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“You know you’re not. The way we’re traveling, it’ll seem like only three hours between the time we leave Fiji to the time we get home.”
“Or it will seem like the actual twenty hours between takeoff and landing.”
“You know what I mean! Now can I continue with the itinerary?”
Nikki stared at me with wide eyes and that pinched, crooked smile she got when mocking me. I took it as a yes.
“So, once we land in Fiji, we need to take a bus or taxi for a few hours to the south side of the island, where we’ll board a boat to a smaller, more private island here,” I said, pointing to the spot on the map. “And then, around eleven, we finally check into our room.”
“And collapse.”
I glared at her.
“I mean it!” she growled. “You see it as a carefully thought out plan to get us to paradise—which it is, don’t get me wrong. But holy shit, Gems! You realize we’ll be traveling for a full twenty-six hours straight, don’t you? By the time we reach our room, all I’m going to want to do is pass out in a proper bed.”
“Oh, you can get plenty of sleep on the plane. That’s why I bought us little sleep masks and noise-canceling headphones. All you have to do is tuck yourself in, put them on, and you’ll wake up in Fiji in a blink!”
Nikki nodded and leaned back on the couch, lifting her feet.
“Don’t you dare put your feet on my coffee table,” I warned.
Nikki stopped, kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet up under herself on the sofa. “Please relax a little. The whole point of this trip is to de-stress after your dick of a boyfriend chose work over you. Again. Tell me you don’t have every single second of our vacation planned out with activities and wake-up calls.”
I bit my lip and stood up to get myself a drink from the kitchen.
“Gemma,” she called after me, the long low note of caution and fear resounding in her voice. I poured some pink lemonade slowly into a tall glass, debating whether or not I wanted ice. I concluded that I did, so I opened the freezer and began scooping tiny handfuls of ice cubes into my glass. “Christ, woman. If you think I am spending ten days in paradise running myself mad snorkeling and hiking and kayaking until I drop, you’ve got another thing coming!” I rounded the corner into the living room and saw she’d gotten to her feet, hunched over the coffee table. “Where is it? Where’s the schedule?”
“There isn’t one,” I said. Nikki rifled through my papers and travel brochures, completely messing up my system. “No, really, there isn’t one,” I said again. “There’s no schedule.”
“So, what? It’s all in your head? You’re just going to surprise me and keep dragging me all over the island whenever your watch tells you?”
“No,” I murmured. “I didn’t plan anything for while we’re there. I left it completely open.”
“Are you serious?” she asked, cautious. I nodded. “Really really? Like, no joke?”
“You know how I get tense with the act of getting there. I hate being late. But once we’re there…”
Her death gaze melted away, leaving her looking more ashamed than anything. “Oh. They’re all couples’ activities, aren’t they?”
I prevented my lip from quivering by taking a long sip from my drink, pressing my lower lip to the frosty glass. The lemonade desperately needed sugar, the tart bite of it making my eyes water and my lips pucker, but I was already invested, so I swallowed.
She rushed me, wrapping me up in a bear hug that made me choke a little. “I’m sorry,” she said into my shoulder. “I know this was supposed to be your big anniversary thing. Fred’s a dick.”
“Would you stop calling him that? He didn’t leave me; he’s just away on business.”
“Again.”
“Yes, again. But I knew he was going to be away a lot when we moved in together. I mean, he swears he loves being a field service tech, traveling all over the country. And though it may not be a glamorous job, he makes some serious cash.”
Her face told me she was holding back a few more choice words about him, most likely all negative. But she knew I wasn’t in the right mood to bitch about my boyfriend, so she remained silent.
“Okay. So. What do you plan on doing when we get there?” she asked, sitting back on the couch.
“Ocean,” I breathed.
“You plan to ocean?” she laughed. “I didn’t know ‘oceaning’ was a thing.”
“I hear the ocean is bluer than we’ve ever seen up here, and warm. And it just goes and goes forever in every direction. I plan on being in it as much as possible.”
