Maybe going up to the tip top deck wasn't the best of ideas. Mila could see just how much water they were surrounded by now. Not a land mass in sight. She swayed a little as a wave of dizziness smacked her in the face like a freight train, both of her tiny hands gripping Baylee's bicep as she glued herself to his side. She breathed deeply through her nose as Baylee looked down at her curiously.
The sunset was beautiful though, warming her skin, and lighting up the sky in a mix of colors that could only be describe as fire. Mila wished that she had brought her camera–but there would be more sunsets to catch on the trip. She was here with her Baylee and didn't want to waste a second of it.
Baylee moved them over to the railing, casually leaning a forearm against it and made himself comfortable. Mila transferred one of her death grips to the railing, but remained by his side. It just felt better, especially with the warmth he and the sun were giving off. Mila was a cozy as could be. As a breeze drifted around them, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, sighing. "Beautiful."
Just like you.
He should've said that. It was right on the tip of his tongue, begging to be let loose. Why didn't he? He didn't doubt that she would've loved hearing it. Any compliment he gave her seemed to light up her world. Maybe it was because he didn't say them enough.
"I'm not really one for sunsets, but that was pretty," Baylee said, sliding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. She melted into his embrace, making him smile slightly. The wet patches on her shirt chilled his skin on contact, causing a strange contrast with the sunset that he didn't particularly hate. He sneaked a look down at the woman pressed against his side and felt his heart skip a beat.
The way the orange glow reflected off of her olive skin made his chest do funny things and the broad smile on her face was enough to make him blush. Jesus, how was she able to do this shit to him? How she could just walk into a room and make his heart start beating faster? How just her little smile could make him melt into a puddle? Was he……?
"Tôi mến bạn." The words were spoken at a speed that would rival Eminem's.
Jesus fucking Christ why did I just do that?
Oh. It was in Vietnamese.
But what do I say when she asks what that means?
Looking at Baylee instead of watching the sun slip entirely below the horizon was probably a crime, but the light made his green eyes burn like fire. And the way he was looking at her–like he'd never seen anything more enticing in his entire life. Staring at him, it was like the rest of the world fell away. There was only Baylee and her drifting through the quiet universe, perfectly happy with it just being them. Why did they have such intense moments? Where it felt like if Mila didn't kiss him right now–
She was going to kiss the hell out of him.
"Huh?" Mila asked, her brows quirking as the intense moment broke, but she couldn't look away. She tucked a black lock behind her ear as the breeze surged again, making her waves go wild. "Was does that mean, Bay?"
Vietnamese was not an easy language to learn, god new Mila was trying. The best she could do for the moment was pick out the curse words that Baylee tended to pepper into the other language more than he did for english. This was a statement that she was sure that she'd never heard before.
"You….uh…." his eyes flicked around for an escape from the hole he just dug himself in. Sunset? No, that wouldn't make any sense at all. Shit, why did she have to look at him like that? The two remaining brain cells that weren't fried at the moment were too focused on the way the light reflected in her eyes to come up with a convincing lie. She made him feel like he was the only thing in her world and it made him blush so furiously he was seeing red. Her the corner of her lip tilted downward in confusion and her head tilted slightly. She looked so beautiful…..
He couldn't lie to her.
"I…." He turned to face her fully, one of his hands reaching up and cupping her face. She leaned into his touch for a moment, closing her eyes and smiling gently. She really wasn't making it easy to focus. "I…." I want to spend forever with you. You are my everything. Shit, he wasn't that poetic. Just keep it simple. She liked simple. "I……love you, Mila."
(Well I would hope so, ya doofus!)
Mila was shock still, her eyes opening slowly to meet Baylee's, and then some. Staring at him wide-eyed, her mouth dropped open into a little 'o'. For her it was like the world had stopped spinning, or maybe it was spinning too much. Honestly, Mila couldn't tell. All she knew was that all her life she had felt adrift, coasting through the world like an unwilling spectator, pausing ever now and then to try out feeling something. Anything.
But now?
