Love Island

Chapter 58 - The Final Dates

Charlie opened the door for me and I stepped into the luxury vehicle. I buckled myself in as he rounded the rear end of the town car and opened the door for himself. Through the tinted windows, I watched our family continue to chat. As excited as I was for this date, I now had the familiar pain in my heart of missing my family. I would get the same ache while looking through an airplane window, about to leave Hawaii for the continental US.

"You alright?" Charlie reached across the seat and grabbed my hand off of my lap. He slid my hand into his palm and interlaced our fingers. "You're gonna miss her, right?"

"Yeah," I said weakly. "But I'm excited about our date." I turned to him with a soft smile and squeezed his hand.

Charlie leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "I know, you don't get to see her very often. But how about this: whenever we get kicked out of this super cool villa, I'll buy us plane tickets to Hawaii."

I skeptically looked him over a few times. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Yeah, why not," he shrugged. "It's not the end of summer. We've still got a few weeks before school starts up."

"Thank you." I was in disbelief for a brief moment. But eventually, as reality settled in, I leaned over and pulled him in for a kiss. The familiar arm around my waist was starting to feel more natural than without it. His other hand brushed my hair back away from my face and slid his hand all the way down the soft strands before landing on the back of my neck. I shuddered at the touch, and he reluctantly pulled away from the kiss. "That was so smooth," I laughed.

"Thanks, Lucas lets me practice on him sometimes."

"Charlie!" I giggled and threw my head back. "Are you gonna give me a hint about where we're going?"

He considered this briefly before agreeing and took his time conjuring ideas. "It's a public place... most of the time. It's both wet and dry. There is water in the form of liquid and gas."

I stared at him from the other end of the town car bench. "That gives me literally no information."

"That's the point," Charlie smirked. "But if. you think about it, those are all pretty good hints."

"Aren't hints supposed to be helpful?"

"Not mine," he rebutted. "Alright, fine. I'll say that this date was inspired by things you've told me previously."

I let out a soft sigh. "Your hints aren't going to get any easier, huh?"

"No. But I think the more surprised you are, the better," Charlie said.

"Fine," I smiled and looked out the windows of the moving car. The flora of Fiji hugged the road tightly in an overgrown forest. Tropical birds fluttered through a cloudless sky. "Are you still not going to tell me what you and Tutu were talking about?"

"I can't believe you're still thinking about that," Charlie chuckled. "No. Not until after our date is over, at least. After this, I'll tell you anything you want to know." He looked over at me, thoughtfully admiring me. "She really loves you, ya know."

I failed to conceal a smile. "Yeah."

"She was very adamant that I take care of you," he continued. "But I think she likes me. She had me a little scared a few times, but I think I earned her stamp of approval."

"Well, if Tutu doesn't approve, you have to go," I joked.

"Really? It's as simple as that?" Charlie asked. "How many men has your grandmother scared away?" 

"Hundreds."

Charlie leaned back in his seat, looking much too proud of himself. "I'll consider myself the champion, then."