In eleven minutes, I leave the bathroom in a much better mood. He’s got the bag of clothes on the bed, already pulling on a pair of boxers, black athletic pants, and a hoodie over a plain gray tee. I pull on some pretty pink panties and a sports bra. I can tell Holly did the shopping. She also picked me out black leggings and a hot pink tee with a gray zip up hoodie. Generic tennis shoes for Colin since his were beyond nasty. Mine are basically dry now. Damn, she really does pay attention. It also helps that she worked in retail for quite a while and got used to guessing sizes for people.
“Holly’s the best,” I sigh, feeling more human now.
“I agree.”
“When are we going to tell them?” I quirk my brow at him.
“That’s up to you, but wouldn’t you like your ring first?”
“Yeah, about that,” I say as I finger comb my hair up into a messy bun at the long mirror mounted on the wall.
“What about that?” he asks as he walks up behind me, looking all curious as he keeps my eye contact through the reflection and bends to kiss the spot on my neck below my ear. He gives me a mischievous grin, and I feel all fuzzy inside as I lean back against him, raising my arms to run my hands through his dark strands. He wraps his arms around me, waiting for my answer.
“I kind of found it by accident on Friday morning. I haven’t seen it though. I made Holly look.” I pull my shoulders up toward my ears and give him my best apologetic eyes and bite my lip. He just looks at me, blinking with an “explain yourself” expression. and I sheepishly giggle. “Bitsy crawled in your underwear when I was getting mine and tried to make a nest while you were letting Amy out. I felt the box when I was pulling her out. It drove me crazy all night, and Saturday morning, Holly checked for me when we got back from Jane’s place because I couldn’t stand it for one more minute.” I blurt out as fast as possible, watching his jaw drop and slowly close back up. He groans and tips his head back, silently laughing and shaking his head at the ceiling.
“You naughty, little snoop,” he plays with me, nipping my butt with his fingers.
I guffaw.
“I did not snoop on purpose! I would’ve never known about it if Bitsy wouldn’t have been up to her shenanigans!”
He tickles me a little and kisses me on the cheek.
“I know. You’re a really bad liar, so I would’ve known if you were fibbing. That cat is going to ruin all the best surprises.”
“She just wants you all to herself.”
“Jealous much?”
“A little.”
We both laugh together, throwing all our other stuff into the bag before heading out the door to meet our friends in thelobby. I smile as his hand leads me by the small of my back to the elevator. We share the ride down to the lobby with an older couple to whom we mutter a cordial good morning to, and inwardly giggle when his fingers brush over my backside. I shoot him a scandalous look, but he just shrugs and full on squeezes my ass, looking straightforward as if he’s bored. The door dings, and the couple shuffles out. Colin brushes the top of my hair with his lips and sends me out first.
“After you, fiancè.” I look back with a wide grin, loving the way that sounds and the sparkle in his eyes as he says it.
It’s roughly ten-thirty, and everyone is already here with the exception of Trystan and Mark. They’re not far behind us though.
“Wow… Did you guys get any sleep last night?” Garrett asks, noting how rough they look. At first I thought he was talking to Colin. I’m not sure what time Mark and Trystan got here from the hospital.
“Well, obviously, it was a late return. Mark kept me company in the ER though since he couldn’t fall asleep in his room.” Trystan shoots a smug look over at Colin and I, and I blush.Oh…Colin let’s out a dark chuckle and looks down at his feet then back up. Everyone else is either avoiding eye contact or making inappropriate faces and sounds, crudely imitating what went down in our room.Shit, were we that loud?
“I’m not apologizing,” Colin declares, flashing his lethal smile as he pulls me in close. I’m pretty sure my face matches Mark’s shirt, and that smug son of a bitch has the gall to look down at his shirt since he notices me looking at it before winking at me. Ava snorts beside me. Mark tosses her a wink, and she scoffs at him. So, they’re obviously still not talking.
We stop for coffee and gas on the way back to the state park, knowing we’re going to need some help in the energy department to salvage whatever’s left of the campsite. Mark andGarrett stick close to Trystan on the rocks, and we avoid the ravine like the plague. I notice Colin tense up as we pass it, and I reach for his hand at the same time he reaches back for mine. I shiver when I look hard at it, not knowing what he felt in those long minutes alone down there. When he’s ready to talk about it, I’ll be there. I send up a thank you to God for amazing friends and planting that tree nearby which helped get them out.
The campsite is completely trashed. The guys have to find broken branches to help drag the tent out of a tree that it’s tangled in. Holly, Ava, Jane, and I busy ourselves picking up all the little things. There’s a lot missing that we don’t find, but the guy’s tackle and gear survived for the most part. As we’re loading up Mark’s truck and everyone’s within earshot, I get the nerve to share our news. Hopefully, Colin’s on board.
“So, um, is everyone going to be around in May?”
Colin sets down his fishing pole and flashes me a sexy grin. He’s on board and clearly approves of the timeline.
“I can’t think of anything going on,” Ava mutters, “Why, what’s in May?”
“I was thinking about throwing a big party.” I smile widely at my friend, and Holly reaches toward me, mouth wide with surprise and happiness, and starts bouncing on her toes.
“No way!”
“Way!”
