"The situations changed? What does that even mean? You told me last night that you don't date anymore," I whispered. Silence, then, "Has this just been some cruel prank in our war? Get me to like you then break my heart?"

"I would never do that," Griffin replied in a cold voice.

I began pacing the cottage. "Then why Griffin? Why are you being so nice? Why were you dancing with me? How has the situation changed?"

"Isn't it clear?" He stood up.

"No!" I exclaimed. "Am I just another notch on your bedpost?"

"Is that really what you believe?" he said slowly.

"What else am I supposed to think?" I came to a halt in front of him. "You're a player who leaves a trail of broken hearts."

"All those girls knew what they were getting into. I never promised them anything. I never lied to any of them, nor am I lying to you."

I looked up at his face and found only honesty.

"Rory," he continued. "I don't care who wins the prank war anymore. I don't care about any of the other girls." He took a breath. "I just want to be with you."

My heart stumbled at the sound of my actual name coming from his lips.

I shook my head in disbelief. "No, you don't. You just want to sleep with me to prove a point. You—"

"Screw what I said a week ago," he interrupted, taking a step closer towards me. "Do you think I planned to fall for you? A person who drives me crazy with her witty tongue and dangerous smile. A person who challenges me like no other, yet for some reason I can't stop thinking about her." He gently took my hands. "I thought my walls were too high for anyone to break through but somehow you managed to climb them with ease. I never expected any of it, yet here we are."

I wanted to believe him but this was Griffin, he was a player. I'd seen him flirting with Brittney with my own eyes; Jack had warned me; June had mentioned his ways, and I'd even experienced them myself. And it had all worked. I'd fallen for his game.

I'd fallen for him.

I'd fallen for a player who dominated the turf with ease and was way out of my league. A player who knew the rules of the game that I'd never even played before. How could I trust that I wasn't just another score to him? It seemed real enough but I'm sure that's what all those other girls believed.

"You're thinking too hard," he said softly, taking a step closer to me and lifting my hand to press over my heart. "Think with this."

"I want to believe you," I said slowly, thinking out loud. "You don't know how much I want to believe you, but—"

"Trust me." He tenderly lifted my chin up and our eyes met.

"I..." My words trailed off as he gently traced his thumb down my cheek and over my lips.

"I'm not playing with you."

"Griffin—"

"Rory, I like you." The way he said it with such conviction made my pulse quicken and thoughts race.

I looked down at the fire, thinking back to all those times we'd spent together. The funny moments and the more serious one. I liked joking around with him, I liked talking to him, I liked being with him. He'd shown me countless times that he was there for me even though I was his rival. My eyes returned to his face and I saw the sincerity in his expression.

And it was at that moment I realised that I did believe him.

My heart swelled and I couldn't help the small smile that appeared on my face. "I know."

His eyes darkened and heat pooled in my stomach.

"Rory," he breathed before bending his head down and pressing his lips against mine.

My heart pounded and for a moment I was frozen in shock as one single thought rushed through my head.

Griffin was kissing me.

His kiss was raw, expressing the emotions that he couldn't put into words. Emotions that I couldn't deny were real.

The rest of the tension left my body as I realised that I did trust him.

I melted against him, my lips responding to his. He pulled me closer and my mind went blank. All I cared about was him, his soft lips, his warmth, his hands around my waist. It was all clear now, everything that had happened over the past week had been building up to this moment.

And never had anything seemed so right than Griffin kissing me.

He finally pulled back and looked at me with such intensity that I forgot how to breathe. "I like you Rory. More than I've ever liked anyone before." His voice dropped. "And that scares me."

An overflow of emotions bubbled up in my stomach and this time it was me who reached for him, pulling his head down to meet my own. Our lips were more frantic than before and I tangled my hand in his hair, deepening the kiss. He lifted me up and set me down on the table, stepping between my legs which I wrapped around him.

"Rory," he groaned against my lips. "You're killing me."

I smiled, drawing back. "You've been killing me all week."

"I'm glad the feeling's mutual." He pressed a short, sweet kiss to my lips.

"I tried for so long to not like you," I admitted.

Realisation dawned on his face. "That was why you began acting weird after the high ropes?"

I nodded. "You were always with Brittney."

"I'm sorry about that." He ran a hand over my leg. "Like I said, she's been hounding me all week."

"I know that now." I laughed then shivered as a gust of cold wind swept through the cottage.

Griffin glanced at the fire. "As much as I would love to continue this." I blushed at his words. "I should probably go fetch some more wood from the shed outside before we run out."

"Good idea."

He gently squeezed my knee before grabbing an old coat off a hook and pulling it on.

"What a great look." I laughed.

"The last groundskeeper had great taste." He looked at me and winked. "I can see you drooling from there."

I smiled and hopped off the table. "See you in a few minutes."

He mirrored my smile then stepped into the darkness outside. I went over to the old couch and lay down, grinning like an idiot.

The last few moments whirled through my head as if I'd pressed fast forward on a movie.

Griffin had kissed me.

And maybe more shockingly, I had kissed him back.