66. You And Me

You lovely people, thank you so much for all your feedback! Here comes the Linstead honeymoon part 1, I hope you like it! :)

66. You And Me

Jumby Bay – a place that could simply be defined as paradise, located in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, surrounded by nothing but pure, turquoise, crystal clear water with the most stunning underwater world and coral reefs, endless white beaches with the softest sand and giant palm trees that provided shade under the torrid sun, a luxurious resort built on the island that was only as big that one could easily jog around it.

A soft breeze waved through Erin's hair, that was tied up in a high ponytail, the smell of the salty water and the sea filling her nostrils, the Caribbean sun shining in her face, her eyes protected by sunglasses, when they were on a small boat that brought them from the main island Antigua to Jumby Bay, the place where they would spend the next six days and nights. Jay had his arms wrapped around her from behind, holding her as close as possible regardless the heat and humiditiy so he could pepper kisses on her cheek all the time and whisper things into her ear excitedly as they watched the island coming closer, the buildings on it getting bigger.

″This feels like a dream,″ Erin smiled and she still couldn't believe that this was their reality for the next few days. That they would wake up to blue skies and even bluer water and would fall asleep to the most incredible sunsets. That they had as much time just for themselves as seldomly before, that they haven't had since they were parents and Emilia was the center of their life.

″So this destination is a success?″ he murmured into her ear, his stubbles scratching along her cheek. He already knew the answer. Her eyes have been sparkling like diamonds ever since he'd told her about the destination and since they'd stepped on the boat, seeing this unreal water and everything else for the first time with their own eyes, the glow that surrounded her has even grown. The same glow of pure happiness and love that was surrounding him as well. He's never been here before either, or the Caribbean in general, but it has always been a destination on his bucket list and now being here with Erin, his wife, was definitely a dream coming true. Another dream coming true thanks to her. With her.

″This is the most perfect place you could've chosen,″ she answered and turned around, giving him the brightest smile before she kissed his lips delicately slow, her hands snaking around his neck.

The boat arrived at the island a couple of minutes later and a bellhop from the resort welcomed them, taking their luggage and guiding them to the main building where they checked in and got the key cards for their little bungalow, Erin's eyes widening when they stepped into the hall with the desk because this place was fancier than everything she's ever seen. Jay'd really decided for nothing but the very best for their honeymoon.

They were told about the big pool with pool bar and all the other spa facilities they could use anytime, about arranging massages in case they were interested, about bicycles they could use and other adventurous stuff they could do like a scuba diving course or snorkeling, and where they could have breakfast and dinner in case they didn't want their meals to be delivered to their bungalow because breakfast in bed or a candle light dinner in their room were also a thing here.

When they finally stepped into their beach bungalow, Erin's eyes widened in disbelief for a second time within the last fifteen minutes and she slightly gasped for air.

″Wow,″ she exhaled. Their bungalow, that was quite far away from the other bungalows – there was in fact a lot of space and lots of tropical plants and palm trees between all the bungalows to guarantee privacy - consisted of one big, luxurious, light flooded room with a couch area, a small table with two chairs, a wardrobe, a little fridge with cooled sodas and a huge canopy bed with white curtains and lots of fluffy pillows, a heart consisting of the petals of red roses decorated on the sheets. The en-suite bathroom was just as fancy with shower, bathtub, golden faucets and all and in front of the windows of the main room, the curtains blowing in the breeze as they were open, they had their own little garden with their own whirlpool, a hammock taut between two palm trees, and beach access, the white sand and turquoise water shimmering just behind some low-cut hedges. ″This is...insane.″

″Welcome to our home for the next few days,″ he grinned and placed their suitcases next to the wardrobe so he could pull her into his embrace and kiss her mercilessly.

″You know,″ he said after the kiss, a dorky grin covering his features as he looked down into her hazel-green eyes. ″I think we're wearing way too much fabric for this climate.″ They were indeed both still wearing long pants from the flights as it had been ice cold in the planes due to the air conditioners doing a propper job and they were seriously melting by now.

″You're right. We should change into our bathing suits and use the rest of the afternoon to go to the beach,″ she chuckled and kissed him back, feeling his hand traveling under her shirt, his fingers stroking along her skin as teasingly that it sent chills down her spine, her heartbeat quicken its pace.

