Forever August ✔️

chapter twenty-six

"i like me better when i'm with you."
- lauv
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The buildings were taller than anything Aurora had ever seen. They seemed to stretch into the sky, peaking into the clouds, close enough to whisper to the sun.

Aurora stared out the car window in awe, at the endless stretch of skyscrapers that towered above. The city felt alive, like the very buildings pulsed with life and she could feel it humming through her, rocking beneath her veins like thunder.

She stole a glance at Gus. His brow was furrowed, eyes locked firmly on the road ahead as he drove through the busy streets of New York City. This was nothing like Maine, and she could tell he wasn't used to the abundance of traffic.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned his head slightly to meet her eyes, and, beneath the unease, she could see it, too. That glow. That feeling pulsing through his veins.

Taking one hand off the wheel, he placed it on her leg, their fingers instantly locking together like the worn out pieces of a familiar puzzle. Aurora squeezed his hand tightly, and it was moments like this where it felt like she'd never have to let go.

She turned back to the window and rolled it down, laughing as the wind found its way inside the car, blowing Aurora's hair wildly around her face. Grinning, she opened the window as far as it would go; blasted the radio loud enough that she felt it thrumming through her heart. 

"What are you doing?" Gus yelled over the music, glancing off the road quickly to toss her a disapproving stare.

Aurora only ignored it, undoing her seatbelt and lifting herself out the window until she was sitting on it, half her body stuck outside. She winced at the pain in her ribs that was now a dull ache, and instead focused on the feel of the wind in her hair, the sun on her skin.

Gus yelled at her to sit back down, but she could hear the smile hiding in his voice, too.

She knew he felt it. The infinite moment. The feeling that they could do anything, be anyone.

The city was theirs for the taking, and Aurora planned on making it her own.

She pushed herself further out the window, giggling as the wind blew so hard she couldn't hear her own thoughts. People were honking, some were whistling approvingly out their window, but she didn't care.

She smiled and lifted herself up, her good hand planted firmly on the roof, gripping it, while her braced hand waved through the air, high above her head.

"Rory!" Gus yelled one more time, tugging on her foot gently. "Get inside!"

She shook his hand off, dipping her head backwards and feeling the sun kiss her neck.

"I love Gus!" she yelled for the city to hear, grinning ear-to-ear.

He laughed as she climbed back into the car, leaning over to kiss him quickly before fastening her seatbelt.

"You're crazy," he said, catching her hand quickly in his and pulling it to his lips.

"You've known that since the first moment we met," she pointed out.

Gus cocked his head to the side, watching the way she seemed to glow as the sun hit the side of her face. Her eyes turned liquid gold, his favourite colour in the entire world aside from the molten brown they turned in the darkness, when she whispered how much she loved him against his skin, for only him to hear.

"What's the address?" he asked when the light turned green. "To the hotel," he added, catching the way her brows wrinkled in confusion.

Aurora rummaged through her backpack resting beside her feet, pulling out a rumpled piece of paper with their hotel confirmation on it. She read the address aloud and Gus made a sudden left, causing her to go flying into the door.