Baseball Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend

Chapter 8: Dress

I anticipated the day after Christmas to be hectic in terms of traveling. Normally, a trip to Hawaii would have anyone excited. My circumstances were different than most, sure. I made this trip with the intent of celebrating my happy ever after with Justin. It was meant to be romantic, but in the end, it was another reminder of the heartbreak of the year. Didn't mean that I wasn't going to make the most of it, though. I was definitely in a better place mentally to enjoy this trip. 

Bree agreed to come along a few months back, so the ticket wouldn't go to waste. It was better for me, anyway. It'd been a while since we had a girls trip. After all my packing and double checking, I waited on her to head out to the airport. "Are you downstairs yet? I'm ready to go," I informed her in a very hasty phone call.

"Yes, and I have a surprise for you." I bade my dad a quick goodbye and ran downstairs, pleasantly surprised by Bree. "Well, shit." Bree and Travis were there, laughing at my shocked look. "Hurry up, weirdo. You're going to be late," Bree admonished.

"What's with the escort?" I asked, taking my boyfriend's hand. 

"So, I have good news and bad news. Bad news, I can't make it to Hawaii. Zack got me a last minute ticket to Boston to hang out with his dad and stepmom out there," Bree explained. "I guess they want to get to know me better after our meeting at the wedding. I finally get to spend time with one of his relatives that doesn't hate me."

"That really is bad. Bree and snow are not great friends," I told Travis. "She grew up in the desert. She doesn't do great in the cold."

"I'm sorry that I like being warm. Good news, boyfriend over here is completely free to hang out with you for the week."

"That's a fair trade." Travis was smirking from behind his sunglasses. "I doubt anyone would give up a free trip to Hawaii."

"I sure as hell wasn't going to," Travis said. 

"I'm doing this because I love Allie and I want her to wash away the shitty year. Enjoy it, Lawrence. You owe me. Merry Christmas, sweetie!" 

"I promise I'll bring you back whatever you want, Bree," Travis swore, giving her a big hug.

"I'll hold you to that." We made it with time to spare. Travis kept his head down to avoid being spotted. 6 hours in an airplane and a 30 minute drive later, we made it to the resort near the North Shore. It was pretty, tropical, and peaceful. I'd chosen it specifically for privacy and the fact that I could hear the waves crashing on the coast. The waves were going to wash away the shitty year, as Bree said. 

"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Bedford," the concierge greeted as we got the room keys. "We hope you enjoy your stay here."

"Oh no, we're not-"

"Thank you," Travis interrupted. I looked at him, wondering what he had in mind. "What? Can't I have a little fun?"

"You don't even like saying his name, but you'll pretend to be him?" He never liked to mention Justin by name, just called him 'the asshole' or the 'idiot'. It was kind of hilarious, really. Any one else could have interpreted it as petty. 

"Shh, we're on our honeymoon," he teased. Our suite was amazing. It was home for the next six days. There was a balcony that overlooked the shore, a giant bathtub that I knew I was going to be taking advantage of and the coziest looking bed. And it dawned on me - Travis and I hadn't actually slept together yet. That was going to be an interesting subject to broach. We grabbed some late lunch and resolved to watch the sunset before dinner.

"This is beautiful," I said, looking out at the orange horizon. We were sitting on the sand, both barefoot and taking in the ocean breeze. The view was amazing. "I could look at this and never get tired of it."