We drove for what seemed like hours, even though Cole assured me it had only been ten minutes. When the car stopped, I heard him take a deep breath and shift in his seat.
“I’m going to take it off now, okay?” I faced the window so that he could untie it.
I blinked a couple of times before my face broke into a smile. I stared at the Bed and Breakfast in awe; I couldn’t believe he remembered. We’d gotten a flat tire in front of that place before we started dating. I remembered telling Cole something about it looking romantic and hoping my future boyfriend would take me there someday. I remembered him choking on the water he was drinking at the mention of a future boyfriend taking me to a bed-and-breakfast but never thought anything of it.
“I hope you didn’t make plans for tomorrow morning,” he said snapping me out of the memory. I looked over to him and smiled so wide my face hurt.
“I can’t believe you remembered,” I said, shaking my head.
“How could I not remember? I would never forget anything my favorite girl tells me,” he replied before giving me a soft peck on the lips.
After checking us in, Cole led me to our room. The rooms were close together, and I wondered if Cole was out of his mind booking this place for our first time—because this had to be our first time. The rooms were closer together here than they were at Maggie’s. When he opened the door to our room, we stepped into a spacious Victorian style mini palace. It had a large white four post king-size bed, an adorable vanity, and a bathroom bigger than the one we had at Maggie’s.
“This place is beautiful,” I said in awe as I looked around. I heard voices in the hallway and gave him a panicked look. “Oh my God, the walls are so thin,” I whispered as I buried my face in my hands.
Cole chuckled and made his way to me, wrapping me in his arms and kissing the top of my head. “I know baby, but we can never be alone at Maggie’s. We have the worst luck in the world,” he pouted. “Besides, you said you wanted your boyfriend to bring you here, and since you’re never going to have another boyfriend, it was bestowed upon me,” he said as he winked.
I tilted my head and pressed my chin on his chest to look at him. “You’re right.” I smiled.
“I brought you clothes. I had Becky pack your stuff, so if there’s anything you don’t approve of, blame her.”
I laughed. “No wonder she was prepping me so much.”
“What do you mean prepping you?” he smirked, showing me his dimple.
I rolled my eyes. “Girl talk.”
We took turns showering, got dressed, and headed downstairs. The couple that owned the bed-and-breakfast invited us to a dinner they hosted for their guests, and we agreed to go. It turned out that we were one of three couples staying there that night. The other two couples were on the opposite side of the house. Cole gave me a knowing smile when he heard that. As we spoke to the other guests, we learned they were all much older and happily married. They told us what a cute couple we made and asked us how long we’d been together.
“She’s a real catch this one. Don’t you let her get away.” Betty, one of the guests, told Cole as we ate dessert.
Cole lifted my free hand and put it against his lips. “I wouldn’t dream of it, ma’am,” he replied while gazing intently at me. The look in his eyes made my heart skip a beat, and my hands started to shake.
The older couples went back to laughing and talking about how they met, their weddings, and their grandchildren. It was bittersweet to see them together, whispering declarations of love and holding hands. I wanted that in my future—but whenever somebody asked me to imagine where I would be in five, ten, or twenty years, I drew a blank. I couldn’t answer because I always thought I don’t know if I’ll be alive in one, two, or three years, people die every day.
As we walked up the stairs, Cole hugged me from behind and began to kiss my neck softly. By the time we made it into our room, I was panting. He pulled me towards him and murmured “I love you” against my lips, before taking them in his and exploring my mouth with his tongue. The taste the chocolate cake we had for dessert and Cole had me in going into a sweetness frenzy. I grabbed on to his long brown hair and gripped him as he continued to kiss me down my neck. My low-cut dress gave him access to the swells of my breasts. While he gave me wet kisses, he unzipped the back of it. I let go of his hair and let the dress pool at my feet. He took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. Desire curled my gut as he watched me through hooded eyes with his tongue coaxing his bottom lip slowly. He looked like he was taking a mental picture of every inch of my body as his eyes traveled from my feet, up to my eyes, and slowly back down.