35
E rin laughed as Chayse took what was probably her hundredth picture since they’d started on the trail twenty minutes ago. The morning air was nice, and the trees gave off shade as they took in the jungle area on the island’s far side. They’d wanted to come early, hoping it was not too crowded, and before the afternoon heat set in. They hadn’t seen many others yet.
When they reached the beginning of the trail that morning, they discovered their men’s worries had been unfounded. According to a sign at the entrance, no dangerous wild animals were present. However, she was happy they’d waited to enjoy it as a group.
They’d seen so many beautiful flowers and breathtaking foliage. Everything was so green or vibrant in color. It had a different feel from the rest of the island, and she wondered if this was an element brought in when the resort was built or if it had already been there. She also couldn’t help wondering if there was some sort of irrigation system. They’d been there four days, and it hadn’t rained yet, so she was curious how everything looked so alive.
A cute little bird landed on a branch in their path, and she stopped to take it in. It was blue and gray with black feathers at the end, and the small chirps it let out made Erin smile. She pulled her phone out and snapped a couple of pictures of it.
“I wonder what kind of bird that is,” she stated.
“It looks like a Tanager,” Cruz responded, pausing in what he was making from a few flowers and vines he’d grabbed.
“You just know random bird facts?” Alijah asked.
“Now, who isn’t doing their reading?” Cruz teased regarding Alijah getting on to them for not reading the itinerary on their first day there. “I read the brochure they supplied on this area when you all decided you wanted to visit.”
They continued, and after another ten minutes, they came to a beautiful shrub of magenta flowers. Erin wasn’t sure what they were, but as she reached out to grab one, Paetyn caught her wrist.
“Careful, Angel. Those have thorns.”
She looked closer, and sure enough, the stems were riddled with thorns. “Thank you, babe.”
Erin took a picture of the shrub and continued behind Remy and Lawrence. They’d only gone a couple of steps when the subtle panic in Chayse’s voice stopped them.
“Oh my gosh,” she stated in contained distress. “Nik, get it off me.”
Erin turned, and her eyes widened when she saw a lizard on Chayse’s shoulder. It looked to be right under a foot long, and she could tell from the way her friend held completely still, she was trying not to panic and cause it to crawl all over her.
Nik reached for the lizard, and it jumped and flew right at Alijah, who didn’t hesitate to jump into Kieran’s arms before making a beeline toward Erin.
“Nuh-uh. No,” Erin stated, moving to stand behind Paetyn. She watched it fly past them towards Lawrence, who batted it away, and it landed in a bush somewhere.
“Are you okay, baby?” Nik asked Chayse.
“Yeah, I’m okay. That thing landed on my shoulder out of nowhere,” Chayse responded.
“Since when do lizards fly?” Alijah asked.
“I don’t think it flies. I think it jumps and glides,” Kieran supplied.
“Well, it needs not to glide wherever I am,” Chayse responded, and the men chuckled.
“I’d hate to see how you act if you see a snake,” Cruz stated.
Lawrence’s attention snapped to him. “There are snakes out here? No one said anything about snakes when we decided to come.”
“They aren’t poisonous,” Cruz informed.
“Baby,” Erin started, gaining his attention. “Maybe lead with that next time because we were about to have to leave, and we haven’t even seen that tree the plaque at the entrance was talking about.”
“We wouldn’t be here if the snakes were poisonous,” Paetyn stated.
They continued, and Erin knew they were about another twenty minutes from the tree. It was supposed to be the oldest one on the island. She wasn’t sure how they knew that since, to her knowledge, you had to cut a tree down and count the rings to tell. Maybe they were going off the size of it. She assumed you could see it over the others when you were close enough, but they couldn’t yet.
They’d stopped for Chayse to take a few pictures of butterflies frolicking around when Cruz held up what he’d been working on, and Erin couldn’t help but smile at the flower crown. He put it on her, and she thanked him with a kiss. She’d have to find a way to keep it.
When they reached the tree, it wasn’t what Erin had expected. She’d thought she’d see something that stood large and tall; instead, the tree was shorter than several around it, but the branches stretched like a large dome and were covered in leaves. It cast so much shade that it stood out despite blending into the color palette with the other trees. It was such a simple aspect of nature but so beautiful. Erin was in awe, and she heard the click of a camera. Turning, she found Paetyn poised to take another picture of her.
“Come here,” she requested. “Both of you come and take a picture with me.”
Since they’d been there, she’d made it a point to take pictures together daily. She had a few of her with each of them and the three of them together from their trip to the botanical gardens, but she wanted more. She would have them printed and added to the framed collection she’d started.
“Let’s take some group shots,” Chayse suggested after getting the tripod from Nik’s backpack. Nik helped her set it up while the rest positioned themselves in front of the tree. “The timer is ten seconds. It’ll say smile and then take three pictures,” Chayse explained before she and Nik quickly joined them.
They took two rounds of pictures and sat under the tree for half an hour, drinking their water and eating some fruit they had packed before starting their hike back.
P aetyn watched the glow from the nearby torches dance across Erin’s face as she sipped her drink and watched the waves roll in while sitting between him and Cruz. They’d met up with their friends to take in a comedy show that afternoon after their morning hike before spending the rest of the day together swimming behind their hut, which turned into a competition between her and Cruz to see who could swim the fastest.
