p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Author's Note/span/strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;": Thank you so many of you for reviewing and keeping up with this fic! I love that you all love it so much!br /br /Thank you Torry-Riddle for always helping me when I get stalled /br /Thank you Milena for being my beta for this chapter, and also for helping me when I get stalled out!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"All of you who love this story and keep up with it are all amazing! This is still nowhere near the end for Jai and Kayla, so definitely keep on reading!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Eight – The Surprise/span/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Before we knew it, the dreaded day was here – Friday. The day my love had to leave me to go onto a movie set and work for months, and we had to keep in touch via Skype, phone calls, and text messages. I'd been a crying mess the last two days, spending every second I could with Jai consoling me every time I lost it. Of course, the more he consoled me the more I remembered that he was leaving. This would make me break down all over again – go figure. I walked with Jai through the airport and we sat down, waiting for Keegan, Susanna, Eli, and Mel to get there. When I saw the four of them, I hugged Susanna tight./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, you." I offered a small smile to her, trying to keep myself from crying./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, how are you?" she asked me in a concerned tone./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm okay… can I talk to you about something, away from them?" I motioned to Keegan, Eli, Mel, and Jai. She nodded and we stepped away from them. When I thought we were ample distance away from them, I gave her a look that said it all. My face showed her how I was feeling and as she embraced me in another hug I completely lost control of my emotions, breaking down and bawling like a baby on her shoulder. I felt her move, still hugging me, and within a few minutes, I felt a different warmth. Not opening my eyes I continued to cry my eyes out, and when I took a breath, I breathed in the wonderful scent that told me it was Jai who had embraced me now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Shhh," he soothed, his hand over part of my head that had not been against his chest as I cried. "It's gonna be okay. I promise you, babe, it'll be okay." his voice was so calming as he continued to repeat the same things a few times like it was my lullaby. "Baby, please don't cry." he pleaded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I can't help it," I replied in tears. "I'm gonna miss you," I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No you're not," he said as if he was trying to hold back an emotion of some kind. I moved my head from his chest and gave him a quizzical look. I wasn't certain, but it almost looked as if he was trying to fight off a smile./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What do you mean?" I asked flatly. I looked from him to Susanna, who was grinning, and then back to Jai, who also started to let his grin show. "Okay, will someone tell me what is going on?" I waited for someone to give me a damn good explanation as to why they thought I wasn't going to miss my boyfriend. Without speaking, Keegan, Eli, and Mel all walked over and Keegan handed something to Susanna, who turned and handed it to me. I looked at it. It was a plane ticket./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This is why," Susanna said to me, her grin unwavering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What is going on?" I looked directly at Jai./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""While you were sleeping after crying on my shoulder Wednesday night, I called Susanna and we made arrangements for you to spend your last two weeks with me on set." I saw the excitement on his face as he spoke. I looked from him to Susanna./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""So then I'm-" I paused, unable to finish my sentence because I was trying to put it together in my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You're spending the last two weeks of your vacation with your boyfriend on the set of the new movie he's filming in Charleston, South Carolina," Susanna said for me. I stared at her in disbelief. "Surprise!" she grinned at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""But don't I have to go get my stuff?" I asked. Susanna shook her head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I checked your stuff in when we got here, I'm good friends with one of the ladies working today." I couldn't believe they had pulled this off without my knowledge. I turned to Jai./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""But all that stuff you said about you were going to miss me and-" I trailed off and he chuckled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Baby, I'm an actor for a reason," he paused. "I knew the plan the entire time, so I just had to get you believing that this was happening and you weren't coming with me. Until today, anyway." I stood there in amazement./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You two still need to go through security and get to where you need to be, so give us hugs." Susanna directed to us. I hugged her tight and whispered that I loved her, and she told me she loved me as well. I hugged Keegan, Eli, and Mel, and Jai took my hand leading me towards security./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When our flight was called, we boarded the plane. Luckily, we were able to sit together, and after I sat down, Jai handed me my MP3 player and headphones./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""How did you get my MP3 player?