I wake up the next morning in a rush because I missed the alarm only to find that Mekhi has handled everything. The bags are waiting at the door, the dirty linens are in a pile, and I'm even fully dressed. I go into the bathroom to freshen up before facing Mekhi after our…I guess I'll call it a disagreement from the night before.
"Good morning love," Mekhi says making me blush as he walks into the room with a trolley.
"Good morning," I say through my blush not quite looking him in the eyes because I still don't know how to face him.
"What's the matter," he asks walking over to me holding my chin.
"It's nothing," I say shaking my head.
"Are you still thinking about last night? If so, don't worry about it. It was a healthy discussion that we had and you shouldn't feel embarrassed about anything that you said. Those are your feelings," he says before lightly kissing my lips.
"Okay," I say in agreement.
"Okay, go and eat while I load the trolley then I will come to join you," he says nodding in the direction of the table with a few trays of food.
"Let me help you, then we can eat together," I offer my support.
"That's alright, I'll be done in a flash," he says with a wink and a flash of his smile before turning to load the luggage onto the trolley.
I take my seat at the table, open the containers, and begin loading food onto my plate. Just as I am poking my straw through the lid of my cup, Mekhi joins me at the table and fills his plate with food as well. He tells me that the others are already gathering their belongings and getting ready to leave as well.
"How much time do we have before we have to leave for the airport," I ask before shoveling food into my mouth.
"We have enough time to do a little exploring if you want," he answers.
"Okay, let's do that then," I say with a smile nodding my head.
"I'll let everyone know. We'll only be able to explore for about two hours if we finish eating soon," he says taking out his phone to update the group on plans.
"Yay," I say with my mood lightened and shoveling food into my mouth almost as fast as I could chew and swallow.
We finish our food and finish tidying up the room before leaving to meet the rest of the group in the lobby.
"How was your night," Nova asks slipping an arm around my waist.
"Well I slept like a log so it's safe to say that I had a good night," I say to her with a wink.
"I imagine so," she says pinching my waist.
"I am so not ready to go back home today," Rylie chimes in.
"Me either," us girls say in unison causing us to giggle like school girls.
As we begin our last journey on the boardwalk we pop in and out of the souvenir shops with me and the girls getting matching bracelets and shirts. We do this to commemorate the start of another friendship and our first of hopefully many vacations together. We make the guys take pictures of us together on the boardwalk and in the sand. In the end, we return to our rooms one last time to freshen up and take the shuttle to the airport. At the airport we check in and sit in the lounge waiting for boarding time passing the time chatting about our experiences this past week.
"This was so much fun, we have to do it again," Susu says with pure delight in her eyes.
"Definitely, we should plan something for summer vacation," Rylie says with excitement.
"We should make it a girl's trip and leave the guys home," Melissa says with a mischievous look on her face.
"Let's do that! We can have a getaway for like a weekend," Nova says.
"We can start looking at places after break," Jasmine says.
"My family has a cabin by a lake we can totally use for a weekend get away," Naomi chimes in.
"Sweet," the rest of us say in unison.
"When we come up with a date, I can let them know so that I can get the keys for that weekend," Naomi says.
"Well now we have a destination we just have to coordinate our schedules so that we're all free to go," Rylie says.
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'm sure I'll need the get away because I plan on putting in a lot of work this summer," I confess.
"Putting in work for what," Melissa asks.
"Learning my family's business and taking some extra classes. My mom is pregnant with a second set of twins so I want to help out and in the process push myself to be better," I explain with a smile.
"Oh wow, that's very cool of you," Jasmine replies in awe.
"Thank you," I respond.
"How is your mom handling her pregnancy," Naomi asks.
"She's handling it well, she's healthy that's the most important thing," I answer.
"Yeah, it is! If you need help with anything just let me know," she says.
"Same," the others agree.
"Well I'll be planning a baby shower and the babies' nursery so you girls are more than welcome to lend me your support and I'll be glad to have you helping me," I say gratefully looking at the faces of my friends both new and old.
My heart is full as the saying "make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold," runs through my mind.
We continue chatting until it is time to the board the plane and again our tickets have been upgraded to first class courtesy of the "airline" so again we are settled into the comforts and luxury of flying first class. Instead of watching a movie, I rest my head on his shoulder and read the book I've placed in my carry-on bag as he chats with the guys. Eventually, I end up falling asleep and when I awake his jacket is covering me. I stretch in my seat just in time to fasten my seatbelt because the plane is preparing to land. There was a sluggish pace between everyone from the moment we stepped off the plane all the way to the parking lot. We bid each other farewell as we finish loading our luggage into the cars and promise to text each other once we get home. Once we get onto the highway, with everyone going different speeds we soon lose each other but Jerry and Smith are following us at a distance the entire way.
"Baby, do you want to go straight home or do you want to come home with me," Mekhi asks squeezing my knee as I stare out the window.
"Umm, I could go home with you for a bit then head to my parents' house. I still have to prepare to meet your parents tomorrow," I answer with a smile.
"Are you still nervous about meeting them? You've already met my mom and that went well," he says with a smile.
"Your mother was sweet, it's meeting your father that's nerve wracking and my parents finding out that you're from the famous Eason family and not the Johnson family that you've led them to believe. I don't know how they'll take the news," I say a little defensive.
"That's true, I just thought that meeting the mother for women would be the more nervous thing. Putting that aside, I'm sure your parents will take the news of being an Eason well considering the need to conceal my identity and the status of my family," he says reassuringly.
"Well, I just hope it goes as smoothly as we hope. It's been a long time since I've had to meet parents or introduce parents to one another in this manner," I say.
"You'll be fine considering that this will be the last time you and your family are meeting the parents of your partner," he says with a sly smile.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you say that but I believe in actions and not just words," I say looking away from him hiding the approaching blush.
"I guess I'll just have to show you then," he says squeezing my knee once more.
"Mm," I nod in agreement and we drive to his house in a comfortable silence.
I spend the rest of the afternoon at Mekhi's place trying to glean every piece of helpful of information on his father from him. After letting me pester him for a few hours, we make dinner then he takes me home. He helps me unload my luggage and brings it into the house before kissing me goodbye and leaving.