Forever Baby (26 page)

The next two months go by way too quickly. I guess time does fly when you are having fun. I’ve been doing great in my classes, partly thanks to Andres and my daily study session. I admit that the study sessions are a highlight of my day, and it isn’t because of the studying.

Nolan and I talk and have fun every day at school, and he usually goes out with the group once during the weekend. He fits right in wherever he goes, and all of Nadia’s and Carlos’s friends love him. He and I are different than we were back home, but we are still great.

Andres and I continue to hang out most weeknights with Nadia and the guys, but we take a couple of nights a week to just spend time alone together. We go clubbing at least one weekend night. Dancing with Andres will never get old. The guys usually play a show once or twice a week, sometimes more. A buzz about the band is growing. More people show up when they play. I am so happy that they are experiencing success. They deserve it. Once people hear the music, how could they not love it?

Nadia and Andres make sure I have lots of memorable Spanish experiences. We take weekend and day trips to different cities, soaking in the inspirational culture of this country. I would say that my Spanish is close to perfect. Andres and I also have days where we only speak in English. He likes to practice, but honestly, he doesn’t need it. His English is flawless.

I spend a lot of my time at Andres’s house, and thankfully, his dad hasn’t visited again nor have we run into him in the city. Andres has opened up more about his mom, sharing moments of her life, her horrible battle with breast cancer, and her death. His face lights up when he talks about her life before cancer. He shares more about his dad as well. Andres has tried to get his dad help, but he won’t accept it. Andres thinks his dad is numbing the pain until he passes away and can be with his wife again. It is sad that his dad can’t be present for Andres, and it breaks my heart, but I vow to give Andres enough love to fill that hole in his life.

Even when I think it can’t get any better or I can’t possibly love Andres more, the next day comes, and it is better. I love him more, and my love for him is growing every day. I don’t know what I did in this life to deserve so much love, especially from someone so amazing, but I am happy.

Today was the last day of classes. I am glad I thought ahead and booked my flight home for a week after classes finished. At the time, I thought that maybe Nolan and I would spend our last week exploring Spain. Now, my last week is going to be spent with Andres. He has a surprise planned for me and is taking me away for the week. I am excited to find out where we are going. Every time I think about my impending flight home, I feel a little nauseous as sadness and anxiety start to take over. So, I am trying really hard to live in the moment and be thankful for one uninterrupted week alone with the love of my life. I can fall apart later, but right now, I want to completely absorb this gift of unadulterated happiness that I have been given.

“Hey, baby. You ready?” Andres is standing in my bedroom door, smiling broadly.

“Yes, I think so. I wasn’t sure what to pack since you wouldn’t give me any hints, so I packed a little bit of everything.” I smirk at him.

He laughs. “You can give me that look all you want, but it’s not a surprise if I tell you where we are going.”

He grabs my bag from me, and we make our way out to the car. Andres has been driving his dad’s car more often over the past couple of months, and it’s definitely a welcome change for me. Although I did grow to appreciate the freeness of riding in the open air on a motorcycle, the feeling of the enclosed safety of a vehicle is more my style.

Nadia waves. “Have fun! See you on Friday for your going-away bash!”

“Please don’t remind me,” I say dryly. “I will be the one wearing black.” I give her a sad smile and get into the car.

Andres and I drive for a little over an hour, and we enter a lovely city with an old-world feel.

“This is Cadiz,” Andres says. “It is one of the oldest cities in Spain.”

I stare out the window as we drive through the town. It isn’t small, but it definitely has a small-town feel. The architecture is stunning. Even my novice eye can tell that these buildings are all very old. Most of the buildings are made of brownstone and are majestic in appearance. Driving through town, Andres points out some important landmarks, churches, and historical sights. I can see the ocean on the horizon, and I smile, inhaling the smell of the air through the opened car windows.

Andres pulls into the driveway of a beautiful brownstone house that backs up to the Atlantic Ocean. He stops the car, and we get out. Taking my hand, he leads me into the house.

The interior of the house is breathtaking. The walls are made of stone, and the floor is tiled with an appealing design that runs throughout the house. It is definitely old, but it has been recently remodeled. It has an old-world meets classic-contemporary feel, and it is a very romantic space. I gasp when I see the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that open to a deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Walking onto the deck, I see a private beach complete with palm trees just steps below. A couple of straw huts with hammocks hang underneath.

I turn to Andres. “This is so gorgeous, Andres! How did you manage to get this place?”

“I am glad you like it. It is the vacation home of one of my mom’s old best friends. I just called her up and asked if we could stay here. She was more than happy to offer it to us for the week.” He pulls me into him, and his soft lips meet mine. “We have the whole week to be together with no distractions. We can swim, lie by the beach, lounge around, or do whatever we want…many, many times.” He winks at me with his adorable, devious smile.

I wrap my arms around his neck. “Have I told you lately how much you mean to me?”

“You have. But how about you show me now?”

“Gladly.”

I grin, and he leads me into the bedroom.

The next day, the sun is streaming into the bedroom from the balcony’s glass door. I am wrapped in Andres. Our legs are entwined, and his head is lying on my breast. I can feel the warmth from his sleeping breaths on my chest. When my stomach growls, I recognize my pressing need for food, knowing that my last meal was yesterday morning. Once we made it to the bedroom yesterday, we never left.

