Stars Align

Let's Get Up.

Dani~

Christian uses the paddle stick to follow James and Mikayla as they lead us further away from the shore. It's their last day and they fly out tomorrow while we fly out the next day.

I hold onto the waistband of his swim trunks as we come across some waves. We've been at the beach and pool all day and it's been amazing.

We drift with them until the waves aren't an issue anymore. Christian has me switch spots with him before sitting down in front of him. I put my feet in the water as he sits behind me.

He rests his chin on my shoulder as we look out toward the sun. We got out here at the best time. The sun is just about to set. The water is perfectly warm. It's just perfect.

I could honestly live here. I've loved being here. I'm also surrounded by the people that mean the most to me.

"Dani, a sea turtle is coming your way." I look over the board and let my hand rest on top of the water as a green sea turtle swims under us. It's the most amazing thing in the world. They're so unbothered about humans and it's amazing that they get this close. The turtle pokes his head above water as swims in the middle of our two boards.

You don't get to see stuff like that on the mainland. Christian taps my leg, pointing out to the sunset. He knows I'm a sucker for a good sunset.

I look back at him and just smile. He kisses my shoulder as I turned back to admire all of the amazing colors that the sky is producing. Nothing gets better than this moment. Winning a few championships is pretty damn cool but this right here. Tops everything. All because of who I'm with and why I'm here.

Christian brings me a cup of coffee as I sat on the couch doing too many things at once. I'm looking through the pictures I took on my camera and also thinking about putting together a wedding in a year. Meaning most things have to be done between now and March before things get too crazy.

We ended up flying back to Milwaukee because I needed all of my volleyball stuff and it was at the house. I packed all of that stuff and am sending that to our facility.

He sits down by me, putting his arm around me. He watches as I click through the photos on my laptop. "This is just on my mind, but, should we decide on a couple of major details?"

"Like?"

"Date, location. I don't think either of us is able to focus on a wedding when we're in the middle of our seasons."

"I was thinking about it earlier. Do you want to be out here?"

"No," I answer quickly. We have access to four different cities. Milwaukee is not my top location to be for a winter wedding.

"Okay. So LA, which isn't my top choice, or Scottsdale."

"Then I guess Scottsdale is the winner."

"Okay, any month in particular?"

"Not February. We're too busy."

"I think that cuts out December as well."

"We can't do October because we don't know what will happen with your season. I guess that blocks out the beginning of November too. But the middle of November would work."

"So January is our best bet?"

"What day?"

He pulls up a calendar from my laptop. "The sixth? First weekend? I think the farther we get into the month, the more we'll be spending working out and prepping for February. We could probably do one big Christmas out there to limit traveling for us."