371. Chapter 371

Maggie wants somewhere hot. With a beach.

Alex grew up somewhere hot. With a beach.

Alex wants somewhere cold. With hiking.

Maggie grew up somewhere cold. With hiking.

They start to bicker.

Their first fight about where to go on their first vacation.

Maggie cheats.

She walks out of their bathroom – well, technically, her bathroom, but theirs, really, because I love you and I want a lifetime of firsts with you changes some territorial rights, doesn’t it? – in nothing but a bikini and shades and an expression that screams desire.

Alex doesn’t fight very hard.

She books their flight nearly the next minute.

Well, as soon as she fucks Maggie senseless both in and out of that damn two-piece.

Maggie doesn’t usually like airports with people.

Doesn’t like traveling with people.

Hell, Maggie usually doesn’t like people.

But traveling with Alex?

Traveling with Alex is absolute bliss.

Because Alex plans everything – every. single. thing. – but she also gets excited by everything. Every. Single. Thing.

All the little gift shops and all the little sweatshirts and all the little keychains and all the little stuffed animals.

Maggie winds up rolling their bags around while Alex darts from airport shop to airport shop, and Maggie wants to shout to the world that she loves this woman.

And she almost does. (She doesn’t realize her smile is already doing it for her.)

And Alex is just as excitable once they land.

She scours every inch of the hotel suite, uncovering goodies and testing the bed and pillow fluffiness and grabbing Maggie by the hand and jumping on the bed with her before pulling her back down and fucking on the bed with her.

And that’s all before they even unpack.

The beach itself?

The beach Alex claimed would be boring to her because she grew up on one has her climbing massive surf-side rocks and seeing how far out she can swim and seeing how long she can lay still on their towel before Maggie needs to touch her, to kiss her, to carry her off into the ocean and hold her safe, hold her warm, hold her alive, hold her happy.

“I love you,” Alex tells her when her hair is sopping wet, the experience so different now than it was… then.

“I love you,” Maggie tells her when she’s buying her dinner at a restaurant that overlooks the beach.

“I love you,” Alex reminds her when she’s scratching at her back and writhing underneath her.

“I love you,” Maggie reminds her when she’s cumming, hard and abandoned and raw all over Alex’s naked thigh.

“Next time, we’ll go to see the Aurora Borealis,” Maggie promises as they fall asleep in a bed that Alex has deemed suitably vacation-worthy, not telling her that she’s already bought the tickets.

“I love you,” Alex murmurs into her skin as she falls asleep, wildly in love.Wildly safe.“I love you,” Maggie breathes, already half asleep, Alex scent in her nose and her body in her arms and her love all throughout her being.