❝ 𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒔,
𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅
𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒉, 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 ❞
𝑳𝑨𝑵𝒀
* * * * * * *
T H E A
The gentle sensation of small ounces of pressure across my face seem to draw me out of my deep slumber, my eyes fluttering as I begin to stir.
I shift slightly, my eyes slowly beginning to open as I realise what it is that I'm feeling. As soon as my eyes are open, they land on Rio's, his face directly above mine.
A small smile tugs at his lips as he leans forward and peppers even more kisses across my face, causing me to release a soft giggle at the tickling sensation. "Happy birthday, baby." He whispers through kisses, as strands of his raven hair fall down onto my face.
"Thank you," I mumble happily as I try to adjust my eyes to the sunlight which is pouring through the large windows.
His large frame cages mine as he buries his head into the crook of my neck, his body laying on top of me and his hands resting on the best either side of us. "Birthday sex?" He teases as he licks the skin along my neck.
"Rio, I've literally just opened my eyes." I scoff and he groans, lifting his head up and frowning at me.
"I'll give you a few seconds to wake up then." He replies cheekily and I swat his arm playfully, tutting at him as he chuckles at my response.
He sits up in the bed and looks down at me, his thick black hair messy and his green eyes a shade lighter with the intensity of the sunlight. He's so beautiful.
"What do you want to do today?" He asks and I shrug my shoulders, stretching my arms out a little as I offer him a lazy smile.
"As long as I'm here and with you, I don't honestly care." I reply and he wets his lips a husky chuckle escaping them.
"Well I think we could start the day off with a shower?" He suggests and I roll my lips together, glancing towards the open en-suite, my lips tugging up as I stare at the extremely large shower. "Together obviously," he adds and I flick my eyes back to him.
Obviously.
"Okay." I reply through a grin and I follow him as he gets off the bed, heading towards it.
Once we both shower and spend a lot more time than necessary in it, we brush our teeth and get dressed, heading to the kitchen for breakfast.
To my surprise, Alvaro, our chef for our stay here has already prepared us a huge spread across the kitchen counter. An array of fruits and pastries, to hot food like bacon and eggs. "Good morning." He greets, followed by a subtle nod as we approach him.
"Good morning." We both reply in unison and I glance up at Rio with wide eyes, still in shock at the amount of food we have for breakfast.
"Happy birthday, Miss Walker." Alvaro comments and I offer a friendly smile.
"Thank you." I say appreciatively.
"Let's go sit outside, we can have breakfast out there." Rio's suggests and I nod, following his lead as he places his hand on the small of my back. "Alvaro, is it okay if we sit outside?" He asks and Alvaro breaks into a warm smile.
"This is your vacation. You can sit wherever you like for breakfast." He replies with a hint of amusement in his deep voice.
With a faint smile, I follow Rio as we make our way out towards the back yard. The sun is shining brightly, the cloudless sky a bright blue colour as a collection of birds fly over.
Alvaro appears minutes later with various plates of food, spreading them across the large table and allowing us to have a selection of whatever we want. "Enjoy," he says. "Let me know if you need anything."
We both offer him a small nod before he returns back inside, leaving Rio and I in the company of each other.
With the sound of the waves crashing in the sea in the distance, I glance around at our surroundings, still completely mesmerised but them. Never would I have imagined I'd be spending my twenty-first birthday with the love of my life, in a tropical paradise.
"What do you want first?" Rio asks and I look back towards the table at the dozens of different foods, trying to decide which one I want.
"I'll go with some fruit first." I say and he smiles, picking up a large jug of orange juice and pouring some into a glass for me, then himself. Thanking him, I take it with a soft smile and drink some before placing it back down onto the table.
Half way through breakfast, I notice Rio take out a small bag from one of the chairs and pull the string handles together, passing it to me.
With furrowed brows, I glance down at the bag, then back up at him, watching as he begins to smile. "Rio, this is enough.. more than through." I say, gesturing to the beautiful place we're in. "You didn't need to get me more gifts."
"You deserve the whole world, Thea. This is the least I can do." He replies and I feel a small blush creeping it's way into my cheeks.
