Every Girl Does It(22)
Author: Rachel Van Dyken

I nodded my head in understanding, but couldn’t hold back the laughter.

"Most interesting vacation ever?" I ask meeting his green eyes in amusement.

"Definitely," he says, stopping in the middle of the street.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Kissing you."

Before I know it, he’s pushing my hair behind my ear and leaning down to my lips. I close my eyes just as he gently touches them with his own, then wrap my hands around his neck. I’m just getting used to the way it feels when he pushes me away and continues walking. A sinking feeling develops in the pit of my stomach. I can’t help it. I mean, most of the kisses we’ve shared had been in anger, frustration, or just plain passion. This was a good kiss, but it was our first honest kiss, and I feel like I somehow messed it up. We hold hands all the way back to the hut. I watch him pour me some POG juice and take a giant sip before slipping into my room to freshen up. I come back from the bathroom and notice a note on my bed. Meet me here. It was the beach; he wanted me to meet him at the beach?

I start sweating as I realize what this could mean. He’s either leaving me, proposing, or playing a trick on me? Which one is it? I quickly get ready then run down to the beach, forgetting my room card in the process. I skip down to where he’s pointing and am stopped by Preston himself. He smiles and blindfolds me, then carries me—yes, carries me to the sand, and puts me on a blanket. Let’s face it, he’s romantic. I’m smiling so big, if there were bugs in the air, they’d be stuck in my teeth. I mean, I’m elated. I wait for him to take off my blindfold, but instead of taking it off, he leans in close. I can tell because I feel his breath on my face. My heart suddenly starts fluttering, as I feel his lips touch mine. Wait, how is this fair? I’m blindfolded. Well, actually it does kind of make sense. I mean, people close their eyes when they kiss. Then a thought hits me. What if I’m the freaky girl who opens her eyes when she kisses, and he can’t stand it, so he had to blindfold me! Oh my gosh, that’s why! I immediately panic, making my kissing worse, considering I can’t catch my breath. Only he takes it as an invitation to kiss me harder, making me more nervous, and well, that’s when I make some sort of whimpering noise as if he’s biting me. He stops and laughs, then begins talking.

"I love you… so much. I want to be the one." He stops talking then takes my hands in his. His hands feel a little clammy like he’s nervous. My stomach does somersaults while I wait for him to say more. "But–” He just said but. This is it. Is he already breaking up with me? I can’t be that bad. I can change.

"I won’t open my eyes anymore," I blurt out before thinking, and then silence.

I wait and wait some more before he asks, "What?"

I then proceed to explain to him my theory until I hear him rumbling with laughter. "So not where I was going with that, but good to know you have that particular insecurity," he answers, still laughing.

I’m most likely red, why can’t I ever stop talking? Why must I even speak. It would have been better for me to be mute.

"You were saying…" I urge him along.

"I was saying," he says, taking my cue. "That I love you. I can’t imagine not being with you, even if you are bordering on insanity most days."

"And those are the good days," I interrupt jokingly.

"Sadly, I know," he says laughing. "But I also want you to know I’d never ask for forever if I didn’t do it the right way first, and since your dad is no longer here, I thought the only way to prove to you that I want to honor him first, was to do this."

He pulls off my blind fold. Directly in front of me is a sandcastle. I can tell he used buckets because you can still see their indentations on the castle tops, but it’s perfect. He’s perfect. I start to cry, and he pulls me into his arms.

"I think he would’ve liked me," Preston says, smiling, as I continue to cry. I nod my head in agreement, because the words won’t come. "Anyway, I want to start a new tradition with you. We build sandcastles together now. Is that okay? I want to be the missing piece. Amanda,, I want you forever."

I look at him dumbstruck. The guy was basically proposing, and he built me a sandcastle! I know, for some girls it’s a little cheesy, but for me…well, it’s perfect. I don’t even know how to respond. So in pure Amanda fashion, I tackle him, knocking him over in the process, and kiss him passionately with my wet tears. He answers my kisses with a few of his own before pulling me into a hug.

"Forever," I say shyly.

"Maybe," he answers smugly then laughs and tries to grab my hand. I glare at him as he starts to run away. I hold out my foot and see him trip while I suppress the snickering.. Aggravating man.

Chapter Nineteen

We walked back to the room hand in hand, me with a ridiculously huge grin on my face, and Preston with a smug grin of his own plastered all over his handsome face. All in all, it felt like a pretty great trip. I mean, we went to prison together, stole some celebrity identities…you know, the typical American vacation.

I was just getting ready to lean into him and ask for a hug when one of the hotel security guards approached us. “Sir,” he nodded toward Preston. “Ma’am,” he tipped his head toward me. Oh no. This is where we go to federal prison for impersonating celebrities.

“Do you happen to own a, um, hairless cat?” The man seemed amused by the description, making me want to punch him in the face, how dare he insult my cat!

