Another Chance at My Promise

Dreaming? - CHAPTER 83

The second activity of the day was another sunset cruise dinner. This one was more formal than the one yesterday though. There was even a man playing the ukelele up at the front of the boat, a little bit away from where Remi and Marcelo were so that the music that he was playing was more like background music rather than up close and loud.

It seemed as if the tour may have distracted Remi from whatever he'd been thinking about earlier though because now, he was back to his absentminded, distant, and quiet mood as he gazed off at the water that the boat drifted along between each of his bites of food.

Marcelo frowned. He hated seeing Remi like this. Whatever was going on, it had to be bad to make him like this.

"Teo, what's wrong?" he asked. Remi looked up at him and shook his head, nothing, before looking back down at his plate. "Come on. Don't do this. What's wrong?" he asked again, way more gentle than last night knowing that Remi was sad.

Remi moved some of his tuna and cucumbers around on his plate with his fork and sniffled. "It's nothing. I just... I miss Elio, that's all."

Marcelo made an "o" shape with his lips as he sat back in his seat. It made sense that Remi missed Elio. And he had a good reason to do so.

"This is the longest I've been without him, and I just happened to be scrolling through my phone earlier, and I saw a picture of him and I... I just really miss him," Remi sniffed. "I'm sorry if I ruined the mood or anyth-thing."

Moving his chair next to Remi's, Marcelo sat next to Remi and wrapped his arm around him, hugging him to his side. "You didn't ruin anything, Teo. I'm glad that you're being honest with me. I honestly miss Lio too. I was scared to say anything because I know how you don't really like being away from him too long. I didn't want to make you upset."

"Two steps ahead of you," Remi chuckled wetly and wiped at his wet eyes. Marcelo chuckled with him and kiss his temple.

"If you want to leave tomorrow, we can."

Remi sat up and looked at Marcelo. "No, I can't. You spent so much money on this trip. I can't just let everything that you've planned go to waste. I won't be selfish."

"It's not being selfish if it's for a good reason. Besides, tomorrow was just a lagoon tour slash relax day anyway."

Remi's lips turned up into a smile. He kissed Marcelo's cheek before he wrapped his arms around Marcelo's neck in a hug. Marcelo rubbed his back softly. "Thank you, Celo. I'll make it up to you tonight."

"I'll be waiting," Marcelo grinned. Then, he thought of something and separated from Remi. "So, you weren't almost about to cry earlier because of last night? I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?"

"No, of course not. My back hurts, but it's manageable. Last night was amazing. I loved it. I'm just a crybaby, so when I saw the pictures of Elio in my phone, I kind of got a little upset."

Marcelo smiled and let out a breath of relief. He pulled Remi into his lap and pecked his lips. Remi rested his hands on Marcelo's chest and sighed contentedly. "Thank you for all of this. I never thought that I would ever have a life even remotely close to the one I have now, in college, married with a child, on the best honeymoon ever. It's so surreal that I'm scared that I'm gonna wake up from a dream one day and still be sleeping in the library and living with Mrs. Callum. Thank you for making me so happy."

Marcelo's smile got even bigger. He held Remi's flushed cheeks in his hands and kissed his forehead. "You don't have to thank me. I owe you all of this and more. And I promise this isn't a dream. I can pinch you to make sure."

Remi giggled thinking that Marcelo was kidding. Then, he felt a hand grab his butt and squeeze. He gasped and looked at the man playing the ukelele and the boat drivers to make sure that they weren't looking. He then turned back to Marcelo, cheeks still pink. "Celo!"