Chapter 22

"Ben, where are we going? I thought we were going to Disney? Why are we in St. Augustine?"

"Disney is for kids. I have much better things in mind," Ben teased as he pulled her along behind him as they made their way to the baggage terminal.

"What are you up to? I don't even get a hint?" she asked with a pout.

Ben touched her on the nose and replied, "You will see soon enough."

And she did see, and she loved it. Ben surprised her by taking her to a beautiful bed and breakfast called the Casablanca Inn. It was situated on the bayfront of St. Augustine, with horse and carriages making their way past on the street. Even though the temperatures were cool in December, they were not the only couple taking a winter break. Ben led her over to the check in desk and she was all smiles as the clerk told her they were staying in the Vilano suite. "Ah sir, that is a wonderful selection. Your lady will be sure to love it."

"Good, that is what I want," Ben replied with a grin. He whisked her away, up the stairs to their room. He opened the door for her and watched as Felicity placed her hands across her mouth in delight. "Oh Ben, this is so beautiful! Look! There is a jacuzzi in our room! I can't believe this. You did this all for me."

"Of course I did, I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you sure did. I can't believe we are here. It is so romantic. Did you see the horse and carriage rides out there? And that beautiful fort? We have to go see that. There is so much here....."

"Yes, there is a lot here. But we will get started on that as soon as we have a proper introduction to our nice bed," he said as he moved closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I suppose we could do that. I mean, we do have a wonderful bed. But I hate to mess up all those pillows," she said coyly, pointing at the enormous pile on the bed, situated in such a purposeful manner.

"Hmmm....let's see..." Ben said as he quickly removed them from the bed with one long sweep oh his hand.

Felicity giggled, saying only "Ben," as she looked at him longingly. He pulled her close to him, kissing her passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lost herself in their kiss. Exploring their getaway would just have to wait.

After having a wonderful introduction to their bed, they left their room to explore the city. They started by going on a tour of Fort Mantazas. A ferry boat took them to the fort, and they explored it along with other tourists, learning about the history of the city. The weather was cool, but they were easily warmed by wrapping their arms around each other. Felicity loved the fort, saying it was one of the most incredible places she had seen. They both marveled at the fact that people had died here, defending St. Augustine. Their lives seemed so simple compared to what the settlers of this great town had gone through.

Next, they explored the shops in downtown, loving the quaintness and friendly nature of the people. Every person they met shared something interesting about the town and it's people. They felt at home and the afternoon and early evening passed quickly.

"Ben, are you hungry? And my feet are tired from all this walking. Do you want to get something to eat now?" Felicity asked as they left the last store.

Ben looked at his watch. "Yeah, it is about time for our reservation."

"Reservation? What reservation? I didn't know we had plans."

"Yeah, we have to be somewhere in about an hour. Just enough time to go back to our room and get changed."

"I need to get changed? Ben, where are we going?" she asked with a smile and growing anticipation.

Ben leaned in and kissed her sweetly. "You will just have to wait and see. I just hope you brought something sexy to wear."

Felicity giggled, taking his hand, as they headed back to their room.

Ben led her into the Casa Monica hotel, with his arm draped around her shoulder. He was dressed in a simple, blue button down shirt and dress slacks. And she was stunning, in a deep green dress that showed off the green of her eyes. She looked around her in awe, overcome by the majestic surroundings. The room was full of beautiful antiques and incredible chandeliers. It was by far the fanciest place she had ever been and Ben had brought her here. "This place is so beautiful, I can't believe we are eating dinner here."

"Yep, and you may even get lucky enough to have me dance with you," he teased.

"What?" she laughed. "Now that will be a treat."

The maitre'd escorted them to their table, and Ben pulled out her chair for her. She sat down, blushing as she realized that Ben really meant to please her tonight. She felt so loved and was again struck by how incredible her man was. And he was completely taken away by her beauty, looking across the table at her with love in his eyes. They ordered their dinner and had a glass of wine as they waited. There was an organist playing romantic music and they listened as they talked about their day. As they ate their meal, they reminisced about the last trip they had taken, which was in fact the road trip. They never made it to Florida last year, and this trip was even better than what they had planned then. Ben joked that the last time he went on a trip with her, he ended up in a lot of trouble.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" she laughed.

