“This is it. Grab your stuff,” I said, opening the door of the rented SUV.
“Grab my stuff? What do you mean? Like my purse and water? Is this a stop in our detailed itinerary?” She loved giving me shit about my itineraries, but after this trip, I was confident she’d see the benefit of having one.
“Like, grab your luggage, Chaos. We’re here for the night.”
“But we are in the middle of nowhere.”
“Precisely.”
“You’re not going to off me here, are you?” she joked.
“Get you off, if you’re lucky.” A smile spreadacross her face as she swatted at me and started gathering her things. I loved her so wholly, so completely, but especially in these moments.
We walked about a hundred yards up a bit of a hill, and when we crested it, a little house came into view. It was a small house, but it had a fifteen-by-fifteen glass enclosure that jutted out from the main part of the house like a sunroom. I knew she saw the bed when her eyes got wide as she looked at me.
“You didn’t.” A smile of disbelief bloomed on her face.
“I just thought this might be fun,” I flashed a huge smile at her, and I could see her gears turning. When we walked inside, it took a minute to comprehend how stunningly beautiful it was. The photos online didn’t even come close to doing it justice. The atrium had a 180-degree view of the landscape, and it was like nothing I’d ever seen. Low hills peppered our view, and they led to mountains in the far distance. Snow dusted the entire scene. Like a painting, a river cut through the land out of the left window. There was nothing else around us. Both of our mouths were agape at the scene.
“Donovan, this is … I don’t even have words.”
“I agree. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.” And with that, I handed her a wrapped present while she cocked her head at me.
“What’s this?” she questioned.
“Just a little something. You should probably open it now, Chaos.” I should have continued with the sweet sentiments, but I had been dying to give her this package for months, and I couldn’t wait a single second longer. I had almost spilled the secret dozens of times.
She opened the box, and her mouth dropped open as she cackled, “Are you kidding me right now? Holy shit, Donovan.”
Her head fell back as my favorite sound filledour little hut. She pulled out the items one by one. The first was a welcome card.
“Here we are having this moment at the beauty of this place, and you give me this?” Holding up the card as she read it out loud.
“Welcome to the Slut Hut.” She could barely even say the words. “You heard me in the hospital?” she questioned.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I shrugged my shoulders as she continued.
“A selfie stick.”
“I can’t wait for the photo book,” I replied, giving up that I had heard a little of what she said. As if she didn’t know with the slut hut card.
“Very sexy lingerie.” She lifted it into the air. I had added some additional things, of course.
“What Slut Hut would be complete without it?”I asked.
“Silk rope.”
“You never know when you might need that.” My eyes sparkled at her. She knew exactly what we’d be using that for.
“A blindfold? How can I see the Northern Lights with a blindfold on?” She lifted an eyebrow at me.
“You can’t see them during the day,” I argued with a grin.
“Rainbow cotton candy?” Her smile couldn’t be bigger.
“I assure you, you will need sustenance here.”
“A Magic 8 Ball with an actual logo of Slut Hut. Where on Earth did you find this, Van? Did you design this logo?”
