Roman tightened his arm around Amara's waist in an attempt to pull her even closer up against him. He was supposed to be asleep but he couldn't. This was their last night on the cruise. In a few hours they would be back where they started, and the three months long adventure was over.
He would go back to Tamina, cuddle his dog, and wait another month to get his house. She would find another place to live. He hadn't realized how much he was going to miss her until this second. She had brought everything inside him alive again. She had made him trust another person and believe in love again.
"You got a weird habit of breathing louder when you're deep in thought," she said.
He didn't know she was awake or that he had been breathing louder. She rolled around in his arms and looked at him through the darkness.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I don't want this to be over," he said.
"You can book another cruise or you can rent a vacation home so you can take a vacation with your dog," she said.
"Let me rephrase that," he said. "I don't want us to be over."
She placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it. He could see she was smiling at him through the darkness. He moved in and kissed her deeply.
"Come with me," he said.
"Where to?" She asked.
"Pensacola, Florida," he said.
She broke out in a grin and started laughing a second later.
"What?" He asked.
"I live in Orlando," she said. "It's not that far apart."
"And how do you feel about Orlando?" He asked.
"I hate it. I wanna move," she said.
"So you'll come with me?" He asked.
She started stroking his cheek again. There was something so comforting about her doing it.
"Are you sure you want this?" She asked.
"Yes," he said. "I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, and I've kept falling these last three months. And you know they say the true test in a new relationship is to go on vacation together. I think we passed that test with flying colors."
She sat up in bed and he followed right after. He wasn't sure what was going through her head in that second.
"I love you, Amara," he said. "If you don't feel that way about me, let me know. I won't get mad. I'll take the memories with me and cherish them. But I can't go without at least having asked you first to continue this crazy ride with me."
She leaned in and kissed him.
"I love you too, Roman," she said.
"So it's a yes?" He asked.
"Yes, let's do it," she laughed.
He laughed too and pulled her into his arms. He didn't care where this crazy ride would take them as long as she was by his side.
"I'll call Tamina the second we arrive to tell her I'm bringing you with me," he said.
"Are you sure she's cool with it?" She asked.
"She was the one kicking my ass about asking you," he chuckled.
"I do need to stop by Elias' house first to get the rest of my things. He should be at work though so a quick run in and out should do it. That way I can also leave my key and the engagement ring. I completely forgot I had it in my pocket the day I left," she said.
"In your pocket?" He asked.
"I never liked wearing it so I usually took it off when he wasn't around," she said. "I don't think I ever want to wear an engagement ring, Roman. I'm not against marriage but I don't like the whole ring thing. I'm not much of a jewelry type of woman."
"Noted," he pointed at his temple. "No ring ever. I'll propose with chocolate instead."
She snorted in laughter and leaned in to kiss him again. Everything was just so easy with him. She never knew things could be this way.
"Since none of us are getting any sleep tonight, how about we go up on the deck and watch the sunrise together?" She asked.
"What a great idea," he said.
They spent the last hours of the night on the deck wrapped in a blanket together. Once the sun had risen and they were getting close to land, they picked up their bags. They left the cruise and found their cars. He followed behind her back to Elias' house. They both parked and got out of their cars.
"Ivory's car isn't here either. The coast should be clear," she said.
"We'll move fast," he said. "I'm in stealth mode."
She chuckled, took his hand, and gave it a squeeze. They walked up to the front door, and she unlocked it.
"Guess he hasn't changed the locks," she said.
They walked inside and he followed her into the bedroom. She opened the closet where the rest of her clothes were. A dress bag was hanging in her closet.
"Your wedding dress?" He asked.
"Probably," she answered. "If it is, we'll both get a good laugh out of it."
She unzipped the bag and pulled out the dress. None of them could retain their laughter at how ugly it was.
"What the fuck?" He laughed. "Did Tinker Bell fly by and throw up on it?"
"It's so ugly," she dried the tears from laughing from her eyes. "Ivory can wear that herself."
She walked over to open the drawers with her personal belongings. They worked fast packing down everything. They walked back outside just as Elias turned into the driveway. He jumped out of the car and looked at both of them with angry eyes.
"What the fuck, Amara?" Elias yelled.
"You're home early," Amara said.
"I installed cameras and an alarm. I saw you enter so I came home," Elias looked over at Roman. "Who the fuck is this?"
"Roman," Roman nodded.
"I don't give a fuck who you are!" Elias screamed. "Are you cheating on me, you bitch?"
"If that's what you wanna call it," Amara shrugged. "In my world we broke up the day I left and I waited an entire month before jumping on his dick. It was worth the wait. I always told your mother I'm great at sucking dick. I think Roman agrees."
"100 percent," Roman said.
Amara and Roman looked at each other and grinned. Elias got even more red in the face.
"You walk right back inside!" Elias ordered.
"I don't think so, buddy," Roman said.
"Stay out of this! In fact, get the fuck off my property!" Elias yelled.
Roman shrugged and walked down to his and Amara's cars with her bags. He got them in their trunks while keeping an eye on Amara and Elias in the driveway. Amara walked over to Elias, grabbed his hand, and placed the house key and engagement ring in it.
"No," Elias said lowly.
"Goodbye, Elias," Amara said.
"You can't do this," he said. "I forbid you to do this. I forbid you to leave me."
"I already left you three months ago. You don't get to make that decision for me," she said. "Tell your mother she's a horrible person."
"Fuck you!" He growled.
She just smiled sweetly at him before turning around and walking down to Roman. She pushed herself up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss before moving over to her car. Roman raised his hand and waved at Elias. Elias stuck up his middle finger in return.
"Charming," Roman chuckled. "Alright, let's go."
Amara followed Roman's car for hours. They stopped a couple of times on the way but eventually made it to Pensacola. They turned into Tamina's driveway, and she came out to greet them right away. She walked straight over to Amara first and placed her hands on Amara's shoulders.
"You're even more pretty in real life," Tamina said. "Welcome to my home. I made up the guest room for both of you."
"Thank you," Amara said.
"Come here, cousin," Tamina said.
Tamina pulled Roman in for a hug.
"Someone's excited to see you," Tamina said.
Roman broke out in a grin and ran up to the front door. He opened it and his dog jumped out into his arms. He fell down on his ass, laughing all the way while his dog kept giving him kisses. Amara walked over to them and sat down next to him. The dog immediately greeted her with kisses too.
"He likes you," he said.
"I like him too," she said.
They smiled at each other and she leaned in for a kiss while scratching the dog's ear.
"Pull up the pictures of the house again so we can start talking about how we want things to be," Amara said.
"Let's get inside first," Roman chuckled.
"We should take Tamina out for dinner tomorrow as a thank you for watching your dog this long," Amara said.
"Yes, you should," Tamina said. "I would love to try that new French place downtown."
"Book a table and we'll take you," Roman said.
"On it," Tamina said.
Tamina walked inside to find the phone number and make the call. Roman put an arm around Amara's shoulders and pulled her down to lie on her back next to him. His dog moved up between them. They just lied there looking up at the few clouds sailing by on the sky.
"Today is a good day," she said.
"Screw that," he said. "Today is a great day and there will be many more days like this to come."
She turned her head and smiled at him. He moved in the best he could with a dog between them and pecked her lips.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," she said. "Today is a fucking great day indeed."