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Susanna took it out of your bag before getting it checked when she brought it and handed it to me while you were hugging Keegan, Eli, and Mel." he grinned proudly; like he'd managed to surprise me again. "She told me you don't fly well."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I handle being in the air just fine," I explained. "It's the takeoff and landing that I have issues with." I only put one headphone in my ear so I could hear him and my music at the same time./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Well if you get scared, hold onto me. I'll protect you," he said. I grinned at him and leaned to plant a kiss softly, but lovingly, onto his lips./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Aw! How cute! You two look like a very strong couple!" I heard a woman's voice. I turned and saw a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties smiling at us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you." we both replied simultaneously before I laid my head on his shoulder. He turned his head and kissed my forehead./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm falling for you, too." I barely heard him say./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What?" I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him, unsure I heard him right./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I said, I'm falling for you too." he looked into my eyes. "I know I didn't exactly say it the other night, but I wanted to tell you in case you were unsure," he paused. "I'm falling for you, too," he repeated himself. I had no words at that moment, so I just grinned at him as the tears welled up in my eyes. He leaned over and kissed me. After that, I took my headphones and MP3 player and put them away. "What are you doing?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I don't need them. Not this time." I told him. "I have something better than music to keep me relaxed," I added, looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. When he smiled, I could have sworn I saw a twinkle in one of them. I laid my head on his shoulder again, falling asleep before we even took off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Kayla," I heard his sweet voice, bringing me out of dreamland./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hm?" I replied, not wanting to open my eyes. I wiggled my head against his shoulder, not wanting to get up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Honey we're here," he said. "The flight landed, you need to get up so we can get off the plane."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Huh?" I popped my head up and pushed my eyes open wide at his words. He chuckled at me before speaking again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Calm down," he soothed. "We just landed. You slept through the entire flight." I could see the surprised look on his face. I'd never slept as well as I did on his arm on the way here. Ever. So, while he had a surprised look, I was far more shocked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I slept the ementire/em time?" I asked in amazement. He nodded. "What did you do?" I asked, feeling a little guilty. He held up his phone and I saw that the battery was low./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I played games on my phone the whole way." I saw his grin and let out a slight giggle before we stood up to get off the plane. When we arrived, Jai grabbed our bags – Susanna had already told him what my bag looked like as well because he was able to grab mine for me with ease./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I can carry my bag, babe," I told him. He shook his head at me and I gave him a 'what do you mean' look./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm the big, strong, man. It's emmy/em job to carry the bags." He said to me as we kept walking. We got near the doors that lead out of the airport and saw a man standing between the doors and the escalator we were getting off. He was holding a white dry-erase board that said 'Kayla Stone' on it – my name. I gave Jai the same look I gave him when he mentioned it was his job to carry the bags and he /"Your name on the board would draw less attention than mine. First, middle or last," he explained. I nodded, understanding. The man offered to take the bags from Jai and he refused politely, telling the man to simply open the trunk when we got to the car. I grinned. My boyfriend – Jai Courtney – was still a down-to-earth type guy despite being in the movie industry. I couldn't believe this was my life. It was amazing to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"The driver moved to open the door for me, but Jai stopped him. Instead, emJai/em opened the door for me as the driver got into the car. I watched as Jai closed the door and moved to the other side of the car, getting in beside me. Once situated, we were off to the hotel we were staying in. After a thirty-minute drive, we reached a cute two-story cottage out in the middle of the country. The driver pulled into the driveway, next to a slate gray Audi Q5, and shut off the car./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What are we doing here?" I asked. Jai grinned at me and it clicked. Another surprise./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This