Grey

Seventeen

[RORY]

The walk back felt like it took forever and my nerves were running so high I could practically feel my heartbeat on my tongue. Finn was either genuinely oblivious or respectfully pretending to be, quietly humming and pushing me to guess the song. We'd played a few times before and he'd taken a fast liking to it - I was surprisingly good and he liked the challenge of trying to beat me. So far, he hadn't.

We were just about to walk into the lobby as I smirked over at him. "It's Comfortably Numb. Pink Floyd."

"How are you so good at this?" He muttered in frustration, shaking his head. "Again."

"We can go all night, I will continue to win."

"You're cheating."

"How?"

"Don't know but you are."

I snorted as we stepped into the hotel, thankful that it was fairly empty and Finn's familiar face wasn't drawing anyone's attention. We walked in a comfortable silence until the elevator doors were closed, his eyes meeting mine. His lip quirked up into a playful smirk before he started to hum, not even making it to our floor before I spoke.

"I didn't take you for a Metallica guy."

"Fucking hell."

"Sucks to suck."

I was pleased with myself as the doors opened, taking a few steps forward. It didn't take long for me to realize Finn had stopped, turning around to see him with a wicked grin on his face.

"Race you to the door."

I laughed, realizing he was serious. "How old are you?"

"Sounds like a question someone who's afraid to lose would ask."

"Says the sore loser."

He laughed lightly. "You have five seconds to take off your shoes."

I glanced down at my heeled boots.

"5...4..."

"That's not fair!" Hurriedly, I reached down and unzipped the sides, doing my best to peel them off without falling over.

"3...2..."

He was slowing himself down as I picked them up, returning to my full height.

"1."

"Finn!"

He got a running start, sprinting as I ran as fast as I could behind him, our laughs echoing down the long hallway. He nearly fell turning the corner at the end, giving me a chance to catch up and easily speed past him. My socks weren't doing me any favors, almost taking me down with every slippery step. I could hear his boots pounding just behind me, squeeling as two hands gripped my hips.

"No!" I laughed loudly as he pulled me backwards, wrapping his arms around my waist and keeping me in place. He was laughing too, his chest vibrating against my back. "What's the goal here?!"

"Distraction," he panted, moving quickly and suddenly running ahead of me.

My chest hurt from laughing so hard, slowing down and seeing him catching his breath at the door, hands in the air in victory. I shook my head, gasping for air.

"You actually cheated."

"I won," he didn't deny it, shrugging his shoulders with a grin. "What's my prize?"

I bit my lip, sensing the innuendo in his tone. He grabbed my hips, guiding me back against his room door. He put both hands flat on the surface behind me, leaning his head down so his face was close to mine, his deep breaths slowing the longer we were still.