The stare Aiden was giving her right now shot daggers through Rae. 'Perhaps I should let go of Finn's hand,' she thought. "What do you mean?" Rae asked unnecessarily trying to buy time.

"Well," Aiden replied slowly, "apparently you and Finn used to be a couple and I was the only one who wasn't aware of it."

"That was years and years ago," Rae explained. "It didn't seem worth mentioning." Rae noticed the tension in Aiden's face lessen, but she missed the clenched teeth and icy glare coming from Finn.

"Look, it's late and we're both tired from the long trip, so let's just go. We can talk about this later," Rae suggested.

"Fine by me," Aiden answered.

Rae quickly got up with an apologetic look to the group, and a glare at Chop. The car ride back to her mum's house was nearly unbearable.

"Why in the evil hell did you have to ask me that in front of everyone at the pub?" Rae asked angrily.

"Are you upset that everyone heard, or are you upset that Finn heard me?" Aiden retorted

"I'm upset because that was the first time I bring you around to my friends and you completely embarrass me by making the situation uncomfortable for everyone," Rae argued.

"So once again you're worried about how I made Finn feel? What about how I feel? I looked like an absolute prat while you and Finn were off doing God knows what, and holding hands. I had to find out you two were together from your moronic friend Chop? The knobhead's name is Chop, and yet he knows more about my girlfriend's previous relationships than I do," Aiden ranted.

"First of all, you haven't earned the right to call Chop a knobhead. Secondly, I told you Finn and I are just friends. We went out ages ago," Rae retorted.

"Are you saying I have no reason to worry, because every time I turn around you are on the phone with Finn, talking about Finn, or quoting every piece of advice Finn has ever given you? It was bad enough when I thought he was just your friend, but this is someone you've actually been in a relationship with. Obviously you see why that would be a bit disconcerting or you would have told me a long time ago. Do you still have feelings for him?" Aiden asked

"Listen, Finn and I have been through a lot together, and I care about him, but we haven't been a couple in nearly ten years. I know it seems like we're incredibly close, but I don't talk about him anymore than I would Chloe or Izzy or Archie. So no, you don't need to worry about it," Rae reasoned. They had pulled up to the driveway again, but instead of getting out Aiden turned to talk to Rae.

"Look, I hear what you're saying, but I need some time to think. People who are 'just friends' don't look at each other the way you two do. I'm going to stay at a hotel tonight to clear my head," Aiden finished.

Rae couldn't think of a way to talk him out of it; all she could do was nod her head before climbing out of the car. As Aiden pulled off she wasn't sure what to feel. She was sad he was leaving for the night, but angry that he didn't really try to understand. Rae had that conversation many times before with the guys she dated over the years. Her Stamford friends were incredibly important to her. They were there when she was recovering from the lowest point in her life. Rae partially understood why her previous boyfriends would single out Finn as being the problem, but he was her best mate. There was no way that she was going to completely abandon the person who understood her better than anyone just because a casual fling found him to be a nuisance. However, her relationship with Aiden was different. She really cared about him, and could possibly see a future for the two of them. Could she really risk her relationship with Aiden for Finn? Rae felt more confused than ever.

The next morning Rae called Aiden's mobile three times to see if he had cooled off from the night before. The first two missed calls should have given her a clue, but she only decided to give up after the third time. Today was Izzy and Chop's wedding rehearsal, and she certainly wasn't going to miss it. As one of the bridesmaids, Izzy would have murdered her if she even thought about not turning up.

Rae put on her best face before entering the hall where Izzy and Chop were to have their wedding rehearsal. She was surprised at how easy that was considering her fight with Aiden. Despite being upset that Aiden was angry at her, she couldn't deny how overjoyed she was to be back home with her friends. Rae nearly skipped up to an already giggling Chloe and Izzy.

"….just look at how cute he is though," Chloe was whispering.

"Chloe, he's a minister. Get a grip on yourself before you corrupt him just by staring at him," Izzy joked.

"Oh please, I can look as long as I don't touch," Chloe replied with a smirk.

