“Now, yeah. But once you graduate, it’ll be different. We’ll have to be different.”

I wanted to fight him on this, but I knew no matter what I said, he wouldn’t believe me. He was convinced I was my father’s puppet who would break up with him if Daddy told me to. I’d have to prove him wrong. “What are you planning to do?”

“I’m going to change.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to make sense of his words. “I don’t want you to change. Even if he doesn’t like you, I won’t care.”

He rubbed my head almost absentmindedly. “It’s the one conflict in our life I can see coming—and avoid. He’s going to fire me. Hell, he could even sue me. It was in the contract that I couldn’t touch you.”

“He put that in there?” I asked, gripping my dress tight.

“Yeah.”

I shook my head. My father was freaking ridiculous. “If he does, then we’ll handle it together. Right?” I bit down on my lower lip. “Maybe you could do something else.”

He pushed me away and squeezed my arms with a smile on his face. “Exactly. Like I said. Change.”

I hesitated, my heart picking up speed. This kind of change I could probably work with. “What are you going to do?”

“I can maybe change my MOS.”

I blinked. “What’s an MOS?”

“It stands for Military Occupational Specialty, but it’s basically my position. My career in the Marines.”

I nodded. “What would you change it to?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I could go into active duty with the Marines. I bet that will look good on Election Day. Having a Marine up on the stage with him in Dress Blues. He can’t complain about that, can he?” he asked me, his eyes on mine.

“No. Of course not.” And just like that, down came my bubble. “But what about going back to school? Becoming a chef or a surf instructor? I don’t know. Something.” I shrugged. “Growing up, was there something you wanted to be?”

He blinked at me, a weird look on his face. “Um, I wanted to work on computers as a kid. You know, build them.”

I perked up at that. Computers were safe. “Well, you could go to school for that.”

“I could.” He straightened up, blinking rapidly. “I don’t even have to re-up when my time is up, if I don’t want to. Or, I can become a commissioned officer and get a job in that field through the Marines.” He snapped his fingers. “Ooh, yeah. That’ll look really good on your father’s campaign. An officer at his side.”

“I don’t care about his fucking campaign!” I shouted, my hands curled into tight balls. God, Dad had gotten to Finn, too. Without even trying. His reach was that freaking far. “I care about you. About us.”

“But this is for us.” He stood up and paced, his steps hurried and uneven. He stepped on his jacket and didn’t even care. “We won’t have to worry about what happens after he kills me—as long as he doesn’t actually kill me, that is.” He swung me into his arms and hugged me tight. “This obstacle between us? It’s gone. I can be that guy.”

The obstacle that didn’t exist? Yeah. It was gone.

“I don’t think you need to be any guy but you. I love you the way you are—tattoos and all.”

He grinned down at me. “And I love you for that.”

He kissed me hard, right in front of my dorm in the moonlight. I clung to him, gripping his dress shirt in my fists and pulling him closer. By the time he pulled back, I forgot all about what we were saying.

All I knew was Finn was smiling at me, and he looked happy.

I wasn’t about to ruin it.

Wednesday night I waited on my bike outside Carrie’s dorm. She had to study late with some friends from chemistry, so I told her I’d pick her up at eight. After our fight last night, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her when she came outside. Would she still be mad at me, or had she really forgiven me for being an ass?

All I knew was I needed to get through the rest of the week, find out what my C.O. wanted from me, and then move on with my new life plan. I was more determined than ever to get through this year alive, get out of the Marines, and go back to college. Until Carrie, I hadn’t wanted to do that. I had been perfectly content being a Marine.

But now? I wanted more. I wanted to be more.

For her and for me.

My phone buzzed, and I looked down at it with my heart racing. Had her father finally texted me on his own? I glanced down at it, but it was from Carrie. Be down in two minutes.

Okay. I shoved the phone into my pocket.

A few minutes later, she came out of her dorm, her usual bag over her shoulder and a gorgeous smile on her face, and she looked so damn happy. So much like my Carrie that she took my fucking breath away. I had no idea what I’d done to deserve her in my life, but I’d do it again and again if it meant I got to keep her forever.

I shook my thoughts and straightened my back, waiting for her to make her way over to me. When she was within reaching distance, I snatched her up and kissed her before she could say a word. I slipped my hand into her back pocket before carefully removing it.

Then, and only then, I let myself get lost in our kiss. I needed the affirmation that she was here and mine and happy, as pathetic as that might be. I pressed my mouth to hers, urging her to open to me. And when she did, I slipped my tongue between her lips and kissed her hungrily. As if I would never get enough of her sweet taste.

And I didn’t think I ever would.

When I broke the kiss, she rested her hands on my shoulders and blinked up at me. “Wow. I should be late more often.”

“That had nothing to do with you being late.”

“Then what was it?”

“I wanted to kiss you, so I did.” I shrugged, trying to play it off as if I wasn’t going completely crazy right now. Because I abso-fuck-ing-lutely was. “Why were you late, anyway?”

“I was chatting with Marie.” She glanced up at me. “We’ve been talking, and we have a lot more in common than I thought. We’re getting coffee later this week.”

I’d told her she should try talking to Marie some more. My Ginger wasn’t the most open when it came to making friends—with reason. But Marie seemed a pretty safe bet. “That sounds fun.”

“Yeah.” She bit down on her lip. “I think she’s homesick, and sometimes I get that way too, even with my crazy parents. She doesn’t seem to have many people here, besides me. I’m lucky I have you.”

She had a knack for finding the loneliest sucker and making her feel welcome with nothing more than a smile. It was one of the things I loved most about her. “She can have me too if you want.”

She slapped my arm. “Haha, really funny.”

“What? I was just trying to be supportive.” I threw my arm around her. “But you know I’m kidding. I only have room for one college student in my life.”

“I might take her to the soup kitchen with me this weekend while you’re gone.” She stole a quick peek at me. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

“Of course not,” I said through the nervousness trying to strangle me. “But you have to leave with her, and not walk down any dark alleys.”

“I’ll leave before it’s dark, I promise.” She grabbed her helmet and tugged it on. When she was finished, I held out my hand for her bag. She handed it over and I slid it over my head, watching her the whole time.

I slipped my own helmet over my head and revved the engine, disgusted with myself. “You ready, Ginger?”

She glided on behind me and wrapped her body around mine. I’d never get sick of this feeling with her. This utter shiny happiness at her arms wrapped around me, her head on my shoulder. It never got old and I hoped it never would.

“Ready,” she called out.

When we pulled up to my apartment building, I stopped the bike and took a deep breath. I’d made a move that she may or may not appreciate, and I was about to find out.