is where we're staying," he said to me as he got the bags out of the trunk and the driver unlocked the front door for us. We made our way inside and the driver gave Jai the keys. They talked for a few before the driver left and Jai started carrying our bags upstairs to the master bedroom./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai, let me carry something before you hurt yourself." I pleaded, eager to be of some use./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Not a chance. I can carry them, sweetheart." I heard his voice cascade through the hall as he walked upstairs with me right behind him. When we reached the bedroom, I noticed it was fully furnished. I was surprised. I couldn't believe how nice it looked, too. It was wonderful./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This place is amazing," I told Jai. He grinned at me in return./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Start unpacking, baby. We're going to be here a while." he encouraged. It hit me then that I was going to be here with him for two weeks, and I realized I'd never spent that much time with any /"Babe? What's wrong?" I saw him sit down on the bed with a concerned expression. He must have seen me deep in thought./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Uh- I just realized that I've never spent 2 whole weeks with anyone I've been in a relationship with," I confessed. "Actually," I corrected myself. "I've never spent a full 2 weeks with emany/em man I wasn't related to," I told him. He got up and walked over to me, taking my hands in his. I met his gaze with one of my own as I waited to see what he'd say to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This is going to be great," he encouraged. "I promise. There's no need to be nervous." I had no idea how he could tell I was nervous, but he was spot on. I was nervous. emVery/em /"Go ahead and get your things unpacked." he smiled at me sweetly. "There's plenty of room for both of us to have our stuff in here." he walked over to his bag and started taking things out after opening it. I did the same, and it wasn't long before both of us were done./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm gonna take a walk through the house," I told him as I stopped in the doorway of the bedroom. "Wanna come with me?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Sure," he smiled. "Let's take a tour of this cute little cottage of ours." he took my hand and we walked through each of the other three rooms that were upstairs. One was a guest bedroom, the second a computer room – with two Alienware desktop computers set up, and the third was a workout room with a balcony that showed the small pond in the backyard and the many acres of the field behind that. It was beautiful and serene being out in the middle of nowhere at this little cottage. Every room in the house was fully furnished and it all worked perfectly with the house. It was amazing. When we made our way downstairs and through the living room, we saw the kitchen, dining room, a second and smaller living room, and a screened-in room connecting to the backyard. We stood on the concrete of the screened-in room for a few moments, taking in the beautiful view of trees lined with Spanish moss, and mountains farther into the distance. This house was gorgeous. After the tour, we sat down on the couch in the living room and I heard my stomach /"Why don't we go out for dinner, and then we can go grocery shopping?" he asked, acknowledging that my body told him I was hungry. As I was about to answer, I heard his stomach do the same and I giggled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That sounds good to me," I replied. "Let me get changed first though, okay?" I stood up and headed towards our room. He must have thought it was a good idea because he followed me up the stairs. I grabbed a cute shirt and jean shorts before making my way to the bathroom to change. After I finished, I brushed my teeth and came out of the bathroom. When I came out, Jai was in a pair of khaki shorts and a blue striped t-shirt. He slid past me and went into the bathroom. I heard the water turn on and then heard him brushing his teeth. He planted a wonderful mint tasting kiss on my lips as he walked past me, heading downstairs./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"We got into the car, and he pulled out of the driveway. I put on the radio and started flipping through the channels before he stopped me at what sounded like the beginning of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wait, wait! Leave it here babe." I stopped flipping through the channels and he started singing along. Within the first fifteen seconds of him singing along, I was laughing so hard there were tears in my /"What's so funny?" he asked me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You singing that song." I chuckled out after taking a breath./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What's so funny about it?" he looked like he had no idea, which made me laugh even more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You're singing about enjoying big butts. Think about it, babe." I explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, so? I like a woman who has an ass versus some skinny chick who has nothing back there," he explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Really?" I asked. I was starting to wonder if we were really having this conversation or if it was all in my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Really," he said. "You know, you may not have caught me but I'm extremely guilty