“He’s my best friend, and we got married,” Caden said before I could reply. Clearly, he had no issue telling complete strangers, but that was different than people we knew in our real lives.
“Congratulations!” Martin said.
“That’s so sweet!” Isabella replied.
I looked at Caden and cocked a brow. Our original plan was to get it annulled when we got home, but now he was telling anyone who would listen that we were husbands.
It didn’t take us long to get to the docks. The first part of our day would be on a speedboat, out to an island where we’d have the rest of our adventure.
They gave us life jackets, explained a few safety measures, and then we set off. The ocean stretched as far as the eye could see, with mountains and greenery in the distance. Water splashed up slightly. The skin on my face felt like it was pushed back because of the wind. When Caden looked at me and chuckled, I flipped him off.
“This is incredible!” I yelled in his ear over the boat’s engine.
“Yeah, it is. Best honeymoon ever.”
I didn’t hold myself back from reaching over and tangling our fingers together. He looked at me with a small smile, gave my hand a quick squeeze, and continued to hold it.
We stayed that way until the boat docked. The island wasn’t busy, but there was a concession stand with outdoor tables, with a few guests sitting here and there. I figured it would be busier later, but since the tour started early, things were just opening up for the day.
We had our second ATV rides of the trip, following our guides through the lush, green landscape, deep into the jungle. It was hot and muggy, but none of that mattered. Caden would look at me and smile, the air rushing around us as we sped down the trail. I wanted to keep that smile on his face, to put it there over and over and over again until we were old and sitting on the front porch, giving each other shit. We would never stop doing that.
The ATV rides ended at a building with stables, where a few workers were getting donkeys ready.
“I wish I could ride your ass.” Caden waggled his eyebrows at his ridiculous joke.
“Maybe later. If you’re lucky.” I winked. There was no chance I’d deny him any piece of me if he wanted it. His smile grew, and he leaned in and kissed me.
We climbed onto our burros for the trek up the mountain, and our guides talked to us about our surroundings, the history, and told stories as we went.
“There are so many butterflies,” Caden said, in awe while looking around him. “How is there so much beauty in the world? You forget that sometimes, ya know? In our day-to-day life.”
Yeah, yeah I did know. Caden was a good reminder, though.
“We gotta make sure we don’t forget, A. When we get home and life gets crazy like it always does. Just…I don’t know. Life is short, and there is so much to love. We need to take the time to do it more often.”
My heart felt all twisted up. Caden thrived on joking and having a good time, but he’d always seen the world in this way that was contagious, that made me want to experience everything and live vibrantly. “Love more. Got it.” I smiled.
“I’m being serious.”
“I am too.” And we could start with each other, because if this trip proved anything, it was how good Caden and I really were together. We needed to hold on to what we’d found in each other here, because he was right. Life was short. “I—”
“Okay, you guys ready for zip-lining?” Isabella asked. I wasn’t sure whether I should be thankful or upset that she’d interrupted, because I’d been about to tell him the truth. That I loved him.
“Hell yes!” Caden replied.
There were people there to take care of the donkeys for us. They led us up to a plateau, the lines heading through and over a mass of trees, the ground hundreds of feet below.
“Wow…it’s gorgeous,” I said.
When Caden didn’t respond, I looked over at him, saw him watching me, his stare intense, seeking. Did he find what he was looking for? Know that what he sought was inside me the way I did with him?
“Thank you,” Caden said.
“For what?”
“This trip…being my best friend…marrying me.”
I rolled my eyes, trying to hold back my emotions. “We don’t even remember doing that. It wasn’t in the plan.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t be grateful for it.”
“Why?” I asked, wanting him to say it, hoping this was for real.
“Can we go together?” Caden asked Pablo instead of answering. “Me and Alex.”
“Yeah, of course,” Pablo replied, and the moment was broken by the burn of excitement inside both of us.
They explained how everything worked. Isabella went first. They got us in harnesses and helmets, then hooked us up to the line. My pulse raced, my chest tight but in a good way, filled with adrenaline and eagerness and contentment.
“Okay, on the count of three,” Martin said. “One.” Caden smiled at me. “Two.” He grabbed my hand. “Three.” We took off.
We were flying, the two of us. It was as if nothing in the world existed but us, the blue sky and the green trees shooting by us as we soared through the air. Alex and Caden. Together the way we were always supposed to be.
The second we were on the ground again, my legs nearly gave out on me, weak and feeling like jelly. We were both laughing, though I couldn’t say why. Happiness? That didn’t feel like a strong enough word. It felt like every single moment in my life had been leading me to this week, this day, this second where we’d flown together, and now he was pulling me into his arms, kissing my cheek, my neck, my lips.
“Jesus, Alex. This is so fucking perfect. God, I love you.”
I froze, but I didn’t think Caden even realized what he’d said. It wasn’t as if we’d never said those three words to each other before. I knew Caden loved me. But the way he said it, the joy and passion in his voice burrowed into my heart, told me this was different, that it was more.
“That was great!” Pablo said, landing behind us.
“Holy shit, it was. We get to do that again, right?” Caden asked.
“Yeah. Just wait until you see what we have in store for you.”
We went through a whole course. There was more zip-lining, but we also rappelled down into a waterfall and explored around it, climbed a rope ladder, and walked over swinging bridges. We laughed and smiled and just…enjoyed ourselves. Enjoyed each other. It was one of the best days of my life with my favorite person in the world.
The person I wanted to tell I was in love with him…and that I wanted to ask to spend the rest of his life with me.
Chapter Ten
Caden
I wasn’t sure I’d ever had a more perfect day. After our adventures on the island, we came back to the resort, and I was feeling… I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly. Almost like a natural high, as if nothing could ever knock me down. I’d had the best week of my life, with my best friend whom…whom I loved, and not in the way I’d always told myself I loved him.
I wanted to treasure him, to show him how much he meant to me, how much I appreciated the gift he’d given me by being in my life. “Dress nice. I want to take you out to dinner tonight,” I told him, then made a reservation.