Page 23 of Fate Forever and Always

“You sure we can’t go somewhere more local that we don’t have to fly to?” Nick asked for the millionth time.

“Nick, it’s tomorrow. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t change it without losing everything, so no, we can’t go somewhere else."

I get it. He’s scared, but he’s being a complete baby about it all. I started hearing mumbles about the first and last flights he took being so horrible that it scared him for life. I couldn’t make out the rest of it. I have asked him why he's so scared a few times, but he always seems to ignore me or change the subject abruptly.

“You will be fine.”

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, I will just take some meds to knock myself out, I guess.”

“The flight is short. You probably shouldn't do that.”

“I am doing it. I am going to sprawl out in my comfy chair and knock out.”

Jake and I had splurged when we bought our tickets, so Nick and I will fly first class, which I think will help calm him even more. It will only be the two of us in our row, so I'm hoping the extra space will make him a little more comfortable. I am also hoping I can just get him to drink a little alcohol instead of knocking himself out entirely with the medication.

A few hours later, Aubrey came over. She and I were in my room doing some reorganizing. I had to change a few of the outfits I had originally planned out, especially what I had planned to wear to bed, which was practically nothing.

I went into the bathroom to grab my toiletries, and when I returned to my room, Aubrey was messing with my bag. Shelooked awfully suspicious. I couldn’t immediately figure out what she had done just by looking at the bag, and I honestly didn't want to unpack the entire thing.

I looked at her with annoyance. “You’re not going to tell me what you did?”

“I didn’t do anything,” she grinned. “You’re just being paranoid.”

I gave her a knowing look. “Aubrey Lynn Miller, if you fucked with my clothes, I'm going to kill you. I just spent the last hour specifically picking out every outfit. Please tell me what you did.”

She laughed when she got up and gave me a big hug. “I will be here at five tomorrow morning to take you to the airport. Don’t make me wait.”

“You got it, Miss Priss.”

She started getting up to leave, then stopped short. “Oh, wait.”

She reached into her purse, pulling out an envelope. “Here is your itinerary. No opening it until you land.”

“You know I hate surprises, bitch.”

She put it out toward me, but quickly pulled it back.

“Promise me you won’t check it until you get there. I want everything to be a complete surprise.”

I rolled my eyes at her, but she kept staring at me. She knows if I make a promise, I will stick to it. I was about to respond when Nick chimed in from the hallway.

“Since you are torturing me with the plane ride, you can deal with waiting to open it.”

Aubrey gestured toward him emphatically.

“I didn’t realize we were five years old and going tit for tat,” I joked.

“Sucks to suck, doesn't it?” Nick said with a chuckle and shrugged as he kept walking into his room.

I looked back at Aubrey. “I promise.”

She is so lucky I love her. If she hadn’t been such a big help, I think I would have pressed her more, but I didn’t want to piss her off.

Since Aubrey made all the calls and was such a big help, the least I could do was wait to open the envelope. I knew the sleeping arrangements had been changed so Nick and I didn't have to share a room, but I was super excited to see what fun surprises she had scheduled for us.

Jake and I hadn’t planned much except for a cooking class, which should be interesting since Nick is so horrible at it. Jake and I planned to spend most of our time on the beach. I assume Nick and I will do a little of that, too.

A few hours later, as I was just settling and getting ready for bed, Nick barged into my room holding a snorkel. I jumped up without thinking, smacking my hand on something. He had never just barged in like that before, so it scared the crap out of me.

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