SLOW BURN

25. not the time

The resort is about an hour and a half drive from Portland. It's close to Mt. Hood National Forest so it's surrounded by beautiful big, green trees. It's absolutely beautiful.

"Have you ever been here?" I ask Josh as we get out of the truck. It's around noon so the sun is bright up in the sky. It feels good against my skin. We had a late morning. Josh ended up sleeping in which is good. He already looks so much better.

"No," he says as he grabs our bags. "I Googled it." He looks around and grins. "It's great, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's beautiful."

"Want to know the best part of it though?"

"What?" I ask curiously as we walk.

He reaches for my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine. "It's just far enough that I can hold your hand in public."

His words make me a bit sad. He's so darn cute. I'm really starting to think that I don't deserve him.

We hold hands as we make our way into the building. We go to the help desk to get the room key. I notice the way the women look at Josh and I put my arm around his, feeling lucky to be the woman he brought here.

Our suite is up on the fourth floor. On our way to the elevator, I spot a big pool and a restaurant. I think they also said there were tennis courts. Not that we're going to play, I hope. I've never played tennis.

"Wow, this is really nice, Josh," I say as we walk in our room. It is huge. There is a big bed and a huge bathroom with a beautiful tub. It has a fancy white dining table, TV, and a balcony. "Oh my god, there's a jacuzzi," I say when I walk out the balcony.

Josh chuckles as he puts his arm around my waist. I turn my head and he crashes his lips against mine making me laugh. "We won't leave the room all day if we continue." I tell him.

He groans. "Let's get out of here then."

~~~~

We spent all day outdoors. We walk through the trees and enjoy the scenery. I can't believe I've never been here before. I really need to start exploring different cities more often. We have lunch then dinner later in the evening after we make our way back to the resort. It feels so good to spend normal quality time with Josh. It reminds me of high school, back when we would hang out during lunch and after school.

He tells me about his experiences during the times he was deployed and I tell him about college and how it wasn't anything like I expected.

"Well, what did you expect?" He asks as we make our way back into the room.

"I don't know. I expected it to be more fun. I spent most of my nights in my dorm pulling all nighters trying to finish homework."

He chuckles. "Couldn't have been that bad."

"I guess not." I smile at him as we walk in the room. "Remember how we always thought we would go to college together? I think we even planned where we would live one time." I laugh.

"That's true." Josh laughs.

"That would have been nice," I say with a smile and Josh turns his head to kiss me. "Hmm, can we go in the jacuzzi?"

"We can do whatever you want, Natalie," he says against my lips, his eyes burning with desire.

I press my lips against his and smile. "I'll go change."

"I'll be waiting."

I go into the bathroom and change into my bikini. I'm so glad I packed one. It's black and a two-piece. It's been so long since I've worn it. I put it on and look at myself in the mirror. I hope Josh likes it. I put my hair into a bun and head outside. I can see Josh already inside and I smile as I make my way outside. It's dark except for the lights inside the jacuzzi. Somehow, it looks magical. It's a great way to end a good day.