I'll go back to my home town and I'll see her again, now I fall to her eyes. I'll see you on the way down.

"Honey, I'm home!" Abi yelled as she shut the front door behind her. She took off her raincoat and hung it with the other jackets that adorned the hallway, taking off her boots and then heading into the living room. "Guys?" She called, frowning at the empty space. She wandered towards the kitchen. "Daddy? Brothers dearest?" She shouted, poking her head into the kitchen and then walking through to the dining room. "Famalam?" Now she was concerned. As the rain hammered down against the windows, she gave up and sat on the sofa that preoccupied most of the 'family room' (it was a conservatory.)

It was unlike her family to be out so early in the morning, and they did know she was coming. She got her phone out and rang Leigh, highly suspicious when it went to voicemail. They must have just popped to the supermarket.

Instead of fretting anymore, she put the kettle on and looked around the kitchen in search of tea bags. She threw one into her mug, bright pink with white swirls and dots on, and then retrieved the carton of almond milk from the fridge. Water and milk were added to the mug, and she then carried it to the living room, sitting in her dad's armchair and kicking her feet onto the coffee table. She knew they wouldn't be long.

She watched an episode of Black Mirror on her phone and then gave Leigh another ring. As it went to voicemail, the front door opened, and chatter erupted through the house. Abi shot up and went to the front door, gasping in surprise as her family appeared.

"Happy birthday!" Kit yelled, running to his big sister and wrapping his arm around her legs. Abi laughed, kneeling to hug her little brother.

"Thanks, Kitkat." She smiled, squeezing him and then looking up at the massive bouquet of birthday balloons Leigh was clutching. "You guuuuys," She laughed, a little tearful as she picked Kit up, and the two were wrapped in a hug from the rest of her family. "Where have you been? I thought you'd forgotten." Abi chuckled, face smushed against her dad's chest.

"We went to get your cake; we had to go all the way t' Norwich." Dad laughed, pulling away from his daughter and gesturing to the large bag in his hand. "My darling girl turns twenty-one. Of course we have to treat her."

"I would have been fine with just a Chinese." She laughed as they went into the kitchen, Kit latched to Abi's side as she watched the boys unpack the shopping. "Oh please don't tell me more people are coming," She groaned, Leigh giving her a wink. "I just want a nice, chilled day with my boys."

"It's nothing big, darling," Dad assured her as he placed the massive box that contained her cake on the dining table. "Just some people popping over for some tea. Promise." He said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

"Hmm, okay." She huffed and smiled into his shoulder. "Thanks for all this, dad, I appreciate it." She said as he pulled away. Tom ran upstairs to change whilst Leigh put the kettle on, Abi bothering him by trying to help until she was elbowed out the way, Abi retiring to the living room with his dad and Kit, her little brother crawling to sit on her lap and steal his phone.

"We're going out to lunch," Leigh said as he brought the drinks in and passed Abi her coffee. "So you get to have a bit of respite from being alone with us." He smiled, sitting beside her on the sofa and wrapping an arm around her.

"Sounds delightful," She smiled, head resting on Leigh's shoulder as she sipped her coffee, Kit wandering off to find something more interesting to do, Abi's phone still clutched in his chubby hand. "God, I've eaten out so many times recently - I'm going to be the size of a house if I'm not careful." She sighed and rubbed her stomach.

"Oh, be quiet. You're gorgeous!" Leigh tutted, squeezing his sister close. "The most beautiful woman in the world." He added, kissing her hair and then drinking his tea.

"Why have you been eating out so much? Not been going out with fancy men, have you?" Abi blushed at her father's question, looking at her coffee like it was the most exciting thing in the world. "Abigail..."

"I've been on a few dates, yeah." She shrugged, smiling shyly. "Just with a guy from work... It's pretty new, so, uh, yeah. We have a good time." She admitted, making her dad gasp and grin at his daughter.

"Oh little love, why didn't you tell us before? That is so exciting! Tell us about him, what's he like? Where's he from?" He asked, bolt upright in his chair as he beamed at his daughter. Abi was blushing more and more as the moments passed.

"It's really new, dad. But he's really kind, really sweet. We have quite a lot in common... He's from 'round here, actually. But, um, it's really recent, it's nothing serious. We're still like... dating other people? I dunno. I, like..." She blushed and laughed softly. "He's a lovely lad. We have a good time together." Was she really dating George? She didn't know at that point. They had been out to dinner and were having little dates, but she was still talking to Alex too. Albeit not so much since their awkward failed date, but she still liked him. But as time grew and she spoke more and more to George, she knew who her heart belonged to. It wasn't even that hard to think about.

"Well, whatever happens, you know we'll be here for you, sweetheart." He smiled, sipping his tea and grabbing the television remote. "Shall we watch a bit of Saturday Kitchen?" He asked, turning the TV on before either sibling could interject.

"Can't you just tell me where we're going?" Abi groaned as she sat in the back of Leigh's car with a blindfold covering her face. She was sure they had been on the road for an hour at that point. Kit had forced Tom to play i-spy with him as they coasted down the main road, the rain battering against the car's roof.

