Following the Stars

Chapter Ninety

Johnny and Lexie pulled up to the bay in Cannes in a luxury car. Sean and Travis jumped out the front and opened the doors for the couple allowing them to climb out. Lexie had only recently began to spend a lot of time in Cannes. Before meeting Johnny, she had only visited for the film festival which resulted in a lot of work for her so to be here for a summer break was incredible. A man approached "Hi Johnny, How are you?" "I'm great thanks Seb, how are you?" "I'm grand, are you ready?" "Sure thing, baby are you ready?" Lexie turned from admiring the view and nodded with a big smile on her face.

The group climbed into a small speed boat, accompanied by their luggage and headed out the bay. Lexie was incredibly confused but trusted Johnny with his plan. He held her hand as her hair blew in the wind. Her large dark Prada sunglasses shielded her eyes as they widened in shock when they rounded the bay into a quiet cove and saw a large luxurious yacht anchored not far away. It became fairly obvious that's where they were headed and Lexie turned to her boyfriend who smirked. She lowered her glasses and beamed. "Is that where we're going?" She smiled, "Yes. A night away, from everyone and everything." "Oh, My, God, it's beautiful." She replied kissing his cheek. Johnny felt so loved in his girlfriend's company and he adored how she appreciated everything he did, whether it was making a cup of coffee for her or these big elaborate gestures. They approached and carefully climbed onboard. Sean and Travis immediately did their security checks and made themselves scarce, whilst a young deck hand approached, "welcome Mr Depp, Miss Donnington. I'm Patrick, It's my pleasure to welcome you on board The Serendipity" "It's great to meet you thank you, my girlfriend and I are very excited to be here." "Well let me show you around." The couple were led round and shown all the incredible facilities on board including the master cabin. Johnny paused outside this room and discreetly asked Patrick to leave, he retook Lexie's hand and entered the cabin. It was beautiful, a small window above the bed showed a stunning view of the ocean behind the boat, there was champagne on ice, and a dress bag and shoe box on the bed. Lexie spotted it and pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head. "What's this?" She said slowly wandering over as Johnny began speaking "Well a special date night requires a special outfit. I hope you like it." Lexie slowly unzipped the dress bag and found a strapless midi black lace dress. It was corset style at the top and fanned out into a bit of an A line skirt. It was exquisite. "Johnny this is beautiful." She said beaming. "I'm glad you like it." He lent in and kissed her as she began opening the shoe box. In the box sat a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choo heels that matched the dress perfectly. Lexie felt incredibly spoilt and had no idea why Johnny had gone to this much effort, however she wasn't complaining. She thanked him profusely with a passionate kiss before they were interrupted by their luggage arriving.

They soon changed into swimwear, Johnny had thoughtfully packed his girlfriend's black bikini in his luggage, which Lexie was more than relieved by before they headed up to the main deck. Johnny reached out to his girl's hand and encouraged her to jump off the back of the boat with him. Lexie was nervous but did it anyway and loved the thrill of having Johnny's hand in hers as they hit the water. The couple swam and began larking around in the water, often with their arms round one another. It was their own little world out on the ocean as there was not another soul in sight. "This is amazing Johnny." "It's pretty cool isn't it?" He replied as he lent in to kiss her again. They watched as the sun began to move across the sky, enjoying the moment.

"So we have a gourmet chef on board for dinner tonight. I've asked for dinner to be ready for 7:30 if that's ok?" Johnny said as they climbed up the ladder to be back on deck. "Oh goodness, that's amazing. Thank you. What have I done to deserve this?" "Just being you, I thought we were owed a bit of the good life after a hectic start to the year." Lexie smiled appreciatively as she rinsed under the outdoor shower and squeezed out her hair. "Can I wear my new dress and shoes this evening?" Lexie asked eagerly. "Of course. They are yours, I'm sure you'll look stunningly beautiful." The woman bit her lip. "Thank you again for this Johnny. It's wonderful." They laid down on two loungers close to one another and Johnny held out his hand, Lexie's left hand reached out and took it as he delicately stroked it with his thumb. "You're so welcome my darling. Nothing is ever too much for you."

