Page 42 of Date and Switch

He held the door open to our room, waving me inside.

“Really?”

“We’re lucky being in this bubble on the ship, but also I can’t help but worry. Especially about you.”

He cradled my face between his hands, forcing me to look at those expressive emeralds he called eyes. My brain overloaded with too many thoughts and emotions at once. First, there was no denying he spoke straight facts. As he caressed my jaw, I could see lining his eyes and mouth was true concern over my safety. Sure, Raven, Ivy, and Hillary had all been whooping and celebrating the popularity of our blog and everything that came with it—but we were nobodies. Two people just traipsing through this insanity called a vacation. I couldn’t imagine, even if we did meet a “fan” out in the wild that they’d want anything more than to say hi and chat it up with us.

“I think it may be wise to start posting updates in regional groups, rather than after every stop. Kind of like you were previously when the internet got spotty. For your safety I’d prefer you not mention where we are but rather discuss where we were after we’ve left.”

It made sense.

“There is also what we do in private, and the cotton candy bullshit to feed to the masses.”

I pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“You mean because you’re new at being my manfriend and you don’t want the world to know about it just yet?”

“Manfriend?” He laughed, brushing the hair off my face.

“It’s a little weird to be calling a forty-two year old man my boyfriend. Mister ‘I don’t want to make juvenile declarations on your locker like a seventh grader.’”

“I just say let them talk and speculate. I’m a no comment kind of person.” He paused a beat before adding, “But that doesn’t change how I feel about you. I just don’t want random strangers jerking off to what we put up on social media.”

“Aww, and what feelings are those?”

I thought I asked the question in a playful manner, despite wanting desperately for him to say something about feeling the same way about me as I did him.

“You feel like sunshine, Sera. A warmth I never thought I’d feel again, and one I want to bask in for as long as I can.”

twenty-seven

Date & Switch Day 76

Upon Sera’s insistence, I too am making an appearance on the blog. I hope you forgive my less than colorful updates. The angelic little travel partner I have is far more loquacious than I am. But know I’m equally as pleased that you’re invested in our travels. With each stop the two of us find ourselves asking if this place is the most beautiful we’ll experience on the trip. Then we pull up to the next stop and we’re not so sure anymore. The Hawaiian Islands absolutely have to be appreciated in person. Pictures just don’t do them justice. As you saw from our Instagram feeds, the two of us were greatly moved in Oahu at the Pearl Harbor exhibits and I’m certain neither of us will ever forget seeing it in person. We attempted to learn to surf—I don’t think either of us will be quitting our day jobs anytime soon, and I snuck in a round of golf on the Big Island.

Tomorrow, we dock in New Zealand. Someone convinced me to throw down some seriously offensive coin for a Lord of the Rings tour. Offensive not because of the cost per se. Sera practically glows at the mere mention of the tour and has been looking forward to it since she decided to join me on this whirlwind. Offensive because for the amount of money they are charging, you would think they’re flying in all of the cast of the movies to personally guide us on the tour. Rather than, driving around in a bus and having some chode point out a few trees and some rocks.

After that it’s on to the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry, I am fully prepared to make sure that our melanin deficient friend is covered in every crevice with sunscreen. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. ??

Until next time (I don’t know how Sera signs off on these things).

Bryce

* * *

Maybe I went a little overboard with the Lord of the Rings tours. We had two days in New Zealand, so I made sure that Sera would get to experience everything associated with Tolkien her nerdy little heart desired. I could practically hear Penn judging me every time I handed over my Amex.

Our adventures in Hawaii had been both splendid and rather unassuming at the same time. I’m glad I trusted my gut with the Gilroy folk. After speaking with Teddy, Penn agreed that there were other fish who could better align with our vision. Tillie wasn’t able to join us, so Sera linked up with some of her cruise ship friends and toured the culture center, downloading more history on Hawaii and its people than I ever would have been able to retain in a four-hour tour.

There were so many subtleties about Sera I’d been able to observe and appreciate during these quiet times onboard between stops. Her network of friends grew exponentially each day. She’d had an uncanny ability to link me to people whom she thought I’d be interested in getting to know. The only other woman I knew with that talent was my mother—though she always made a point of ingratiating herself and by extension us, into the world of who you should know. Sera, however, did it with genuine interest in helping and the pure joy of meeting people and learning their stories.

“When I said I wanted to see everything having to do with Lord of the Rings it was more in an excited, ‘I’m king of the world!’ kind of thing. Not that I literally wanted to see everything.”

We stood in front of an A-Star waiting for it to take us on an arial tour of all of what the locals called Hobbittown including the various cliffs, waterfalls, and other nature-y things that you didn’t get on the dime tour. Sera held my hand as if she were a balloon afraid of blowing away. I was nearly certain I heard a metatarsal snap, she gripped my hand so hard.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a helicopter?”

“It’s not so much the aircraft specifically that scares me, more the blades nicking a rock, or hitting a power line, and us spinning and then plummeting to our fiery deaths.”

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