Dean balled up the foil wrapper from his burger and tossed it in the bag before grabbing his second.
“I can’t answer that question for you, Willow. Only you can. As cliché as it sounds, you can be an astronaut, a doctor, hell a cashier at McDonald’s, but whatever you do make sure it’s what makes you happy.” He chewed and swallowed a bite of burger. “You’ve always done what you wanted, don’t let your future be any different just because you have to grow up and accept adult responsibilities.”
I nodded at this. He was right. It still didn’t give me any insight, but it did make me feel better.
“And Willow?” He prompted and waited for me to look at him. “I know you think you have to figure it all out now, but you don’t. Everything will fall into place when the time is right. You have to let it be.”
“Thank you oh wise Yoda.”
He chuckled. “I expect you to get me a shirt with Yoda on it now. I need to expand my collection.”
“And a sloth,” I added with a giggle, already feeling ten pounds lighter after our conversation.
He groaned at this, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
“I swear if you get me a sloth shirt I’ll get Lincoln to help me burn it.”
I mock-gasped. “You would never! And Linc would be too afraid of my wrath to help you.”
Dean chuckled at this and reached inside the bag for a handful of fries. “He is slightly terrified of you.”
“Have you told him about us?” I asked. “Or your parent’s?”
“No,” he shook his head, “I haven’t. I mean, you didn’t even want to tell your parents until you went and accidently spilled the beans. I figured we could tell them once we got home. My mom might pee her pants in excitement,” he warned me, “she’s been rooting for us to get together for…we were probably still in diapers to be honest.” He shrugged.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” I spoke softly. “That we grew up together, did everything together, have seen each other at our best and worst, and now we get to spend the rest of our lives together seeing everything else.”
“It’s pretty crazy,” he agreed, finishing his fries.
My burger was growing cold, so I ate it quickly. I sipped at my soda, watching as the sun began to set.
“I never used to pay attention to the sunset until we went on this trip. It was just something that happened. But now I see how beautiful it is. Every single evening the sky is painted with a kaleidoscope of colors. It’s simple, but breathtaking, and something we should take the time to appreciate. But life gets in the way all the time and suddenly the simple things in life are just there and because it’s a constant we forget it exists.”
Dean wrapped a piece of my hair around his finger and rubbed his thumb over the light blonde lock. Cracking a grin, he said, ?
?Who’s Yoda now?”
I smacked his arm and his hand fell away from my hair.
Laughing, he held up his hands. “Hey, you’re always calling me Yoda and that was a very Yoda-esque thing to say—at least in your book.”
My lower lip jutted out.
The action only made him laugh more and then before I could blink he darted forward, holding my face between both of his hands, and kissed me.
His lips pressed firmly against mine, staking claim, and he smoothed his thumb over my cheek.
He ended the kiss quickly and I tucked my head into the crook of his neck.
He held me close, brushing his fingers over my cheeks, chin, and into my hair, as we watched the sun go down.
I wanted to say this was one of those rare perfect moments in time, but every moment with Dean was one to be treasured.
***
When we got back to the hotel I dragged Dean around to the outdoor pool.
I pushed the creaky wrought iron gate open and he followed behind, his fingertips grazing mine.