The First Steps (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 1 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

❝honeymoon (pronounced 'hʌnɪmuːn or huhn-ee-moon), noun
a holiday spent together by a newly married couple.❞

"Wait, you still haven't told me where we're going."

Lilly and Hunter had changed out of their clothes from the wedding- Lilly was now wearing a simple grey blouse with black jeans, while Hunter was wearing a t-shirt with his skinny jeans and Converse- and were boarding the plane. Hunter had managed to hire a private jet, and they were going that way, so that they wouldn't have to worry about fans and paparazzi. Lilly waited for his answer, but he just smiled and winked at her. She rolled her eyes. "You've gotta tell me eventually."

"Eventually," he amended. "But not right now."

"Gah, you're useless."

"You married me, though."

"Yeah, well, I never said I didn't like your uselessness. You're like... you're like... a..."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Like a..."

"A donut hole," she said triumphantly.

"A... donut hole."

"No, 'cause you're useless, but everyone loves you."

He laughed. "Good to know."

They landed a couple of hours later, in which they just talked and laughed, and Hunter gave her a blindfold. "Oh, come on, not again!" she groaned.

"Hurry up, go on," he said, and she rolled her eyes, putting it on. After Hunter checked that she couldn't see anything, he helped her out and then said, "Okay, are you ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Three, two, one!" he said, untying her blindfold, and she gasped, looking out at the white beaches.

"Where are we?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"The Maldives," he said. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!"

"We're gonna stay here for a night, then I'm gonna take you around Europe for two weeks."

Her mouth dropped open. "I... I... really?"

"Yep," he said, popping the 'p'. She hugged him in shock.

"Oh my God, thank you!"

"I know you've always wanted to travel around Europe."

She hugged him again. "You know me too well."

"That's not a bad thing," he replied. "Come on, we'll go into our hotel, rest for a little while, then we'll go to the beach in the evening, it's too hot now."

"Alright," she said. "Hey, Hunter?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much. This means a lot."

He just squeezed her hand once, and they moved their bags to the cab together.

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Hunter smiled at Lilly again. They had just eaten dinner together in the hotel, and now they were taking a walk on the beach. Hunter still hadn't told her why.

"I just like long walks on the beach, what can I say?" he laughed. She had never seen him quite so happy. Then again, she had never felt so happy either.

It was getting dark, and out of the corner of her eye, Lilly saw something blue and glowing. "It's starting!" said Hunter excitedly, and pulled her closer to the ocean.