Lonely Together

28

MARIAH

"Ready...set...go!" Valentino shouted before we both took off sprinting down towards the private beach.

Not to my surprise, Valentino was fast so it took a lot of my might to catch up to him. Just as I passed him for a split second, he snatched me up in to his arms from behind, a scream leaving me before I burst out laughing.

"Not fair! You can't be jealous that I'm faster than you!"

"You're not though," he deadpanned, shaking his head as he stepped into the ocean, the sun lowering towards the horizon as he did so. "I was letting you beat me."

After checking out the entire home and unpacking our suitcases, Val and I decided to take a bike ride into the town to look around for a bit before stopping and getting breakfast. Although he had rented a convertible for us to use, it was much more fun to ride the bikes.

"Yeah, yeah...whatever."

Together, we swam out a bit deeper in the water until we reached the part where only he could stand. I wrapped my legs around his waist while I draped my arms around his neck, a small smile on my face as I looked at him. His wet curls drooped into his face a bit, making him look even hotter.

"What are you thinking about?" He questioned after a few moments of silence, dipping his head down so that he was looking directly into my eyes, pressing a kiss to my forearm.

"About how far we've come. Can you believe just four months ago we met at a club and now we're here together in Hawaii?" I sighed, my heart racing as I saw him nod at my words. So far, Valentino and I only shared small moments of sentiment with each other since we both weren't very sentimental, yet with him I was beginning to feel that change.

"I thought you were done with me when all that stuff happened. I really did."

"I thought I was done with you too," I chuckled, watching as faked a shocked look on his face. "But I couldn't stop thinking about you the whole time we didn't talk."

"I—" he paused, turning away from me for a second to look at the horizon before looking back. "I'm just so glad you let me explain everything to you. I would never put you in danger."

"I know that. I was just so bothered by you lying about it...I now understand why you weren't truthful...but..." I paused knowing my next words would sting him or even make him upset. "It still gives me doubts. I still wonder sometimes if you're lying to me."

Looking in his eyes, I watched as a look of sadness washed over them before he lowered his head to look at the soft waves crashing into us.

"I know that it's going to take you some time to completely gain that trust...but I want you to know that I really have no reason to not be truthful with you. Unless it's for good reason." He said the last part with a smirk as he pinched my waist under the water.

"And I will be completely honest with you," I replied with a small smile, an unknown feeling taking over my body. "I want us to know everything about each other—our lives as kids, how we're feeling, what hurts us, what we adore—everything."

"I do too. And we have this whole vacation for that."

I smiled down at him as he lifted me up so that he was holding me under my thighs, my hands gripping the sides of his jaws before I leaned down to press a kiss to his plump lips. Suddenly, he tipped me over so that I went crashing into the water.

When I came back to the surface, he was already rushing away—half swimming, half running.

"You're dead!" I shouted as I rushed after him, unable to push away the feeling that I could now finally understand.