwall just as much as I did.

We waited for something to happen, a huddle of people all visibly buzzing with anticipation.

And then it did.

Colour exploded across the sky in quick bursts that shook the ground with the sound they released.

One blink was asking to be met with a completely different view.

Pink and purple dust scattered across the inky black above us before it switched to a shiny silver — the kind that reminded me of the metallic grey of the mixtape Cora gave me.

Damn. That mixtape.

It was crazy to know that she was listening to music and thinking of me while she did, but what tripped me out was that the songs she chose all seemed to have pretty damn clear messages.

Even if she didn't want to admit it to herself, she picked them for a reason.

Suddenly there was a series of loud bangs. I looked up to see the last fireworks of the show, vibrant flashes of light that stayed suspended in the sky for an insanely long time.

Cora was smiling when I turned to face her, and it was amazing how bad she made the fireworks look. She lit everything up without even trying.

"That was the best thing I've ever seen." She squealed once she had my attention. "Every time I thought it couldn't possibly get any better, they found a way to top it."

I nodded in agreement, pleased that she had enjoyed it so much.

My mum echoed our conversation, talking about how much she liked the show. To be honest I wasn't really listening, my eyes trained on Martin the entire time.

As much as I wanted to fault him, I couldn't. He wasn't dad and he never would be, but I had to admit that he didn't seem half bad.

The urge to punch him had lessened to almost nothing at least.

Noise started up as people began to scatter in every direction, either leaving the bonfire now that the fireworks were over or going to get a drink from one of the stands.

We were part of the latter, and I steered Cora in the direction of a tiki bar at the edge of the beach.

Carved wooden surfaces, a makeshift straw roof and plants crammed into corners all joined forces to create the calm atmosphere that met us when we sat on the wooden stools outside the bar.

The bartender flashed us a lopsided grin when he appeared from behind the stand, hands flattening against the counter. "What can I get for you guys today?"

Cora ordered some fruity cocktail that sounded like it would be more sugar than it was alcohol, and I settled for a cold beer.

I was half expecting our drinks to be served in coconuts or something based on the display, but was proven wrong when he slid our drinks across the table in normal glasses. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it." He replied jovially before moving to the other side of the bar to serve some people who had just come up.

I sipped my beer, letting the taste of the cool liquid settle on my tongue. Cora did the same under my watchful gaze, but through the straw that she had gotten with her glass.

When she set it back onto the table I swiped it from in front of her, flashing her a roguish smile before I took a sip myself. I was right. I couldn't taste anything but sugar.

Her eyes narrowed a little and she stole my beer, taking a sip the same way I had. "Two can play at that game."

We switched back, or should I say she made me switch back, prying the glass out of my hands until she was sipping it again.

Quickly, I must add.

I lost count of how many times her lips wrapped around that straw, even with the way I never took my eyes off her.

I was about halfway through my beer when I noticed that her glass was empty. The condensation on the sides was the only thing she hadn't drained completely.

She hiccupped next to me, breaking into a fit of giggles after she did.

My suspicions were confirmed when I turned to face her properly, noticing how she was coming dangerously close to falling off her barstool.

She was drunk.

Apparently that cocktail had more alcohol in it than I thought.

"I know what you're thinking." She said, folding her arms over her chest.

I raised my eyebrows. "Do you?"

She nodded, just a few times too many. "You think I'm drunk."

A slightly dazed smile was pulling on her lips. "But I'm not. Promise." She held out her pinky for me.

I had to work hard to hold back my own smile. "Whatever you say."

She paused for a few moments before her face lit up and she slid to the edge of her seat, towards me. Her mouth was barely an inch away from my ear when she spoke, breath tickling the hairs on the nape of my neck. "Let's dance."

My brain was fried from that simple action and I barely even caught what she said. "Cora what--"

"Like we did at the club. Do you remember it?" Her voice interrupted mine, vibrating with excitement as she tried to pull me off the chair. "It was so long ago, you probably don't. I do though. Do you remember it?"

She was talking so fast that I couldn't get a word in edgeways, and before I knew it we were standing on a pier just off the edge of the beach. "Cora." I called, needing her to slow down.

"Please." She whispered into the night, looking up at me from under long eyelashes and gripping my wrists softly.

There was no way I could stop myself from nodding after that. "Okay."

That was the way it would always be. The power I exuded in every other aspect of my life left whenever I was with Cora, replaced with something else.

I didn't know what it was, but I knew that she brought it out of me.

The water below the rickety wood of the pier swayed while we did, moving in time to a beat that wasn't there.

Her head began to rest on my shoulder as we danced, and eventually I noticed her eyelids beginning to flutter shut.

"Thank you." She said quietly, voice heavy with sleep. "For dancing with me."

I opened my mouth to reply, but she continued to speak. "For putting up with me."

A tired smile fell onto her face. "And for giving me abs to stare at."

My chuckles were the only thing that could be heard over the whispers of nightlife and I carried her back the way we came while she slept in my arms.

The trail of light that the moon left in its wake was my beacon and only a few minutes later my shoes were pounding against the steps of the house.

The door of the room that Cora was staying in creaked open when I pushed it with my back, and I lifted her onto the bed.

I turned to face the door once her head was resting on a pillow, only making it one step before I heard my name. "Gabe?"

I spun back around. "Yeah?"

She smiled. A lazy one that grew bigger as her eyes began to close again. "I like you a lot."

This is your reminder not to settle until you find yourself a Gabe.

Everybody deserves someone that practically worships the ground they walk on and as nice as Wattpad mafia men are in theory, RUN from men that are like that in real life please lmfao

Anyways I hope you liked reading this chapter as much as I liked writing it which was a hell of a lot btw - I had exams throughout this week and writing is always a welcome break.

I love you, say it back <3