″I thought,″ he said, leaning down to brush his lips against hers again before he continued to tell her about his plan. ″After being up for so long already and such a long journey, we should maybe lie down in that bed first, to... rest a little. What do you think?″ He kissed her once more and then looked at her for a moment, raised his eyebrow cockily to emphasize his statement. Not that she needed clarification anyway.

They've waited for the moment they would finally be in their room since they'd been at O'Hare at 3.30 this morning, so for more than 12 hours already it's all been about patience. They'd used the time until boarding their plane with canoodling in the waiting area and making other people jealous with their affection and had then continued to exchange kisses and tenderness in the planes, when Erin had curled into his side as much as the tight seats would allow them to. For a minute they'd weighed their options and considered joining the mile high club but they'd soon agreed to wait until they had more privacy and space than the lavatory of a plane. Though they had to admit that the thought was really exciting and they should and would maybe do it as culmination on their way back home, following the motto save the best for last.

″To rest, huh?″ Erin chuckled, raising her eyebrow just as cocky.

″Exactly,″ Jay murmured and captured her lips with his own again, his tongue delving into her mouth. Their clothes were discarded quickly, building a puddle on the floor, most of the pillows and the sheet with the petals joining them when the bed was tested how stable it was for the first time this week, moans, heavy breathing and exclamations of pleasure filling the air.

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Erin giggled when Jay started to trace lazy circles onto her stomach with the tips of his fingers, caressing the sensitive skin around her navel. He was lying behind her, nuzzling his nose in her hair, holding her as close as possible to his body, almost possessively, a light sheet covering them as they just enjoyed each other's closeness after their love-making, after coming down from this special high.

Only Erin's bladder apparently didn't want them to spend too much time lying there doing nothing but exchanging tenderness, the sound of the waves hitting against the beach not being helpful at all, and so she tried to free herself from his embrace, which was quite the challenge because Jay didn't even think about letting her go anywhere else.

″Jay,″ she murmured and placed her hand atop of his so he would stop tickling her belly but her attempts only made him pulling her even closer to his own naked body. ″Let me go,″ she laughed and tried to turn her head to him.

″I'll never let you go again,″ he smirked teasingly yet honestly and kissed her cheek, his hand moving further down although she tried to hold it back from going to this one place where she would simply give in and ignore her bladder for a little while longer.

″But I need to pee,″ she chuckled, giving his hand a smack as his fingers came dangerously close to her clit.

″Way to ruin a romantic moment,″ he pouted groaning and his fingers actually stopped torturing her.

″A girl gotta pee,″ she shrugged smirkingly, placed a short kiss on the tip of his nose when he sighed dramatically, gave his hand another pat and freed herself from his grasp, making sure to wiggle her hips a little extra when she padded to the bathroom.

″You're the worst,″ he called laughingly and slightly shook his head. He loved this woman so much, it hurt in the most positive way.

When she came back, he was already out of the bed as well, wearing his bathing trunks, their bed neatly done, and collected their clothes from the floor to put them into the wardrobe along with all their other clothes from their suitcases. She quickly slipped into her black bikini and loaded with two big towels they made their way through the garden and to the beach to enjoy at least an hour or two in the sun before they had to make themselves ready for dinner.

They made a couple of goofy selfies and took pictures of this paradise they could maybe use for some kind of photo album they wanted to make about their wedding and honeymoon and also made a short video for Hank, telling him that they've arrived safely, that everything was great and that he should tell them a time when they could facetime tomorrow. They went for a swim in the waves of the ocean, the water being incredibly warm, especially compared to the temperatures they were used to from Lake Michigan and sunbathed a bit afterwards, their hands always laced, their skin always touching, until their rumbling stomachs signalised them that it was time for dinner so they could finally fill their stomachs with better food than what they'd gotten on the plane.

Dressed in a short summer dress and sandals respectively shorts and a shirt, they went to the restaurant an hour later, their eyes almost popping out of their heads when they saw the buffets that simply topped every buffet they've ever seen before. There was a huge salad bar, a buffet with all kinds of sea food and meat, various sides as in rice, noodles, vegetables and a smaller, quite colorful buffet with all kinds of tropical fruits, the most incredible watermelon carvings and a chocolate fountain. Jay had known that the food here was supposed to be outstanding but only seeing this surpassed his imaginations immensely.

