Her smile is as bright as the Florida sun is shining. "You're wondering why in the hell we're in Fort Myers of all places, aren't you?"
I shrugged. "I just didn't know if I missed something of importance that Fort Myers held."
She laced her fingers threw mine and walked faster, practically dragging me behind her. "I promise, it's good."
After an hour in the car, the town car that Mel had booked turned down a gravel road, kicking dust up in its wake. The driver pulled up to a small building that had a large garage attached to its side. A few men were inside the garage, stacking totes onto a bus.
What in the fuck?
Mel jumped out of the car and waved at the men. "Hey James! Woody! How are you?"
The men waved back, recognizing smiles plastering their faces. "Mel! We didn't know you were coming down!"
She looked behind to me as I walked up to her side. "This is my boyfriend Carson. He's never been here before, and it’s a surprise, so don't say where we're going."
Both men extended their hands to me, and I shook each. "You're going to enjoy your time here, Carson." Woody said.
"I've never had someone keep a secret like this from me, so I'm a little nervous actually."
The both laughed. "No worries, I can guarantee you will be chomping at the bit to come back.
Do you guys have anything other than the luggage in the trunk?"
Mel shook her head. "Nope, just two bags. I placed an order to be delivered this afternoon."
"Great, we'll make sure we get it to you. Go on inside and check in, the bus is ready to head out for the eleven o'clock ferry if you'd like to head over early."
Ferry?
She bounced on her toes excitedly. "Thanks guys! Stay here, babe. I'll be right back." She kissed my cheek chastely and ran inside the building. Once she was out of eyesight, I looked over to the guys.
"I will give each of you one hundred dollars right now if you tell me where in the hell I'm going."
Both laughed again. "No way, man. Mel's not biting my head off." James said.
Woody agreed. "You'll know in about twenty minutes, but I promise you it's one of the United States best kept secrets."
Mel ran out the door and back to my side. "We're all set to go!" She laced her fingers through mine and dragged me onto a small shuttle bus. There was a family sitting in the front of the bus, four kids and parents, but other than that the bus was empty. We sat in the back of the bus, Mel curling into me as we sat down.
"You look really happy." I observed. I've never seen her this genuinely excited. The huge grin on her face made her eyes sparkle more than usual.
"We're almost at my favorite place in the entire world."
"Is this a shortcut to Disney World or something?" I asked.
She giggled. "No, it's better."
We weren't on the bus long before all we could see was a ferry boat at a dock, and water as far as the eye could see. "Is it safe to assume we're going to an island?"
She playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll give you that at least."
As we unloaded the bus and directly onto the ferry, it hit me. "We're going to the Florida Keys."
"Nope. That's more south east." She nudged my shoulder. "You'll know soon enough. Just enjoy the ferry ride."
I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close. "I'm sorry for being a pain in the ass. It's just...no one has ever done anything this thoughtful for me before."
She rested her forehead against mine. "I guess I'll have to get used to you being a pain in the ass, because this won't be the last time."
I kissed her softly, trying as hard as possible to keep it PG with children on the boat.
I love this girl.
Love?
I’m in love with Melody, and I had an overwhelming urge to tell her. Tell her that she meant so much to me. That our future gave me such an overwhelming feeling of excitement. That I didn't want to wake up every again without seeing green diamonds looking back at me. But this wasn't the place, not on a ferry we were sharing with a family of six.
The ferry pulled up the dock and we waited until the family unloaded before standing up. She held her arms out and smiled brightly. "Welcome to Captiva Island, my favorite place in the entire world."
From where I was standing, I couldn't see exactly how this could be anyone's favorite place in the world. There was a check in center in front of the dock and a large building off to the left that had a huge sign reading "rentals". Before I could think any more of it, Melody grabbed my hand and led us towards an older gentleman who was smiling brightly at her. "Well, well...Miss Melody. I was quite shocked when I got your email saying you were visiting during baseball season. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Mel hugged the man then turned to me. "Carson, this is Mr. Neikirk. Mr. Neikirk, this is Carson Lawrence, my boyfriend. He had a few days off from work so I thought it would be nice to take a small trip."
Mr. Neikirk extended his hand. "Nice to meet you. You definitely deserve a few days off, you've done one hell of a job this season."
"Thank you sir."
He handed Melody a set of keys. "Everything's all set. I'll drop your bags and delivery off for you. If you need anything, just call."
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thanks Mr. Neikirk." She turned to me and smiled. "Ready to go?"
"Sure."
