Vegas Knot (✔️) | Love Travels #1

Eighteen

Raj and Divya are the cutest couple I've ever seen. They have that newlywed vibe about them even now. Sitting at their table for two and leaning into each other, probably sharing some private jokes or bits of information about their wedding as the rest of us sit just outside their sphere of influence, looking in through the clear plastic bubble that seems to protect them from every ill.

That magic of the wedding week is here in full force, despite the method of elopement and the difficulty with her parents, she looks like she doesn't have a care in the world.

I, on the other hand, have every care in the world.

The soft breeze keeps me cool while three courses, each with a corresponding glass of wine, are brought out to us, and Enrique is telling a long list of terrible pick up lines and dad puns while it happens.

"You know what?" I ask him when he pauses to take a drink. "I don't think the wine here is all that good, if I'm being honest."

"Yes," he agrees. "In my very professional and expert opinion, I've had better." He swirls the wine around in the glass while pretending to adjust a non-existent monocle.

"Something about the bouquet or the body or something," I continue. Those are wine words, right?

"Yes, I'm sure you're right. Excellent assessment. Perhaps we should go investigate the grapes to determine the cause of this deficiency before they bring out any more wine."

My watch lights up with '12:42 pm' which means we have some time before the van is set to leave without us. "All right, I guess. But only to save me from more wine."

"I have some chocolate covered pretzels in my bag," he adds, holding up a brown satchel.

"Well, why didn't you say something sooner? Let's go."

"Hey!" Divya calls when she notices us leaving. "You need to be back on time or I'm leaving you here."

"We will be," I call, giving her a thumbs up. Raj reaches across the table and puts his hand over hers, whispering some reassurance, I'm sure. Gotta love that man's stabilizing force.

Once we are safely out of sight of the courtyard patio, Enrique pulls out the chocolate covered pretzels and rolls down the bag so we can easily reach inside.

"So, are you an outdoors kind of person usually?"

I shake my head, but he's not looking at me, so once the pretzel's gone I answer. "No. Not really at all. I like the comforts of air conditioning and television."

"How do you feel about movies? And more importantly, what's your favourite movie?"

"I love movies." But picking favourites is hard.

"You have a genre you like to watch more of the time, then?"

"I like to figure out mysteries in those movies where everyone's snowed in at a cabin or on a train car or something. The puzzles are fun. And, of course, I love watching romances."

"Of course?"

"Look at me." I sweep my hand down my body, as though just looking at my outfit would tell a person I love romantic movies. "No, but really, I don't know if it's of course. Something about the fact that I know exactly what's going to happen is comforting. I stress too much when I don't know the outcome, and romances give me that. I don't know, I just like the idea that love can do that, you know?"

"I think it can." He stares off into the distance and snaps a pretzel between his teeth. "I mean, I don't think it always does. Life is messy, you know? And I think sometimes people think something is love when it isn't really. I've been caught in that a few times. But sometimes it really does happen, you know?"

"I don't, really." I stick another pretzel in my mouth to keep it busy so I don't have to answer. But he just waits, walking in step with me as the path winds between the only green plants as far as the eye can see: grapes.

Finally, when my mouth has cleared of pretzel, I have to answer his unasked question. His face is relaxed, just waiting for my reply.

"You always give girls that disconcerting look?" I ask.

"Only when I think they have something to say that's worth hearing."

A small gust of wind blows my dress around my legs and cools my chest, reminding me to take a deep breath.

"I just... I don't really know if that kind of love really does happen. I see it in the movies all the time. And sometimes it seems like I'm seeing it in real life you know? But under the surface, it's never what it seems. It always disappoints. Maybe that's why I like the movies so much. They aren't like life that way. They'll never disappoint."

"I don't think it always disappoints."

"It did with my parents," I whisper before I can stop myself.

He hears me. But he doesn't say anything. Doing that annoying thing where he just waits.

"It just seemed like they were the perfect couple, you know? But under the surface there was stuff going on that no one could see. Especially not me. And then it all fell apart. Sometimes I think back and wonder how I couldn't see the signs. There had to be a way for me to see it coming, but I just didn't. Maybe I just wanted their love to be true so badly I was blinded by those signs. Or maybe they did a really good job hiding it from me. But somehow it... Well, anyway. Sometimes things aren't always what they seem."

I cannot believe I've said that much.

He keeps walking, holding the pretzels out to me and rolling the words I've just said around in his mind. "That sounds like a tough thing to think about. Do you want to tell me more about it?" he asks, stopping in the middle of a fork in the road. "Or do you just want to go this way and see what happens?"

Why does that feel like a loaded question?

He holds out his hand, shaking the bag of pretzels in front of me. "Your choice, my lady?"

"I want to go that way and see what happens," I say.

He grabs my hand and takes off at a bit of a run. I follow, feet impacting the hardened dirt path with each step he takes. We round two corners by the time I realize I have no idea where we are. Or what time it is.

"Enrique! We're going to be late," I gasp out in between pants for air. "And I'm sweating."

"We are not going to be late," he says, ignoring my second complaint. "Just trust me."

I pull back on his hand and dig my feet into the ground. "How can I trust you? You don't even know where we are!"

"I have a very good sense of direction," he smiles. "Just trust me, please."

"Okay," I relent. "But only if you take it a bit slower."

"And only because you have no idea where we are or how to get back."

"That, too." 

~*~ Author's Note ~*~

If you go to my profile authorelizasolares , you might find something with a bright orange cover called Roatán Plunge. And that thing might be the second series in this collection. It's up as a teaser until this book is done, but please take a look and maybe leave a comment or add it to a reading list 👀 . I'll share more next week if you'd rather wait. 🙂