Before I Die

“Did you know they have the museum of the Bible?” Nevaeh says, scrolling through some website on her phone. She’s been researching everything we can stop and see along the way. She doesn’t realize if we were to try to do everything she’s mentioned, it would take a damn year, but I don’t tell her that. Every time she suggests another place, I nod and smile, and she adds it to her list. Yes, my wife has created a new list. Only she would throw one list away, and then turn around and create another. It’s safe to say she has no idea what the word spontaneous means.

“So, are we stopping there too?”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. But when I glance over, I see the notepad app pulled up, telling me she’s already jotting it down.

A few minutes later, she gasps. “Have you ever been to North Carolina?”

“Nope.”

“I just came across a cabin there that’s for rent. It’s up in the mountains and it’s so pretty.”

She flashes me the screen of the two-story wood cabin with a bright green roof surrounded by trees with the back drop of several mountains.

“It looks so peaceful.” She sighs in contentment.

“So, let’s go.”

“I thought we were going to Washington DC… and Virginia, and Georgia, and Florida.” She glances down at her notepad for several seconds then hits the delete button. “Okay.” She nods, showing me the blank page. “Let’s do it.”

She taps away on her phone. “How long?”

“Do it for a week and then we can decide from there.” We can always leave early or go someplace else. She has three weeks until her surgery, so we have plenty of time.

“Can we still go to Disney after?” She looks up at me with her big brown eyes and thick fluttering lashes. “I really want to meet Mickey.”

“We can do whatever you want.”

She beams and does a little happy dance in her seat. “Yay! I’m so excited. This is so exciting!”

It’s a twelve-hour drive to Franklin, North Carolina, which is spent with Nevaeh playing deejay, belting out songs like it’s karaoke night at the local bar, and stopping along the way at the rest stops to buy coffee and food. The last couple hours, though, Nevaeh crashes and I drive in silence. It gives me time to think about everything. Her upcoming surgery, what I want for our future. With me going legit, eventually I’m going to need to supplement the income I’m losing with new money, and I’ve been thinking about opening another club somewhere. Maybe after she’s better and healed we can discuss taking a longer road trip to check out locations. I’ve also spoken to my dad about opening another hotel and casino. It would be nice to get away from Atlantic City for a little while.

A couple hours later, we arrive at our destination. Nevaeh wakes up, refreshed and eager to check out the place. The home is even bigger than it looked in the pictures and has a wraparound porch overlooking the mountains.

“Let’s look at the backyard,” she insists, taking my hand in hers and sprinting around the side of the house.

“Oh my God! Ethan, look!” To the left of the house is a massive natural waterfall that leads to a stream that runs around the perimeter of the property.

Nevaeh kicks off her boots and peels off her socks, then rolls her jeans up a couple inches before she walks right into the stream. “It’s chilly, but it feels so good. You can see right to the bottom.” She kneels, getting her jeans soaked. Cupping her hands, she takes in a handful of water. “It’s so fresh and clean.”

We spend the next hour or so walking down the stream—of course she insists I get barefoot and join her in the water. Nevaeh points out the fish and leaves and pebbles. We walk behind a ranch and she stops to pet the horses. It’s the most peaceful and calm I’ve yet to see her since I met her. So much so, when she jokingly suggests we buy a place here, I seriously consider it. It wouldn’t be the ideal place to open a club or hotel, but maybe I can look into the surrounding areas. Tennessee isn’t too far…

When we return to the cabin, we head to the back to grab our shoes and socks. “I’ll grab the luggage while you get the key from where they left it.”

“Actually…” She takes my shoes from my fingers and drops them. “I was thinking we could spend a little more time out here.” She waggles her brows playfully then undoes the button to my jeans.

As she pulls the zipper down, I glance around, already knowing there’s nobody anywhere near us, but still wanting to double-check. Then, following her lead, I lift her shirt off her body and unclasp her bra. Her breasts drop slightly, her nipples pebbling from the cool breeze. I pinch the hardened peaks between my thumbs and forefingers and she moans loudly, the sound of pleasure echoing in the trees.