of staring at your ass. Often," he confessed. I blushed at his words and a whole new giggle escaped my lips. As we pulled into the sandwich shop down the road from the grocery store, I smiled at the idea of us – him and I. It felt as if we were living together, and I loved it. It was the best feeling in the world. After we ate, we drove to the grocery store and Jai pushed the cart. I walked beside him and we started talking about sides to go with the meal ideas we'd discussed at the sandwich shop while we were eating. We started at the back of the store and worked our way back towards the fruit. Standing over by the pork, I was in the middle of asking Jai a question when someone interrupted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""What up sexy?" I look over to the deep voice to see some guy with his pants hanging low enough that I could see his underwear. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Jai and he ignored them as /"Hey emgirl/em" the guy got close enough that I could feel his breath on me. I turned the front of my body more towards Jai and continued to ignore the obnoxious person when he grabbed my /"Bitch, I'm talking to you!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Alright, that's emenough/em!" Jai stepped between me and the guy and forced him to let go of me. I quickly hid behind Jai, scared /"I think it's time you leave my girlfriend alone, mate." I heard his Australian accent clear as day./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""How about you fuck off, bro? We were hitting on this fine piece of ass right here." a second guy attempted to step toward me but Jai blocked him off, too./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""No man, I don't think so. I think you were disrespecting my girlfriend." I watched from behind Jai as he came to my defense. And so many women in this world believe that chivalry is dead? I emdon't/em agree./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Well why don't you get the hell out of the way so we can find out straight from emher/em?" the first guy tried to get past Jai and Jai shoved him backward. As if he knew the guy would swing at him, Jai gently pushed me back a little bit so that I wasn't so close behind him. When the guy swung at Jai, he ducked and retaliated with a punch of his own – knocking the guy down in one hit. The second guy stepped back and lifted his leg, swinging it at Jai. Jai caught it in his hands and lifted it so the guy lost his balance and fell on the floor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""I already told you both," Jai said while they were still on the ground. "I don't think you guys were trying to hit on anyemthing/em, nor anyemone/em. I think you were disrespecting my girlfriend. Now, I think it's best if you resume your shopping as we resume ours before the store security removes you." Before the guys could decide whether to leave us alone or resume a brawl with Jai, security came up and grabbed them both. I saw the store manager approaching us as well./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""I am so very sorry," he looked from Jai to me as he spoke. "We do not tolerate customers disrespecting and attempting to brawl with other customers. Please continue your shopping while we call the police and get these two arrested," he explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you, sir. I appreciate it greatly. I am sorry that I had to use violence to get them to back off." Jai apologized, putting his arm around me gently./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Your reaction was purely self-defense. What these two clowns were doing was completely uncalled for and ridiculous. You two have a nice day. We will take care of this and show the police the footage on the camera." and with that, the manager walked away. I wrapped my arms around Jai's waist and laid my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and then rested his chin in the same place his lips were./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Are you okay?" he lifted my chin to look at him. I could see the concern on his face. I nodded. "You sure?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Just a little shaken up, I'll be okay," I reassured him with a smile. He kissed me softly and I linked arms with him as we continued our shopping./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got back to the cottage we're staying in, we brought in the groceries and started putting them away. After I finished putting away the last of what I'd grabbed, I went out onto the screened-in room. After ten or fifteen minutes, I felt Jai's arms around me and his chest against my back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Whatcha thinkin' about?" he asked softly in my ear. I smiled before answering him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""That I'm thankful for you." I turned to look him in the eyes. "You protected me today. I am so happy that you did." I smiled at him. He planted a kiss on my lips and smiled at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""I did what any good man would have, baby. That's what good guys do," he told me modestly. I kissed him softly, but with passion. He grabbed the chair that was sitting a few steps away and sat down, leading me to him with my hand. I sat in his lap and he put his arms around /"You deserve to be treated with the utmost respect," he told me. "You deserve the best of the best, and I will always do my damnedest to give that to you." he looked at me sincerely. I was definitely in love with him. He kept me safe, made me feel the most comfortable I'd ever been and he treated me like a queen. I couldn't imagine my life any better than how it is now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"All of you who love this story and keep up with it are all amazing! This is still nowhere near the end for Jai and Kayla, so definitely keep on reading!