"You want something to drink? I know I'm thirsty," Shane said in my ear as we continued swaying around in circles.
"Sure. My throat is killing me," I smiled, not letting him go.
"Achem… I can't go to get drinks if you don't let go," he told me, pulling away but keeping hold of my hand. He smiled and turned to walk over to the drink hut. I held onto his hand tightly, still not wanting to let go. He turned back around and smiled wider at our outstretched arms before loosening my grip. I sighed and went to sit around the fire while I waited for him to come back to me. There was a long line at the hut so I knew it would be a little while.
I wrapped my arms around myself inhaling deeply the scents of my new sweatshirt. I loved that he gave it to me as it made me think of him. Even though it wouldn't stop me from missing him unbearably when he left for college, it would always keep him close to me. I shook my head furiously, willing the thoughts to go away and let me savor the time we had left.
Two hands slipped over my eyes and I smiled. I leaned back into him, glad he was finally back. Then something hit me. Shane went to get drinks. He would have two cups in his hands, which would mean he couldn't cover my eyes.
"I knew you couldn't resist me," A somewhat familiar voice said from behind me. I froze. Mark.
I tried to move away from him as quickly as I could but he grabbed my wrist and held on tightly. He moved to stand right in front of me. I really wasn't afraid of him. Some of my best friends were guys from the station, so I knew how to deal with them. I stood up straighter and glared at him.
"Even you have to know that's not true. What do you want?" I spat at him, narrowing my eyes.
"I want you to dance with me."
"Ha! I don't think so. Why don't you go find someone who actually likes stalkers?" I suggested, laughing at him.
"You will dance with me, whether you like it or not," he growled, tightening his grip on my wrist.
I rolled my eyes at him, way past annoyed by this point. "Get it through your tiny brain Mark. I. Will. Not. Dance. With. You." I punctuated each word separately hoping it would sink in faster.
"I don't think you understand. You don't have a choice. You're gonna dance with me whether you like it or not."
"I'm pretty sure I heard the lady say no. So maybe you should back up and leave her alone," a smooth voice said from behind me. I smirked at Mark. Shane was back so Mark should be leaving now.
"Stay out of this pretty boy. This doesn't involve you," Mark spat at him.
Shane moved to stand next to me and pulled my wrist away from Marks hand. "Actually it is my conversation since she's mine."
Mark rolled his eyes. "Obviously…Anyone could see that you've claimed her.
This bothered me even more. "Don't think I'd ever want to dance with you. There's no way in hell," I assured him, getting up in his face. I turned to walk away with Shane when I heard him murmur something under his breath.
"Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that," I asked, piling on the sweetness.
"I said 'Bitch'," he repeated with a smirk.
Before he could move an inch my fist flew out and connected with his jaw. He fell to the ground, clutching his face for a minute before standing back up and glaring at me. "Girls aren't supposed to punch someone. They are supposed to slap them," he said condescendingly to me.
"Actually I'm the kind of girl that grew up with 15 big brothers at the firehouse. There were quite a few who were more than happy to teach me how to throw a punch. So don't mess with me," I growled, looking at him with disgust. I took hold of Shane's hand and stalked away from Mark, leaving him with a grimace on his face and what I hoped was a broken jaw. There were a few applauses and another few 'you go girl!' 's. I just kept walking until we were a good distance away.
"You alright love? Did he hurt you?" Shane asked, concerned. He looked me over, pushing up the sleeve of my sweatshirt to take a look at my wrist. I pulled it out of his grip and folded my arms around his neck.
"You worry too much. I'm fine. If you didn't already know this before, you know now that I can take care of myself."
"Remind me to thank the guys for that when I meet them," Shane chuckled, pulling me closer and settling his arms around my waist. He moved his lips to my ear. "That punch was pretty impressive."
"Why thank you kind sir. That makes me feel good about myself," I retorted with a fake accent.
"You're welcome my lady. It was my pleasure," he replied in the same accent with a bow. He held out one hand with the other behind his back, still bowing. "May I have this dance?"
I chuckled. "Of course." I slid my hand into his and he led me over to the music. He placed one of my hands on his shoulder and kept the other one encompassed in his. He laid a hand on my waist and started to move in an elegant dance.
"Where did you learn to dance?" I asked curiously.
"My mom taught me when I was little. She thinks that a proper gentleman should be able to lead his girl in a dance," he blushed red, looking down at the sand.
"I think that's sweet. Come to think of it, I haven't met your mom," I stated matter-of-factly.
He looked up at me his face emotionless at first. Then it brightened up with an idea. "Would you like to meet my parents when we get back?"
My stomach knotted up. I knew this was something I wanted to do but I was nervous since Shane had mentioned it. I took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "I would love that."
"I think my mom would too."
Something I had wanted to ask him randomly popped into my head. "Umm…Shane? What did Mark mean when he said 'Obviously…Anyone could see that you've claimed her'?"
He blushed again. "What?" I asked innocently, curious as to what would be so embarrassing.
"Take off the sweatshirt and you'll see what he was talking about."
I crinkled my eyebrows but pulled off the sweatshirt anyway. I looked at the front but Shane pulled it out of my hands and turned it over. Printed on the back of the sweatshirt in black letters was 'Preston'. I looked up at him still confused as to why he felt the need to 'claim' me. He shrugged sheepishly and handed me back the sweatshirt.
"You do know that you didn't need to 'claim' me. You're the only one I want to be with. I love you," I assured him, taking his hand and leading him to a darker spot on the beach.
"Yes I no but I still wanted everyone to know that you are mine and they can't have you," he mumbled, plopping down in the sand and pulling me onto his lap.
I chuckled at his excuse. He was such a little kid. "