"Oh, you know, I fell in love, that kind of trouble," he replied with a grin.

"Oh really? I didn't know that," she said in mock seriousness.

"What, come on. You knew that." When she didn't reply, only smiled, he continued. "Come on, you knew that. I mean, that's when I really got to know you."

"Yeah, and you thought I was crazy. You kept teasing me for being too serious."

"That was only because I didn't know how to match you. I mean, you intimidated me. I really wanted you, but I was worried you were too much for me to handle.'

"Too much to handle, huh?"

Ben laughed shyly, looking down. "You know what I mean, and we've already talked about this before."

Felicity laughed, "you don't like the attention on you, that's all."

"Yeah, well I think the attention should be on you. You look incredible tonight."

She blushed, looking down at the table. "You do," he insisted. "You are so beautiful." She felt his glance on her and looked up. He smiled at her and she could only smile back in return. He felt his love in the way he looked at her. Then he surprised her by standing up. "May I have this dance?"

She looked at him shyly then said quietly, "Yes."

He took her into his arms and led her out onto the dance floor. Though there were others around them, he felt as they were the only two people there. He lost himself in the smell of her hair, as he leaned his face into her neck. She felt his hands on the small of her back and sighed as they brushed lightly across her hips. She felt so safe in his arms. They moved slowly to the music, completely lost in each other. When the song ended, they still moved for a moment or two, as if driven by an inner music of their own. Then they came apart and Ben kissed her lightly before saying, "Let's get out of here."

Ben took her hand as they entered their door a little while later. He was determined to make this night one she would never forget. She felt her world spinning as he took her into his embrace and kissed her with a passion that she felt all the way to the tips of her toes. She felt his arms move to the back of her dress and turned so he could have access to the zipper. He rubbed his hands on her sides as he watched the dress fall to the floor. Turning back to him, she looked at him with a sweet smile that took his breath away and he felt himself ready for her kiss. It was full of longing, as she pulled at his shirt and unbuttoned it at the top. Unable to wait, he simply took it over his head, moaning as she rubbed her hands across his flat stomach. He leaned in to kiss her again as he felt her hands on the button of his slacks. Before long, they were standing naked by the running jacuzzi. One of them had taken the time to start it though neither recalled who at the moment. All they felt was the love they had for each other and they ached to be joined as one. Ben led her into the tub and pulled her close. She pressed herself against him, kissing and licking her way up his neck. He had his hands in her hair, caressing her head as she moved. Then, he moved her so he could look at her fully. He was overcome by her beauty and could wait no longer. He kissed her breast as she moved herself atop him. As their bodies became one, their mutual moans met in a lingering kiss. They moved slowly, enjoying the feel of each other. Then, feeling an imminent explosion within them, their movements became more rapid until they reached the end. Felicity collapsed atop him, completely spent. "I love you," Ben whispered. "I love you, too. More than you know."

The next day was equally wonderful as Ben surprised her by taking her to the Old Florida Museum and several art galleries. He loved seeing her so happy, as she shared her love for art with him. They had lunch at a nice little café and even though the weather was a bit cool, they chose to eat outside so they could watch the people pass by. Ben promised her they would take a horse and carriage ride later on that day, when he saw her looking longingly at one as it passed by.

Later, Felicity was looking at some paintings at the San Mar art gallery when a woman approached her.

"Where did your handsome beau go?" she asked.

"Oh, hi. Yeah, he went to use the phone. He is being all mysterious about some plans we have."

"Sounds like the perfect guy to me," the lady said with a smile.

"Yeah, he's pretty great," she replied, then looking intently at a painting.

"Do you like that one?"

"Yes, it's really pretty. I like what she did with the colors and the brushstroke."

"That's one of my favorites, too. I remember being very proud of it when I finished it."