We walked over to a long line of parked golf carts that sat in front of an outdoor bar. "That is Coconuts. Its only one of three restaurants on the island. They mostly sell bar food and drinks, but it’s pretty good. Behind it is a small convenience store called The Shack. It is the only place on the island you can buy goods without having to go back to the mainland. There are no grocery stores or gas stations here."
Am I on Gilligan's Island? What does she mean there aren't gas stations here? How in the hell do people refuel their vehicles?
She slid into the driver's seat of a golf cart and smiled. "Want a tour of the island?"
I was still confused as fuck at what was going on. I took the seat next to her and she drove down a down packed sandy road, coming to a four way stop. She took a right and continued down the sandy lane. The lane was lined with large trees, most of which were palm trees with coconuts still hanging on for dear life. We passed a few other people on golf carts during our ride, all of which smiled and waved at us. "What’s up with the golf carts?"
"There are no vehicles allowed on the island except for the fire department and a few small construction trucks. There are no asphalt roads or concrete lanes. It's all nature at its best."
"That's pretty damn cool." I said.
"This island has less than two hundred houses on it. Most of them are vacation properties, but there are some full-time residents on the island."
"How did you find out about this place?"
She smiled warmly. "My grandparents retired here. I came down during all my school breaks with my parents, and sometimes Lexi and I would come down for a few weeks during the summers. This island is so special to me. It reminds me of my childhood, it brings back memories of my grandpa letting me drive the golf cart, shelling with Grammy... This place is just so relaxing and the complete opposite of Baltimore. It's nice to come here and take a step back from the hustle and bustle of life."
Moment by moment, I was beginning to see why this was her favorite place in the world. The trees opened up and displayed in front of us was the calmest ocean, extending to meet the horizon. The water was crystal clear, more so than you would expect it to be in the Caribbean. She parked the cart and we got out, both taking our shoes off to walk to the water's edge. The water was warmer than any other body of water I've touched before. "Is the water always this calm?"
"Over here, yes. This is the sound side of the island. The ocean is on the other side. This is a good place to find shells and see some wildlife."
She stepped into the water and bent down, picking something up. She turned around, a starfish covering the palm of her hand.
Its arms moved slightly as I touched it softly. "I've only ever seen a starfish at the aquarium." I admitted.
"Look down into the water, they're everywhere."
I did as she gently put the starfish back into the ocean, seeing at least twenty within my eyesight along with huge conch shells. "Holy shit, those conch shells are huge!"
She giggled. "Most of them still have crabs living inside, but sometimes you get lucky and find one that is empty. You can also find sand dollars here, but they're green when you find them, you'll have to bleach them to get the traditional look."
I grabbed her hand and we walked down the shore, taking in the beauty. "Look, do you see that?" She asked, pointing a few feet in front of us. There was a small dark spot in the water.
"What is it?"
As we got closer, the spot swam away. "Sting rays. Be careful so you don't get stung. They barrow themselves under the sand most of the time."
"I've never seen as much wildlife outside of a zoo as I have in the last ten minutes."
She grinned. "Oh, just wait."
We got back into the golf cart, and I noticed a large, open field of grass. "What's that?"
"That's the airstrip. A few residents on the island own airplanes. You can only get on the island by airplane or ferry. The ferry is usually the popular choice."
"This is turning out to be a pretty awesome place."
She continued driving, a knowing smile on her lips. After driving around for about five more minutes, we came to the ocean side of the island. The water was bright blue, looking like it belonged on the front of a travel magazine. "We're here." Melody announced as she pulled the cart from the road. A three-story house sitting directly on the beach is where "here" was. She navigated the cart along the side of the house, stopping abruptly for a turtle that was sitting in front of the open garage.
“And this is Franklin, the turtle that likes to chill out in front of the garage. He’s an entitled asshole.”
"This is where we're staying?" I asked in awe.
"Yup."
"Holy hell, how much did this place cost to rent?"
She turned in her seat and bit her lip nervously. "Nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
“This was my grandparents’ house. When they passed away, they left it to my parents. Now it’s mine.”
I felt like my eyeballs were about to pop out of the sockets. "You own this house?"
She nodded. "I actually live here from October to April. I’m a snow bird." She grabbed my hands before continuing. "I don't like to tell people about this place. It's my little escape from the world. Since my parents died, the only people who have been here with me have been Lexi, her parents, and now you."
"You've never brought any other boyfriend here?"
She shook her head. "I didn't want any of them here. I didn't want to share this with them. But I wanted to with you. I understand if you don't think it's the greatest place ever, but-"
I stopped her with a kiss. I moved back an inch, enough to look in her eyes. "Wherever you are is the greatest place in the world. I love you, Melody."
