Butterflies

Family Trip

I frantically opened each drawer in the closet, grabbing clothes and shoving them in my duffle bag. I was originally supposed to be packed by now but my work day ended up taking longer than expected. I came home about an hour late and saw that Shawn had already packed the car. 

"You almost ready, babe?" he called from the first floor. 

"Yes. I'll be down in a minute!" I yelled back. After mentally checking off everything that I needed, I yanked open my swimsuit drawer and grabbed whichever sets I could find the fastest. Just before I was about to close it, I noticed a red piece sitting in the corner. It was the bra that Abby had convinced me to buy at the mall. I had completely forgotten about it. I quickly grabbed it and tucked it inside my bag, along with my bikinis. With that, I zipped it up and ran down the stairs, walking straight out the door. Shawn locked the door behind me and we both hopped in his car. 

"You ready to go see your family?" I asked. They had invited us on the annual Mendes Family Trip which Shawn seemed to be thrilled about. Because of his work schedule, he didn't have much time to see them. 

"Of course. I'm just warning you now, we can be pretty crazy sometimes." he laughed.

"Yeah, I've met them," I laughed. "But I love your family."

With that, he started the car and we began the long drive to the beach house that his mom had rented out. After four hours of listening to music, playing the license plate game, and talking about every topic to ever exist, we pulled up into the long gravel driveway. There were already many cars parked ahead of us. Sounds of laughter and young voices came from inside the screened in porch. 

"Shawn!" they screamed. The door opened and several kids came running out. "You're here!" 

"Hey guys! Man, you've all gotten so tall." he smiled. I walked up behind him and all of their heads turned towards me. "This is Rachel, my girlfriend." he said, gesturing to me. All of the kids smiled and said hello. The young girls seemed to have excited expressions on their faces. "Okay, you all go play. We are going to head inside and say hi to everyone else." Shawn spoke. He stood up and all of the kids ran back to the porch. 

"Those are my cousins." he chuckled. "There's a lot of them but you learn names pretty quick."

We made out way into the house where the rest of his family was scattered around the living room and kitchen. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to come greet us and take our bags. 

"Glad you guys made it!" his mom said, hugging us both. His sister, Aaliyah, then came out from around the corner and jumped on him. She turned to me, giving me a squeeze, then backed away so everyone else could have a turn. Once everyone settled down, Shawn and his dad picked up our bags and began walking up the stairs. We passed many other rooms that were full of suitcases and toys from the younger kids. He showed us to a second set of stairs that led to the top of the house. A loft room and bathroom were up there with windows all around, showing the beautiful view of the ocean. 

"You guys will be up here." he said, setting down my duffle bag. The sunlight filled the entire room, giving it an almost golden glow. "I'll leave you two to get unpacked. Dinner should be ready soon." With that, he closed the door behind him, leaving Shawn and I alone. I looked at him with a smile and jumped onto the bed. He followed my lead and both of us turned our bodies towards the window. The sky was a mixture of pink and yellow and from a distance, you could see about a dozen boats in the water. Some of his family were out on the beach, swimming and playing in the sand. We sat there for a few minutes, taking everything in. 

"I can't believe we get to stay here." he said. I sensed his eyes looking at me. With one arm, he pulled me towards him and rested his head on my back. I laughed as he shifted a lot of his weight onto me. He turned, allowing me to cuddle up into his chest. We laid together in silence for awhile before I heard him take a deep breath. 

"You know, this room is pretty quiet. I bet they can't hear us from down there." he said, sitting up. I began to laugh, knowing exactly what he was thinking. 

"You're such a doofus." I teased. He began laughing as well and flopped down on the other side of the bed.

"What? I'm just saying." he chuckled. I rolled over towards him and stopped with my face right next to his. 

"Maybe if you're lucky." I smiled. "But for now, we need to unpack." He crossed his arms in disappointment. I stood up from the bed and grabbed his hand, trying my best to pull him out. Shawn purposefully made his body go limp to make it harder for me to get him on his feet. We both laughed then finally, he rolled out of bed and grabbed his suitcase. As we began to unpack, he poked my arm with a playful expression on his face. 

"I'll get you next time." he grinned.