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Eight – The Surprise/span/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Before we knew it, the dreaded day was here – Friday. The day my love had to leave me to go onto a movie set and work for months, and we had to keep in touch via Skype, phone calls, and text messages. I'd been a crying mess the last two days, spending every second I could with Jai consoling me every time I lost it. Of course, the more he consoled me the more I remembered that he was leaving. This would make me break down all over again – go figure. I walked with Jai through the airport and we sat down, waiting for Keegan, Susanna, Eli, and Mel to get there. When I saw the four of them, I hugged Susanna tight./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, you." I offered a small smile to her, trying to keep myself from crying./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, how are you?" she asked me in a concerned tone./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm okay… can I talk to you about something, away from them?" I motioned to Keegan, Eli, Mel, and Jai. She nodded and we stepped away from them. When I thought we were ample distance away from them, I gave her a look that said it all. My face showed her how I was feeling and as she embraced me in another hug I completely lost control of my emotions, breaking down and bawling like a baby on her shoulder. I felt her move, still hugging me, and within a few minutes, I felt a different warmth. Not opening my eyes I continued to cry my eyes out, and when I took a breath, I breathed in the wonderful scent that told me it was Jai who had embraced me now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Shhh," he soothed, his hand over part of my head that had not been against his chest as I cried. "It's gonna be okay. I promise you, babe, it'll be okay." his voice was so calming as he continued to repeat the same things a few times like it was my lullaby. "Baby, please don't cry." he pleaded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I can't help it," I replied in tears. "I'm gonna miss you," I told him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No you're not," he said as if he was trying to hold back an emotion of some kind. I moved my head from his chest and gave him a quizzical look. I wasn't certain, but it almost looked as if he was trying to fight off a smile./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What do you mean?" I asked flatly. I looked from him to Susanna, who was grinning, and then back to Jai, who also started to let his grin show. "Okay, will someone tell me what is going on?" I waited for someone to give me a damn good explanation as to why they thought I wasn't going to miss my boyfriend. Without speaking, Keegan, Eli, and Mel all walked over and Keegan handed something to Susanna, who turned and handed it to me. I looked at it. It was a plane ticket./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This is why," Susanna said to me, her grin unwavering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What is going on?" I looked directly at Jai./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""While you were sleeping after crying on my shoulder Wednesday night, I called Susanna and we made arrangements for you to spend your last two weeks with me on set." I saw the excitement on his face as he spoke. I looked from him to Susanna./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""So then I'm-" I paused, unable to finish my sentence because I was trying to put it together in my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You're spending the last two weeks of your vacation with your boyfriend on the set of the new movie he's filming in Charleston, South Carolina," Susanna said for me. I stared at her in disbelief. "Surprise!" she grinned at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""But don't I have to go get my stuff?" I asked. Susanna shook her head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I checked your stuff in when we got here, I'm good friends with one of the ladies working today." I couldn't believe they had pulled this off without my knowledge. I turned to Jai./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""But all that stuff you said about you were going to miss me and-" I trailed off and he chuckled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Baby, I'm an actor for a reason," he paused. "I knew the plan the entire time, so I just had to get you believing that this was happening and you weren't coming with me. Until today, anyway." I stood there in amazement./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You two still need to go through security and get to where you need to be, so give us hugs." Susanna directed to us. I hugged her tight and whispered that I loved her, and she told me she loved me as well. I hugged Keegan, Eli, and Mel, and Jai took my hand leading me towards security./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"When our flight was called, we boarded the plane. Luckily, we were able to sit together, and after I sat down, Jai handed me my MP3 player and headphones./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""How did you get my MP3 player?