Aura POV

"You know, I really need food now. I can feel my energy depleting from all of the strenuous activity you keep engaging me in," I said with as straight of a face as I could muster. Tegan stopped drying me off to laugh.

"Yeah right! I totally hopped in the shower with you. Oh, wait! That was you hopping in my shower," her tongue stuck out at me. We finished drying each other off, narrowly escaping another romp. The feeling of her hands going over my entire body was extremely hard to resist, my skin still being sensitive from out escapades. Her tongue in my mouth was equally hard to resist, but our stomachs made themselves known yet again.

"I swear. If this does pan out, and we end up living together or something, we're going to have to set an alarm for food breaks. Otherwise we might accidentally starve," I tore my lips from hers. Tegan giggled and gave me a wink.

We went to the same diner we had gone to a few days ago. The entire time, my focus was on Tegan and our conversation, but also it was holding its own inner monologue. Our date had gone amazingly. It was like a date in a movie. Now breakfast was so…normal. It was a good normal. It was a comfortable with each other, know each other well, I-don't-know-how-life-was-before-you normal. We covered random news bits, complained about work, and other things that people who have known each other a long time talk about. However, we shared our meals, sent flirty smiles, and our feet played with each other. It was almost as though we were years into our relationship and still had the spark. It was all so…normal.

The park was next on the roster, but Tegan didn't know that. She had mentioned loving the ocean, so I knew it had to be done. Sitting by the lake was one of my favorite Zen places, and being one of the Great Lakes, it looked as big as the ocean. The main difference was the smell; the ocean smells like water and salt, while the lakes smell like water and fish. The weather was being thoroughly random and abnormal this year, so it was quite warm compared to average. The snow from a few days ago had melted, and it was barely cool enough for a hoodie.

"Um, the hotel is the other way. Where are we going?" Tegan asked, the confusion thick in her voice.

"You'll see," I smiled. She squinted her eyes at me but grinned nonetheless. Once the lake was in view, she stared out the window. Our hands had intertwined between us, and I gave hers a squeeze. Her head spun to me with her eyes wide. My smile grew as I kept my eyes on the road. We pulled over to park by a beach that was almost empty of people. As I turned off the car, I finally met her eyes. "Come on!" I rushed out of the car to the sidewalk. Her initial shock seemed to have worn off, because she hurried to me. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the sand. We slowed our running and collapsed in each other's arms in a burst of giggles. She pulled away from me and met my gaze. I grasped her hand again and tugged. "Come on!" She furrowed her brow but followed. I led her to the end of the beach where the sand lessened and the boulders took over. I walked a path I knew by heart at this point, showing her where to step to get to my favorite spot: the big, flat rock in the middle. It was far enough away from most people to give privacy but not be a safety risk. I plopped down, proud of myself. My eyes watched Tegan as she sat next to me. The wind blew our hair into our faces. Her left hand reached up and tucked mine behind my ear.

"You're beautiful," she sounded breathless. Her lips found mine for a brief moment. As she leaned away, her arm wove around mine, and our fingers braided together. Tegan laid her head on my shoulder, and we watched the waves roll in and out for a long while.

"So, when do you leave town?" I asked. I didn't want to know, but I had to know. I had avoided the subject myself, because it was going to make the whole thing seem too real, too futile.

"Actually, we just have an interview and a photo shoot tomorrow," Tegan answered. Her words dripped with compunction. "And we leave on Tuesday." There was a certain attrition to the ending statement.

"Oh," I responded. Today was our last full day together. "So, what do you want to do, then?"

"Right now?" she questioned.

"No. About…us," I searched her eyes for any clue as to where her thoughts were. Her head cocked to the side a bit, and the tips of her lips curled.

"I like that," she commented.

"Like what?" I was completely confused.

"Us," Tegan stated. My brow furrowed and my head shook, but my mouth grinned.

"Alright. So, what does that mean?" I prodded.

"Well, I know it's a lot to ask. Actually, it's a huge thing to ask. And I know it doesn't always work. But I need to ask. I need to try," she rambled. Her eyes met mine and stayed there. "Will you be my girlfriend?" She looked truly concerned, as though she had no idea what my answer would be.

"Of course!" I crashed my lips into hers. We hugged tightly and kissed sweetly. I suddenly remembered something. "But why was that such a 'huge thing to ask'? And what 'doesn't always work'?"

"Well, just…the long distance thing. And the touring thing. I've had some issues with those in the past. I know most people aren't looking for something like that. It's not the ideal situation for a relationship," Tegan explained. Hope and uncertainty mingled together in her expression.

"I've done long distance before, and truthfully it sucked. But I wasn't the one that had an inability to cope with it, if you know what I mean," I hinted.

"Ouch," Tegan grimaced.

"Don't worry. I'm long over it. But I wanted to let you know that I've done this before, and I can promise that I won't cheat on you," I said.

"That's a pretty big promise," she raised an eyebrow.

"Not really. Being in a relationship is kind of like promising that," I shrugged.

"Fair enough," Tegan nodded with a 'not bad' look on her face. "So, you're my girlfriend!" she exclaimed. Her arms wrapped around me and held me tight. I chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"And you're my girlfriend!" I retorted. I was pretty sure that we were both sporting equally cheesy grins. Tegan loosened her grip on me to bring us together in a kiss again. "Mmm, first 'officially dating' kiss."

"You know what else we have waiting as a first 'officially dating' thing?" she spoke into my lips.

"Hmm? What is that?" I hummed back into hers. Instead of answering, Tegan pressed forward to lay me back on the rock. Her fingertips snuck just under the hem of my shirt to graze my skin.

"Tegan," I warned. "We are not going at it in public."

"But I want to have sex with my girlfriend," she emphasized. I did have to admit, I was just as excited as she was.

"Let's go then. My place isn't too far from here," I offered. Her hand slid up my side, and her nails drug down it. I moaned and dug my fingers in her hair. "Now. Let's go now. Now." She was effectively making me impatient for a bed and total privacy. "Come on!" We rushed to the car faster than we had to the beach.