"I swear Chloe, only you would try to hit on a minister," Rae chuckled. The three broke into fits of giggles when they were approached by Chop, Archie, and Finn.

"My goodness ladies. We're not here for 5 minutes and already you're causing mayhem," Archie teased.

"Alright Rae?" Chop began, "I apologize for last night and all. You know my foot and my mouth have never been separated. Sometimes I just can't help myself."

"Don't worry about it Choppy," Rae said pinching his cheek teasingly. "He had to find out sooner or later. Don't know why I didn't just tell him myself," Rae wondered aloud.

"Because if it wasn't that important, then why mention it?" Finn chimed in crossly.

Rae opened her mouth to respond to Finn's evident irritation, but before she could answer they were cut off by the minister.

"Alright ladies and gentleman. It's time to line up. Why don't we have the bridesmaids on the left while the groom and his best men head to the right," the minister suggested. If the wedding was half as beautiful as the wedding rehearsal, then Rae didn't know if she would be able to stop herself from crying. Izzy practiced walking down the aisle several times. The first few times were met with silly laughter from all six members of the gang, much to the minister's chagrin. However, the last couple of times were taken much more seriously. Watching Izzy walk down the aisle was a sobering experience for Rae; a couple of times she had to wipe mist from her eyes. She even caught Finn looking a little emotional before he caught Rae staring, and returned to his surly gaze. When Izzy and Chop locked eyes, Rae could tell there was no breaking their bond; they were made for each other.

Given the heightened emotion of the upcoming event, Rae couldn't help but to think about her own relationship. She really cared for Aiden, but there were so many times when they just weren't on the same page. Rae could be in a world of her own, and she didn't always feel comfortable sharing that world with Aiden. Then she thought about their most recent fight. Why hadn't she told Aiden about Finn a long time ago? Rae enjoyed the prospect of her 'grown up' relationship with Aiden, but there was something about her friendship with Finn that she just could never let go of.

As some of Izzy and Chop's family began to arrive for the rehearsal, Rae used the distraction to try and sneak out for lunch. She tried to grab Chloe, but she was still busy flirting with the minister. Archie stayed back to make fun of Chloe for being delusional. Rae looked over to Finn who silently agreed to lunch by nodding toward the door. Without a word they walked outside together as Finn handed Rae an extra helmet.

"Where do you want to go?" Finn asked without looking at Rae.

"Doesn't matter…we can go anywhere," Rae said.

"Alright, hop on," Finn ordered as he mounted his motorcycle.

Rae instinctively climbed on and grabbed Finn's waist for balance. "Oh my God. This is so much scarier than your old scooter," Rae exclaimed. Finn forgot his anger in one moment. "Just hold on tight, and it will be ok," Finn chortled. Rae quickly felt her anxiety melt away as they took off. While this was an entirely new situation than Rae and Finn's college days, riding around on Finn's scooter, Rae felt exactly the same as she had back then….free. At first, she held on tight to Finn for fear of tumbling to the ground, but quickly she loosened up and enjoyed the ride. Rae couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as Finn whipped through the streets of Lincolnshire.

They arrived at a quaint little restaurant that Rae assumed must have recently been built. After sitting down and placing their orders, Rae was surprised to hear Finn start the conversation. "You know Rae Earl, you might hold the record for being the only person in this entire world who is able to set me off and make me laugh a million times in less than 24 hours," Finn joked.

"A million times? It used to be 2 million. Clearly I'm not trying hard enough," Rae teased. "I didn't mean what I said to Aiden exactly," Rae began seriously. "Of course you meant a lot to me. You still do," Rae reassured. "It's just that, I didn't want him to be jealous of our friendship. In case you haven't noticed, we are a lot closer than most friends are. Maybe he shouldn't be jealous, but he's got a bit of a point; don't you think?" Rae questioned

"No, I don't think. If this is someone who claims to care about you, then he should understand…" Finn began.

"Come on Finn," Rae interrupted. "If we're going to be honest then let's be honest. Our friendship is a bit weird if you're on the outside looking in. We write secret messages on each other's bodies, we constantly give each other hugs, and we hold hands when we're out together. Hell, you know more about me than anyone. Can you honestly say that Amber doesn't find it strange? Everyone else does. Even our own friends make fun of us for being so close," Rae finished.