"Oh, this is yours? Wow, you are so good. I mean, I can't believe you are the one who did this. How did you do it?"

"You're an artist aren't you?"

Felicity looked at her curiously. The lady continued, "Don't be shocked. I can just tell. You are looking at all of it with a serious eye, more than just a tourist or art lover would. Do you paint?"

"Yes, I do. But I am not sure I am that good. I mean, I don't know that I have this kind of talent."

"How come?"

"I don't know, I just am not so sure anymore."

"Well, an artist just knows. When you are an artist you know that what you are doing is right, that it's what you are supposed to do. It's what drives you. Maybe you need to remind yourself that."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right," Felicity said, thinking intently. Just then Ben approached.

"Sorry I took so long," he said, kissing her on the temple. "There was an accident out there on the street. Some woman fainted and I had to help her."

"Oh? Ben, that is so great you were able to do that."

"Yeah," he said blushing. "It's no big deal. Oh, hello," he said, noticing the woman. "I'm Ben."

"Hi, I'm Bev. I was just talking to your lady here about her art."

"Oh yeah, she is really great." Ben continued talking to the lady as Felicity watched, thinking about what the woman had said. True artists are always artists, they never doubt themselves. So why was she so full of that doubt?

Ben woke the next morning to the sound of the music playing on their alarm. Felicity continued to sleep, obviously tired from last night's events. They had made love for hours after their romantic carriage ride and dinner in town. He looked at her sleeping so peacefully, her hair spread out around her, shining in the early morning light. He never knew how he got so lucky, but he thanked his lucky stars each day. He brushed his hand across her cheek and watched as she started to wake. She smiled slightly before opening her eyes.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he replied, then grew quiet.

"What are you thinking about?"

He blushed, "nothing."

"Yes, you are thinking about something. I can tell," she said laughing. "What is it?"

Ben smiled, looking down at her hand rested now on his chest. "Do you really want to wait until after we graduate to get married?"

Felicity looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I- uh- I mean, we could get married sooner than that, I mean, if you wanted to," he said, his voice quiet as he said the words.

"Ben...."

"I was just thinking, I mean, why do we need to wait? I just- I want to marry you. And what if- what if we just did it, you and me. I mean, we could still have the big ceremony, for our families and all. But what if we- I mean, just the two of us....what if we eloped?"

"Wha....Ben..."

"Just think about it, we could do it here. I mean, the call I made yesterday, it was to the courthouse. We could get our license today and be married tomorrow..."

"Ben- I can't believe you.....are you serious?"

Ben grew very intent, looking at her. "Yes, yes, I'm serious."

A smile spread across her face as she could only reply "Oh, Ben." And she threw her arms around him, giggling with happiness and showering him with kisses.

So the following day, Felicity and Ben stood before the minister at the Amore wedding chapel. Felicity, dressed in her deep green gown from the previous night and Ben in a simple blue and grey suit that he had secretly packed for this occasion. Felicity could not stop the tears from running down her cheeks as the moment she had dreamt about for what seemed all her life was finally coming true.

Ben took her hands in his as he repeated the words he had been dreaming about the past three years. "I take you Felicity, to be my wife," he said quietly, watching as she took in a deep breath, hearing that special word. "To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, so long as we both shall live."

Felicity felt the world move beneath her as if she were floating on a cloud. Hearing Ben say those words, she grew so calm, as if the words he had just spoken had caressed her soul. She implored him with her eyes to never doubt these words as she repeated them back to him. "I take you, Ben, to be my husband," she paused briefly, letting a tear slip down her cheek. "To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, so long as we both shall live."

The minister then said, "With the power vested in me by the State of Florida, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

They both giggled slightly then moved closer, Felicity wrapping her arms tightly around him. Ben whispered, "I love you," before taking her face in his hands and kissing her for the first time as husband and wife. Then they embraced, Ben circling her around in utter happiness. "You are finally my wife," he whispered. And Felicity, still reeling from what had happened, could only laugh through still falling tears. This was the happiest moment of her life. And she was still floating.