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I watch Austin sleep. His arms are locked around me protectively even as he sleeps. I know just from one glance at him that I’m not imagining the feelings he brings out in me. If my father could see us together, there’s no way he’d try and keep us apart. But he’ll never even try to understand. He’ll be determined to keep us apart, I just know it.
Austin stirs in his sleep, seeming to sense the tension inside me. He pulls me closer, protectively, frowning.
“What’s wrong, baby? You can tell me.”
I blink back tears. “Austin...how are we going to make this work?”
Austin
I should’ve expected her to ask this question. I have to admit, it’s been playing on my mind too. Today, we’re both supposed to catch a flight and moving on with our lives. This chance meeting we’ve had in this hotel has changed everything, though. There’s no way I’m leaving her. Even if it means sabotaging my own future.
“We’re going to work it out,” I growl. “I swear. I’ll give up everything to be with you.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she whispers. “You’ve got a well-established business, a life, a career. I can’t derail that.”
“You’re the only thing that matters to me, Sydney. I would give up all of it if it meant I’d be with you.”
“No,” she says firmly. “I don’t want that. There’s got to be another way around this. I just...I know what I want to do, but I know it’ll change things so much.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I say softly, tucking her hair behind her ears. When she meets my eyes, she looks almost fearful.
“I don’t want to go to college. I never wanted to go. I want to be with you. I want to stay at home and put all of my energy into raising our children. And before then, I want to spend every possible second with you, maybe see the world, do some traveling. That’s my dream. You’re my dream.”
“Then let’s do it. Fuck my job. Fuck college. I’ll take some leave from work, let someone I trust run the business. You can drop out of college and we’ll leave tomorrow. Catch a flight to anywhere you want...anything we need along the way, I’ll pay for. We can just go.”
“But...my father won’t be happy,” she whispers. “He wanted me to go to college...not run off with his best friend.”
I feel a twinge of guilt for a second. In some ways, I’ve betrayed her father, my best friend. But I can’t betray my heart now that I’ve found what I want. I wipe a tear from Sydney’s cheek.
“He’ll come around to the idea, I’ll make sure of it. Don’t think too hard about it. Once he sees how happy we are he’ll forgive us. He’ll understand.”
She sniffles. She’s definitely thinking about giving in to the idea. I know that she wants it as much as I do. After a moment, she nods. Even through her tears, a smile forms on her face.
“Okay. Let’s do this!”
I kiss her hard. I feel high with adrenaline. We’re doing this. We’re really doing it. As we pull apart, I can’t help grinning.
“Where to first, baby?”
Epilogue
Eight months later...
Sydney
I’ve never seen a sunset so beautiful before. As we dine on the oceanfront of one of Bali’s most splendid beaches, the sky is painting itself in incredible hues of orange and pink, and yellow. Watching the sun disappear, I know it’s the last time for a while that we’ll be watching a view like this.
“Ready to go home tomorrow?” Austin asks me, his hand holding mine across the table as he finishes up his seafood. I smile. Most people might feel sad leaving a place like this, and I guess I’ll miss it. But the biggest adventure yet is awaiting us at home. With my free hand, I stroke my belly, which has grown so much over the past eight months. In a month, we’ll welcome our baby girl into the family. In a month, I’ll have everything I’ve ever wanted and more.
“I’m more than ready,” I tell him, still stroking my stomach. “Except maybe for one thing…”
There’s still the matter of facing my father. We took off from that hotel eight months ago and we haven’t been home since, determined to see the world. Of course, my father knows that I dropped out of college to travel with his best friend, and he knows he’s going to be a grandfather soon. We’ve spoken on the phone plenty, and I know he’s not overly pleased with my decisions, which makes going home seem harder. He’s our first stop when we’re back on American soil, and I’m not entirely sure I’m ready to face his scrutiny, even though I’m happy with my choices.
“It’ll be okay,” Austin says. “I’ll make sure of it.”