"Nope," Leigh said. "But we're almost there." He added. "You'll like it, Abs. Promise - one of dad's friends from work recommended it." Abi remained sceptical - not to judge, but how much did a team of electricians know about fancy restaurants? Little, Abi assumed.

Ten minutes later, they were parking up, Dad impersonating the SatNav as best as he could as he declared they had reached their destination. Tom helped Abi out of the car, the two laughing at how ridiculous she looked as they huddled under the umbrella and went into the restaurant's warmth, Abi walking as slowly as humanly possible to avoid tripping over. She was sure her ankle still hadn't recovered.

"Here we go," Tom mumbled as they delved deeper into the restaurant. "Ready?" He asked as they came to a stop.

"Yep." Abi said as Tom tugged off her blindfold.

"Surprise!" Abi was blinking madly to try and let her eyes adjust to the bright lights of the restaurant, the mishmash of voices confusing her brain. But as her eyes focused, her jaw dropped. Around the table sat faces she had not seen since her final summer before everyone went to university. Dani, Rich, Rachel, Marc, Dylan, and Lizzy sat smiling back at her. They all looked the same yet so different, Dylan sporting bleached blonde hair that was far from the long dark hair he had had at school, Marc and Lizzy sitting with their arms around each other - that was a surprise. And at the end sat Callum, a big smile on his face and a party hat proudly nestling in his blonde crop.

"Oh my god," Abi laughed, cupping her mouth with her hands as her friends stood and engulfed her in hugs. She sure hadn't been expecting this! "This is so amazing, oh my goodness." She laughed as she hugged each of them, then took her space at the end of the table, looking around with tearful eyes and the biggest smile possible. She noted the empty chair to her right, suspicious of why it was there. Her heart fluttered nervously, though she distracted herself with the glass of prosecco that was being poured for her, a birthday tiara on her head as she was dumped straight into chatter with the group she had not seen in far too long.

The starters hadn't even arrived before her dad was making the entire table laugh with tales of evenings they had been forgotten during their youth, of how he had walked into their garden after returning early from a work trip to find them dancing around in their socks and underwear to a Busted track. Abi was dying of embarrassment at the memory, face in her hands, as she laughed away the tears created by her dad's tales.

They were soon eating their starters, an aubergine and mozzarella concoction on Abi's plate that was incredibly enjoyable, tucking in whilst chatting to Marc and Lizzy whilst her siblings chattered away and Callum and Rachel laughed loudly in the far corner of the table. The restaurant was alive with conversation as they ate and enjoyed bottle after bottle of expensive wine. Abi was sure her day could get no more wonderful.

Whilst in the middle of listening to one of Dylan's stories, hands covered her eyes and made her gasp in surprise. The table fell to stunned silence, aside from Callum, who she could hear giggling madly.

"Guess who." A familiar voice whispered, making Abi grin and then turn in her seat, standing the second she saw George and quickly being wrapped up by his arms. She knew that this was one of Callum's masterplans and that no one else at the table was aware that their old friend would join them. It explained the empty chair. "Happy birthday, gorgeous," George whispered as they hugged. Abi was first to pull away, grinning madly at the lad. His eyes fell to hers, his heart fluttering in his chest at her sheer beauty.

It had been almost two months, and he had been so restrained. Not once had he dared kiss those pink lips, but it was her birthday, surely he would be allowed to give her just another gift... Private - he would get her alone and finally steal what he had been yearning for for so long.

As she reluctantly left his arms, George greeted the rest of the table with hugs and smiles before taking the chair beside Abi. Leigh was giving her a look, eyes flitting to George and then back to his sister. He winked at Abi, making her roll her eyes and pick up her Prosecco glass. He knew, and it all made sense. The tall, handsome local stranger that Abi was falling head over heels for. It was George.

As George led the conversation, a smile on Abi's face the whole time, their main meals were served and eaten through fits of laughter. They shared stories, Callum reminiscing upon the first time they had met when Abi was on her first day, running up to him and begging for him to show her to the coffee shop. Abi remembered the day clearly; she had been in the Cotswolds for three days and was as stressed as anything, yet she knew the second she laid eyes on Callum that they would be best friends.

As Abi's father told another tale of one of their many camping trips out on the broads, a hand had found itself on Abi's thigh. She looked to George, who was laughing along to the story, chipping in with the others when a mistake was made in the minute detail of the memory. But the hand squeezed her thigh and caressed the squishy skin inside her leg. She was blushing, she was sure of it, and tried as best as she could to follow along with what her dad was saying, but the feeling that swelled in her stomach made it hard to concentrate on anything but him.

"Why don't we do presents?" Leigh suggested as their dinner plates were taken away and Tom took Kit outside to stop him from getting restless.

"Presents? You know I didn't want presents." Abi scowled as boxes and bags were pulled from under the table, George's hand finally leaving Abi's thigh to retrieve the gift bag from under his chair. "Guys," She groaned as they were slowly passed to her.

