All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Eighty-Three

        "It's so quiet," I whispered, finally setting my paddle down on my board.

        "It's kind of weird," Grayson said, also in a hushed tone. "It's just the ocean and us."

        "Like I know there's civilization back there, but you'd think it's gone," I agreed, carefully sitting down.

        "Hey, keep that on," he said sharply when I fiddled with the buckles of my life vest.

        I groaned. "But it's so hot!"

        "I don't care, you're not drowning out here," he said, pulling out the thick straps of his own vest to let in some cool air. It was breezy out on the open water, but the tropical sun was so overwhelming that the wind didn't make much difference.

        "I should've packed sandwiches," I said absentmindedly as my stomach growled.

        "They would've gotten soggy," Grayson reasoned.

        I had a solution. "Vacuum them."

        "Vacuumed sandwiches?" he giggled. "A bit extreme for a snack, don't you think?"

        "Nothing's too extreme for a snack," I said rashly. "Besides, you've got to admit, you're starving."

        "We just ate lunch!"

        "That was over an hour ago," I said, letting my legs dangle in the deep blue water.

        Grayson shook his head, smiling. "We'll have sandwiches when we get back. And we have our fancy, large dinner later."

        "Will there be pasta?" I asked in a small, hopeful voice.

        He looked offended. "Of course there will be pasta!"

        "I'm glad you know me so well," I said happily, lying down. It was a moment of instant regret because thanks to the life vest, I wasn't sure I would be able to sit back up again.

        Grayson put his face in the water, a gesture I copied a second later because it was so hot. The cool water felt good on my hair, even if it was salty and therefore somewhat sticky.

        We bobbed on the gentle waves for what felt like hours. Finally we both agreed to head in, our skin just on the edge of close to burning. Grabbing out paddles, we headed back towards land. Unfortunately, we had to return the boards and paddles before six. Once we'd given up these treasures, we walked along the beach back to our villa, the sun casting long shadows.

        "It's so late, do we even want to bother with sandwiches?" I asked.

        "We need to eat something," Grayson replied, looking through the cupboards. "Here; we have chocolate bars."

        "That is not a healthy snack," I complained.

        However, he was waving chocolate under my nose. "Just to get us to dinner, which I have planned in forty-five minutes."

        It seemed that chocolate was sadly my only option. Reluctantly, I took the bar from his extended hand and thanked him. The sugar did satisfy my hunger.

        "Do you want to shower first?" I asked, tossing my wrapper in the trash.

        "No, you go first. I put your outfit on the bed," Grayson said, rummaging through the cabinets again.

        Now I was curious. "Outfit?"

        "Yeah, I got you something," he said around the pen in his mouth. That notepad looked like it'd seen ten years of hardship. Not to mention he was still writing things down in it.