I Hate That I Love You

Alex

Making her this happy is definitely worth everything, I think with a grin as she steps away, laughing in disbelief. “This is amazing, I can’t believe it!” She cries.

“Well it’s really here,” I grin. “Good thing you made us pack already too,” I comment. “We’ll be able to officially step on their land in just over an hour.”

She squeals at the prospect and clasps a hand to her mouth, turning to me. “Thank you,” she manages at last and gives me a tight hug, ending it with a kiss. I chuckle, picking her up easily and carry her back to the cabin, telling her all the fun things we’ll do.

And sure enough, just over an hour later, we step off of the boat, slightly shaky but loving it nonetheless. Soon we have our bags and we’re only down the street from our hotel, so we walk, enjoying the sun. All the buildings around us are white and tan and absolutely amazing.

Our hotel is just as neat- maybe it was good I trusted Missy to helping most of this- and we’ve got our own little place, it seems. There aren’t any real windows, but there is netting if we want to put it up to keep bugs out. There’s a lovely bed and a quaint bathroom in the next room over, nowhere as big as the cruiser but still enough.

Bailey refuses to let us stay here, even if we are here for the next six days. We find a map and start walking around, enjoying the place. The first thing we do after is to find a clothing shop, where she finds a light yellow sundress and finds me some soft white pants and a breezy shirt. I object for the longest time, but the heat was getting to be a bit much and it’s soft and I can’t really object for long.

Entering the town nearest, we find that we fit just in, with our dark hair and smooth tanned skin, our new clothing helping us out. Bailey drags me around everywhere, oohing and aahing over absolutely everything, full of life.

It’s late when we finally return, after trying all sorts of delicacies and meeting some people, and a small walk on the shore. We’re both exhausted and slowly begin winding down, preparing for bed.

I’m in the middle of putting my clothes into a little wardrobe closet, when I see Bailey run past me for the bathroom. Two seconds later, I hear the delicacies coming back out, and rush over to help her.

She sighs, leaning back, a few minutes later. Frowning, I get a rag and wipe her brow as she washes her mouth out. “Are you okay?” I ask worried, feeling for her temperature.

Bailey rubs her eyes and washes her face. “Yeah,” she mumbles and offers me a flimsy smile. “It’s probably, um, just…” she trails off a moment uneasily, then her eyes flicker back to me as I wait, confused. “The food,” she mumbles after a moment. “I think I tried some sort of seafood, and you know how that is,” she rolls her eyes and starts brushing her teeth.

Still concerned, I rub her back as she brushes her teeth. Walking with her, she steps onto the bed, grateful for the softness. Humming to myself, I rub her shoulders for a while until she dozes off. When she does, I return to brush my teeth a little and then shrugging off my new clothes, I join her under the cool covers.

Bailey almost makes a game of it, practically finding it humorous, throwing up two more times in the next six days. She easily brushes it off, saying there has to be something in the food, but she just doesn’t know what it is. And the rest of the time, she’s completely fine, so she makes me forget about it.

“After all, we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves,” she reminds me at last. “It’s our last day in Greece,” she sighs sadly as we finish our stroll around the shopping market again and head towards the open waters. “Where to next?” She asks me.

I laugh, squeezing her hand. “I’m not telling you,” I shake my head.

“Please?” She presses.

“No, no, and no. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Pllleeeeeeease?”

“No.”

“I’ll kiss you,” she offers.

“You already do,” I chuckle, kissing her just to prove it.

“Then… I won’t kiss you.”

“Mmm… nope.”

“Alex,” she whines, swinging my hand with hers. “Please? A clue, at least?”

“Fine. It’s another country.”

“Really! Where?”

“Nope, not saying.”

“Fine… how are we getting there?” She asks me curiously.

“Uhm… not telling.”

“Why?”

“Cause…well…fine- train,” I admit. “We’re getting a cab in the afternoon tomorrow, taking the train for about four, five hours, and arrive pretty late.”

“Oh…so… is it Russia?”

I chuckle and twirl her. “Keep guessing, m’dear,” I whisper huskily in her ear.

Smiling, she draws me closer into the water, up to our ankles, our knees. My pants are soaked there, but it doesn’t matter, this soft material dries quickly. Bailey wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head on my chest. My arms wrap around her waist and absently humming, we start slowly dancing in the calm water.