An hour later, the sun was close to setting and Lexie decided that whilst Johnny was occupied talking to the chef she would take her time getting ready. She wanted to make sure she looked good especially after how much effort her boyfriend had put in. She soon retreated to the master cabin, grabbed her toiletries out her small case and headed into the en suite. She opted to shower and wash her hair first, and whilst rinsing the residue of the Mediterranean Sea, her mind cast back to the first time she laid eyes on Johnny at the table read just over two years prior. She couldn't believe all that had happened in that time. It had gone scarily fast and they had faced tough challenges in their early courtship but now seemed more solid than ever. She noted how she never doubted herself when that man was around, how she always felt loved, desired, supported and as if she could take on the world. After realising she was working her way through every cliche in the book she jumped out the shower and wrapped a large fluffy towel around her body and one on her head for her hair. She wandered out to the bedroom and Johnny came through the door. "Well hello..." he said with his trademark smirk. "Hey.. all ok?" "Yes yes, nothing for you to worry about my love. They've asked if we want drinks on the deck at 7? I said that will be fine for me but I would check with my beloved." "Sure thing. I can be ready in just under an hour." Lexie smiled at the term of endearment he had used. "Great." Johnny grabbed a white shirt and dress pants out the cupboard they had been hung in, alongside his holdall and disappeared again. How strange Lexie thought but pushed that to the back of her head whilst she busied herself getting ready.

50 minutes later with no further sign of her boyfriend, Lexie donned the black dress that Johnny had gifted her that day, it fit like a glove and so did the shoes. She had dried her hair into big bouncy blow dried curls and added a touch of glam make up without going over the top. She finished the entire look with a red elegant lipstick. After replacing her baby pendent necklace round her neck she declared herself ready as she admired her look in the mirror. She had no idea what Johnny had planned but if there was a gourmet chef involved it was bound to be a lovely evening. She nervously opened the door and couldn't find anyone in the lower deck, then again the doors to the other rooms were firmly shut and she didn't look in any of them. The elegant woman was sure she would find her boyfriend up on deck having one of his iconic cigarettes, so she made her way up the stairs to the back deck.

Upon arriving she was greeted by a beautiful sunset, although she only noticed that after seeing the striking silhouette of Johnny. He had his back to her and was leaning against the back railing, he had black dress trousers on and a snug white shirt that enhanced his muscular physique. A puff of smoke appeared above his head and she instantly knew she had been right about his whereabouts. As she reached the top step, she paused and admired him alongside the beautiful view. Grabbing her phone from her small clutch bag she snapped a photo of the scene in front of her before clearing her throat.

"Doll.. you look sensational. I'm a lucky lucky guy." Johnny said as he turned, stubbed his cigarette in an ashtray on the side table and made his way over to greet her. He took her hand and kissed the back of it before cupping her face and kissing her passionately. As they pulled back Lexie beamed. "Well thank you very much for the outfit, I love it, and it fits perfectly." Johnny smiled "I'm glad you like it, really it's a gift to myself when you wear it so well." "And don't you scrub up nicely. Handsomely in fact." Lexie smiled straightening his collar and wiping the lipstick from his lips. He led her over to the railing where they admired the last of the sunset. It was a beautiful view. Johnny gently moved Lexie in front of him, and wrapped both his arms round either side of her, she turned her head and managed to capture his lips with hers once again before he slowly pulled back. "I love you." She whispered "I love you beyond my beloved horizon and then some darling." Lexie smiled and turned to watch the view again as the yacht sailed slowly across the ocean. Johnny removed one hand slowly from his girlfriend's hip and gently tapped his trouser pocket before taking a deep breath and relishing in the moment.