She went quiet, staring at the frozen TV screen. “I’ve never left Louisiana.”
“What?”
“I’ve never been on a plane. Never had a passport.” She said it matter-of-factly, like it was the most normal thing in the world. “My mom got sick when I was fifteen. After that, there was never money for vacations or... anything, really.”
Something twisted in my gut. Here I was, complaining about tour buses and hotel rooms, and Mary had never even seen the fucking ocean outside of the Gulf.
“Then we’re definitely going somewhere,” I said. “Pick a place. Any place.”
She bit her lip, thinking. The glow from the TV cast shadows across her face. “You’re serious?”
“Maybe not about Iceland. The weather’s shit there.”
Mary set the ice cream tub on the coffee table and turned to face me fully, pulling her knees up to her chest.
“What? You can squeeze me dry for new Louboutins, but gonna chicken out because I want to take you overseas?”
She laughed, shoving my shoulder. “That’s different. Shoes I can sell if things go south. A vacation with you? Hmm.”
“We don’t have to go far,” I said. “Can go to Hawaii. Fuck — Canada, if you’re feeling adventurous.”
Mary studied me for a long moment, her green eyes searching mine like she was trying to figure out if I was serious or just talking shit. “Hawaii,” she finally said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I want to see actual blue water. Not the muddy brown stuff we’ve got here.” She smiled, and it lit up her whole face. “And I want one of those flower necklaces.”
“A lei.”
“Whatever. I want one.” She grabbed the ice cream again, spooning more into her mouth. “When would we go?”
“After the gig. It’s Friday, so we can catch a plane on Saturday?” I suggested, pulling out my phone. “We could film content for your OnlyFans. Mile-high, laguna fucking — whatever.”
“That could work,” she said, thinking. “Those vlog type things always perform well.”
I tapped my temple theatrically while I scrolled through flight options. “There’s one super early flight. Think you can wake up for 5:45?”
“In the AM?” Her eyebrows shot up.
“Okay, so that’s a no—”
“No, book it. We won’t go to sleep.” She sat up. “There’s the party after the show, right? Just gonna stay awake. Y’all probably can get some nose candy — or I can just snort a Monster and call it a day.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re not snorting a Monster.”
“Why not? You’re sponsored by Red Bull? Because that can also work—”
“No. Because you’ll end up vibrating through the plane seat and getting us kicked off the flight.” I pulled her closer, kissing her forehead. “I’ll keep you awake. Don’t worry about that.”
She grinned wickedly. “Oh, I’m sure you will.”
I booked the flights right there. Booked a beachfront rental on Maui that had an infinity pool and private beach access. The credit card didn’t even flinch at the numbers.
She was quiet for a moment, then launched herself at me, straddling my lap and kissing me hard. Her tongue swept into my mouth, tasting like chocolate and something else — something far sweeter than chocolate — happiness, maybe. Hope.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet. Wait till you see if I’m a nightmare to travel with.” I ran my hands up her thighs, pushing the t-shirt higher. “Could be a total diva.”
