Our last day in San Ignacio was spent exploring Xunantunich, the second tallest temple in Belize and accessible only by ferry. It was by far the coolest to travel to. We arrived late last night to our small cottage near the beach in Corozal Bay. At the last minute, I found an alternate route that included a small detour for Preston to see one of the longest occupied Mayan cities. It’s one he has been talking about since planning the road trip. I couldn’t let him miss it. I was also excited to nerd out with him. Lamanai was occupied for over two millennia. The ruins were fantastically preserved and we were able to see construction from the 16th and 19th centuries. The history and culture in Belize is so rich.
Since we had a busy few days of travel, we’ve been lazy and spent most of the day today in the hammock together on the porch overlooking the crystal blue water. The breeze blows through my hair. Preston’s chest rises and falls in an easy rhythm beneath my cheek. His hand trails up and down my leg. I could stay here forever.
“What do you want to do for the rest of the day? I have tocall the girls. They have been on me so I need to get them off my back.” I rest my chin on Preston’s chest.
“Same, I need to call Miller. I haven’t talked to him in a while and he’s not letting me push him off with texts anymore.” He plays with a loose strand of my hair as he speaks.
“Our friends sound so similar. We should introduce them so they can talk to each other and leave us alone.” I chuckle.
“We could call them together.”
“Oh yeah?” Raising an eyebrow, I rub circles on his chest. I like the idea of introducing our friends. It feels permanent.
“Introduce them, tell them we are together, and hang up.” He teases, palming my ass.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“When are you talking to the girls?”
“In like an hour.”
“Let me see if Miller can talk then.” Pulling his phone out, he types out a quick text to his best friend.
An hour later, Preston and I settle in on the couch to video call our friends and fill them in. The news being that we are have officially committed to seeing where this goes once we leave Belize.
“I have to warn you though, the girls are a bit intrusive. They might ask questions.”
Preston presses his lips to my temple. “They can ask anything they want. I’m an open book when it comes to you.”
I click on the link to bring up the video conference app, making sure the camera is on. Preston and I are sitting practically on top of each other to fit in the frame of the camera. His head is resting slightly on mine as we lean into each other. We fit together perfectly at this angle.
Gabby and Tay squeal when they join the call and see us on video together.
Miller joins a second later with, “It’s about damn time.”
Preston and I just sit here with matching smiles on our faces.
Clearing his throat, Preston tries to wrangle everyone in. “Hey man, good to see your ugly mug,” he says to Miller before adding, “Hello, Gabrielle. Nice to see you again.” And then to Tay, “You must be Taylor. We haven’t officially met yet. I’m Preston.”
“I know who you are, hot stuff, but nice to meet you.” Leave it to Tay to hit on my boyfriend.
“I’m Miller, how you doing, ladies?” Miller pipes up sounding like Joey fromFriends. I can’t help but laugh at him.
“Hi, Miller, it’s nice to finally meet you. Preston has told me a lot about you,” I greet Preston’s best friend.
“They better be good things, or I’ll beat your ass when you get home.” Miller glares at Preston but there is no heat behind it. I can tell how close these two are from this one interaction.
“Preston, good to see you again. How are your charity projects going?” Gabby asks in greeting.
“They are going great. I’ve actually tasked Miller to help me with the on the ground efforts in Tampa. We’ve pulled together a lot of help for the local healthcare workers and others in need around the city. Thanks for your help getting that started.”
“You helped with that? Miller, nice to meet you. And yeah, thanks for the assist. I love getting involved locally. Do you work in the league?” Miller turns serious in an instant.
“Nice to meet you too, I’m Gabrielle. I work for the Music City Troubadours as their lawyer.”
“Sick,” Miller says, nodding.
“Uh, hello?” Taylor breaks in. “Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?”