"I don't care what anyone else thinks. Look, I care about Amber a lot, and yes she does find it weird that we talk all of the time, but I've explained to her that you are a huge part of my life. I don't want to give any of that up. Do you?" Finn questioned.

"No," Rae admitted. "It just seems kind of selfish. Things used to be so much easier. Do you remember when you would come to visit me at University? You would stay for hours and hours; sometimes days. As much as I loved being up there, I never wanted you to leave. I felt so safe with you around," Rae reflected quietly.

"Every time I came to visit, I wanted to take you back with me. Lincolnshire was so empty without you there. It's like I needed to see you to remind me what it was like to laugh, and have a good time. I didn't know what to do with myself, but every time I even thought about asking you to come back you would look so happy with your friends from Uni. As much as I missed you, I couldn't stand the idea of you being miserable back in Lincolnshire," Finn admitted.

Rae grabbed Finn's hand under the table. "Did it ever occur to you that I looked so happy because you were around? It was so hard for me to leave you and go to University. It was such a difficult time for me to adjust. There were times over the years that I really struggled, but having you come visit me was like knowing everything would be ok…that I still had people who cared about me. I had a lot of fun in Bristol, but there was never anything that compared to our days in Lincolnshire. Besides, it must not have been that bad around here. After I finished Uni, you didn't come to visit me nearly as much," Rae accused half-jokingly.

"Well, it was obvious what was happening. You were starting a whole new life that had nothing to do with your best mate. I couldn't hang around Bristol if you and I weren't…." Finn trailed off.

"If you and I weren't what?" Rae questioned.

"….If we weren't together," Finn finished quietly.

Before Rae could retort, their food arrived. Although, Rae was glad for the distraction. She wasn't sure what to say. 'Did Finn still want to be with her? Did she still want to be with him? So much time had gone by, and they were both with other people. He couldn't have meant that, right?'

"So how are things with you and Amber?" Rae asked, awkwardly looking for a change of subject.

"It's ok. She's very sweet, but she gets annoyed with me a lot though. There's so much that she wants me to change; my hair, my motorcycle, my job, my home. She used to think all of those things were cute. Now we argue about them almost every day," Finn explained.

Rae nodded her head in both sympathy and understanding. "I know what you mean. Aiden is a nice guy and all, but sometimes it's like living with a dad. He's constantly saying stuff like 'Rae, you can't play Oasis at 3:00am; Rae don't spend all your money on concert tickets; Rae you can't call the postman a twat. I'm sure he's right, and he means well, but it's like…"

"He doesn't know you," Finn smiled at Rae.

"Yeah," Rae finished.

Finn was giving her that look again. The look that permeated her entire soul. Rae felt an all too familiar flurry in her stomach. Before she had the chance to blink, her lips were captured by Finn's. Every worry, panic, or second thought was driven from her brain as Finn's sweet lips devoured hers across the table. Rae had nearly forgotten what his kiss did to her as he softly cupped her face with both hands. Rae found herself utterly intoxicated by his scent, his taste, his warmth, and his touch. She could hear nothing but her own heartbeat as Finn's tongue caressed hers. Rae grabbed the back of Finn's hair to breathe him in even more. After what seemed hours they broke apart breathing heavily with desperate attempts for air. Finn pressed his forehead against Rae's refusing to let his hands drop from her face lest she disappear. Rae looked up into Finn's eyes attempting to tell him that they had made a mistake, but words were lost on her in that moment. Her heart melted at the look of hope, passion, and lust held in those big brown eyes that drove reason from her brain. All she could think about was Finn. She even thought she could hear his name being echoed through her brain…

"Finn? Finn? FINN?"

Rae and Finn were startled from their mutual immersion by a teary and confused Amber. Finn stood up quickly.

"Amber….I…I….uuhhhh, I don't know what to say," Finn replied dejectedly.

"No need to say anything. What I just saw speaks for itself," replied Amber as she turned away and ran out of the door.