by J. D. Fox
"Mom! Language. But you're right; he was weird. Don't feel bad, though. I wouldn't have listened."
"We won't talk about him anymore. I'm glad that Ryan friend of yours made sure you were safe. He does sound like a nice person. I'll write him a thank you note. Can you give me his name and address?"
"Sure," I said, laughing at her. Only my mother would send some guy I dated a thank you note.
Chapter 33
Dakota
Staying in Michigan got boring really fast. I slept, ate, and talked with my mom whenever she was home. I watched movies with Rose before she needed to get back to New York. But after a month of it all, I was so excited to have Lauren come out there. The two of us picked up as if we had just seen each other the day before. We shopped and hung out and she took me for manicures.
"What should we do today? It's my last full day here," Lauren said after her week-long visit.
"I'm not ready for you to leave yet. Are you sure you want to go overseas? I think staying in Michigan sounds just as adventurous."
"Oh, yeah? You think so?"
"Sure, I mean we can go to the mall again. There was that awesome sale on purses, and it'll be cheaper than going to Europe."
"Why don't you come with me overseas? You've talked about it for years. Let's just go. I'll pay most of it. We can stay in hostels and backpack on the cheap. We'll meet some hot guys and have a blast. Unless..." she smiled at me , and I knew exactly what she was about to say. "Unless you still have a thing for Ryan."
"We talked about this. I do have a thing for him. You know I have a thing for him. But he hasn't reached out to me at all. He's not interested in keeping anything going. If he were, he would've put a little effort into keeping in touch."
"Yeah, especially a dude with his kind of money. I mean, why isn't he whisking you off to Spain or something like that," she joked.
"Exactly."
She was quiet for a second. "Hey, will you come to the airport with me tomorrow? I like getting there early, but I don't want to sit there all by myself."
"Of course. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself once you're gone. Sooner or later I'm going to have to figure out what I want with my future. I don't think I want to go back to LA, but I can't stay here either."
My life was up in the air as of the current moment. I had to think about getting a job. I just had to decide on a place to settle down, and nothing seemed right. Up until I left my last job, I'd been an extremely hard worker. I'd stayed until all hours of the night and was up early the next day. I'd sacrificed.
None of that mattered in the end though. I still ended up quitting and I felt less fulfilled than ever after leaving and putting in all that time for nothing. My next job had to provide me with more passion, more opportunities to live a life I could be excited about.
I didn't know what that was going to be yet, but I was open to figuring it out.
"We need to get our hair done today," Lauren said, after absent-mindedly sending some text messages on her phone.
"That's random. Why do you want your hair done for a trip overseas?"
"I think it will be fun. Let's get beautiful."
"Okay, I'm game if you are," I laughed at her weird and random desire to get beautiful for the town of Ann Arbor.
She was severely distracted by her phone as we walked to the mall and spots at the local salon. Lauren was always a little distracted by her phone, but this time it was getting annoying.
"Sorry," she said as we sat down in the waiting area.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Just an old friend."
"It's a guy, isn't it?" I asked leaning over and trying to see who it was that she was texting. "Who is it?"
"Oh, stop. There are no worries. He's not someone I like in that way. I'm helping him with a project. Now, tell me about your work plans. Have you figured out where you want to apply?" Lauren asked as she continued texting whoever she had on her phone.
"Nope. No idea."
Lauren did put her phone away for a minute as she sat under the dryer but then had it out again. I'd never seen her so distracted by her texts before. It was getting ridiculous.
The more I tried to get a peek at her phone, the more she pulled away. Who was this person she was talking to? What was she helping him with?
"I'm exhausted. Can we just go home?"
"I'm leaving in the morning. How about we just get a nice outfit for you? I'll help you pick out something cute to drop me off at the airport in. We can take some cute pictures when I'm leaving."
"No that's okay. I'll find something at home." She was starting to get outright weird.
"Oh, let's just go in that store over there. I promise we'll be quick," Lauren said as she rushed off to a little dress shop across the walkway.
She was acting weird, more animated than she'd been all week.
"Lauren, I'm exhausted."
"Just try this one on," she said holding up an adorable black dress. "It would look so good on you."
"Does this have something to do with who you're texting? What's going on? Something's going on."
"Nothing is going on. I just want to see you in a cute dress. Go try it on, please," she pushed the dress toward me and motioned for me to head to the dressing room.
At this point, I was willing to try the darn dress on just to get this over with so we could get going. Although I was fully recovered from the attack and even had my cast off, I still got really overwhelmed when I was out in public and around crowds.
There were a lot of side effects from the attack, but I was working through them all. Being home with my family was helping a lot and having Lauren had helped up until today when she started hitting all my triggers.
I slipped the dress on and opened the curtain to show Lauren.
"Oh, my God, that's perfect. We're getting you that. Will you wear it to the airport tomorrow when you drop me off?"
