Every Girl Does It(44)

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.