•••
*six months later*
"I want to travel the world with you", I mumble into his chest. I feel him smile against my head as he kisses me. "I'd love nothing more than to travel the world with you, too", he whispers. He rocks the hammock slowly as we watch the sunset. The boys finished filming a long time ago, now, and Sebastian didn't have anything lined up for the next couple of months. Anthony went back home to be with his kids but we regularly text one another to see how we're doing. We left my parents' house about two or three weeks after we arrived and they were the best, most fulfilling weeks of my life. To have all of my favorite and most important people in one house, was a dream.
"I can't believe it's our nine month anniversary today", he says as I play with the emerald ring he gave me. "Can you believe it's almost been a year? How has it almost been that long?", I ask in shock. He shakes his head as he plays with my hair and I close my eyes, feeling a sense of peace. "I love you", he says. My smile widens as I crane my neck to look at him. "Well I doubt you love me as much as I love you", I say, knowing it drives him absolutely crazy when I say I love him more. "Bubba, we're not having this conversation again. We all know that I love you more", he says as he scrunches his nose. His nose scrunches were my favorite thing in the world.
"Fine, but I'm only letting you win because you're cute", I say as I plop back down onto his chest. The hammock swings softly as the warm breeze brushes over our tanned skin. Sebastian insisted we went on a couples retreat and it's the best decision we made. We had one week left in paradise but Sebastian insisted I come home with him. I didn't hesitate to say yes. We're in such a comfortable phase of our relationship, especially for me, and I don't mind the fact that our relationship is picking up its pace. "You know, my mom wants to meet you. She won't stop asking about you", he says as he runs his hand through my hair. "I'd love to meet her. I've been asking you for so long", I say as I feel giddy. I've been asking Sebastian to meet his mom for a while now, and I felt like it was only fair since he already met my parents. "I'll call her and set up a date. She's more excited to see you than she is to see me. And she hasn't seen me in months", he pouts. I laugh and kiss him to make him feel better. "I have something for you, stay here, okay?", I say as I get off the hammock. He sits up and fixes his hair as I walk backwards, a huge smile on my face. I run inside our small room and reach into my bag to grab a small black and white box.
I run back to Sebastian and he grabs me by my waist, helping me back into the hammock. "Okay, so I know you said you didn't want me to get you anything for our anniversary, but you know I never listen when you say that, so here", I smile as I hand him the box. He clicks his tongue and smiles, his eyes crinkling. He slowly opens the box and I nervously watch him. He pulls out the silver ring and looks up at me. "Look inside", I say as I nod towards the ring. He looks inside the band of the ring and he clears his throat, looking away. "Seb?". He looks back at me, his eyes becoming red. "Awe, bubba", I coo as he hugs me. "I love it", he whispers into my ear. Engraved on the inside was our initials and a quote. I'd travel the world with you. S & I. He slips it on and I sigh in relief as it fits him perfectly. "I'm never taking this off", he says as I wipe his eyes. I kiss him and rest my head back on his chest as he reaches for a blanket behind his head. He drapes it over us and holds me in his arms as the sky slowly turns dark.
Before I realize it, I slowly fall asleep on Sebastian, as the stars loom over our heads.
***
When I wake up, I'm in our bed and the patio door is open, overlooking the beach. Sebastian is leaning over the railing in only his sweatpants and I fight the urge to scream as I see his muscles. I sit up and comb through my hair as I stretch. "My God, you're beautiful", he says as he walks over to me. He jumps on top of me and I scream as I fall backwards. He kisses me all over my face and I try to push him away as I start laughing uncontrollably. "Seb! Stop, I'm going to pee!", I squeal as he tickles me. He stops and I try to compose myself as I sit up again. "Don't you dare", I warn him as I get up. I back up slowly, making sure that he doesn't tickle me again and go into the bathroom to wash up. Once I'm done I change into a bathing suit and slip on a dress over it.
I apply sunscreen and walk onto the patio with Sebastian as we eat our breakfast, the sound of waves crashing filling the air. "If I could wake up to this every morning, I would", I say as I look at the view. "One day", he says as he winks at me. I shake my head and grab a strawberry from his plate. "You really need to stop stealing my food", he laughs. "When are you going to realize that that's never going to happen. We've been together for nine months", I say as I steal another one. "You don't let me steal your food, though" he says as he reaches over my plate. I slap his hand away. "That's different", I shrug.
