He stretched out alongside her and was immediately content when she snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest. Her fingers stroked along his skin, sending a shot of energy through him, his body signaling it would soon be ready to take her up again.
“You miss me?” he asked while wrapping his arm around her, pulling her close, and pressing a kiss to her temple.
“Mm-hmm.” His wife was in her afterglow phase of contentment. If she were a cat, she’d be purring.
His only desire was keeping her petted and sated as he stroked her skin. He appreciated finding himself being able to enjoy this side of her again. “This is now the best part of this vacation.”
She snorted her amusement. “Does this still count as a vacation? This day has been an absolute nightmare. You promised if I came to Cancun, I’d have a relaxing vacation, and so far it’s been the opposite of that.”
“As soon as everything is back to normal, I’ll take you on the most relaxing vacation you’ve ever had.”
“That just sounds like we’re going to be at home in bed.” With what they currently had in their bank account, she wouldn’t be wrong.
“Yup. Nothing but naked bed time, back massages, and pizza delivery. Doesn’t that sound good?”
She considered his proposal for a minute. “I’m not going to argue. That does sound the most appealing after all this.”
He drew a line down her bicep with his finger. “Or we could just set up shop here. Live in a conch shell for the rest of our lives. The place has beach access. No rent. No roommates. No LA traffic or June Gloom. Kind of the ideal situation.”
“Sounds perfect, until we run out of food and water. Something closer to the resort would be a safer option. At least there might be fewer crabs.”
He hummed his agreement. “Less crabs, more Buddy. It’s a trade-off. But you’re probably right. It’s a good idea if we ever want to go back to our regular life with our low-paying jobs and slightly uncomfortable bed with low thread count sheets.”
Cat didn’t say anything in response. The quietness inside the shell was loud at her lack of reply. He continued to brush soothing lines across her skin, part of him not wanting to open up a can of sand fleas, but there was another part of him that couldn’t help it. “What happened at work?”
“Nothing.” He knew this wasn’t the case because her whole body tightened in his arms.
“Cat—”
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s not like I’m ever going back at this rate.”
Trey sat with this for a moment before replying, “Is that what you want? You don’t want to go back?”
She raised her head, making eye contact with him. “You really think we’re going to get to the resort and all of this will be magically fixed? Like there’s still a chance for us to go back to normal?”
Trey understood her skepticism because it didseem like a long shot. At the same time, his optimistic nature wouldn’t let him give up hope. “Well, I like to think there might be a chance if we can get someone to notice us. As much as I love being naked with you in a seashell, I would like to hope that we won’t always have to worry about things like rakes and beach spiders and birds the size of Godzilla. And it doesn’t mean that things that bothered you in your old life just straight up disappeared. You’re allowed to vent to someone. And I would like to think that person would be me, even when I’m, inadvertently, causing some of your problems.”
Catalina laid back down. “Like accusing me of things?” The reference to their fight needled him, but she said it in a way that lacked any of the previous sharpness, as though they were already finding a way to move past it and could talk about it.
“Okay, that, and maybe sometimes you find me embarrassing.”
Her head jerked from his chest. “What? Why the hell would I find you embarrassing?”
Her complete surprise at his statement made him doubt his own perception of things. The evidence he thought he’d collected was a muddled mess of confusion. “Because I used to go with you to your work fundraiser functions all the time. But this last year, you kept insisting that I didn’t need to go because it was boring and you’d prefer just to go on your own. And I thought it was because of that conversation I had with that big donor last year. I had been completely confused about where Belize was and lookedlike an ass because I thought it was in Africa and asked if they had a lot of giraffes. But, you know what, now I know it’s right below Mexico, and I’m totally taking you there on vacation someday. I’ve been reading up on the place. Do you know they have the second biggest barrier reef in the world?”
“Wait… Is this why you thought I might be seeing someone else? Trey, I don’t even remember that conversation. And some of those events really are boring. There’s no reason both of us have to be bored.”
“I don’t care if it’s boring. You’re there. And I don’t go to be entertained. I go because what you do is important, and I want to support you. I’m really proud of you. That’s all. I’m not trying to embarrass you.”
She bit her lip, her eyes filling up with tears, and she wiped away one that had broken free with her palm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m not embarrassed by you. I’m embarrassed byme.”
“What?” He couldn’t wrap his head around this. She was the most brilliant, competent person he’d ever met. Cat probably had never confused the location of Belize on a map before.
“You’re right. I didn’t want you around, but it was because I’m currently fumbling in the position, and the fewer witnesses I have, the better. I want you to continue to be proud of me. And I love the org and my job…”
He waited patiently for thebuthe knew was coming, brushing an errant curl from her cheek. “But,” he prompted when it took too long and he was worried she’d shut him out again.
“But I don’t know. I’m failing to get the money we need, and I don’t know how to fix it. And there are real consequences if I fail because maybe kids and families that really need the help won’t get it, and they won’t have enough to eat, and…”