I wouldn't go that far.. but I guess if he says so, then..
Quickly glancing up at him once more, I open the bag and take out a small grey box, reading the engraved wording on the lid. I'm familiar with this brand.. my mom has one of their bracelets which my dad bought for her birthday. It wasn't cheap either.
Opening the box, I'm completely taken aback by the beautiful necklace sitting in the protective foam casing. A small circular black stone surrounded by a ring of gold diamonds.
"Black, for Raven.." Rio says quietly. "You said you liked my necklace with your initial, so I thought I'd get you something to remind you of me too."
My lips part as I continue to stare at it in amazement. I absolutely love it. "Rio.. this is.. I—" Struggling to find the right words to explain what I'm feeling, I just carry on admiring it, sensing his eyes practically burning into me.
"It's a photo projection necklace." He says and I flick my eyes up to him, knitting my brows in confusion at his comment. "Look closely into the stone." He adds with a small smile.
A photo projection necklace? What's that?
Holding the stone up to my eye, I catch a glimpse of something and scrunch my nose up a little, puzzled as to what it was. As I take closer look, I realise that there's a photo inside the stone.
A photo of me and Rio.
I remember this being taken. It's the one Ellerie took on her iPad when we were on the couch at home. We're both laughing and Rio's arms are completely engulfing me.
We look so happy.
"Rio, this is so beautiful." I breathe as I look past the necklace, and at him. "I love it, thank you." I add as he smiles brightly.
"Here," he says as he takes the necklace from me and unclasps it. I hold my hair up and turn to the side, allowing him to put it on me. "Perfect." He murmurs as he presses a soft kiss against the top of my head.
"No!" I shout through laughter as Rio continues to tickle me, my body now jolting to the side as I desperately try to wriggle free from him.
Barely able to catch my breath, I somehow manage to break free from his hold and roll away from him, making a run for the door.
My laughter is literally echoing across the villa right now as I almost stumble out to the backyard, desperately trying to get away from Rio so that he doesn't tickle anymore freaking breath out of me.
Hearing his footsteps behind me become closer and closer almost makes me want to cry, knowing that if he catches me, he'll only continue to tickle me and I don't think I can take much more of it now to be honest.
His laughter can be heard behind me and it brings a comforting smile to my lips, thinking back to how much he's changed over the last two years. His laughter is something I'll never get tired of hearing and his smile is something I'll never get tired of seeing.
My brief moment of reflection clearly sets me back because I feel his arm wrapping around me from behind, causing me to let out a screech in surprise.
"No!" I laugh as he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, slapping my ass exceptionally hard as he holds me securely.
"Too slow, angelo." He teases as he laughs to himself, turning around and running along the back yard, still with me over his shoulder as I hold onto the waistline of his shorts for dear life.
"Rio don't!" I yell, realising exactly what he's planning on doing, but it's too late. The two of us go flying into the pool and drop straight underneath the water.
The cold water almost shocks my body, not exactly having time to prepare myself before being rocket launched into the damn thing.
As I resurface, I rub my eyes with the back of my hands, looking for Rio. He swims towards me, his black hair now even darker as is soaks up the water, droplets falling down onto his face.
"You asshole," I mutter as I run my hands through my hair, pushing it back from my face as I tread water.
"You love me though," he replies with a smirk as he nears closer to me, dodging the splash of water I send his way.
He stops in front of me, his lips a mere few centimetres from mine as his eyes flick down to them. I feel one of his hands connect with the small of my back as he pulls me towards him, picking my leg up and wrapping it around his waist.
Subconsciously, I do the same with the other leg and wrap my arms around his neck as he keeps us both afloat in the pool.
"L'amore della mia fottuta vita." He murmurs as he trails his tongue along my bottom lip, before kissing me, slowly and passionately.
[translation: the love of my fucking life]
Dinner was incredible tonight. We had the most spectacular view of the sun setting, along with the most delicious food and even more delicious company.
Rio looks so smart tonight. A white button up shirt and a pair of black slacks, his hair tousled over his head as though he's just run his hand through it, and his gold chain around his neck with my initial.
I guess we're both kind of matching now.