Now, they were sitting on the beach after dinner, soft music playing from one of the cabana speakers a short distance away. The smell of salt drifted to them on the soft breeze. Paetyn was sure other people were around, possibly making noise or dancing to the music, but only one person held his attention. He often wondered how they’d gotten so lucky, but he wouldn’t question a gift.
When she tilted her head back and stared at the sky, Paetyn shifted towards her and propped his elbow on the back of the lounge couch they were sitting on.
“Tell us what you see, Angel?”
She lifted her hand, pointing to a constellation and outlining it with her finger. “That’s Aquarius,” she stated. She then pointed to another one, tracing it before turning to him. “What’s that one?”
Paetyn studied it for a moment, thinking back to their constellation lessons. “Pegasus,” he responded. She gave him that heart-stopping smile before grabbing his chin and kissing him.
“Your turn,” she said, turning her attention to Cruz. “What’s that one?” She pointed at another one, outlining it.
“If I get it wrong, will you still kiss me?” he teased.
“Nope,” she responded with a smile that belied what she said, and Cruz chuckled.
“Pisces,” Cruz responded. “Now, give me my kiss.”
“My, aren’t you confident,” Erin teased before leaning in and kissing him.
“Your turn,” Cruz stated. “Wygl?dasz dzi? wieczorem tak pi?knie, jak zawsze.”
“Thank you,” Erin responded with a smile.
“What are you thanking me for? What did I say?”
“That I look as pretty as always tonight.”
“Close,” he and Cruz responded simultaneously.
“?adny. Pretty. Pi?kny. Beautiful,” Cruz stated.
Erin repeated the words a few times before nodding. “Come on,” she stated, standing and putting her cup on the table beside Paetyn. “Let’s go for a walk.”
The bottom of her turquoise maxi dress blew in the soft breeze as she held her hands out to them. They took them and allowed her to lead the way.
They walked in silence for several minutes, the shifting waves providing background music as the soft melody from the cabana faded.
“The beach at night is so serene,” Erin stated. “It’s been six months, and I still miss it sometimes.”
“There’s an island in the South Pacific with a beautiful beach,” Paetyn stated.
Cruz hummed in agreement before adding, “It’s almost as breathtaking as you.”
“Then it must be quite a sight,” Erin teased with a smile.
“We should go for your birthday next year,” Paetyn suggested. They could take her anytime, but taking her for her birthday would be the perfect time.
“That sounds like fun,” she replied. “Speaking of birthdays, both of yours are coming up, and there’s something I want to do for you.”
“Care to share, Ma?y.”
“If I did that, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Then we can’t wait to see what it is,” Paetyn responded.
They lapsed back into a comfortable silence, seeing fewer people on the beach the further they journeyed towards the area their hut was in. They wouldn’t be able to walk to it and would have to take one of the transportation options or one of the walkways off the beach to get there, but they still had a distance to go before they did either.
“Oh, baby,” Erin said.
“Hmm?” Paetyn questioned, and she paused, pulling them to a stop with her, and looked at him.
“How did you know I was talking to you?”
“I just knew,” he responded.
She furrowed her brow. “Do I call you that more often than anything else? Or more often than I call Cruz that?”
Both men chuckled. “No, Angel.”
She looked between them. “You knew I was talking to him too because you didn’t answer me,” she directed at Cruz.
“I did,” he agreed.
“What kind of magic trick is this?” she questioned, and again they laughed. She shook her head. “That dessert at the restaurant tonight, can you make it for me but with raspberries instead of blueberries when we get back?” she asked, continuing their walk.
“Of course, baby.”
They took one of the walkways off the beach towards the nearest transportation area sometime later.
“Baby,” Erin stated.
“Yes, Ma?y?”
“How did you…hmm.” They arrived at the transportation area. They’d only been waiting a minute or two when she said, “Babe.”
“Yes, Angel?” Paetyn asked when Cruz asked, “Yes, baby?”
“There is no way,” Erin stated, and Paetyn couldn’t help but chuckle as Cruz gave her an amused look. “You know what? I’m going to chalk it up as my nifty little superpower.”
Once on the cart, the ride to their hut took a few minutes. When they entered, Cruz went into the bathroom to start the shower, and Paetyn helped Erin undress. It wasn’t particularly late, but the following day was full. After breakfast, there was scuba diving with the others, then the three of them would go parasailing after lunch before rejoining the others that evening for dinner at a cabaret show.
Paetyn kissed her shoulder when he had her undressed before she entered the bathroom. Cruz exited a minute later while Paetyn was removing his shirt.
“Come out here,” Cruz requested, stepping onto the patio behind the bedroom. Paetyn joined him, sliding the door closed. “Her lease is up this month,” Cruz said. “I know we’ve never done this, but…” he trailed off.
“We’re on the same page,” Paetyn responded. “We’ll ask her when we get back.”
They stayed with each other a couple of times a week already. Asking her to move in with them had crossed his mind a few times, but he hadn’t wanted to rush her or Cruz if he wasn’t ready for them to take that step. This would be the first time they’d asked someone to move in with them in any of their relationships. It hadn’t felt like a step they needed or wanted to take in the past.
Now, it was something Paetyn knew he wanted. They both wanted it, if Cruz bringing it up was any indication. The decision was ultimately hers, and they wouldn’t push if she decided she wasn’t ready. The intention would be out there for when she was.
They would enjoy the rest of their vacation and bring the topic to her after returning home.