Now, she wasn't drifting. His words–no, Baylee himself–had reached up and snatched her right out of the air and tied her to the same ground he rested on. Tied Mila to him. He'd done it unintentionally, surprising even himself. Now the world had color and grace…now the world had feeling. And not just the good feelings, the ones that made her feel as high as a kite, or made her laugh so hard she might shatter, or safe enough to go home with a bartender on a freezing night. But bad ones too, the ones like a slap to the face, where she felt so heartbroken and lost she wanted to run again, or a disastrous first date…. Mila lived for it all. Every. Single. Second.
She loved it. She loved him.
Mila reached up, smile returning as she did so, and wrapped her arms tightly around Baylee's neck. Looking him dead in the eye, she whispered "I love you too, Baylee." Before bringing their lips together in that wild kiss she had been imagining earlier.
(Well I would hope so, ya doofus!)
(Literally couldn't have picked a worse time to comment.)
(It was an exclamation of enjoyment.)
(Think of it as when you're talking to the TV. And he was a doofus. Just a really sweet charming one.)
(there is a time and place for an exclamation. :P iin the middle of a love confession is not one of those times. XD lol)
(I shall restrain myself in the future Lol.)
God, he wanted to hold this kiss out until it went too far. His heart beat so hard he wondered if it would crack one of his ribs, but who really gave a fuck? All that mattered was the girl in his arms right now. He could drop dead in that moment and be the happiest motherfucker to ever walk the planet. But if that happened, he would have to break the kiss with Mila, something he couldn't be paid to do. He didn't ever want it to stop
"Um…..?" Avi's voice asked from behind Baylee. "Are we interrupting something?"
Em gái chết tiệt.
"To be honest…" Baylee said when they pulled away, the blush on his face so aggressive his forearms felt like they were burning. "…Yeah."
"Well, sorry," Jin said, not seeming very apologetic. She even looked a little pleased.
"We came up here to watch the sunset, but it seems that we were a little late," Avi said, staring out at the fading light coming from underneath the horizon. "Have you guys tried the burger place yet? It was soooo good. And the service was so nice."
Baylee and Mila, who's face was also beet red, shared a look before Baylee answered, "Uh, yeah. Not our scene, our guess. Do y'all have any plans for tonight?"
Well there went Mila's plans for the rest of the evening. Well–not that she had been planning anything in particular. Except some more kissing–maybe. The singer frowned trying as hard as she could to keep her thoughts PG as she stood in front of Baylee's goddamn sister. Why of all times did Avi have to show up right now?
Mila crossed her arms as a little shiver passed through her and her frown deepened. Baylee threw an arm around her shoulder's, his thumb gently caressing her cheek before he tucked her into his side. Her sour mood lightened a bit.
"Oh, we were planning on going to the Grapevine." Avi said nonchalantly, as if she had not just named the most exclusive bar on the ship. Jin cut her a look, which the other woman seemed not to have noticed. "You guys are more than welcome to join! If you—want I mean.We're allowed to bring guests."
Mila's brow arched as Avi spoke, not missing the subtle nudge that Jin had given her a few times to stop talking. Avi's expression showed that she knew she'd put her foot in her mouth. Baylee was tense next to Mila, the hand on her shoulder tightening just slightly.
You could have cut the air between the two siblings with a knife it was so thick–and that wasn't even mentioning the equally tense air between Mila and Jin.
Avi plowed forward voice taking on a bizarre squeak in her embarrassment. "Although–Mila–you could name drop and probably get access to the entire ship and then some!"
It was obvious that Avi was trying to make light of the painful moment they were all experiencing, but Mila's entire form went still, jaw locking and face going a milk white that was almost alarming. Her eyes blazed with an emotion that was undefinable, but Baylee sure recognized it. She wanted out. Away. Anything.
But Mila's lips cracked up into a painfully broken smile. "I'm sure." She murmured, but that was all the air she had in her lungs. No more words, no more air as she leaned into Baylee.
Baylee's rush of happy emotion was gone with the wind the moment he understood what was going on. Jin never liked him from the moment she met him. He would often make light-hearted jokes to her sister about her sexuality when he was younger, but Jin took it as full on homophobia and has held on to that belief ever since. It was one of the reasons why Avi and him never talk anymore. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Mila fall in the middle of this shit.
"Actually," Christ, he'd never had a faker smile in his life, "we're both pretty tired and were 'bout to go to our room for the night. Maybe get some room service for dinner. But you two have fun."
