My alarm went of at its usual time of 6am, and it was hard as hell to leave Vin in bed and start to get ready for the day. It was also a little unnerving to go about my usual morning routine with Vin watching every move I made. On the flip side, it was thrilling knowing that we were leaving that evening for our trip that he still hadnāt told me anything else about. I donāt care where we go, just as long as we are together.
I left the house around 7am, leaving Vin there to wait for Mike to pick him up for their meeting. He walked me to the door, giving me one of his bone-melting kisses before I left.
"Any chance for a quickie before you leave?" he asks with a grin.
That offer was very tempting. "Sorry, but Iāve got to go. As it is, traffic is going to be hell and if I leave any later, I wonāt get to the office until almost 9:00. I want to get there, get all of my stuff finished, then hopefully slip out early. I still need to pack."
"If itās ok with you, Iāll have Mike drop me off here after the meeting. If things go well, it shouldnāt last more than a few hours. He can take the rental back and drop it off when he catches his flight later."
"And how are you going to get to the airport?" I ask, searching through the junk drawer searching for an extra key.
"Youāll see," he adds.
"Youāre still not going to tell me anything about our trip, are you?"
"Nope. Youāll find out when the time comes."
"Ok, Mr. Secretive. Hereās a spare key. Donāt forget to set the alarm before you leave. Iāll see you later." I gave him a quick kiss and closed the door behind me.
Surprisingly, the day flew by. I had several projects that had to get finished that day since I was taking Friday off. Thankfully that kept my mind occupied with something other than Vin. Not that thinking about Vin was a bad thing, it just interferes with work sometimes.
Finally around 2:00 I had printed out the last report that was due and turned it over to my boss, Sue. In addition to being my boss, she was also one of my good friends.
"What are you grinning about?" she asked, taking the report from me.
"Just excited about this weekend."
"Whatās going on this weekend?" she asks.
"To tell you the truth, I have no idea. The only thing I know is that weāre going somewhere. Heās being really closed-mouth about the whole thing."
"Is this the guy that you met in New Orleans? The one that sent you the roses?"
"Yes, the very same one," I added. "Iām finished with everything so Iām going to head out."
"Have a good weekend," she says, waving as I walk out of her office.
I drove back to the apartment trying to figure out what Vin had planned. We could be going just about anywhere, but he said that it was going to be just the two of us and not pack anything fancy. Stumped for the moment, I pulled into the complex and parked. I wondered if Vin was back or still in his meeting. I had my answer when I unlocked and opened the door and Vin was walking out of the bedroom into the living room.
"Hey. Howād the meeting go?" I asked, putting my purse and keys on the table by the door.
"Pretty good. We got a lot accomplished," he said, walking towards me.
He leans down and gives me a quick kiss, then tells me to hurry and pack. "We need to leave as soon as possible."
"Why the rush?"
"Youāll see."
I head into the bedroom to change out of my work clothes to find that Vin had made the bed and straightened things up. It looked like a tornado had ripped through it earlier when I left for work. I grabbed a pair of jeans and t-shirt and changed.
"Thanks for straightening up. I was going to do it when I got back home."
"No problem. I got back after lunch and figured that if I did this, you wouldnāt have to and we could leave sooner."
"Thatās sweet. Now, what do I need to pack?" I was going to try to figure out his secret.
"Iāll give you a hint. Think outdoors."
"Oh, like that tells me anything," I joked.
"Shorts, jeans, bathing suit. Does that help?"
"Immensely. Care to give any other info?"
Grinning he replies "Nope."
"Youāre loving this, arenāt you?"
"Yep."
I grab my bag and start to pack the things he suggested. In less than 5 minutes Iām packed and ready to go.
"Ok, now what?" I ask.
He leads me to the door. "We drive to the airport. Or rather, I drive to the airport," he adds, grabbing the keys off of the table.
We head to the airport, passing the main terminal and continuing on to the gates where private planes and jets are kept. Vin pulls into one of the hangars and before we can get our things out of the truck, a young man approaches us.
"The plane has been fueled and the flight plan has been filed. Weāre all ready to go."
"Thanks Brad." Vin says.
Iām just standing there, looking from Vin to Brad, then back at Vin. Before I can open my mouth to ask, Vin says, "Donāt even ask because Iām not telling you a thing." He grabs my hand, practically pulling me to the plane.
We climb the steps to the small plane and enter the cabin. Iāve seen pictures of the interiors of a few private jets before, but this one is much different from the luxurious photos. "Homey" is the term that comes to mind. Everything in the cabin has a function. Desk, couch, tables, kitchenette, all of it has a purpose.
I turn to look at Vin. "Whoās jet is this?"
"It belongs to a friend of mine. Heās letting me borrow it for the weekend. Brad is his pilot, so where the jet goes, Brad goes."
"If you had this at your disposal, why did you fly into town on a commercial flight?"
"Brad had a prior obligation and couldnāt fly us down. He just flew in today to pick us up."
"To take us where?" I couldnāt resist asking.
"Just sit down and be quiet. Youāll find out soon enough."
Brad starts the engines and does whatever the pilot does with all the gadgets in the cockpit. He turns around and tells us that weāll be off the ground in a few minutes.
"Do you want something to drink?" Vin asks.
"A bottle of water would be fine."