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Susanna took it out of your bag before getting it checked when she brought it and handed it to me while you were hugging Keegan, Eli, and Mel." he grinned proudly; like he'd managed to surprise me again. "She told me you don't fly well."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I handle being in the air just fine," I explained. "It's the takeoff and landing that I have issues with." I only put one headphone in my ear so I could hear him and my music at the same time./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Well if you get scared, hold onto me. I'll protect you," he said. I grinned at him and leaned to plant a kiss softly, but lovingly, onto his lips./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Aw! How cute! You two look like a very strong couple!" I heard a woman's voice. I turned and saw a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties smiling at us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you." we both replied simultaneously before I laid my head on his shoulder. He turned his head and kissed my forehead./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm falling for you, too." I barely heard him say./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What?" I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him, unsure I heard him right./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I said, I'm falling for you too." he looked into my eyes. "I know I didn't exactly say it the other night, but I wanted to tell you in case you were unsure," he paused. "I'm falling for you, too," he repeated himself. I had no words at that moment, so I just grinned at him as the tears welled up in my eyes. He leaned over and kissed me. After that, I took my headphones and MP3 player and put them away. "What are you doing?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I don't need them. Not this time." I told him. "I have something better than music to keep me relaxed," I added, looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. When he smiled, I could have sworn I saw a twinkle in one of them. I laid my head on his shoulder again, falling asleep before we even took off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Kayla," I heard his sweet voice, bringing me out of dreamland./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hm?" I replied, not wanting to open my eyes. I wiggled my head against his shoulder, not wanting to get up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Honey we're here," he said. "The flight landed, you need to get up so we can get off the plane."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Huh?" I popped my head up and pushed my eyes open wide at his words. He chuckled at me before speaking again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Calm down," he soothed. "We just landed. You slept through the entire flight." I could see the surprised look on his face. I'd never slept as well as I did on his arm on the way here. Ever. So, while he had a surprised look, I was far more shocked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I slept the ementire/em time?" I asked in amazement. He nodded. "What did you do?" I asked, feeling a little guilty. He held up his phone and I saw that the battery was low./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I played games on my phone the whole way." I saw his grin and let out a slight giggle before we stood up to get off the plane. When we arrived, Jai grabbed our bags – Susanna had already told him what my bag looked like as well because he was able to grab mine for me with ease./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I can carry my bag, babe," I told him. He shook his head at me and I gave him a 'what do you mean' look./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm the big, strong, man. It's emmy/em job to carry the bags." He said to me as we kept walking. We got near the doors that lead out of the airport and saw a man standing between the doors and the escalator we were getting off. He was holding a white dry-erase board that said 'Kayla Stone' on it – my name. I gave Jai the same look I gave him when he mentioned it was his job to carry the bags and he /"Your name on the board would draw less attention than mine. First, middle or last," he explained. I nodded, understanding. The man offered to take the bags from Jai and he refused politely, telling the man to simply open the trunk when we got to the car. I grinned. My boyfriend – Jai Courtney – was still a down-to-earth type guy despite being in the movie industry. I couldn't believe this was my life. It was amazing to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"The driver moved to open the door for me, but Jai stopped him. Instead, emJai/em opened the door for me as the driver got into the car. I watched as Jai closed the door and moved to the other side of the car, getting in beside me. Once situated, we were off to the hotel we were staying in. After a thirty-minute drive, we reached a cute two-story cottage out in the middle of the country. The driver pulled into the driveway, next to a slate gray Audi Q5, and shut off the car./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What are we doing here?" I asked. Jai grinned at me and it clicked. Another surprise./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This is where we're staying," he said to me as he got the bags out of the trunk and the driver unlocked the front door for us. We made our way inside and the driver gave Jai the keys. They talked for a few before the driver left and Jai started carrying our bags upstairs