Road trip

14- Dolphins

"Go freshen up Anna, I have a surprise for you." He said as we made it to the house.

I didn't question it, nor did I particularly want us to settle into the deep conversation of us and our options, so instead I went to the room and put a nice floral off the shoulder dress on over my bathing suit.

When I was done I met him back in the living room, only now he was actually wearing a shirt.

"Let's go." He smiled

"Go where?"

"It's a surprise, trust me you'll love it."

I sucked in a deep breath as he led us out to his truck and began driving towards the marina.

"The aquarium?" I asked confused.

"No, just be patient." He chuckled shaking his head as I nonchalantly admired his smile and the way his teeth perfectly lined with his jaw.

We drove for roughly an hour before he pulled into gulf world marine park.

"Where are we?" I asked slightly confused as to why we drove so far just to go to a marine park.

"Well, best friend who I love so much." He began dramatically, "there just so happens to be something they offer here that we couldn't do in Destin, but you'll have to wait and see."

I pouted as he got out of the truck, but excitedly followed him nonetheless.  His hand settled on my lower back as he held the door open and we walked inside.

I started looking at all the cool pictures on the walls as Austin went to pay for our tickets, I didn't know what he had planned for us, but I did know that no matter what I needed to be grateful that he was trying.

"Anna, come on." He smiled as we followed a lady who began explaining how to put on wet suits and other safety precautions. Honestly I was confused but trying to keep up when she handed us a wet suit and pointed us in the direction of the changing rooms.

When we re-emerged I walked straight into Austin, whom obviously looked great in his blue wet suit. I'll admit it hugged him in all the right places and the bulge in the front was definitely an indicator that he wasn't a kid anymore.

"Easy A," he laughed, "come on, it's time for the surprise." He grabbed my hand, linking our fingers and pulled me out to a giant pool where the same lady from earlier was.

As soon as the words 'swim with the dolphins' came out of her mouth, there was absolutely no stopping the smile on my face. I shot a glance at Austin who just winked at me before we both got in the water to get introduced to the dolphins.

"So today you have Clara." The instructor petted the nose of one of the dolphins, "and Paula" she petted the other. "Once you've had a few moments to get comfortable I'll explain how to swim around with them." She smiled as I began petting the dolphins.

I glanced at Austin a few times as he petted Paula, surprised to see him watching me too, with a big smile on his face. The instructor went over a few more things as we stood in the shallow end of the pool before she gave some sort of sign to the dolphins and instructed us to hold on.

Before I knew it I was being pulled through the water, trying not to laugh and swallow the water. I could hear the clicking of a camera, and before I could react Austin and Paula were side by side with me and Clara.

He leaned over and kissed my cheek as the dolphins began cheering in their adorable dolphin sounds. My heart was racing, but I was having too much fun to care about what we were or weren't. All that mattered was that right now, he had given me one of the best memories of my life.

Eventually the dolphins dropped us back to the shallow end of the pool where we got out and headed to change back into our clothes.

"When you walk out, the gift shop will have all the pictures ready for you as part of the package."  The lady informed us.

"Thank you, seriously." Austin smiled causing her to blush.

We met each other back in the front where Austin had already collected our pictures and stood waiting for me.

"Let's eat and then we can head back, I think tomorrow we can just relax before we leave for Louisiana?" He walked behind me to the truck.

"Sounds good. Can we get Chinese?" I asked as we pulled out and he typed it into his GPS.

"Deal." He grinned tucking a wet piece of hair behind my ear.

"Thanks by the way, for the dolphins." I paused for a moment. "It meant a lot to me that you did that."

....

The next morning we laid on the beach and soaked up the ocean. I was still basking in the excitement from the dolphins that I didn't even notice when he disappeared back to the house for a nap. I mean New Orleans was our next stop and it was four hours away, still I knew that I didn't want Austin to be the only one who had to put in the long days.

I grabbed my towel and walked back into the house. After a quick shower, I packed our things and set the suitcases by the door, making sure to leave out some travel clothes for us. Then I climbed into the bed beside him for a nap.

We may have another drive to make, but this time I would keep him company. He had given me the best gift ever with the dolphins and now I needed to repay the favor, with some good old fashioned best friend time.

I curled up next to him and rested my cheek on his chest as it slowly rose and fell. I could hear the steady thumping of his heartbeat as I let my eyes close and held onto him.

He was my best friend and yesterday had shown me just how much more I really wanted. I just wished we could always get what we wanted without all the inner conflict.

Still I let myself enjoy the feeling of his body beside mine as I rested my eyes and prepared for the next stop on our trip.

New Orleans.