“Okay, so now I think you owe me.”
“Oh, yeah…that. But let me just say, you’re more than welcome to reward me anytime you feel like it, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
“Uh-huh, I’m sure you wouldn’t. Can you please tell me where we’re going now?”
“All right, fine. I guess you earned it,” he said in a bland tone, smirking when I hit him in the chest. “Okay, geez. We are going to the beach. It’ll probably be a little chilly, but I figured we could use a little alone time before spending the holidays with our families. I rented a hotel right on the-”
“Shut up,” I said, smacking a kiss on to his cheek. “You had me at beach.”
After only stopping for two bathroom breaks, we were there at just a little over four hours. The roads were deserted as we pulled into the parking garage that was located underneath our hotel, probably because most people headed a little more south on winter break. It definitely wasn’t warm enough to go swimming in the ocean, but I was looking forward to spending time here with Justin.
We walked into the shiny lobby, the floors gleaming to where we could see ourselves in them. “Hi there, checking in for the honeymoon suite, Mr. and Mrs. Parker.” Justin wrapped an arm around my shoulder, a beaming smile as he looked down at me.
I stuffed down the urge to roll my eyes at him and smiled at the man that was checking us in. “Ah, congratulations are in order. We will be able to take extra special care of our newlyweds since not many visit this time of year. Here are your room keys, and we’ll bring your bags up shortly. Best room we have available for our special guests.”
We headed towards the bank of elevators located at the center of the lobby and punched in the top floor that was available. Justin pushed open the door after sliding in the key card, and I was instantly wowed at the sight.
The whole front wall was a sheet of glass overlooking the ocean. A bed sat in the center of the room, covered in deep red rose petals, arranged into a heart shape. A bottle of champagne sat in a bucket of ice next to the Jacuzzi made for at least six people that looked straight out into the water. There was even a tray of cheese and crackers sitting right next to it.
“Wow, you really out did yourself. How long have you been planning this?” I poked him in the stomach as he just smiled back at me. I really didn’t think he had something like this in him. He just kept on surprising me over and over again.
Our luggage came shortly after we got to our room, and once we changed into fresh clothes, we decided to check out the small beach town that we were in. A lot of the businesses and restaurants were closed for the season, but we were able to find a hamburger joint that had a small arcade attached to it. I kicked Justin’s ass at air hockey and then we decided to walk up the beach back to our hotel.
We only passed a few people as we walked hand in hand, with our feet shuffling through the wet sand. It was serene being here, kind of like the calm before the storm of my mother that I knew was coming. We dropped down into the sand right in front of our hotel, and Justin pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me to keep off the chilly breeze blowing in. “I think we need to talk about a few things.”
“What would that be exactly?” He asked quickly, his body stiffening under mine.
“It’s nothing bad,” I reassured him. “It’s just some things that have come up lately, and I think I should fill you in.” I retold the story of what I had done in my past, the one thing I had tried so hard to conceal.
Now that I thought about it, I really didn’t know why. If someone had a problem with the mistakes I had made in the past, then that was their problem. I finished my story, this time managing to keep the tears away. He was silent for a long time and I was almost afraid to turn around, not sure what his reaction would be. Once I felt his hand squeeze mine, I knew everything was all right.
“Well,” he finally said. “I’m a little pissed that you didn’t tell me sooner, and I’m a little pissed at your mom. Who seriously acts like that? I don’t know how I’m going to prepare myself to meet that woman. She sounds like a real bitch.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Don’t worry, her opinion really doesn’t matter to me much anymore. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Della. I can’t imagine you having to deal with something like that by yourself. I wish I could’ve been there to take care of you because I would’ve been there every step of the way, unlike that douche Chris. If I ever see that guy, I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”
I could feel Justin’s body tensing underneath me again at just the thought of it. He always said he was a lover not a fighter, but deep down he had that instinct for me and it made me happy, even though Chris really didn’t need the shit beat out of him.