to the master bedroom./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Jai, let me carry something before you hurt yourself." I pleaded, eager to be of some use./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Not a chance. I can carry them, sweetheart." I heard his voice cascade through the hall as he walked upstairs with me right behind him. When we reached the bedroom, I noticed it was fully furnished. I was surprised. I couldn't believe how nice it looked, too. It was wonderful./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This place is amazing," I told Jai. He grinned at me in return./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Start unpacking, baby. We're going to be here a while." he encouraged. It hit me then that I was going to be here with him for two weeks, and I realized I'd never spent that much time with any /"Babe? What's wrong?" I saw him sit down on the bed with a concerned expression. He must have seen me deep in thought./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Uh- I just realized that I've never spent 2 whole weeks with anyone I've been in a relationship with," I confessed. "Actually," I corrected myself. "I've never spent a full 2 weeks with emany/em man I wasn't related to," I told him. He got up and walked over to me, taking my hands in his. I met his gaze with one of my own as I waited to see what he'd say to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""This is going to be great," he encouraged. "I promise. There's no need to be nervous." I had no idea how he could tell I was nervous, but he was spot on. I was nervous. emVery/em /"Go ahead and get your things unpacked." he smiled at me sweetly. "There's plenty of room for both of us to have our stuff in here." he walked over to his bag and started taking things out after opening it. I did the same, and it wasn't long before both of us were done./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I'm gonna take a walk through the house," I told him as I stopped in the doorway of the bedroom. "Wanna come with me?" I asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Sure," he smiled. "Let's take a tour of this cute little cottage of ours." he took my hand and we walked through each of the other three rooms that were upstairs. One was a guest bedroom, the second a computer room – with two Alienware desktop computers set up, and the third was a workout room with a balcony that showed the small pond in the backyard and the many acres of the field behind that. It was beautiful and serene being out in the middle of nowhere at this little cottage. Every room in the house was fully furnished and it all worked perfectly with the house. It was amazing. When we made our way downstairs and through the living room, we saw the kitchen, dining room, a second and smaller living room, and a screened-in room connecting to the backyard. We stood on the concrete of the screened-in room for a few moments, taking in the beautiful view of trees lined with Spanish moss, and mountains farther into the distance. This house was gorgeous. After the tour, we sat down on the couch in the living room and I heard my stomach /"Why don't we go out for dinner, and then we can go grocery shopping?" he asked, acknowledging that my body told him I was hungry. As I was about to answer, I heard his stomach do the same and I giggled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That sounds good to me," I replied. "Let me get changed first though, okay?" I stood up and headed towards our room. He must have thought it was a good idea because he followed me up the stairs. I grabbed a cute shirt and jean shorts before making my way to the bathroom to change. After I finished, I brushed my teeth and came out of the bathroom. When I came out, Jai was in a pair of khaki shorts and a blue striped t-shirt. He slid past me and went into the bathroom. I heard the water turn on and then heard him brushing his teeth. He planted a wonderful mint tasting kiss on my lips as he walked past me, heading downstairs./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"We got into the car, and he pulled out of the driveway. I put on the radio and started flipping through the channels before he stopped me at what sounded like the beginning of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wait, wait! Leave it here babe." I stopped flipping through the channels and he started singing along. Within the first fifteen seconds of him singing along, I was laughing so hard there were tears in my /"What's so funny?" he asked me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You singing that song." I chuckled out after taking a breath./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What's so funny about it?" he looked like he had no idea, which made me laugh even more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You're singing about enjoying big butts. Think about it, babe." I explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yeah, so? I like a woman who has an ass versus some skinny chick who has nothing back there," he explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Really?" I asked. I was starting to wonder if we were really having this conversation or if it was all in my head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Really," he said. "You know, you may not have caught me but I'm extremely guilty of staring at your ass. Often," he confessed. I blushed at his words and a whole new giggle escaped my lips. As we pulled into the sandwich shop down the road from the grocery store, I smiled at the idea of us – him and I. It felt as if we were living together, and I loved it. It was the best feeling in the world. After we ate, we drove to the grocery store and Jai pushed the cart. I walked beside him and we started talking about sides to go with the meal ideas we'd discussed at the sandwich shop while we were eating. We started at the back of the store and worked our way back towards the fruit. Standing over by the pork, I was in the middle of asking Jai a question when someone interrupted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""What up sexy?" I look over to the deep voice to see some guy with his pants hanging low enough that I could see his underwear. