77

~Darlina's POV~

It was incredibly early the next morning that Atlas and I woke up, hopping into the shower with one another to get dressed for the day. This was, unfortunately, going to be our last day here as we were supposed to leave tomorrow.

I looked up at him as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair while he washed his hair, biting on the inside of my cheek. "The sun hasn't come up yet, you know." I stated, causing him to raise an eyebrow at my random remark. "And?" He asked with a snort, amused. He and I swapped places after I finished rinsing my hair, allowing him to do the same while I now began to coat mine with conditioner. "Well, you promised you'd show me that river spot you like." I reminded him, setting the little bottle of conditioner down.

"Wouldn't it be a perfect time to go? We can watch the sunrise, even." I suggested, placing my hands on his chest.

He hummed and leaned his head forward, water dripping from the tip of his nose. "To see the sunrise, hm?" He murmured, allowing us to switch spots once again so I could rinse my conditioner covered hair. "That sounds nice, actually. I haven't been up there this early in the morning before." He told me.

A smile pulled at my lips as I stared up at him while letting the water rinse out my hair. His eyes scanned my face before finally landing on my lips, lingering there for a moment. "You're so pretty." He told me in a mutter, leaning over to grab the body wash and loofah. He squeezed some of the soap onto it and I blushed when he began to wash my body for me, making sure to get every inch of me that he could.

My face burned but I grew a little more comfortable with it after a minute or so, leaning into his touch when he turned me around to wash my back. He slid a hand up my left arm and to the side of my neck, brushing my wet hair aside to place a kiss on my skin. The loofah was then thrown to the floor, his hand grasping at my elbow to turn me towards him. I smiled and grabbed the loofah from the shower floor, pressing it back into his hand. "You should finish washing up. I'm gonna get out and get dressed in the meantime." I told him, and he nodded his head, watching me as I stepped out of the shower.

After I wrapped myself in a towel, I entered his room and found a pair of undergarments that I pulled on, beginning to search through my bag for something to wear.

Eventually I found a white dress with long sleeves and buttons up the front of it, though they were they type of buttons that didn't actually unbutton. I tugged the dress over my head and glanced in the mirror as I adjusted the neckline, the undershirt sticking out the top of it. It was a white undershirt with purple butterflies and lace along the top, frill along the edges of the dress itself.

Plucking a pair of ankle socks from my bag, I slid them onto my feet and spritzed on a bit of my favorite perfume, which I had brought some of with me in a mini spray bottle that I always kept in my purse.

Not more than five minutes later, Atlas stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips, water trailing down the front of his tattooed chest. I scanned my eyes appreciatively over his skin and watched as he wandered over to the dresser, shamelessly dropping the towel once he grabbed a pair of boxers. It surprised me a little, but it probably shouldn't have. Still, my body warmed and I squeezed my thighs together before looking away.

Atlas got dressed in a dark pair of pants and a white t-shirt, his eyes flicking over to me when he grabbed a pair of socks and his boots that he always wore. "You ready to go? We gotta get goin' soon if we wanna see the sunrise." He said, causing me to quickly grab my white low-rise sneakers that had a little butterfly sewn on the outside of them. I pulled them on while he pulled on his boots, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear as I rose from the bed. "I'm ready to go now." I told him happily.

As Gracelyn was still asleep, Atlas and I quietly left the house, making sure not to make too much noise on our way out. I followed him down the driveway, expecting that we would get into the car, but he led me to the very end of the driveway. It was then that I realized that he hadn't brought the car keys with him, nor had I.

"Do we need to get the keys?" I asked as I trailed behind him a little, causing him to glance over his shoulder at me. "Nah. It's a short walk, not accessible by car." He told me, so I just nodded my head and continued to let him lead the way.

The walk only ended up being about ten minutes at most before we arrived, his hand in mine as he led me through a little area with trees and large bushes. On the other side was a long river, shallow enough to step in yet it deepened out to an open area that I could probably swim in if I wanted to. I didn't want to, though, because who knew what was in this river.