Avi appeared relieved as Jin grabbed her hand and lead the young woman to the elevator again, mumbling something about a shirt. Fuck her. Fuck both of them, in fact, for ruining one of the most special moments in his life.
"You have the keycard in your shorts, right?" Baylee asked, turning back to his girlfriend and giving her an apologetic smile. He wanted to kiss her again, but the expression on her face made him thing that it wasn't the best time.
"Uh–yea." Mila muttered, blinking back into the present to fumble with her drawstring backpack. She had shoved her shorts in there after deciding that she'd rather just walk around in her giant cactus shirt.
The young woman couldn't blame Avi for casually bringing up her name–her status as a blue-blood–but it was still a jarring shock to have it brought up twice in the same day. After so many years of just pushing all of that back in her mind so far that it was practically forgotten, remembering that Mila could be just as snippy and stuck up as Jin because of the money behind her name was really, really uncomfortable. Mila forcefully shook her head, waves tossing all around her shoulders, and firmly put all those memories back in their box.
"Got it!" She cheered, smiling as a black card flashed between her fingertips. Like her mini-shock had never happened. Baylee was looking at her, concern setting his features in a frown. Mila stretched up on her tip toes, to give him a gentle kiss. "Let's go. I think we've had enough of people for today." She laughed lightly against his lips, intertwining their hands.
How was she able to do this to him? A smile and a kiss was all it took for his heart to go fucking hammer time. She drove him absolutely wild by just being around. No one was ever able to do this to him and he never wanted it to stop.
"Yeah…" Baylee said with a matching grin, taking the key card from her hand and reading the room number on the black card. B334. Only one deck above the bottom. He didn't know whether to feel safer or more concerned. Mila didn't really seem to care though, so he pushed any concerns out of his head.
The room was a lot smaller than he expected. It was dominated by a single full-sized bed resting right in the fucking middle of the floor, almost blocking the door from opening up. A TV remote rested on one of the pillows, next to a TV channel guide. A single door was at the far end of the room, slightly ajar to expose a sink. The bathroom. Their bags rested right next to the door, clean and untouched.
"I'm gonna change," Mila said lightly, placing a kiss on his jaw before grabbing her suitcase ans walking into the bathroom.
Baylee was bummed out by the news. She looked so damn good in the bikini, even if it was fairly plain. It showed off more curves than he ever knew she had, just like the onesie did, and Baylee would be lying if he didn't find it incredibly sexy. He attempted to ease his disappointment by laying on the bed and turning on the TV, the memory of her legs wrapped around his body almost teasing him.
Mila came out of the bathroom a few minutes later in her 'pajamas', which consisted of one of Baylee's tshirts that she had stolen and a pair of soft shorts so tiny it was like she hadn't even bothered to put on bottoms. Her waves were freshly brushed and Mila was pulling the thick mass over a single shoulder when she paused, blinking at Baylee in slight confusion.
She had noticed something off about the room when they had first walked in, but couldn't put her finger on what was bothering her at the time. Too focused on getting out of her bikini which had been ice cold against her skin. But now Mila could tell exactly what was wrong. Well wrong seemed to be the incorrect word because Baylee hadn't noticed…or maybe he was distracted by something??
"There's only one bed." She deadpanned into the air between them. Baylee looked up at her curiously, then down to the blankets he was lounging on, then back up at her, then back down again.
"Yeah…..?" Baylee had been so distracted by his thoughts of Mila in that bikini that he hardly noticed the missing part of the room: a second bed.
For a moment, he was absolutely terrified. Night terrors still plagued his sleep, causing him to lash out at his surroundings, yelp, and wake up in complete panics. It was one of the only reason why Mila and him never purposefully slept in the same bed. They had one time after getting so drunk they could hardly breathe, but that ended the moment Baylee swung a wild punch that collided with her shoulder in his sleep. The yelp she let out woke him up and looking at the nasty bruise he left on her nearly made him cry
But things were different now.
"Well…." Baylee made uncertain eye contact with his girlfriend, processing the thoughts he wanted to put out. "We…I haven't had a nightmare in a while now. You haven't heard anything from my room for the past month, so I won't hurt you again. Besides…." His eyes left her's and landed on her lips. "it's a cruise. No time better than now to try something new, right?"
