All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Eighty-One

        Once we'd both showered the saltwater off, we watched a movie, one of Grayson's favorites. He refused to admit to having a favorite movie, so instead he had a small posse of favorites. So I made popcorn and we curled up in bed together, prepared to eat the entire bowl and honestly maybe an entire second bowl.

        It wasn't my kind of movie. A goofy comedy full of slapstick and one-liners that was so cheesy it was kind of funny. Grayson loved it, and having him laugh through the entire thing made me laugh along with him. As mentioned, we did eat all the popcorn, but with ten minutes left in the movie neither of us felt like getting up to make more.

        "Thanks for watching with me," he said as the credits rolled. 

        "What do you mean? We always watch movies together," I said, confused.

        He laughed. "Jackie, that was not your type of movie. You're into the dramas and romances. And occasionally the action movies."

        "Okay, you got me," I confessed. "But I still really liked it. It was funny."

        "That's something," Grayson said, stretching. "I'm going to put the bowl in the dishwasher. Be right back."

        While he was gone, I changed into plaid shorts and a white tank top for pajamas. I also washed my face, using my fancy rose face scrub. By the time Grayson came back, my face was sparkly clean and I was pretty much ready for bed.

        Grayson turned out the lights, but the room was still lit by the glow of the full moon streaming in through the skylight. His hair looked close to silver as he sat down next to me, pulling the sheets over both of us.

        "Thank you, Jacks. My birthday was amazing," he said softly, placing a sweet kiss under my ear.

        "I'm just glad you had a nice birthday," I murmured, my heart aching for him. He deserved a birthday with all the people he loved; instead he just had me. Unfortunately, that was a better birthday than he'd had in recent years.

        He gave me his adorable smile. "Night, Jackie."

        "Hey, come over here," I said, shifting to lay on my side. Curious, Grayson looked up. "You need birthday cuddles," I explained.

        "No, sweetheart, it's okay," he said, shaking his head. "We're tired, just go to sleep. Okay?"

        "No way. Get over here," I said, faking sternness.

        Smiling against his will, Grayson scooted over, letting me drag him into my arms. I cradled him to my chest, his head tucked beneath my chin. He sighed through his nose a little, making me smile. Kissing his soft brown hair, I whispered, "Go to sleep, Grayson."

        "No fair. You give me the sweetest cuddles ever and then I have to go to sleep?" he whined–except his eyes were fluttering shut.

        "Yes. We have our grueling day of relaxing tomorrow, remember?" I laughed. 

        "Yeah," he sighed. "Night, Jacks."

        "Night," I murmured, clinging to him as I closed my eyes. Within minutes, his breathing went deeper, signaling that he was asleep. I kissed his forehead, knowing I had limited nights with him left.

        In fact, there's only three days left in paradise.

        The next day was our day off, our day to relax. We'd planned it especially to do absolutely nothing, and I had to admit it was lovely. We ate breakfast before heading down to the beach.