Improvise

Summary: Just a little reimagining of the diamond scene at the marina in the latest chapter, in which Flynn and Shay attempt to throw the guard off what they’re really doing there.

Note: I was somewhat expecting a kiss option during this scene, even though I’m kind of loving the slow burn between these two. So this happened. 🙂

They’re going to be seen, Shay panics when they realize the guard is going to pass right by them. She’s never been in any legal trouble before, ever. She doesn’t really care about that particular aspect a whole lot now, but if they get caught they won’t get to look for any answers, and they’ll be no closer to finding Kate.

Shay squeezes in next to Flynn, trying to keep as still as possible. They’re pressed together, no space in between them, and she wonders if Flynn is annoyed that with both of them hiding back here, if one of them gets caught, both of them will. She chances a look up at him, and the look on his face is anything but annoyed.

He’s staring at her, his chest rising and falling against hers. She can feel his heart pounding, his solid warmth through his shirt. Shay freezes when the beam from the guard’s flashlight stops a few feet away.

Shit, shit, shit, she thinks. She’s usually pretty good at thinking on her feet, but she doesn’t know how they’re possibly going to get out of this. Flynn tilts his head down, his breath fluttering loose strands of her hair and tickling her neck.

“Follow my lead,” he just barely has time to whisper, before the guard starts shouting at them to come out.

Flynn’s lips are suddenly crashing onto hers, one of his arms banding around her waist, his other hand cupping her cheek. He kisses her deeply, without restraint, kisses her like she’s the only thing he’s thinking about. Shay is so surprised that for a second, she freezes, her eyes wide, her arms stiff at her sides.

Flynn kisses her a little harder, and she suddenly gets it. She fists her hands in his t-shirt, leans in, and kisses him back eagerly. Time seems to slow, even as she’s still all too aware of the guard yelling at them. Flynn’s teeth tease over her bottom lip, and despite the situation they’re in and the reason he’s kissing her, she can’t stop herself from whimpering quietly.

She hears him groan at the sound, low in his throat, and tightens his arm around her. Oh, he’s a good kisser. No, a great kisser, all heat and intensity and complete focus. His lips are warm and just slightly chapped. Shay feels guilty when she briefly wonders that if this is how Flynn kisses when he’s trying to throw someone off, how does he kiss when he just…wants to?

“Hey!”

Shay jumps at the guard’s voice, suddenly right in her ear. She nearly steps back, but Flynn keeps her pressed against him. He tilts his head down, his face pressed to her neck. She realizes that this is a small town and the guard would probably recognize him.

Damn. Think fast, Shay.

“Oh my god. This is so embarrassing,” she says, giggling.

The guard shines his light directly in her eyes, and she squints against the glare. Flynn’s breath is ragged against her neck. He smells good. His mouth brushes her skin when he tilts his head down further, and she presses her lips together, hard.

Get a grip, Shay!

The guard irritably asks how they got in.

“The gate was unlocked,” Shay lies with another nervous giggle.

The guard clearly doesn’t believe her, and steps closer. Panicking, Shay desperately launches into a story about how her parents don’t approve of her boyfriend and they have to sneak around and they are so sorry and this will never happen again and-

“Enough!” the guard snaps in exasperation.

He waves his flashlight at the gate. “Get out. And shut the gate behind you,” he says, giving her a pointed look.

Shay swallows hard. “Right. Sorry. We’ll just…be leaving now.”

Flynn squeezes his arm around her, and while she’s frantically trying to think up some way to keep them in here so they can get to the Ulysses, there’s a sudden loud clang! from another yacht, and then a crashing sound. The guard swears, yells at them again to get out, and then rushes off.

He vanishes just out of sight, and Shay breathes out a sigh of relief. Flynn is still holding onto her, though he’s lifted his head up again. She swallows hard at the look on his face.

“What?” she asks quietly.

Flynn shakes his head. “Just thinking this is the worst possible place and time, but I really want to kiss you again.”

“Oh,” she breathes out in surprise.

Flynn frowns, his expression a little pained, when she doesn’t say anything else. “Sorry. Let’s go.”

He steps away, and Shay grabs his hand. “No!” she says, louder than she means to.

She quickly lowers her voice when she says, “Flynn. Stop. I just…wasn’t expecting you to say that.”

She gives him a soft, reassuring, smile, and understanding crosses his face.

“Oh,” he says.

For a few, quiet seconds, they just stand there, his thumb tracing over the back of her hand. His eyes roam over her face, and then he sighs.

“We should keep going,” he says. “The guard will be back soon.”

“Right,” Shay agrees.

She feels the same way as he does, though. Wrong place. Wrong time. This isn’t at all why they came here, but she really wants to kiss him again too. It makes her feel a little guilty, that she’s thinking about his lips on hers and his arms around her when she’s so worried about Kate. Flynn glances around for the guard before they slip off, sticking to the shadows.

“Think we’ll find anything?” Shay asks in a whisper when they get to Tanner’s boat.

She hopes they do. She wants some clue, some hint as to what happened to Kate, but what they do find is the last thing she expected.