I walked over to the river's edge and sat down on the grass, looking out at the rocks that lined the river's edge, disappearing beneath the surface the deeper it got. Brushing my fingers over the pretty white and pink flowers that were blooming from the ground, just tiny ones, I crossed my legs beneath me comfortably and fixed my dress over my lap. The sun hadn't begun to rise yet, but the sky was a lighter blue than before, so I knew it'd start to come up pretty soon.

All of the sudden, Atlas sat down beside me, causing me to look over at him with a small smile on my lips. He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back onto the palms of his hands, meeting my gaze.

My hair began to blow around me as the wind began to pick up suddenly, making it feel colder than it already was. It felt nice, so I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. The morning was quiet and peaceful, leaves of the trees rustling against one another due to the blowing wind. I could feel Atlas' eyes on the side of my face, causing me to peel my eyelids open to look up at him with an eyebrow cocked. "And you used to complain about me. Now who's staring?" I teased with a snicker, only earning a roll of the eyes from him.

"Don't try to tease me 'bout that." He grunted. "I'm just lookin' because you're too pretty for it to go unappreciated." He said, the compliment quickly causing my cheeks to burn with embarrassment. I looked away, too shy to maintain eye contact when he was looking at me like that.

"For someone who doesn't like people, you give compliments so...naturally. Like it's nothing." I told him softly, watching the water ripple on the surface from the force of the wind.

He just shrugged his shoulders. "Because I'm not tryin' to think somethin' up. I'm just saying what I think, smalls." He responded, glancing up at the sky. I bit the inside of my cheek and stretched out my legs as well, mine looking much shorter than his. "Is there a problem with that? You don't like my compliments or somethin'?" He asked, a teasing tone to his voice. A huff left me and I shook my head as I looked over at him again. "No!" I grumbled. "I-I like them." I assured quietly.

Atlas just chuckled, continuing to stare up at the sky while I eyed the rippling water. A comfortable silence fell between us before Atlas broke it, his voice coming out in a murmur. "My ma was askin' me about your family last night, after you went to bed, you know." He stated, catching me by surprise. "Really?" I asked, confused. "For what?"

His eyes flicked towards me. "She was askin' what your parents were like, so I told her that they're nice and protective, especially your dad." He said with a chuckle, one side of his mouth tipping up. "And she was tellin' me about how she wishes she had given me something like that. A father like yours." He scoffed at the thought and shook his head. "But is it weird that I don't really give a shit about that sort of thing? It's not somethin' I've ever thought of havin' or whatever." He asked, a frown on his lips as he looked at me.

I paused, tilting my head to the side. "No, it's not weird." I reassured him, slipping my hand into his. "Your life is yours. If you're happy with the people in it, why would you wish for something you never needed before?" I said.

I couldn't help but to smile slightly. "Although I'm sure my dad will start to grow on you even more. He might end up even seeing you as family. He's very much like that." I told him, and he turned his head away, looking as though he was starting to blush ever so slightly. An amused snicker left me when I noticed this.

"Don't laugh at me." He scowled, but I just laughed some more because now he was actually blushing. Like, full on his face was pink, not just a little.

He glared at me and grabbed me by the back of the neck, tugging me into a harsh kiss that quickly cut off my laughter. I placed a hand on his chest, startled, and he bit my lip deeply. A soft gasp left me and he pulled away, only to push me onto my back. My hair fanned out beneath me and I stared up at him with wide eyes as he swung his leg over me, straddling my hips with his hands on either side of my head. "What are you doing?" I asked him, unable to get my voice above a whisper.

Instead of responding, his just ducked his head and began to kiss along my jawline, smoothly managing to slot his hips between my legs after knocking one of my legs apart with his. A shudder raked through me and I tilted my head for him, giving him better access.

"W-What about the sunrise?" I brought up, my eyes fluttering closed when his tongue slid up the slope of my neck. "It hasn't come up yet." I reminded him, but he just hummed disinterestedly.

"Don't worry, smalls." He muttered. "It will. You'll get to see it."