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"Son, that is very generous of you. Thank you." My dad shakes my hand while Scott grabs my shoulder and shakes me a thank you. Mom gives me a big hug.
"Okay, okay," I laugh. "You're all very welcome. I'm glad I could do this for you guys. Our lives are so busy, and taking this vacation together means a lot to me."
Everyone starts chatting excitedly about where we will go first.
The rest of the evening is spent planning the next day's adventures. When we return to our room, there are a few moments of discomfort as we navigate a new normal. Our earlier playfulness has gone, replaced with trying not to get the other one turned on.
Before the lights go out, Erica turns to me and kisses my cheek, surprising me.
"Thank you, Aaron, for such a wonderful trip."
I grab her hand. "It was my pleasure."
When we wake up, we are still holding hands. The sheet is standing straight up where my morning wood has announced itself. I carefully extricate my hand from hers and grab another pleasurable shower. Erica is awake when I come out.
"Your turn. We should take advantage of the day while we can." I throw my wet towel on her head, and she squeals and jumps out of bed.
While getting dressed, I hear a moan from the shower. Yep, this is affecting Erica as well.
Breakfast is quick, and then we take an Uber to the park. There is so much to see and do, and there is no way we will get it all done, but we will try. We visit all the countries, and China is my favorite. The colors, dances, and ancient gardens give off a mysteriousness that makes my heart long to know more. Erica's favorite was France because of the music and wine tasting. We bought trinkets and gifts for our people back home and tried the food at nearly every booth until we thought we would pass out. The whole day was magical, especially watching Erica explore different cultures. I didn't want the day to end.
Finally, the sun began to set, and we found a little bistro to sit and relax and watch the lights of Epcot blink on slowly. Erica and I are holding hands. It seems so natural to us. We did this in high school too. We naturally gravitate to each other physically. I'm not looking forward to the vacation ending. I just want to stay here with her like this.
"So, how did everyone fare today?" I ask, looking at happy faces.
In unison, my family all responded with different adjectives describing their day.
"Aaron, we couldn't have asked for a better ending to our vacation." My mom's happy tears streamed unabashedly down her face.
"I'm so glad everyone enjoyed themselves. What do we want to do next year?" I ask, but I am still waiting for a response. We are still in the moment, here in Disney World, trying to take in our last vacation moments.
Our flight leaves early in the morning, so we call it a night and head back to the hotel to pack and relax.
We land at LAX and head to baggage claim, where we get our bags and say our goodbyes. The cameras flash again, so a new round of photos will come with many questions I can't answer now that I'm back. Cameras and photographers follow us, asking us about our relationship. I call my PR rep and ask her where she's at.
"I'm near the baggage claim. How do you want me to handle this?"
"You can confirm that we are engaged. That's it. Don't release Erica's name. Thanks."
"It's what you pay me to do." She hangs up.
Erica and I head off to our Uber and tell the driver to drop her off first. The ride is quiet, neither of us knowing how to act now that we are back on home soil.
We hug for a long time at her stop. "I'll call you when I get settled back at home. I have some meetings this afternoon, so it will be after that."
"Okay. Thank you so much for going along with this for me. I know I've put you in an awkward situation."
"I would do anything for you." I kiss her cheek and get back in the Uber.
Once home, I drop my bag in the bedroom, make coffee, and reply to emails and messages. I'm having trouble concentrating, though. I feel like something is missing. Then, I realize Erica is missing. I only spent a few days with her in this fake fiancé role, but somewhere along the line between the lie and the vacation, the thought of Erica and I being together became more of a possibility than just a maybe. I could see us together, and the sex was unbelievable. I've never had sex like that with a woman. I miss her more than I ever thought possible.
In the middle of this thought, I got a call from Erica. It's almost as if fate is taunting me.
"Hey, stranger," I say, and we laugh.
"You will never guess what I'm going to be doing!" The excitement in her voice tells me it's something huge.
"Umm, okay, what will you be doing?"
