Page 156 of Shades of Loyalty
The vibrations of the Harley slowly fade into the background as I immediately get up, not wanting to wait until I get to see the beach again.
“You should hurry up,” I grin at him while he just shoots me a viciously smile. “No need to rush. We have all the time in the world to enjoy this.”
A silent “pfft” is all I can say before I finally take his hand into mine, not wasting any time as I walk towards the beach.
The next time we get here, I’m definitely making sure Mary comes with us. She hasn’t seen a beach yet, but I’m sure she’d love it.
I need to get her here.
Once both of us stop right in front of the water, the waves slowly crashing against the rocks, Daniel looks at me. “What are you thinking about, pretty?”
I smile. “We should come here again more often. And we should bring Mary. She’d love this.”
A subtle hum is all he gives me before he glides back into his thoughts as well, both of us amazed by all the lights reflecting in the water.
Last time we’ve been here, we were the only ones. Perhaps because it was almost in the middle of the night. But even with a few other people around, I don’t mind it.
It makes me feel good. Normal.
Like I can interact with other humans without needing to shred any thought toward all the shit that’s been happening.
“You like it here, don’t you?” Daniel asks me softly. He steps closer to me, his hand now resting on my lower back.
“I love it here,” I respond, “Thank you for bringing me here. Back then and today. I absolutely love it.”
When I turn my face, the only thing I can make out on his face is a smile.
That’s all. A carefree, soft, genuine smile. He’s so different from just a few hours ago.
He’s not on edge. He’s relaxed and calm. He’s living life in the moment, not anxiously thinking of all the things that could go wrong.
And I love it. It’s what we’ve both been craving all this time. What we’ve bothneeded.
“Is there any place you’ve been wanting to visit? Maybe a city, or a country?” He suddenly asks me.
I just laugh, trying to cover my confusion. “I’m sorry, that just came out of nowhere.”
To my luck, he just laughs with me. “I know, I’m sorry, pretty. But tell me, is there?”
I think about his question. Honestly? I don’t know. Ever since I’ve got Mary in my life, I didn’t waste anysecond of my life lying to myself, telling myself I could afford taking us on vacation.
But now, with Daniel? I know he would take me anywhere. I could tell him I’d like to go to China, and hell, he’d probably have a flight ready for us within hours. Maybe even minutes.
It's… An overwhelming thing to think about. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love thinking about vacation places now that there actually is a chance for us to go. But there are so many possibilities, and not enough time.
Definitelynot enough time.
“How about Miami?”
He laughs. Daniel fucking laughs about it.
I scoff, acting hurt when in reality, hearing him laugh is always the highlight of my day. “What’s so funny about that, hm?”
“I’m sorry, I just… Miami? You’re joking, right?”
“I am actually not, thank you very much.”
“Look, it’s just that… We are in Chicago right now. I could take you anywhere in the world. And you choose Miami?”
