Ash's POV
Today has been wonderful for me. Thanks to my mate, and Eric of course for planning it all.
I have never been this happy in my life. From the zoo, to the aquarium– oh my god! The aquarium! That was awesome.
Being inside the aquarium felt as if I was experiencing life as it is inside the ocean itself. Seeing up close the aquatic animals. Sharks, whales, octopuses and the tiny beautiful jelly fishes... It's an unforgettable experience.
Now we're on our way to see the beach. I can't see the sea yet but being so near to it alone makes me giddy with joy. I'm so excited, even the thought of finally knowing about my family is not enough to put my urge to see the beach on hold.
It's just a beach! How can you be more excited to see a beach than finally knowing about your family? You might want to ask me.
Well, maybe because something tells me the news about my family won't be a pleasant one and since I love the way I'm feeling right now so much, I don't want to hear anything unpleasant. I don't want to stop being happy. I would rather save the unpleasant news until later in the day.
"It's really beautiful out here!" I say as we drive on a paved road with white sand on both sides of it. Seeing the white sand makes me want to get out of the car and scoop some with my hands so I can watch it slowly sprinkle out in between my fingers. God, I've been wanting to do that for as long as I can remember.
I'm eager to find out what it's like to walk on the beach with the sand under my feet and in-between my toes like I've always wanted, but Thor insist we're not at our destination yet. I can do whatever I want once we get there, he says
"We've been driving for a while, can't we walk the rest of the way?" I pleadingly ask again and he laugh
"God, babe, don't be impatient." He laughingly say. "I told you we have a particular place we're going. Don't worry you'll soon get to walk on the beach and feel the sand for as long as you want. We're spending the night here after all."
"Are we really? We're going to be sleeping on the beach, under the moonlight?" I eagerly ask and he laugh again
"If that's what you want then we will."
"That's great! But what about supplies? Change of clothes, you know what I mean?..."
"Yeah, don't worry, we'll shop or order for whatever we need. You just sit, go with the flow and enjoy. Okay?"
"Sure..." I reply, smiling happily
Thor inhale deeply
"Hmmm... tell me, can you smell it? Can you smell the ocean from here?"
"Yes, I can..." I reply with a nod, lean back on the chair, close my eyes and inhale the air around me.
"It smells like fresh-air, coconut, palm trees– it smells like... paradise, purity, warmth, salt, cold sun..."
"Huh, what? cold sun?" He interupts. "You smell cold sun? The sun is cold now?" He says in amusement, laughing at me.
I open my eyes and look at him
"Well, yes!" I reply with a shrug. "Believe it or not, I smelled cold sun. You don't believe me? I also mentioned paradise, purity, warmth and salt. Why mock me about the cold sun?"
"I didn't mock you..." He tries to keep a straight face as he talks but I can see he's barely keeping himself from bursting out in laughter.
"Yeah, right! You didn't!"
"Babe, I didn't! Well, I laughed because what you said sounded ridiculous. I just couldn't..."
"Never mind. Please remind me not to ever answer you whenever you ask anything from me!"
"Oh... Are you angry?"
"No, I'm not! I'm just saying. I know you wouldn't have doubted and laughed at me if I had said I smelled something perfume-y or cologne-y but it is what it is. I smelled what I smelled, you don't have to believe me."
"O–kay... I understand what you're saying and I believe you now. Even though saying you smelled cold sun sounded peculiar, I'm sorry I laughed. I wasn't trying to mock you or something like that."
"It's okay. I was a little upset but I'm not angry. It's strange I know but I interpreted what my nose picked up the best way I could and I didn't expect you as my mate to doubt me. I won't ever doubt you, even if you tell me the most unbelievable things ever you know." I say with a smile
Instead of replying, he stops the car in the middle of the road and turns off the ignition.
"Why did you stop? It’s the middle of the road or have we arrived at where we're going?" I ask but he ignores my questions.
He walks around the car and arrives in front of the passenger's door within seconds.
