Liam stuck to Ollie’s side at the front desk while Jake and I fetched the SUV. “You should just talk to him. He’s mad you left him in the bathroom,” I explained as Jake pulled the car up to the entrance of the hotel to wait for Ollie and Liam.
“It’ll be fine. We go through this all the time, and I think he gets off on it. Liam’s dick-whipped. He’ll get over it by the time we make it to Gibraltar,” Jake said, and I pinched my brows and narrowed my eyes. “What? Don’t believe me? This is our thing. We fight over stupid shit just to make sure the other still cares, and to have a reason for angry sex.”
“Angry sex is actually a thing?”
“It’s totally a thing.”
Jake transferred to the back seat with Liam as Ollie slid in the driver’s seat with two coffees, and for the next five hours, we rode in a comfortable silence to Gibraltar.
I kicked my feet onto the dashboard and left the window halfway down. Ollie’s hand rested over my thigh as I drifted with the peaceful breeze, racing across the country of Spain, on the move to celebrate a fantasy we’d dreamt up in our heads for so long. The view captured me with every passing mile, and the warm sun hit my face as my hand surfed through the wind outside the window.
Ollie turned up the radio, the broken promises turned down, and he looked over at me, his eyes dancing with his knock-out smile. A child lived within us, seeing the world through brand new eyes and expecting nothing, only chasing freedom with the open road as our muse.
I could picture it, traveling all over the world with him. Excitement pumped inside me at the mere thought, and I kept my eyes open to not miss a damn thing.
And at around noon, we arrived. The giant crescent Rock of Gibraltar rested at the edge of the peninsula, and Ollie parked the car in front of the crystal blue waters and white sandy beach. I jumped out of the SUV, rushing to the shoreline without waiting for anyone else.
“Mia, your shoes!” Ollie shouted through laughter behind me.
On the way down, my fingers worked overtime to undo my laces before kicking off my boots and socks, leaving a trail in my wake. Emotions burned in my throat. Tears stung behind my eyes. The memory of us from two years ago invaded me.
"What's the first thing you're going to do when you get out of here?" Ollie asks, his fingers threading through my long locks as I lay over his chest.
I didn’t have to think about it. "Put my toes in the water. What about you?"
"Find you … then take you to the ocean," Ollie simply says, and he can’t see, but I’m smiling. "I want a life with you, Mia. I’ve never wanted anything more. Do you think we can survive the next two years? Think we’ll be able to make it?"
A sigh leaves my lips. "God, I hope so."
There is a sudden skip in his breathing. "I can't lose you," he whispers.
"You won't."
Sand flew up as I ran, and I didn’t stop until my bare toes hit the ice-cold shoreline, and a wave crashed against my ankles. My eyes slammed closed, hoarding tears that shouldn’t fall.
Then Ollie’s chest rested against my back as our fingers intertwined. “Now, love,” he whispered into my ear from behind. “Now, open your eyes.”
I blinked my eyes opened, and tears fell freely. Each one for everything we’d been through to get us here. The darkness. The torment. The death. One by one, they slipped over my cheeks as Ollie wrapped his arms around me. The water swimming between my feet was a reminder that this world was so much bigger than Dolor and the miseries of our past. Undiscovered moments, untraveled territories, an entire journey laid out ahead of us for the taking. We’d made it this far but would never forget where we came from or who we met along the way.
It was October 10th, 2020.
Ten-ten-twenty-twenty.
Jake had everything under control, and no matter how many times I silently repeated this to myself, it didn’t ease the nerves working against my bloodstream. Ollie and Liam had kept themselves busy yesterday as Jake and I went dress shopping. “You have to wear a dress, Mia. You’re not an animal for crying out loud,” had been his exact words when I’d told him I was good with a shirt and jeans. And I’d bought one against my better judgment, hoping not to be overdressed for the occasion and having no idea what I’d see Ollie in once we would arrive.
My reflection stared back at me in the mirror as Jake played with my hair, taking maid of honor roll into a whole other level. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” I asked, music playing from my phone somewhere over the dresser, hiding among the makeup and tools he was using.
“Shhh …” he said, patting the top of my head. “You’re distracting the artist.”
“Artist is pushing it.”
Jake twirled the desk chair around, turning me away from the mirror. “No more looking. You’ll see when I’m done.”
As soon as a groan left me, a knock sounded over the hotel room door.
Jake dropped the wand over the dresser and told me to sit tight with a finger out in front of him. “And don’t look,” he added before disappearing. The door opened, and Jake let out a squeal, coming back into the room. “Okay, I’m officially with the wrong bloke,” he gushed, and in his arms was a bouquet of origami roses with burlap and a light pink ribbon tied around the wooden stems. My heart jumped inside my chest, and I fought back the happy tears threatening to ruin my mascara.
Jake examined the roses. “What book are these from?”