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Jai and he ignored them as /"Hey emgirl/em" the guy got close enough that I could feel his breath on me. I turned the front of my body more towards Jai and continued to ignore the obnoxious person when he grabbed my /"Bitch, I'm talking to you!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Alright, that's emenough/em!" Jai stepped between me and the guy and forced him to let go of me. I quickly hid behind Jai, scared /"I think it's time you leave my girlfriend alone, mate." I heard his Australian accent clear as day./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""How about you fuck off, bro? We were hitting on this fine piece of ass right here." a second guy attempted to step toward me but Jai blocked him off, too./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""No man, I don't think so. I think you were disrespecting my girlfriend." I watched from behind Jai as he came to my defense. And so many women in this world believe that chivalry is dead? I emdon't/em agree./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Well why don't you get the hell out of the way so we can find out straight from emher/em?" the first guy tried to get past Jai and Jai shoved him backward. As if he knew the guy would swing at him, Jai gently pushed me back a little bit so that I wasn't so close behind him. When the guy swung at Jai, he ducked and retaliated with a punch of his own – knocking the guy down in one hit. The second guy stepped back and lifted his leg, swinging it at Jai. Jai caught it in his hands and lifted it so the guy lost his balance and fell on the floor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""I already told you both," Jai said while they were still on the ground. "I don't think you guys were trying to hit on anyemthing/em, nor anyemone/em. I think you were disrespecting my girlfriend. Now, I think it's best if you resume your shopping as we resume ours before the store security removes you." Before the guys could decide whether to leave us alone or resume a brawl with Jai, security came up and grabbed them both. I saw the store manager approaching us as well./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""I am so very sorry," he looked from Jai to me as he spoke. "We do not tolerate customers disrespecting and attempting to brawl with other customers. Please continue your shopping while we call the police and get these two arrested," he explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you, sir. I appreciate it greatly. I am sorry that I had to use violence to get them to back off." Jai apologized, putting his arm around me gently./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Your reaction was purely self-defense. What these two clowns were doing was completely uncalled for and ridiculous. You two have a nice day. We will take care of this and show the police the footage on the camera." and with that, the manager walked away. I wrapped my arms around Jai's waist and laid my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and then rested his chin in the same place his lips were./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Are you okay?" he lifted my chin to look at him. I could see the concern on his face. I nodded. "You sure?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Just a little shaken up, I'll be okay," I reassured him with a smile. He kissed me softly and I linked arms with him as we continued our shopping./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;"When we got back to the cottage we're staying in, we brought in the groceries and started putting them away. After I finished putting away the last of what I'd grabbed, I went out onto the screened-in room. After ten or fifteen minutes, I felt Jai's arms around me and his chest against my back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""Whatcha thinkin' about?" he asked softly in my ear. I smiled before answering him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""That I'm thankful for you." I turned to look him in the eyes. "You protected me today. I am so happy that you did." I smiled at him. He planted a kiss on my lips and smiled at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 22px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia;""I did what any good man would have, baby. That's what good guys do," he told me modestly. I kissed him softly, but with passion. He grabbed the chair that was sitting a few steps away and sat down, leading me to him with my hand. I sat in his lap and he put his arms around /"You deserve to be treated with the utmost respect," he told me. "You deserve the best of the best, and I will always do my damnedest to give that to you." he looked at me sincerely. I was definitely in love with him. He kept me safe, made me feel the most comfortable I'd ever been and he treated me like a queen. I couldn't imagine my life any better than how it is now./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;" /p