"Have we arrived?" I ask again when he opens the door but he just undo my seat belt and gently pulls me out of the car and into his arms in one swift motion, hugging me tightly to himself.
"I'm sorry babe! I know you said you're not angry with me, I just want you to know that I'm really sorry for taking your words as a joke. Well, truth be told, I thought it was a joke, hence my behavior. I'm sorry."
I'm touched by his honesty and glad he didn't think I was overreacting. I pull away from him a little so I can look into his eyes.
"It's okay, babe. I understand you. Now let's not dwell on it okay?" I say, cradling his face in my hands before kissing him fully on the mouth.
"Okay?..." I pull away from the kiss to ask again and he nods, kissing me right back
Of course, the kiss was meant to be brief, but now I'm getting to understand that there's nothing like a peck or a short kiss when it comes to my mate and I. Instead of pulling away from each other we lost ourselves in our little romantic world, forgetting we're in the middle of the road until a loud horn startles us apart.
"What the fuck guys! I can't believe this! It's the middle of the fucking road! C'mon! Can't you bear to keep your hands off each other even for an hour that you had to park in the middle of the road to kiss!?" He says incredulously
I giggle, hugging Thor tighter when I see it's Eric. He's standing half-in and out of his car with the engine still running. It's surprising how we were so lost in the act we didn't hear his car approach despite our super hearing abilities.
"It's also in the middle of a private road, idiot! Leave us alone and mind your fucking business! Bully!" Thor shouts back at him
"Bully!?... Hellooo!... Do I need to literally point out to you that you're in the middle of my business!? Are you aware that the road is not wide enough to swerve around you!"
'These two!'
I exhale. They will go on and on, bickering like kids if I don't stop them
"We're sorry, Eric! We didn't mean for this to happen. So sorry we got carried away!" I apologize but Thor isn't having it
"No, we're not sorry!" He shouts at Eric who in turn gives him the middle finger.
We get back into the car, round a bend, and drive for a little while till we arrive at a huge gate with 'keep off', private property written in front of it.
"Welcome to Darvin Cove, babe," Thor says just when I'm about to ask him where we are.
"Darvin Cove?" I repeated in wonder as the gate automatically slid open for us to drive inside.
We drive further up a tree-lined paved road till Thor parks the car beside an elegant mansion. I don't wait for him to open the car door for me before I get out. The beach is close by. I can't see it but I can clearly hear the sounds of the ocean waves crashing on the beach.
"Thor, I can hear it! I can hear it! Can we go see it now!" I ask in excitement.
I know I'm acting like a kid in front of my mate and his friend but I don't care. Have you ever wanted something so bad all your life? How did you feel when you finally got it?
"Yes, babe. We'll see it in a moment but first, there's something I need to show you." He says, taking my hand in his.
Eric walks up to us
"This is it?" Thor turns to ask him
"Yeah, this is it. The other one is way over there..." He points up the road to our right.
"I figured you'd want this one since it's closer to one of the promontories and as far away from the humans as possible."
"You figured right, thank you."
"Yeah, this way..."
"Where's this place?" I ask as we follow behind Eric.
"It's the surprise, I promised you." He replies, smiling down at me.
"What!?..." I ask with astonishment, my mouth hangs open as I look around me.
"Yep..." He says, kissing my open mouth. "Close your mouth before you catch a fly."
"What!? It's a house! A fucking mansion, babe, are you serious!?" I exclaim in disbelief.
Eric chuckles
"You don't need to be this surprised, you know. In case he didn't tell you yet, then you should know that your babe is fucking rich. So in the future, don't be afraid to lavish his money anyhow you want, okay?"
"What?..." I say and laugh
"I told you he's crazy didn't I?" Thor says and I can't help but nod in agreement. Eric is indeed crazy.
We arrive at a huge door and Eric pushes it open...
I gasp out in surprise
"Oh my god!... This– is– awesome!" I exclaim in awe as we step on the terrace
"Surpriseeee!..."