Plates with salad were followed by plates with sea food and sides and later by plates full of fruits, some of them covered in chocolate and they feasted for more than an hour, refreshing cocktails accompanying their meal. While they later walked along the beach, always in the direction of the sunset, they agreed that they would only have breakfast and dinner while they were here and not eat anything else in between other than fruits throughout the day, otherwise they could roll each other home and Jay reminded Erin twinkling that they only had to do a lot of sports, so they could easily eat all the food. Erin nodded eagerly in response, a dimpled smile covering her features when she told him huskily that she's probably never been up to sports more than during their time on Jumby Bay.

They sat down in the sand, Jay leaning against a palm and Erin taking the spot between his legs so she could rest her head on his chest and cocoon into his embrace as they watched the burning sun go down on the horizon, the water slowly swallowing the red fireball.

Back at their bungalow they went for some canoodling in the hammock while gazing up to the dark, clear sky and counting the stars that appeared on the firmament and later tested whether it was possible to play scrabble in a hammock when their canoodling turned into hot and passionate kisses and they figured there was too much fabric seperating them. Surprisingly they didn't fall out of the hammock while undressing each other and then worshipping each other's body but balanced everything quite good and afterwards, when their breathing had steadied and they gazed up to the stars again, their naked bodies snuggled up to each other, decided that they definitely needed to find more new places to play scrabble during their honeymoon so they could have many more firsts like this.

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″Good morning pumpkin,″ Hank said when he approached Emilia's crib at 7 in the morning, the 6 month-old smiling up at him. What a sunshine this kid was, happy and smiling at all times. Mostly.

″You have your mom's smile, you know that?″ he asked and scooped her up into his arms, placing a kiss on her forehead, Emmy continuing to smile at him brightly, her tiny hands reaching for his nose. ″But I guess there's at least one thing you have from your daddy besides of your eyes because you seem to be a morning person. Other than your mom,″ he laughed and captured her hand with his, kissing her little fingers.

″God, your mom as a teen...when we dared to wake her on a Sunday morning for breakfast...she wanted to jump in our faces. Every two weeks it was pancake Sunday and that's when she sat on the table downstairs in a heartbeat because she was scared Justin would eat them all but any other day we woke her up for breakfast we thought she's going to murder someone. And don't even remind me about weekdays when she had to get up by 6am. She would shuffle through the house like a grinch and only open her mouth when she absolutely had to. She would pour a cup of black coffee down and make herself one to-go, always hoping that no one wanted to start a conversation where she had to response more than a grunt.″ Hank smiled by those memories. Erin as a teen had been quite the challenge and even after she'd settled and accepted her new family and circumstances, mornings had been the worst and when they'd had a fight, it had mostly been in the morning as any kind of communication with her had nearly been impossible before it was 10am or even later.

″But I like this attitude so much more, cheeky monkey,″ he grinned, stroking his finger over her rosy cheek. ″Let's get you something to eat before your mood changes into your mom's morning-mood, huh?″ he asked her and carried her down the stairs, Crispin following on his heels.

He prepared a bottle with formula for her and filled Crispin's bowl so he could have breakfast as well and then sat down on the table in the kitchen, letting Emilia suck on the bottle. Though he was fully absorbed in the baby bubble, his eyes peering down on his granddaughter who looked up at him with her big blue eyes with those long lashes, he heard one of the steps creaking in the hall, a sound he hasn't heard in the mornings in a really long time since he's been all alone in this house for the last couple of years, a sound that made him smile. And he knew whom he had to thank for that. Erin, who'd definitely played matchmaker here when she'd told him to ask Olivia to stay for a couple more days. He'd waited until the afternoon to finally ask her and she'd immediately agreed to stay with him and Emmy for a little while longer, unpacking her already packed bag again.

″Good morning,″ Olivia smiled when she walked into the kitchen. She went to the coffee machine to fill a mug with freshly brewed coffee and one could almost think this was their usual morning routine.

″Morning,″ Hank grinned.

