Moving Forward (Completed)

Chapter Thirty Nine

Somewhere around hour sixteen of travel, Katherine had rethought their choice in Maldives. Sure they'd be warm... sure she'd bought a couple new swimsuits just for their trip... but the twenty hours it took to get there was beginning to make her worry she'd be too tired to enjoy herself. Thankfully they were on the last leg of their journey.

"Gin Rummy?" Rafael grinned while holding up a deck of cards.

"You think you can win this time?"

"I'm pretty sure I won a few rounds last time." He smirked.

"What time will it be when we land?" Katherine dealt the first hand and shifted in her seat so she could hide her cards.

Rafael titled his head as he flattened his brow. "Like I'd really need to cheat to win."

Katherine chuckled as he drew a card. "The time Raf?"

"Three something."

She took his discarded card, rearranged her hand and discarded her own. "That's a good time. We can stay awake until eight and get enough sleep to maybe avoid a bit of jet lag."

"That was the plan." He smirked, discarding another card. Katherine grinned as she glance between the card and him. "I changed my mind." His hand reached for the card but Katherine was faster.

"You can't just change your mind." She smirked, placing the card where it needed to go and discarding the one in her hand she no longer needed. "Gin!"

"You just dealt me all the cards you wanted."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." She smirked while dealing another round.

They were both tired when the plane finally landed at Malé International Airport, both pleased baggage claim didn't take nearly as long as they had feared. It was waiting for the seaplane to get to the island they were actually staying on that took the longest. The resort shuttled them to the main building and soon they were guided down the long pier that led to their bungalow for the duration of the time they would spend bouncing around the different islands.

"This is a bit unreal..." Katherine whispered while taking Rafael's hand in hers.

"Somehow makes the twenty hours of travel worth it huh?" He smirked, tugging her closer.

Their baggage was being pushed on a cart behind them by one of the hotels bellhops. They had both intended on dragging their own suitcases behind them considering they had packed rather lightly, but weren't exactly given he option. It did free them up to simply enjoy the view as they approached their bungalow... the crystal clear turquoise water beneath them, the small green private island the resort was on to their right, and nothing but an insurmountable amount of blue to their left.

"Are you going to unpack?" Rafael called from inside the bungalow.

Katherine chuckled but didn't move from the deck she had ventured out onto. The view from there was breathtaking and she had no intention of unpacking, she might hang up a few items, but would live out of her suitcase otherwise.

"Did you hear me?" He asked, joining her on the deck.

"I did, I'm just too tired to yell back and didn't exactly want to leave this." She smiled and tugged him closer to her so he'd wrap his arms around her.

"Are you changing before dinner?"

She had done research before their trip on the island of Maldives, learning that it was disrespectful not to dress modestly in the airport and on local islands. One guide had suggested pants and keeping shoulders covered to show respect for the local culture that mostly practiced Islam. Once on one of the countless private resort islands, dress was no longer a concern and she'd planned to switch from her jeans and t-shirt to one of the many sundresses she had packed for their dinner.