"You want me to wear a cute dress to the airport to drop you off? You're insane. I'll wear some sweats. You can wear a cute dress if you want."
"Oh, yes, I'll wear a dress too. We will have some great photos of the two of us before I leave. Please, Dakota. Just one good set of pictures before I'm gone. I might be overseas for months. You don't want to deny me some Instagram photos of us."
"You're driving me nuts. Fine, let's get it. I'll wear it to the airport tomorrow."
"Oh, do you think your mom will come with us to the airport? Maybe they can take the pictures for us?"
"You want my mom to come to the airport to drop you off?"
"Yeah, it's been so nice seeing her again, and I'd love to say goodbye before I take off on my trip. I'll ask her when we get home."
Lauren was out of control. She bought the black dress for me and then tried to get me to go to a shoe store. I held my ground, though, and got her away from the mall.
When we walked in the door to my mother's house, the first thing she did was go and talk to her privately. The two of them went off into the other room and wouldn't let me listen to what was going on. Something was up; they were all conspiring against me in some sort of surprise or something, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
"Just tell me what's going on right now!" I yelled at them from the kitchen. "You're obviously up to something."
"Honey, we aren't up to anything. Lauren was just asking how you're doing, and we didn't want to upset you by talking about everything you've been through."
I didn't buy it. They were up to something, but I couldn't keep worrying about it. Lauren was heading off on her trip the next afternoon, and I'd find out soon enough what it was she was working on. I just hoped she didn't think she was going to get me to go backpacking around Europe with her. I wasn't ready for another trip with Lauren yet.
Chapter 34
Ryan
I'd been talking with Lauren for a week trying to arrange a visit to Dakota in Michigan. I'd thought about reaching out to Dakota directly, but after talking with Lauren
the idea of surprising her came up, and I thought it would be a little more fun.
The thought did cross my mind that showing up in person would be harder for Dakota to turn down. If I called or texted, I thought she might be able to blow me off easier, and I really wanted to talk to her.
We had been through a lot together, and I had felt like giving her some space was the best thing. Work at Big Sur had been crazy over the last several weeks, and it had taken up so much of my time I didn't reach out to Dakota for fear I would get so distracted that I couldn't finish what I needed to get done.
As I arrived at the airport, I was really nervous about seeing Dakota again, not to mention meeting her mom. This whole surprise could really go either way. She was either going to be excited to see me, or she'd slap me and run the other way.
I tried to get a feel for what was going on by texting with Lauren ahead of time. She was nice enough to help plan the surprise, and I flew in early enough that I could be there when Dakota and Lauren arrived for her flight. I wasn't planning on taking Dakota away that very day, although I did have a big idea for what big adventure we could go on next.
I waited in the main sitting area just outside of the security area. Lauren had sent me a few texts, and I knew they were on their way. My knee bounced up and down with excitement and nervousness while I waited.
I'd been practicing what I was going to say and how to react no matter what Dakota said. I was ready for her to push back a little, and I was ready for her to get excited to see me too. The big problem was going to be breaking the ice.
When the four of them came up the escalator, I saw Dakota before she saw me. She was wearing an adorable black dress, and Lauren asked her to stop and take a photo. The two of them posed, and Dakota's mother snapped a picture.
Every muscle in my body tightened as I tried to remember all those things I had gone through in my mind. This was it. I was going to surprise her, and she was either going to love it or not. My hands were shaking, and my mouth felt especially dry as I watched them and tried to decide what I should do next.
Initially, I thought they would just see me, and I'd have to jump up and act surprised that they were at the airport at the same time I was. But as I watched them take the photos, I realized Lauren was trying to help me out, and I should go with it.
I jumped up and approached the group. This was it — the moment of truth.
"Do you want me to grab a photo of you three?".
Dakota froze and turned around slowly. Her face was emotionless, and for a minute I thought she might slap me or start yelling. Then she got on her tip toes, wrapped her arms around me, and gave me a hug. That was exactly the reassurance I needed to keep going with my plan.
"Ryan, what are you doing here?"
"I've missed you, and I realized that I like my life a lot less without you."
That was what I wanted to say, and it made her smile. Oh, how I had missed that smile of hers. I'd hated not talking to her throughout the last month, and wished I could have found the right words to reach out to her sooner.
"I've missed you too," she replied without hesitation. "But you could have called me or texted. You didn't have to come all the way out here."
"What fun would that have been?" I said and then got a little more serious. "How are you doing? I wanted you to stay, but Lauren was convinced coming home would e the best thing for you."
"She was right. This has been the best. But I've missed you so much."
My heart swelled at that, and I decided that the only thing to do was dive in. "I'm not going to mince any words leave anything unsaid. I've regretted not telling you how I feel about you since you left. I want you in my life, every day. I want you on my adventures and in my bed and at my breakfast table and on walks in the woods and in the shower...Just, everywhere. What do you think?"
As soon as I'd said it, I worried it was too dirty to say as my introduction to Dakota's mom, but I didn't get a chance to worry about it.
