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“What is all this?” she asks, looking at our cozy setup.
“It’s a surprise,” I say. “I thought we could watch a movie under the stars.”
She gasps and brings her hands to her face to cover her mouth. “Oh my God, that’s so sweet,” she says. “What movie is it?”
“You’ll see,” I say, winking at her as I wrap a blanket around us and hand her the popcorn. She takes the bowl and cuddles up to me, focusing on the wall as the projector illuminates the space and the sound booms around us from hidden speakers.
“I love this movie,” she whispers as the title flashes across the scene.
“I know. It’s a travesty that I’ve never seen it,” I say.
“Who told you?” she asks.
“Cass,” I say.
She laughs. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
As we watch the movie, I enjoy the way she laughs at the funny parts, sighs at the romantic moments, and comments on the characters. There's something so animated and expressive about her. Her reactions are almost more entertaining than the movie itself. But beyond all of that, I love feeling her next to me,her softness, her heartbeat. She feels so good in my arms.
I listen to the music of her laugh as the characters on the screen weave their love story and am glad I took this trip. I’m glad I met her that morning in the bar. I’m glad her cute pick-up line captured my attention.
As time slips away in the cooler, evening air creeps in. I feel her shiver. Pulling her close, I kiss her head as she snuggles into my embrace and sighs contentedly. I inhale her sweet scent, that perfume that's all hers, and I want to breathe her in forever.
With the movie forgotten, I notice the way she looks up at me and smiles. Her shining eyes show off her beauty, the kind that permeates her, inside and out.
And I realize that it doesn't matter that this is our last day together.
I can’t just walk away.
I want her in my life, no matter how difficult that’ll be to pull off.
She seems magnetized toward me as the movie credits roll on the wall. But before our lips can meet, a couple of loud kids run by, laughing as they jump on their parents who are packing up to leave. She smiles at me, and I wonder how I’m going to manage to keep her in my life.
Because she won’t like the man I am back home.
I don’t miss him.
She hasn’t met him.
And he has work to do.
Chapter Seven
Zoe
I can't believe it's over. The cruise, the fun, the romance, him.
It's time to disembark, but I'm just standing in front of him, holding both of his hands as I stare into his eyes. I can't get over how blue his eyes look when he's wearing this brilliant blue shirt, or how elegant his dark slacks are. He looks as handsome as the first moment I saw him.
Even though there's a smile on his face, I can see the sadness in his eyes.
He doesn't want to do this either. Split up and go our separate ways, I mean. But why do we have to?
“Thank you for everything,” I say.
He inclines his head a bit. “Likewise.”
I can feel him leaving me, if only his mind, and I don't know how to deal with the flood of emotions surging through me.
