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The waves crashed in the distance, and the wind blew the smell of saltwater toward them as Smoke and Annie lounged in the sand. He glanced over at her, eyes soft as the fond smile that danced on his lips.
5 years.
5 years, married to the woman of his dreams. 5 years married to the woman who’d given him everything he asked for and more. They decided to celebrate those 5 years on a tropical island.
The weather was amazing, the water was beautiful, and the lack of toddlers running circles around them allowed for peace, relaxation, and activities made for adults. Except here they were on day 3 of their trip, laid out on the beach.
According to Annie’s itinerary that she’d meticulously planned in the weeks leading up to their vacation, they were supposed to be snorkeling. They’d been following her plans closely, day one and two going off without a hitch.
When they woke up this morning, though, neither one of them wanted to leave their suite. Instead of going to the restaurant they were meant to eat breakfast at, they ordered room service instead, choosing to lay around until the afternoon came.
As they got ready to step out, Annie realized she didn’t want to actually do anything.
They did stuff all the time at home, never having a moment to just be.
So now here they lay on the beach. Annie’s eyes were closed behind her shades as he laid back on her beach chair. She felt him looking at her, something she was beyond used to. He acted like he never got enough of taking her in.
“What you want, Lijah?”
“I can’t look at my wife?”
She finally looks over at him.
“Not like that,” she murmurs, her chest warming. His love and admiration for her was clear as day on his face.
He hums, his eyes unmoving.
“You perfect, I can’t help but stare.”
Annie blushes, rolling her eyes as she looks out at the water again.
“Nobody’s perfect.”
“Whoever said that, must’ve never met you.”
Annie laughs softly. “Now you leanin’ towards cheesy.”
Elijah smacks his teeth, a laugh tumbling past his lips.
“Whatever. You perfect to me,” he says, moving to lay on his back as he looks out at the sky beyond the sea.
“I love you,” she says fondly.
“I love you more,” he replies, reaching over for her hand.
There’s nowhere else he’d rather be, anywhere Annie was, is where he felt he was meant to be. The last eight years had been the best years of his life, and he’d go back and do them all over again in a heartbeat.
They sit there, fingers intertwined as they look out at the water. Annie finds herself smiling as the feeling of total relaxation fills her.
She lets out a soft chuckle after a moment, shaking her head. Elijah looks over at her with a raised eyebrow.
“What?”
“I can’t believe I planned all that stuff for us to do, just for me to not wanna do any of it.”
Elijah huffs out a laugh. “I can.”
She looks over at him then.
“What you mean?”
“I mean you never sit still, woman. You act like the world will stop spinning if you ain’t up doing somethin’,” he tells her.
She opens her mouth to protest, but she knows he’s right. She liked keeping herself busy, whether it was with their daughters, keeping up their home, or helping out a friend in town. Elijah loved that about her, but he also she would actually give herself time to relax, and he never missed a chance to let her know.
“Well, I’m sittin’ still now. We doin’ all the excursions tomorrow, though,” she says, not leaving room for him to disagree.
He wouldn’t have anyway, both of them knew that.
“Okay, mama.”