Try something new. Mila wasn't scared of getting accidentally punched again. She was one hundred percent certain that Baylee would never hurt her, not even in his sleep again, he would rather cut off his own hands than do that. She shifted on her feet, the only sign of her slight discomfort. What was Mila worried about now? The cold tingle of something not right moved down her spine, the indecision causing her to frown slightly. It was going too fast, wasn't it?
But things were different now.
They both had just confessed their feelings for one another. Their true feelings. Love. Baylee had said it first, kissed her first, held her tightly against him in front of a crowd of people. Mila had been able to say the word 'love' without her chest caving in….Yes. Things were certainly different between them now. And to say that Mila didn't want more was a complete and utter lie.
Smiling, she plopped onto the bed, scooting close enough to slide her fingers into Baylee's. The grin that he gave her was heartbreaking in its boyish excitement. Like Mila had just given him the greatest gift. "Something new." She agreed with a quick kiss to the back of the hand that she held.
"So–" Mila had to look away from his gaze for a moment, he was just being too cute, her gaze landing on the tv. "What are we—Are you watching a telenovela?" What the fuck? Mila started to giggle, which quickly descended into the uncontrollable kind.
A relieved smile slipped on to his lips as she continued to giggle into the pillow on her side. Baylee took the opportunity to scoot closer to her. The delayed answer to his question made him worried that he had taken a step too far, but Mila's laughing eased his worries. He could honestly hear that sound forever. She snuggled into his side as he slipped an arms underneath her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to him.
"I've just been trying to decipher what the fuck is going on," Baylee explained, the beginnings of a chuckle in the back of his chest. "That guy right there has already slapped, like, three women, there's been two fistfights, a make out sesh, and a car crash. In 15 minutes. It's like the writers were on crack or something." A hint of a blush was on his face, though.
"Sounds like our first week together." Mila intoned with false seriousness. She and Baylee exchanged a loaded look before they both burst into laughter. Despite the fact that they were all about making fun of the show they could not understand, neither of them made a move to change it. Instead, they made up their own elaborate story for each character, each scenario getting more and more ridiculous until Mila couldn't breathe she was laughing so hard.
Mila was tucked tightly into Baylee's side, one leg thrown over his and her hand gently splayed of his bare chest. As the show ended and her giggles faded, she tilted her head up to look up at her boyfriend. "We are such dweebs." Mila let out a final giggle, a hand reaching up to gently trace the smile that Baylee was giving her.
Baylee rolled his eyes, his grin growing slightly when her hand touched his face and stayed there. For once in the entirety of the time he had known her, his heart wasn't pounding out of his chest while they were touching. Hell, she was practically straddling him and he didn't even feel weird about it. Everything felt so…normal for once. So clear, without his brain getting in the way of his own happiness. Like the way his meds made him feel, but 20 times better.
"Hm……maybe," he eventually answered, leaning into her hand slightly. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." The arm that was underneath her shifted slightly as his hand came up and gently slipped into her hair, playing with the soft locks. He didn't often play with her hair, for reasons even he know, but the sleepy smile that came on to her face made him make a mental note to do it all the fucking time.
Mila hummed low in her throat, her eyes drifting shut. She rested her chin on his chest, soft smile remaining on her full lips. It felt good whenever Baylee touched her, but the soft attention he gave her when it was just the two of them was an entirely different matter. He was just so warm, even his fingers radiated heat buried within her tresses. Mila leaned more into the touch and Baylee's fingers moved from her hair to the skin of her neck, lightly massaging the tight muscles there. A happy sigh eased its way out of her nose, her body relaxing more fully against his.
Baylee shifted after a moment, but Mila's eyes remained shut as he was still gently working out kinks she didn't even realize that she had. But when his lips came down on her's in a passionate kiss, those blues snapped open in surprise for a brief second before Mila surrendered entirely. Baylee's massaging hands only pulled her tighter against him, deepening their kiss. Her heart was beginning to pound as a once quiet need was making itself incredibly known. If he pulled her any closer she would be entirely straddling him.
That line of thinking had a blush working it's way all through Mila's body and she had to pull away gently. She didn't go to far though, just enough that she could look into Baylee's eyes. The look he was giving her was almost unbearably soft, happy but with something burning deep inside him.
"Whatcha looking at?" She whispered, just as one of his hands brushed a wayward strand of hair out of her face.