“Yes,” I say timidly, not wanting to jump to any conclusions.

“Well, ma’am, the cat somehow escaped out of your room and is now in one of the nearby coconut trees. We tried to get her down, but none of us know her name. And well, we figured she was yours, since you’re the only guest we have who actually brought a pet from home to the Island. You see, we need to get the cat down, because it’s scaring the guests.”

“Scaring the guests?” I laugh. “How is that possible?”

The security guard shifts his feet and looks down while he answers, “Our cats have hair, ma’am.”

“That’s not even a good excuse!” I seethe, looking to Preston for help, but I don’t know why I rely on him for anything right now. He seems like he’s about to double over in fits of laughter.

“Fine,” I say loudly. “He’ll get her down.” I point to Preston and smile. “Won’t you, sweetie?”

Preston shoots daggers at me then smiles weakly at the security guard. “Where’d you say the cat was?”

The security guard points back up to our hut then to the tree next to it. Sure enough, there’s a small spotlight on Mrs. Butterworth. She must be so scared!

I run over to the tree while simultaneously tugging Preston’s shirt. “Can’t you just shimmy up there?” I plead.

“Shimmy?” He sounds doubtful. “You want me to shimmy up a coconut tree? How do you suggest I do that?”

I look at him and throw my hands in the air. “You’re a fireman! You’re supposed to be able to shimmy!” I know it’s a lame accusation, but Mrs. Butterworth is suffering.

“Didn’t know firemen shimmied, lady,” the security guard pipes in. I shot him a searing look. He steps away from me. “Good boy,” I want to say, but instead I look to Preston and start pouting.

“Try calling her first,” he says obviously annoyed.

“Fine.” I say. I call her name, but alas, she doesn’t come down. Then I remember the song I made up for her. It’s the only thing she’ll come out of hiding for. But I can’t possibly sing it in front of everyone. Not with Preston here, he’ll recognize the tune.

I feel my face get hotas Preston eyes me suspiciously, then cup a hand over my mouth “Little kitty, little kitty, you are so pretty, pretty, little kitty, little kitty.” It’s definitely working. Mrs. Butterworth is climbing down. “Why are you so pretty, pretty?” I continue, this time louder, until Mrs. Butterworth is securely in my arms.

“I know that tune,” Preston says.

“No, you don’t,” I argue and walk away towards our room.

“Um, yeah, I do.”

“You don’t!” I’m full on yelling now.

Preston starts laughing so hard, I promise you he’s going to get a hernia, then falls over. “You made up words to your only choir solo ever? That goes to the tune of your first solo.”

I want to shoot him. “How do you even know?” I exclaim, stomping my foot.

“Um, I was there, remember?”

I cringe at the thought, of course I remember, I remember everything. The crowd, the applause, the turning down of the school nerd. It was painfully vivid, and I did already apologize to him.

“I don’t want you to apologize to me again. Seriously, it’s fine. I was a nerd, I get it.” He’s matching my stride, and suddenly I don’t care about getting back to our room. I just want to hug him and tell him I’m sorry for yelling at him, but I don’t want to show weakness, so instead I let out a huge sigh.

“You can make it up to me later,” he says without stopping. “Trust me, you will, too.” He winks and walks off, while I stop and analyze every word.

“Where are you going?” I yell after him.

He looks back and smirks. “Giving you some alone time with your cat. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

I nod my head and walk to our room. It seems oddly lonely, as if a part of me is missing. Maybe I should marry Preston, and then I wouldn’t have to go back to a lonely room ever again.

I put Mrs. Butterworth on the floor, and before I know it, fall asleep on the couch. The warm sun woke me. Well, that and the fact that Preston stood over me like a giant, grinning like an idiot.

“What?” I grumble, angry that my mouth tasted just as gross as I felt after sleeping on the couch.

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” he says happily.

I glare at him. “Thank you for the obvious. Now leave, I have to get ready.” I point at the door, but he doesn’t move. “What?” I ask almost afraid to hear the answer.

“I switched rooms for the night.” His tone sounds serious and low, making my brow furrow all the more.

“Why would you do that?” I ask. No wonder I felt lonely all night. I was lonely because nobody was here.

Preston licks his beautiful lips and smiles. “It’s just not smart to be in the same room, that’s all. Now stop analyzing me and get ready. We’re spending our last day in paradise together.”

I realize he brought the dog. I didn’t know what Mrs. Butterworth would do, but knowing her weird attraction to Preston, I could only imagine what would happen with the dog. Wonders never cease, I thought, as she curled up next to him and meowed. I need to find a better guard cat. This is bordering on ridiculous.

“Give me five minutes,” I call out as I run into my bedroom. One look in the mirror tells me it’ll take more than five minutes. “Or twenty,” I yell again before stepping into the shower.

Is it just me or do I hear him chuckling in the living room?