Before We Leave

The following morning, I was roused by the sensation of moist lips on my face. My eyes fluttered open, struggling to make sense of my surroundings. Whatever that pill was, it had knocked me out cold.

My mind began to stir, nudging me awake. “Ugh! What are you doing?” I managed to croak out.

Shay giggled, giving my shoulder a playful shove.

“You need to wake up before I resort to poking you with a stick. You’ve been out like a light all night. You didn’t even stir when I crawled into bed. Noah mentioned you were beat, but I didn’t realize you were that wiped out.”

As my vision cleared, I saw her peering down at me, her smile as radiant as the morning sun streaming through the window.

“I suppose you could say that,” I responded. “Between everything we’ve been dealing with here and our wedding back home, I guess I’m more drained than I thought.”

Suddenly, the door swung open with a bang. Conner stood there, looking like he’d just rolled out of bed.

“Boss, sorry to disturb you, but we’ve got a problem,” he announced. “Get dressed and meet us at the front door. We need to make a quick trip to the warehouse.”

I groaned, looking up at him. “What’s the issue now? We have to leave in a few hours, you know.”

Just then, Noah slid into the room wearing nothing but his boxers and socks. He skidded across the floor, coming to a halt by the couch.

“Come on, boss!” he urged. “We need you up and at ‘em, like, now. Conner, we should get dressed too, then head down there before we leave.”

With a heavy sigh, I sat up while Shay looked at them, taken aback.

“What’s going on, guys?” she asked. “Why do you all need to rush down there?”

Conner gave her a worried look. “There are a few things we need to sort out before we’re gone for the next few weeks.”

I wasn’t thrilled about this. “What’s going on? You two are acting really strange.”

They turned and bolted out of the room. “Just get dressed!” Noah hollered over his shoulder.

Rolling my eyes, I reluctantly climbed out of bed and rubbed my face with my hands. “Sorry, babe. Seems like the guys need something before we leave. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Her eyes sparkled, but her face remained impassive. ~Something’s not right~, I thought. The guys were acting like it was a major crisis, and Shay was clearly hiding something from me.

I turned to her and playfully tackled her, pulling her close. I began to tickle her, and she erupted into laughter as I relentlessly attacked her sides.

“Please…stop! I…can’t…breathe!” She swatted at my hands, but I didn’t let up.

“Tell me what’s going on, then I’ll stop,” I whispered in her ear.

“I don’t know anything. Please, I’m going to start coughing if you don’t stop,” she wheezed.

I ceased my tickling, knowing she’d be hacking up a lung soon if I didn’t.

“You know something. I want to know what’s up with those two clowns. Your face isn’t giving anything away, but your eyes are telling a different story.”

She slowly turned her head away, trying to catch her breath. “I don’t know anything. You better get dressed before the guys come back and find you in your birthday suit.”

I picked up my boxers from the floor and slipped them on, then walked over to her side of the bed and squatted down to meet her gaze. “You know something. What are they up to?”

Her eyes met mine, but they told me that whatever secret she was keeping was not going to pass her lips.

“Get dressed while I finish packing the last few things,” she instructed. “Just make sure you’re back here in time to catch the plane.”

I stood up and crossed my arms. “You do realize I own the plane, right? It doesn’t take off unless I say so.”

She stood up and slipped on her white nightgown, which accentuated her growing baby bump. “I’ve made friends with the pilots, so just so you know, my word is as good as yours now.”

I dropped my arms and glared at her. “Really? So you’ve been cozying up to my employees behind my back?”

She giggled, pulling on her robe. “Not behind your back, love. Just chatting with them at the water park and other places while you were busy.”

Sighing, I shuffled over to the closet and grabbed a black shirt and some ripped jeans. As I was pulling the shirt over my head, the guys barged back into the room without knocking.

“You do realize the door was closed for a reason, right?” I snapped, struggling to put on my black Reeboks. “What if we were standing here naked?”

They both raised their hands in surrender, covering their eyes.

“Please, we don’t need that mental image,” Connor smirked. “Sure, we saw each other naked when we were younger, but we don’t need a repeat. Though I wouldn’t mind getting a peek at Shay.”

She stormed over to him, smacking the back of his head. “Don’t you dare think like that. If you ever accidentally see me like that, I’ll wash your eyes out with bleach so you’ll never see anything again.”

He rubbed the back of his head as I burst out laughing. “Serves you right. Now, let’s get this over with so I can finish up before we take off.”

The guys and I dashed down the hall and hopped on the golf cart to head to the warehouse. Conner made a quick call: “We’re on our way. Be there in a few.”

We pulled up and entered through the side door that was held open for us. A large table laden with food greeted us, and everyone shouted, “Congratulations!”

A figure stepped up to me. “We can’t make it to your wedding, so we all chipped in for this breakfast. We want you to know how proud we are.”

I glanced around at the men gathered around the table, a smile spreading across my face. “Thanks, guys. I didn’t see this coming. I was wondering why these two were acting so strange this morning. Did Shay know about this?”

I spun around to face the two jokers behind me.

“Shay was in the loop, but she didn’t know everything,” Connor explained. “We filled her in last night about our plan for this morning. We wanted to make sure she got you up in time to celebrate with your buddies before we hit the road.”

My heart filled with warmth, knowing these men had gone to such lengths for me. We each grabbed a plate and piled it high with food.

We settled into the chairs scattered around the room, chatting and savoring the intimate celebration before it was time for me to head out.