Glancing down at the necklace he got me around my neck, I begin to smile as I hold it between my fingers. My silver dress almost complementing it as I adjust the strap on my shoulder.
The two of us walk along the backyard until we stop by a railing, overlooking the sea below. We've had music playing all night, but now I notice a LANY song has started to play, only making my smile grow as I glance at Rio from the corner of my eye.
"Like water in the desert
impossible to find,
you found me when I was broken
put me back together, gave me life.."
"You know, two years ago I was completely lost. I was a twenty-two year old raising his younger siblings, struggling to come to terms with my past and find a way to move on with my life." He says and I look over at him, my brows furrowing slightly as he continues to speak.
"Like a flower in the concrete
so beautiful and rare,
you gave me hope when I was empty
walked me through the fire,
you were there.."
"In that same year though, I met you. The most loving, caring, kind, compassionate person I've ever laid eyes on." He says sincerely and a soft smile tugs at my lips.
The wam sea air blows through my hair, coating my skin as I listen to him. "You've given me so much. More than you will ever know. You're my fucking best friend, Thea. You're the reason I smile, the reason I laugh, and the reason I managed to pull myself out of the dark place that was haunting me every single day."
"You're the sun to the moon
you're my ocean, painted blue
you, I'm nothing without you.."
He places his hand on the side of my face, his thumb gently caressing my skin as he traces back and forth over my cheek.
"You believe in me and always push me to be the best version of myself. You've shown me how to love and how to be loved. I've experienced passion, purity and unconditional acceptance, and that's all because of you."
"Like an angel in a nightmare
you opened up my eyes,
looking in all the wrong places
you're the one I needed this whole time.."
"I'm not sure that a lifetime is long enough to return everything you have given me, but I promise that I'll try, no matter how long it takes me. Because you, are the only thing in my life that makes sense. My girl, my angelo, my best friend.. my soulmate."
My eyes widen a little as he drops his hand from my face and takes a step back, retrieving something from his back pocket and slowly kneeling down in front of me.
"I meant it when I said I would look after you, Thea. I want nothing more than to be by your side for the rest of my life." He says as he wets his lips, his green eyes flicking between mine.
A small box. That's what's in his hand. A small, velvet, black box.
"You're the light in the dark
you're the arrow through my heart,
you, I'm nothing without you.."
His fingers open it to reveal the most beautiful piece of jewellery I think I've ever seen. A small grey stone in the centre of the rose gold ring, two moons either side facing outwards and six small stars, three on the top of the stone and three on the bottom.
He holds it out to me, a captivating smile growing on his beautiful face as I stare down at him in complete shock.
"You're my sun, moon.. and all my stars, Thea." He takes a short pause before his dimpled smile grows even more. "Marry me."
My lips part as I stare at the ring, then him.. my heart feeling so god damn full. This is incredible. This life, this man, this moment.. every single freaking thing.
"Yes." I say quietly, so quiet that it almost comes out as a whisper.
His eyebrows raise, his eyes widening a little as he takes in my answer. "Yeah?" He repeats and I nod my head repeatedly, covering my mouth with my hands as I release a breathless laugh.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" I smile as he takes the ring from the box and places it onto my finger, my eyes quickly flicking towards my freshly manicured nails when suddenly it dawns on me.
Myla.
I could actually kiss that girl.
He stands up, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me up from the ground, his lips instantly pressing against mine as he spins us around playfully.
"I want you forever. You know that, don't you?" He tells me and I blush up at him, the beautiful Costa Rica wind blowing through my hair.
A warm, content smile works it's way onto my face as I reach up and run my fingers through his hair. His raven hair long and thick, his forest eyes staring intently into mine.
"Forever sounds kind of nice."
THE END
__________
AN: hey guys!
So that's it.. that's actually the end of this crazy ass rollercoaster of a ride.
I hope you will join me in the epilogue for the final ever chapter of Thea and Rio's story.
It's going to be an emotional one. 💛
Ps— this is what I imagine Thea's engagement ring to look like. ↓
(In my opinion, the stone symbolises the sun, with the moon and stars.)
If anyone remembered the reference from the chapter 'my dea' you're a real one lmao
*