I delicately untangle my legs from Andres. I guide his head onto my pillow and slide out of bed. Putting on a pair of my short black yoga shorts and a tank top, I head to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, I am surprised to see that it is fully stocked. I take out the eggs and bacon, and after rummaging through the kitchen, I find everything I need to make pancakes.

I am flipping the pancakes when strong arms wrap around me, hugging me tight.

“Hey, babe. I was going to bring you breakfast in bed,” I say.

I start to tremble as Andres’s lips find my neck, and he begins a sweet assault of kisses down to my shoulder.

“If you keep doing that, I am going to burn your breakfast.”

He whispers in my ear, “Maybe I want something else for breakfast…something sweeter.” He pulls on my earlobe with his full lips.

I exhale. “Although that is very appealing, if I don’t eat something, I won’t have the energy for such activity. Will you take a rain check?” Spatula in hand, I turn and give him a lingering kiss on the lips.

“Okay, as long as you don’t make me wait too long to redeem my rain check.”

After breakfast, we put on our swimsuits, fill a cooler with drinks, and make our way down the wooden steps leading from the deck to the beach. The sand is hot and soft, giving way under my feet, as I curl my toes in the sand. I walk over to where the water meets the beach and draw designs with my toes in the slick, wet sand. As the waves roll in, I watch the drawings disappear.

I am lifted by strong arms and thrown over Andres’s shoulder. Laughing, I slap his butt cheeks with feeble force. I shriek, “Put me down!”

“Put you down?” Andres asks as he walks into the water. “You want me to put you down? Well, I guess I need to give the lady what she wants!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” I manage before I am airborne and then splashing in the water. Coming up from under the water, I laugh. “You jerk!” I wipe the water from my eyes and taste the saltiness on my lips.

Andres is laughing when I make my way over to him. Grabbing a hold of his neck, I pull up, place my feet on his hips, and hoist myself onto him, pushing him under the water. He, of course, pulls me under with him. After coming up, we continue to splash and push each other into the water. When I lamely attempt some wrestling moves that I learned from my brother, my strength is no match for Andres, and he throws me through the air again.

Coming to the surface, laughing, I hold up my hand. “Truce! I give up! You win!”

Andres is next to me again, but instead of shoving me under the water, his mouth meets mine in a firm and salty kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his middle. His arms are around me, and he is kneading my back, rubbing small circles up and down it.

He breaks the kiss and leans his head into my neck. “I am going to miss you so much.”

I sigh. “I know. Me, too. Please, let’s not talk about me leaving. I don’t want to think about it now. Let’s just enjoy this time together.”

He kisses me, and as our kiss deepens, he walks us toward the beach. He lays me down on the wet sand, and lowers himself down beside me. He is propped up on one elbow, leaning over me, as he showers my face with kisses. The sand is warm and gives slightly under my body. The water is rising and falling against my legs, gently caressing our bodies. My hands explore his firm back, and I commit every contour of his skin to memory. His kisses make their way to my ear, down my neck, and across my collarbone before stopping at my breasts. Andres takes his time exploring my breasts with the touch of his mouth and hands. He is not rushed in his journey.

I watch the love and need in his eyes as he explores my body, and I can’t help but feel he is memorizing every inch of my body. Lying on the beach in the open with the sun shining down on us, I feel an anomalous sense of solitude. In this moment, it is only the two of us in this beautiful world. We make slow and sweet love on the sand, and I yearn for time to stand still, so I will never have to feel anything other than this time with Andres again.

We spend our day cuddling in the hammock and making love on a thick beach blanket beneath the straw umbrella. Andres grills some shrimp and veggie kabobs for dinner, and then we take a walk, hand in hand, down the beach. The colors of the sky are magnificent in irregular swirls of pink, purple, red, orange, and yellow streams of light. The clouds are lit up as if by an internal lavender light bulb. The sun is setting over the Atlantic, and the sight is simply stunning.

Strolling along in this serene setting with this magnificent man, I decide to ask some questions. I need to know what Andres envisions for us after I leave. My heart cannot take the uncertainty of it all. I know he loves me, but I’m uncertain if he expects us to carry on a long-distance relationship.

“Andres, what do you see for us in the future?” I ask in a meek voice.

He smiles down at me, squeezing my hand, as our bare feet continue to stroll through the sand. “You know, Olivia, before you, I didn’t think about or really care about the future. Being with you has opened my eyes to love again. You have taken my shattered life and mended my heart and soul with your love. I don’t know what our future holds, but I do know that in my future, all I see is you.”

I melt from his statement. “I’m so scared. I might not have closed my heart like you did, but being with you and feeling what I do, I now know that it has never been opened before. So, like you, I am feeling all of this for the first time. I didn’t know love like this existed, and I am afraid to lose it. We literally live an ocean away. How can a relationship survive that distance?” I try not to sound whiny, but I can hear the shrill in my voice.

“I don’t know, Olivia, but I know it can. We will see each other over holiday breaks, and then when you are done with school, we can figure out the next step.” Andres stops walking and faces me, pulling me into his arms. “You are my salvation, my beautiful Olivia. I lived in the shadows of pain and loss for too long. I was so exhausted with my life, tired of being in darkness, but I didn’t know how to get out. You are my light in this world, and now that I have found you, I will never let you go. I always want to be with you in this life.” He leans in and kisses me passionately. Pulling away, he says, “Being separated by time or distance will not keep me from you. You are my forever, baby.”