A few bouquets and a box of vegan chocolates from the line of childhood friends, a Nespresso membership and the most enormous mug Abi had ever seen from Callum, a gold ring from Leigh, a matching necklace from Tom and bracelet from Kit, and a beautiful sweater from her dad. She knew she had done very well out of everyone.

Her eyes fell to the man that sat to her right, toying with the paper gift bag in his hands. George finally passed it to Abi, and she took the neatly wrapped gift from the bag, cautiously looking at George and then at the gift. She undid the sticky tape and reached inside, furrowing her brow and pulling the present from the paper. It was a small box, though when she flicked the lid, a small roman coin necklace sat inside it. She chewed her lip and looked back to George, knowing she was going to cry at the sheer beauty of it. She was sure she had never seen a necklace she had loved more in her life.

"George..." She whispered, looking at him with a firmly bitten lip. His face was soft, a timid smile on his face as he looked to the box and then back to Abi. "It's beautiful, thank you." She smiled at him, gently shutting the lid and rubbing her finger across the soft blue velvet of the box.

"You deserve it." He said. It had been a risk to get her something sentimental rather than the usual flowers and alcohol like the others had. But a part of him hoped, perhaps knew, that this was the first of my gifts he would be buying Abi, so why not make it memorable. It had been two long months since he had set eyes on her again, and there was no one else he thought of before he fell asleep, no one else he was interested in. Everything he ever wanted in someone to spend his life with was found in Abi. His heart sunk at that thought, the two locking eyes for a few moments longer than two friends should. Who was he trying to fool?

He was in love.

"I hope you didn't mind me getting you something a bit, uh, sentimental," George said as they walked out of the restaurant and towards the car park on the other side of the main road. It was the first time they had managed to have a little bit of time alone all afternoon, walking perfectly with each other.

It had been two weeks since their few days in London, Abi still spending too much time thinking about how blissful it had been to wake up in his arms, of how they had laughed over their plates of fancy vegan pancakes, how George had insisted he lugged around the heavy tote bag that contained her injury-inducing boots. They had hugged goodbye on the platform at Paddington, and Abi had seen him waving through the window as her train chugged back towards the Cotswolds. They had called most nights when Abi got in from work, joked about on FaceTime a few evenings as well, and the time they spent together was, in her eyes, the most wonderful time in the world.

She and Alex had, truthfully, fizzled out; he had been under a lot of strain looking after his mum that their texting and calling had reduced a lot, and Abi knew that, as it turned out, all he would end up being was a fleeting romance. Sure they could still be friends, but there was no question of who she wanted to be romantically involved with. He stood beside her in his soft white button-down with newly trimmed hair and a smile that left her heart fluttering for hours. But still, they had to wait till Abu Dhabi. It was only a handful of days; they were both flying out on Wednesday, so she had ample time to have a chat with Alex and be able to finally, hopefully, have George ask for them to be something more serious.

"Of course I don't mind. It's beautiful." She smiled, looking at the bag full of gifts that was in her hand. "You really spoilt me, George. I honestly didn't expect anything of the sort." She sighed as they waited for a lull in the traffic so they could cross the road.

"I was going to get you a 'vintage' sweatshirt, but I couldn't find one I approved of, so I decided that would be a bit nicer." They both laughed, bumping shoulders. "And you have enough sweatshirts at this point, especially after stealing mine the other week." He added, and Abi tutted, rolling her eyes.

"What else was I meant to do? Wander around in a blouse that definitely had my blood and dinner on?" She laughed, gesturing to her still scabby palms.

"Hey, if it meant I got my favourite sweatshirt back, then sure." Abi playfully swatted George's chest, the two smiling madly at each other before finally being able to cross the road, jumping over the short wall that separated the street from the car park. Her family patiently waited by the car, dad tapping his foot and raising his eyebrows as the pair approached the car.

"Come on Abs, don't want to keep nan and grandpa waiting, do you?" He asked, smiling at George. "Well done on such a good season, George, hope you get to raise that trophy at the weekend." He added as they reached the blue Fiesta.

"Thanks, uh, hopefully it'll all go my way. I'm optimistic, but you know, my rookie season, so I can't expect too much." He chuckled. "I won't hold you up any longer. I'll see you soon." He pulled Abi in for a tight hug, embracing her for longer than most would before he gave Abi's dad a wave and headed off towards his Mercedes on the other side of the car park. Abi put her bags in the boot and then joined Tom and Kit in the back.

"So, when you said a local lad who you met through work..." Leigh started as Abi buckled her seatbelt. "You meant George Russell."

"Perhaps." Abi smiled, defensively folding her arms across her chest. "We bumped into each other at the launch party for next season, just started chatting again, I guess." She shrugged.

"Even after everything that happened?" Tom asked. "Cause like, that was talk of the school for months. As if my big fat grotty sister could get with George Russell."

"Tom, don't be a dickhead." Leigh interjected.

"Yes, thank you Thomas." Abi tutted, glaring at her brother. "Your words of encouragement have always meant so much to me, you little chav." She sighed, tone dripping with sarcasm as the two smiled at each other. "Now come on, I want to see what all this hype over my birthday cake is for." She insisted as dad started the car, and they began the long journey home.