After Hardin

37

~ TESSA ~

Our flight to the US left early, and we were in for a long amount of time traveling. We had to be at the airport by six in the morning for our eight AM flight. Hardin woke me at five with a kiss on the forehead and a gentle nudge. Neither of us got much sleep last night and are tired today.

We got dressed quickly and decided that we would eat breakfast at the airport. I had one large suitcase to check and a small carryon and Hardin had two large suitcases to check and a carryon. I was surprised that he was able to get all of the things that he wanted to bring into two suitcases and one carryon.

The time through security didn't take long at all, which gave us time to actually sit down and have a decent breakfast. As soon as we loaded onto the plane I relaxed. I get nervous traveling. I have anxiety that I will miss my flight or lose a bag. We have seats in first class, which I appreciate since we have much more leg room and way better seats. Hardin's and my seat are right next to each other. Hardin helped strap me in and then held my hand.

The first leg of our flight is from London to Barcelona, Spain and is only two hours long. The flight is a smooth one and we collect all of our bags since we have a twenty one hour layover. There was no way that I would be able to spend that long of a layover in the airport, so Hardin got a hotel room near the airport.

We were both so exhausted by the time we arrived at the hotel, that we climbed into bed fully clothed, cuddled up next to each other and fell straight asleep. It made me slightly sad that we were in Spain for a day but we were so tired that we wanted to sleep rather than explore. When I finally woke up, I stretched and opened my eyes to find Hardin still sleeping. He looked so peaceful in his slumber. I watched him sleep, wondering if our boys will look like him. I hope that they have his eyes. I'm not sure how long I lay next to Hardin watching him sleep, but it felt like a really long time.

When Hardin finally woke, he slowly opened his eyes to find that mine were looking straight into his. A smirk spread across his handsome face and I had to resist the urge to kiss him until the smirk turned into a proper smile. "How long have you been awake?" He asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. "Have you been watching me sleep the whole time?" Hardin asked as he ran his fingers over the side of my hip.

I didn't really want to admit that I have been watching him sleep, but I am a terrible liar. "Yes, I was. You looked so peaceful, I couldn't help myself." I laughed with nervousness.

He chuckles with me before he confesses, "I do the same thing when you're sleeping, so I understand." He wraps his arm around my waist tighter, pulling me closer to him. "We should get something to eat. Do you want to go out or get room service?"

I looked at the clock and realized that it was already five thirty in the evening. "Let's go somewhere. It would be sad to be in Barcelona and not see anything other than the airport and the hotel."

We freshened up and went to the concierge to ask for a recommendation to eat. He recommended a traditional Spanish restaurant within walking distance. Hardin and I set out on a walk to the restaurant. It was a quaint little restaurant that was decorated in a traditional Spanish style.

Hardin and I sat at a table, but instead of sitting across from each other, he pulled out my chair and then sat in the chair next to me. Hardin held my hand in his, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles the entire time until our food showed up. It felt so romantic sitting together like this, candles flickering on the tables and him holding my hand.

Our food didn't take long to be delivered to our table after ordering. My mouth watered looking at the food on our plates. I took my first bite and it was amazing. It could be because we hadn't eaten anything much yet that day and we were both starving, but the food was some of the best food that I had ever tasted.