Her green eyes widened. "You do?"
My forehead rested against hers. "I do. I don't want you to feel like you have to say it back. I just needed you to kn-"
"I love you too." She interrupted with a whisper.
I kissed her again, showing her exactly what she means to me. When I finally pulled away, her eyes were still shut. "You are the best kisser ever." She sighed contently.
"Ditto, baby." I squeezed her thigh. "Ready to go inside? There are a lot of things I want to do to you right now."
She grinned. "Absolutely." She inched the golf cart forward and honked the horn at the turtle. “Come on, Franklin. Don’t be a dick today. Move it.”
The turtle hissed loudly and slowly moved off the ramp into the sand. We pulled into the garage, and I swear that turtle was giving us an evil eye.
“Asshole.” She mumbled.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Melody
Carson wasn’t exaggerating when he said there were a lot of things he wanted to do to me.
Holy hell.
I was sitting on the top deck of the house, looking over the ocean as I waited for Carson to make a few phone calls before we could hit the beach. I always felt at home while I was in this house, but having Carson here feels different. It feels...right. For so long I wondered if there would ever be a man that I would want to share this with, and I knew shortly after meeting Carson that he was the one.
The One?
I tried to push the thought from my mind, but it lingered. Was he the one? The man I would spend forever with? The one to raise children with? I exhaled slowly, trying not to get too ahead of myself. He just told me he loved me, so I didn't want to rush things along.
"Mel, Mr. Neikirk is here!" Carson yelled from downstairs.
I found them in the kitchen, Carson unloading bags of food from the tote Mr. Neikirk brought. "I thought there wasn’t a grocery store on the island?" Carson questioned as I put the groceries in the fridge.
"There's not, you have to either bring them over yourself or put an order in and have it delivered, which is what Miss Melody did." Mr. Neikirk answered.
"I usually go shopping on my own and bring it with me, but I wanted this to be a surprise, so I just ordered food. A grocery store on the mainland will fill your order and have it delivered to your house."
Mr. Neikirk left shortly after, leaving Carson sitting on a barstool as I made us sandwiches before heading out to the beach. "How do you know Mr. Neikirk?"
"He is the property manager I hired to take care of the place while I'm in Baltimore. He comes in once a week to make sure everything is running properly, sets up the appointments for the pool maintenance and for landscaping. If there is a storm coming in, he takes care of getting the house ready for it. When I'm coming in, he usually drops the golf cart off at the dock and waits for me to give me the keys. He knew my grandparents when they lived here, so I knew I could trust him to take good care of the place. I run his property management website, taking reservations and setting appointments for him, ordering supplies. We help each other out."
“Are you able to do all of that from Baltimore?”
“Yes. I take care of the website year-round. It gives me the opportunity to use my web design degree, and it gives me something to do. With the website, helping at Lexi’s school and baseball, I usually keep pretty busy.”
“And now me.” He winked.
“And now you.”
"So does Mr. Neikirk live on the island or does he travel over?"
"He and his wife live on the island, over on the sound side."
Carson took a bite of his sandwich, looking around the room. The main level is an open floor plan, no walls separating the kitchen, dining room and living room. There are floor to ceiling glass doors that open onto a screened in deck, which we have open to let in the ocean breeze. "I understand why you love this place. It’s incredible. And the best part is I have spotty cell service, so after I emailed Mom and Pauline telling them I'd be off the grid for a few days, I turned my cell off. All I want over the next four days is you. No one else. You and me and paradise."
I grabbed my phone and typed a quick text to Lexi, letting her know if she needed me to email Mr. Neikirk. I smiled and powered it off. "You and me and paradise." I agreed.
***
A storm rolled in late in the evening, sheets of heavy rain pounded hard against the window of the house. Carson and I laid in bed, watching the angry ocean just outside the glass of the windows of my bedroom.
"Have you ever considered moving here full time?" He asked.
I nodded. "Eventually I plan to. But for now, I like how it is. I love being able to spend time with Lexi during the summer and I like having my personal oasis here during the winter. It’s a good balance for me."
"How would it work if you had kids? There isn't a school on the island, what would they do?"
"Well, there are a few options. One, I could wait until my children were out of school before moving here full time. Two, I could home school them. Or three, I could just take them on the ferry each morning over to the mainland to catch the bus. There are always options if you want something badly enough."
He rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. "I want our kids to go to school. Have the social interaction and experience that you can only get in school." He was so quiet I could barely hear him over the rain.
Falling for the Rookie (Fan Girl Book 1) Page 15