He looks at me like I'm crazy and shakes his head. "It's actually very much the same"
"Well, you still love me", I say. "You're damn right I do", he says as he reaches over to kiss me. "Oh, by the way, my mom called me yesterday and said she found that watch you were looking for. She found it in my bathroom drawer, all the way in the back"
"How did it end up there?", he asks me, eyebrows raised. "I have no idea, but she put it aside for you"
"I miss your parents. We have to go visit them soon", he nods his head. My heart swells at the sound of that. Sebastian and my parents had such a good relationship and got along so well. It's all I could ever ask for. "We will, I promise. They've been asking me for weeks now to come and stay for a few days".
"Remember when Anthony fell into your mom's garden because he tripped over the lawnmower?", Sebastian laughs, as he throws his head back. "Yes", I laugh. "And my mom screamed because he fell on her tulips and instead of helping, my dad was laughing in the background", I say as I snort. I had a special family, that's for sure. "At least he helped her plant new ones"
"Please, he almost started crying because he felt so bad", I say as I set my plate down. "I miss him", Sebastian frowns. I grab his hand and squeeze it as we both look at the view. "I know, I do too. But we'll see him soon!", I reassure him. He nods his head and we start to clean up. When we're done we brush our teeth and then grab our things for the beach. He grabs my hand on our way out and we slowly walk to the beach to find a spot. I feel the sand fill up my flip flops as we sink into the sand. I sigh in relief as the warm sun hits our skin. "There!", Sebastian nods as we move to the left. We situate ourselves close enough to see the water but far enough to where the tide can't reach us. We set down our chairs in the sand and I help Sebastian put up our umbrella. "We need to get a new one, this one isn't good anymore", he says as he screws it into the sand. "It's the only one I had. We can get a new one for our next trip", I say as I open the umbrella fully. I hand him his towel and drape mine over my chair as I sit down, placing the cooler between us.
"What if I told you I wanted to write my own book", I say suddenly as I turn to look at him. "For real?". I nod my head and he claps his hands. "That would be amazing and I'd support you all the way", he says. I nod my head. "Okay, and what if I told you I wanted to pursue a writing career and publish my own books", I add. He shifts in his chair and looks at me intently. "Fulltime?", he asks. I nod my head, biting my lip nervously. "If it's something that makes you happy, go for it! You know I have your back. I love you and I want you to be happy", he says sincerely as he reaches over to grab my hand. "Really?", I ask him. He nods his head and I lean over to kiss him. "Thank you. I was terrified to tell you"
"Why?", he asks, confused. "Because it's a big step to take and it's risky. The chance of being a successful writer and being able to make a stable living out of it is fairly low, but I've given it a lot of thought and it's the only thing that truly makes me happy and that I see myself doing for the rest of my life. I'm not meant to be sitting behind a desk and filling papers. I have so much potential and I wish I would've seen that sooner", I say as I reach for my sunglasses. "We'll it's never too late. I know you're capable of anything you set your mind to. Mark my words, you'll write a bestseller", he says encouragingly. I laugh. "I hope". He grabs my hand and holds it as we watch the sun glisten on the water.
The rest of our day is spent on the beach, and Sebastian goes and play volleyball with some guys who were sitting next to us. I watch him in awe as he jumps up to slam the ball. People crowd around them, sitting in the sand to watch them. Sebastian turns to look back at me and winks as he runs a hand through his hair, pushing it back. If the sun wasn't melting me, he definitely was. He continues to play and I smile as I hear his laugh. I grab my notebook and pen, occasionally glancing up at him. As my pen touches the paper, a thought comes to mind and I smile as I start to write.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
So, Italia wants to become a writer! I'm honestly so excited to introduce that into my story, especially since there aren't that many chapters left, which means things are picking up.
Again, I want to thank you all for the continuous support. It means the world to me.
Also did you guys see how good Tom looks in the new Loki promo video they posted today? I missed him :(
I hope you're all having a wonderful week!
- Sabrina