Our Secret Summer(95)

How?

I still wear Winnie’s ring. She’s with me every day, and I think of her endlessly. Always. My company is named Three Little Birds Surf Shop, after her. I still wear so many of the clothes and bathing suits she purchased years ago, though these days, with my growing pregnancy body, that turquoise bikini is more than a little obscene. Cristiano, obviously, loves it.

But the journal was forgotten until now.

I lean forward on the blanket and flip it open so I can trace the pad of my finger over her familiar handwriting, turning pages slowly as I reacquaint myself with my sister’s words. Winnie’s journal was always less of a diary and more of a collection of random notes and doodles. It contains the names and dosages of medications scratched beside a list of fantasy books a nurse recommended to her. Beneath that, the phone number for Nick, a cute, young resident she was flirting with before… before.

I look through the journal until I land on the all-important bucket list. I could laugh thinking back on my first summer here. I did a good job of it, crossed off quite a big chunk of her tasks, and I’ve completed even more since. Cristiano must have marked off things for me, because only two items remain, and judging by the secluded beach setup he’s arranged for us, we’re going to check them both off tonight. I smile as I read over the list, recalling all the special, sometimes ridiculous, memories.





Winnie’s Ibiza Bucket List


Swim at Bora Bora Beach

Go to a crazy dance party

Day trip to Formentera

Eat tapas (until you’re sick)

Wild sex (lots!!!)

Skinny-dipping

Fall in love BUT ONLY IF THE MAN IS SMOKING HOT!

Get a tattoo

Go cliff jumping at Sa Punta

Party on a yacht

Try drugs (maybe???)

Surf

Snorkeling

Wander through Old Town

Drink all the sangría!

Shop at Hippy Market Punta Arabí

Try hierbas ibicencas

Watch the sunrise (with that hot man)



It’s a good list. Winnie would have been proud of me for accomplishing all of it. Cliff jumping now actually seems relatively tame compared to the rest of it. I glance down the page and belatedly realize that at the bottom, a new task has been added, penned in Cristiano’s sturdy scrawl. The ink is still shiny and new compared to Winnie’s old writing.

Say yes



I chuckle, confused. Say yes?

I’m almost tempted to turn the page, to see if there’s something I’m missing. When I glance up, looking for answers, Cristiano’s wearing a solemn expression filled with hope. He shifts to pull something from his pocket, then he slowly withdraws a small black velvet box. His hand shakes as he flips open the lid.

I gasp at the simple round diamond sparkling in the box.

His timid smile is so sweet compared to his usual calculating gaze and confident smirks. He’s nervous. “One last task on the bucket list, nena.”

I don’t even have to think. I tip forward, capture Cristiano’s face between my hands, and kiss him. He wastes no time in returning the passion, kissing me hard enough that I lose my head a little. The kiss lingers as our mouths open to each other. Everything is familiar and comforting, and yet, deep down there will always be a promising hint of urgent need.

I want to keep kissing him, but I realize I haven’t given my answer. Of course it’s yes. Of course I’m going to marry Cristiano, but just as I’m about to say it, I recall the night he drove me home from Aura years ago, when he demanded I go up to my apartment and get Winnie’s journal so I could show him the list and I told him I wanted his help completing it.

“How badly do you want to finish that bucket list? Badly enough to come over here and beg?”

I’ll never forget what we did in his car after.

I smile cheekily and pull back. Cristiano’s brows arch with curiosity.

“Remember that night years ago? What you told me when I first showed you this list? How you demanded I earn your cooperation?”

His head tips as he tries to recall it, and then suddenly I watch as realization dawns. His eyes turn heated.

“Yes.”

I smile deviously, glad more than ever that he’s picked this secluded beach for us tonight. “How badly do you want me to put on that ring, Cristiano?” I taunt. “Badly enough to come over here and beg?”

My words are as effective as a lit match dropped into a can of kerosene. Cristiano lets the ring box fall onto the blanket, forgotten as he comes for me. My heart leaps into my throat as he pushes me back, controlling my descent until I’m lying flat. His face is lit by the setting sun, golden and beautiful.

“I’ll beg, amor mío,” he promises, already lifting my dress.

Later, we’ll skinny-dip, and maybe if we’re feeling adventurous, we’ll stay out on this beach long enough to watch the sunrise. We’ll cross off every last thing from Winnie’s list. But now…

Cristiano’s warm hands slide possessively over my skin. He knows me so well. He knows where to touch to drive me wild, how to turn it into a torturous game for us both. He gathers my dress at my waist first and then pushes it up over my chest. The sea breeze raises goose bumps across my skin as he stares down at me reverently. He leans down to kiss my stomach, whispering secret words to the baby. My fingers tangle in his hair, and I smile and tip my head to look out toward the quiet, tranquil water.