Dakota grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the side, so we stood apart from the others, and the touch of her hand in mine instantly reminded me of how much I missed her. Not just our talks and the emotional bond I'd had with her, but the physical feeling of having her next to me.
"I don't know where I'm going to live yet. I haven't started working again. My life is really up in the air right now. I am so glad you're here, but I don't want to be a burden. I have no idea what's ahead for me. Aren't you supposed to be your best self when you go into a relationship?"
"I think all of those things are areas that you can work on, but they don't make you less than what you are. You are your best self at this moment, and I want to watch you grow. But since you don't have a job or know what you want to do yet, why not come with me to Italy? I'm going to be there for at least a year with this new hotel, and Venice is one of the most romantic cities in the world. I think you should grow there."
"To Italy?" she laughed. "I can't just go to Italy."
"Why not?" her mother stepped over. "I'm Maria Wagner, Dakota's mother. It's nice to meet any man trying to sweep my daughter off her feet. Between you and me she could use a little more sweeping."
"It's so nice to meet you too," I said and held out my hand, but she pulled me in for a kiss instead. "Well, your mother loves me already."
Maria and I stood looking at Dakota, and I loved that I already had her mom on my side. It would be one of the most interesting cities in the world, where she could write or work on her stock portfolio or do God knows what. I didn't care as long as she came.
"When are you going?" Dakota asked.
"We can go whenever you're ready. I'm ready right now. I travel light," I motioned to the bag that was sitting next to the chair I'd been sitting in.
"You only have that one bag to go to Italy?"
"Well, it's really fun to shop over there. I'll pick up some more things along the way. So what do you think? I don't want to pressure you, but I didn't handle things the best way when you left Big Sur, and I wanted to be clear with you. I like you. I want to spend time with you, and I'd love to do that in Italy."
Dakota was shaking her head and laughing as she looked up at me. She turned and looked at her mom and then at Lauren before returning her gaze back onto me. The good thing was that she had a massive smile on her face. The bad thing was that she wasn't answering.
"So you want me to just come with you to Italy? Am I supposed to sit in the room all day? What am I going to do? I need a job."
"What are you qualified to do?" I said in a serious tone, but really kidding around.
"Accounting. I can do the books. Or marketing, maybe? I don't know. But if I came with you, I'd want a job. I would have to have something to do with myself."
"Deal, I don't want to be in love with a freeloader anyways," I winked at her. "Seriously, Dakota, I will support you in anything you want to do. If you want to sit by the pool and continue your recovery, that's fine with me. If you want to watch Netflix and ponder your next step in life, that's okay with me. If you want to learn the hotel management business and run your own hotel someday, that's okay with me. I'm here to support you."
"Love," she smiled back at me, thinking I might not have noticed that I'd said it to her. "You said you were in love with me."
I'd meant it. I had thought about Dakota every day since she left. There had been many evenings when I'd agonized over whether I should reach out to her or give her the space I thought she needed to recover.
She was on my mind so much that I'd felt her there with me, even though she wasn't. I remembered all our times together and wanted to see her so badly that I'd almost hopped on a plane and came out to her house after the first week she was gone.
So yeah, I loved her. I had no idea what else that might mean, or whether I'd die by her side. But I did love her, and I wasn't afraid of saying it.
"Yeah, I love you. I want to spend more time with you. I want to get to know you. I want to laugh with you. I would love it
if you would come be with me in Italy. You're welcome to your own hotel room if you think we need to start fresh. I'm open to whatever rules will make you comfortable."
"I don't need my own hotel room," she said and grabbed my shirt to pull me close to her. "I love you, too. Yes, I'll come to Venice with you."
With everyone looking on, I leaned down and let my lips softly touch hers. My body remembered her touch, and I couldn't wait to make new memories of the two of us together. The warmth of her hands touched mine, and our fingers twisted together and held onto one another.
This moment was going to be the one I told everybody when they asked how I got Dakota to be mine. I'd tell them about flying across the country to surprise her, and it had taken her ten minutes to decide to move to Italy with me.
"I have a good feeling about you."
"From the moment I met you on the beach I knew you were trouble. You're just confirming it with this crazy plan, but I'm glad I wasn't too mean to you that day."
"You were kind of mean after that day, though," I laughed and held her close to me, not caring about everyone around us. "You are an amazing woman, Dakota Gleason. And if you'll let me, I'll spend every day trying to make you as happy as it's possible for a person to be."
This girl was going to be mine. I felt it at that moment. I knew it deep in my soul. She and I were meant to be. As for the rest of it, that didn't matter. There was always tomorrow.
Epilogue
Dakota - Two Years Later
I looked at my calendar, not daring to believe how time had flown by. The details had all been worked out, and we were due at the restaurant any minute.
"Babe, come on. We don't want to be late to our own party."
"But it's our party! We can be late if we want to. We can cry if we want to."