At breakfast, Lucas and I shared a bagel. Neither of us were really hungry, so we split it in half and smothered our halves with cream cheese. We got a private two-seater in the back of the room and ate our bagel halves quietly. It wasn't an awkward silence, though, it was more like we were having a conversation without speaking. The silence was filled with the knowledge of our undying love for one another.
•••
Lucas and I stepped off of the Seaquest, our hands entwined together. The warm Hawaii sunshine hung high in the sky, and I could see the sandy beaches ahead.
"Come on, Lucas, let's go!" I cried, tugging his arm. I was too excited to calm down.
"We gotta put our suitcases in our room first, Shelby," he laughed. I stopped dead in my tracks and frowned.
"Rooms," I corrected. "We're staying in separate rooms."
"I may have pulled a few strings..." Lucas trailed off, studying me to see if I was upset. I jumped onto him and hugged him, excited out of my mind.
"We're gonna be roomies!" I exclaimed, trying to squeeze him tight.
"Haha yeah," He chuckled, hugging me back. I let go and grabbed my suitcase before bouncing over to our room.
Lucas swiped the keycard and opened the door for me. I raced into the room and dropped my suitcase on the floor before flopping down on one of the beds.
"It's so soft," I sighed, closing my eyes.
"Only the best for the best," Lucas smiled, sitting down on the bed with me and stroking my hair. I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled back.
When my arms started to go numb, I sat up and realized my mistake.
"We've wasted too much time," I breathed.
"Well, I wouldn't say wasted, but-"
"There's only limited daylight left! We have to go explore!!" I leaped off the bed and grabbed my bathing suit before dashing into the bathroom to change.
When I came back out, Lucas had just finished putting on his swim trunks. I threw on a light blue sundress over the top of my black bikini and slipped on some sandals. Lucas put on a Jimi Hendrix shirt and offered his hand out to me. I took it and we walked out of our room.
"The beach is so pretty," I said in awe as we walked along the shore.
"Not as pretty as you," Lucas smiled and wrapped his arms around me. I kissed him for a moment, but something shiny was in the corner of my eye. I pulled away and looked out into the ocean, only to see a silvery gray object in the water.
"Lucas, it's Darwin!" I cried. I kicked off my sandals and took off my dress before rushing into the water. Lucas followed close behind me. We both waded into the ocean until it was too deep to walk and then we swam over to Darwin.
"Hi, Darwin!" I exclaimed when I finally reached him. Darwin spoke in a series of clicks and squeals before cuddling by my side. I laughed and Lucas pet Darwin on the head.
Lucas had wrapped his left arm around my waist and was using his right hand to play with Darwin. I craned my head so I could kiss Lucas' jawline and neck while he pet Darwin. I was trying to be hot, but I ended up coughing ferociously.
"Are you okay, baby?" Lucas asked as I coughed.
"You taste like saltwater," I croaked, and he laughed.
"Maybe we should save some of that stuff for later, when we're not in the middle of the ocean," Lucas chuckled and I shook my head, smiling.
"I just wanted to be one of those hot girls, you know? I should've known it never would've worked out in my favor." Lucas ran his fingers through my wet hair.
"You're plenty hot," he said. I leaned in to kiss him but he turned away. "No way. I'm not having you cough into my mouth."
I laughed and pecked him on the lips. There. Now we both got what we wanted, I thought to myself.
Lucas released his grip on my waist and started messing around with Darwin. I joined in, and the three of us splashed around and played for hours.
The sun was starting to set when I saw three figures on the beach walking towards us. I could tell that there were two men and one woman, but other than that, their figures were shadowy. I didn't know who they were until they spoke.
"Lucas! Shelby!" Jonathan called. "We have dinner reservations in an hour! Get out of the ocean and go fix yourselves up!" I frowned, but Lucas waved goodbye to Darwin and scooped me up in his arms.
In the midst of our splashing around, we had inched closer to the shore and were able to stand in the water. Lucas carried me over to Jonathan, Tony, and Lonnie before setting me down on the sand.
"Did you two have fun?" Lonnie asked considerately. I nodded and Lucas grinned.
"Tons," he said.
"Well, we're all meeting at the Oyster for dinner because Jonathan here made reservations," Tony said. "And they're in an hour so you two should go dry yourselves off and meet us there."
"Will do, sir!" I saluted in a joking manner. I picked up my dress and sandals before grabbing Lucas' wrist and leading him back to our room.
•••
"I don't know what to wear!" I groaned as I sifted through my suitcase.
"Can I help?" Lucas asked, kneeling beside me.
"I need something fancy, but not too fancy."
"What about that one?" Lucas pointed to my shiny silver cocktail dress.
"Alrighty then," I smiled.
"I'll go change in the bathroom this time," Lucas took his button down shirt and dress pants into the bathroom and shut the door. I slipped out of my wet bikini and into the dress, and I was finishing my hair and makeup when Lucas came out of the bathroom.
"You're stunning," he gazed at me in awe.