She placed her mug on the table and sat down as well. ″Hey Emmy, how was your night?″ she asked and embraced the baby's bare foot. ″Did you have a good sleep?″

″She was up once around four, so we went outside for a bit and she fell back asleep in my arms,″ Hank said. ″How did Noah sleep?″

″Oh you know, he occupies the better part of the bed, sleeping like a starfish,″ Liv laughed. ″So I guess he's just fine.″

″Still sleeping?″ he asked.

″Uh-huh,″ she nodded. ″But he should be up soon,″ she added, sipping on her coffee. ″So what's on our agenda today?″

″I'll take Crispin for a quick walk as soon as Emmy is done with her bottle and then we could go to the zoo later?″

″Zoo's always a big hit,″ Liv winked. Her son could go to the zoo every day and it still wouldn't get boring for him. He would still watch all the animals with big eyes like he's never seen them before.

″Then zoo it is,″ Hank nodded in response.

As soon as the bottle was empty, he put Emilia in her stroller and went for a quick walk down the block with her and Crispin and by the time he returned home, excited babbling came from the kitchen, the smell of fried bacon filling the air. He didn't know when was the last time that he's come home to chatters and someone else cooking but it felt like it's been a lifetime ago. He joined Liv and Noah in the kitchen, the latter telling him excitedly that they were going to the zoo, and they enjoyed a very entertaining breakfast together. He hasn't had that kind of breakfast for too long and only now he realized how much he's missed it.

By the time everything they needed was in his Escalade it was 10.30. They brought Crispin to the 21st so he didn't have to stay at home alone as dogs weren't allowed in the zoo, and the unit was always happy when the black and white dog, prince charming how they called him, was in the bullpen and Crispin would always get enough attention with all the volunteers throwing his toys or tickling his belly. Sometimes they would give him even too much attention and so he told the guys not to feed him too many treats, otherwise Erin and Jay would blame him for Crispin being chubbier than before they left.

The day at the zoo turned out to be a full success, Noah running from one compound to the next excitedly, always telling them which animals he saw as soon as they caught up. Naturally, Emilia didn't really get what was happening around her or that she was at a zoo, but she giggled joyfully when they were at the children's zoo and Hank guided her hand to one of the dwarf goats so she could touch the fur.

″How's that, bug?″ he asked her and placed a kiss on top of her head that was covered with a sunhat. ″Not as soft as Crispin's but still great, huh?″

″Hank, look,″ Noah called, giving another goat some of the food they'd bought. ″He likes it,″ he exclaimed excitedly.

″Good job, Noah. Just take care of your fingers,″ Hank reminded him.

″Yes,″ he smiled, dedicating his attention to the goat again.

They also stroked a sheep and some rabbits, went to watch the feeding of the seals and spent a lot of time watching the lions as they fascinated Noah the most. It was the first time that Hank had a real day off in years and never has he thought that taking care of a three-year-old and a baby could be this relaxing, could satisfy him just as much as catching some perps.

When they returned home in the early evening, Hank bathed Emilia while Liv started to prepare dinner, telling him she wanted to make some dish she was famous for, and once his granddaughter was smelling of peach and vanilla and wearing her fresh diaper and onesie, he facetimed Erin and Jay, just like they'd arranged the day before after he'd received their video.

″Hey you two,″ Hank said as soon as they appeared on the screen of his computer, palm trees and blue skies in the background.

″Hey,″ Erin smiled. ″Hey Emmy,″ she waved at her daughter who sat in Hank's lap, completely fascinated by the screen.

″How's it going princess?″ Jay asked, also waving at her. A smile appeared on Emilia's face and her joy was evident when she heard her parents's voices, maybe it was also because she could see them, who knew.

″How was your day with grandpa?″ Erin asked.

″It was great,″ Hank answered. ″We were at the zoo with Noah and Liv and had a lot of fun,″ he smirked.

″Sounds great,″ Erin smiled, giving Hank that kind of meaningful wink that he could interpret in a heartbeat.

″Which animals did you like most, huh Emmy?″ Jay asked, still making some weird and funny faces when talking with his daughter to make her squeal more.

″I think she fell in love with the dwarf goats,″ Hank said. ″But she was happiest when she was reunited with Crispin an hour ago.″

″Yeah, she adores that dog more than she adores us,″ Jay laughed.