"And you clean up nicely yourself," I grinned, walking towards him and toying around with the collar on his shirt. Lucas and I looked at each other for a long while before he spoke.
"I almost forgot," he said, turning away from me and walking over to the bathroom. I could tell that he was reaching into the pocket of his swim trunks. He came back over to me and took my hand, holding it open. He dropped something into my hand, and when I looked down I saw that it was a beautiful silver necklace.
"Lucas," I breathed.
"Darwin found it," Lucas said sheepishly.
"This is so beautiful. Thank you!" I cried, kissing Lucas' soft lips passionately.
"Let me put it on you," he whispered when we were done. I nodded and brushed my hair to the side, and Lucas clasped the necklace around my neck.
"I love you," I said, looking at the necklace in the mirror.
"I love you more, my perfect girlfriend." I wrapped my arms around his neck and twirled his hair while we kissed, but it was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"You two better not be having sex in there because we need to leave for the restaurant now."
"Piccolo," Lucas and I groaned in unison, and I opened the door to show him that we were in fact fully dressed.
"Damn, Shelby, you look hot," Tony said. I blushed and Lucas glared at Tony. "Um, not that, I- uh- well, Lucas and you, uh- okay."
I laughed as Tony stammered apologies, clearly terrified of Lucas. I gave Lucas a look and he relaxed a bit before we put on our shoes and headed over to the restaurant.
At the restaurant, we were seated at a table for five under Jonathan Ford's name, and everything about the place screamed classy. Which was not me.
In the corner of my eye I could see Lucas shifting uncomfortably, and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I wasn't the only one who felt out of place.
Dinner seemed to pass by slowly, seconds fading into minutes fading into hours. Though the night was long, I enjoyed it. I ate, talked, and laughed until my mouth and stomach were sore. At the end of the night, when it was nearly 11 pm, we paid for our food and went our separate ways. Lucas and I walked back to our room, still laughing over discussions that had happened at dinner.
When we were both back in our room and done getting ready for bed, we kissed goodnight before tucking ourselves into our beds. I waved at Lucas from across the room and smiled, and he winked and blew me a kiss. I giggled before flipping through the hotel TV stations to find a movie I liked.
I stopped at Jurassic Park, my favorite movie. I turned up the volume and settled into my bed as I watched the horror play out on the screen. I noticed that Lucas was as fascinated by the movie as I was, and I smiled to myself.
That's when I heard it.
It was a voice, a familiar voice. It sounded like my mom... but it couldn't have been. She's not in Hawaii, she's in Heaven. I shook the thoughts away, but the voice returned.
Go to him, it said again. I considered it for a moment, but then decided I was just going crazy.
Shelby Renée McIntyre, you go over to him right now.
Now that sounded like my mom. Although I didn't know why she was telling me to do that, because most parents advise against teens and dating, I crept out of my bed and over to Lucas'.
I lifted his covers and slid in, and when he turned to look at me I kissed him and then cuddled beside him.
"What's this for?" Lucas whispered, daring to look away from the screen.
"What? Can't a girl want to be with her boyfriend?" I whispered back. Lucas chuckled and stroked my hair.
"You looked beautiful tonight," he said. "Well, you look beautiful all the time, but I had never seen you in anything so fancy before."
"Same here. You looked really, really good," I told him.
"Well, maybe we'll just have to dress up for each other more often."
"Maybe," I kissed Lucas' cheek, and then decided that now would be a good time to try and kiss his jawline and neck again.
"You're not coughing," Lucas praised, and I lightly punched him in the arm.
"Shut up," I murmured, trying to concentrate on being one of those hot girls you see on TV and get jealous of.
"Shelby," Lucas sighed before pushing me away.
"What?" I asked, slightly offended.
"You're trying too hard. I love you, and you don't need to please me a certain way for my affection."
"But I want you to enjoy-"
"Ah, but there's where you're wrong. Anything that has to do with you is enjoyable. Just be yourself, and not those weird, sex-craved people you see on TV."
"Well, maybe you should show me how it's done then," I huffed sarcastically. You could imagine how startled I was when I felt a force along my jawline, and sure enough, it was Lucas.
I sighed, not because I didn't love him, but because he was perfect at kissing just like he was perfect at everything else. He kissed at my neck and jawline for what felt like forever, and when he was done I was almost positive I would have multiple hickeys when I woke up.
"There," he grinned. I smiled and rolled my eyes, trying my hardest to seem annoyed.
"Are you not satisfied? Do I need to-"
"No, no, it was great," I said. I quickly kissed his lips before wrapping my arms around him and placing my head against his chest.
He held me protectively, as if the dinosaurs on the television would come for me next. Lucas was so warm, and before the T-Rex could give it's final victory roar, I was falling asleep in Lucas' arms.
Lucas kissed the top of my head and continued to hold me tight. He fell asleep with me, but neither of our grips on each other loosened. We held each other, unconsciously, like it was the end of the world and we were all that was left.