″Could be,″ Hank chuckled. ″What about you, what did you do all day?″ he asked to keep the conversation going, not wanting to have an honest answer at all because he knew very well what couples did during their honeymoon all day long, him and Camille had done it as well and as these two lovebirds for sure didn't constitute an exception, he had a pretty good idea how his daughter and his son-in-law used their time of undisturbed togetherness, trying to make the most of not having any paternal or other obligations.

″Uhm, today was just really lazy. We relaxed at the beach, went for swims, slept in the shade, used our whirlpool and had our backs massaged which was sooo good. Tomorrow we might do more than just hanging around and go snorkeling and maybe we'll rent a motorboat on Friday or Saturday to explore some bays,″ Erin answered.

″You should definitely do the snorkeling thing. I heard it's gorgeous and more beautiful than you can imagine,″ Hank said.

″We will,″ Jay assured him just as Liv called Hank for dinner from the kitchen.

″Dinner's ready,″ he told them.

″Yeah, we'll head for dinner, too, we're kind of starving″ Erin grinned. ″Goodnight baby girl, sleep well later,″ she added and blew Emmy a kiss.

″Byebye princess, we love you,″ Jay said, giving her a virtual kiss as well.

″Tell Liv we said hi,″ Erin said to Hank. ″And have fun with whatever you guys will do tomorrow,″ she smiled.

″You too,″ Hank smiled back and took Emilia's hand to wave at them before they ended the call.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Honeymoon was definitely the best kind of vacation for many reasons and Erin and Jay contemplated whether they should maybe go on a honeymoon-like vacation once a year now, being a little selfish in this case by going to some kind of paradise as just the two of them, leaving their daily grind and all their obligations behind for at least five to seven days a year. When Jay said that they could easily go on a honeymoon every year, to celebrate their wedding anniversary for example, Erin teased him and said that it was only special as long as they were newlyweds and completely in that pink bubble of love and Jay melted her heart when he said that he's been completely in love with her for years now and that he would always be, that he would continue to live in this pink bubble for as long as they lived because the love of his life was his wife now and he would never not be completely in love with her like a lovestruck teenager that experienced these kind of overwhelming feelings for the very first time.

They proved the typical honeymoon-clichee, that this time as newlyweds was used for lots of intimate moments, right and showed their affection for the other multiple times a day when they found the sweetest of releases and after the hammock on the evening before, they went for a scrabble-session in their whirlpool the evening after. Among others and followed by round four of that day, their bed being the witness once more this time, before they fell asleep quite wearily.

After their second night in paradise, they would again start the morning with making more love as they definitely had to begin their days in the same way they ended them, their still naked bodies from the activities from the previous evening attracting each other like magnets as their skin touched and their fingers started to explore the other's body lazily, tenderly and then hurriedly as if they had never explored it before. They would drive each other nuts with their fingers and hands and tongues, with their touches and kisses and sucks before they couldn't hold back any longer and he finally thrusted into her, her wet walls welcoming him, pushing in and out of her and they would then find release simultaneously.

This day was the first one they didn't spend all lazy at the beach, so after showering together – they needed to keep their average going after all since they would be away from their private room and beach for the most part of the day - and having the best and most delicious breakfast they joined two other couples and a guide on a boat for a day full of snorkeling and discovering the colorful and truly incredible underwater world of the Caribbean sea. They drove to the most beautiful coral reefs located around various islands and neither Jay nor Erin have ever seen something equally stunning before. The vibrant colors of the reefs along with all the beautiful, diverse and colorful Caribbean fish were truly mesmerizing and outstanding and took their breaths away and each and every coral reef they explored was different than the one before.

Not only this day flew by but also the following one that they spent by the pool and at their private beach again, doing nothing but reading, snuggling, sleeping, sunbathing, swimming and yeah, that other thing they tended to do quite often these days. The freckles that have shown up all over Jay's face and body due to the huge amount of time they were spending in the sun combined with his stubble he hasn't shaved in days now and his hair being kind of curly whenever it got wet turned Erin on immensely and she wanted to run her fingers through his hair and kiss and touch him all the time, her lust taking the better of her. Thankfully the feeling was mutual and Jay couldn't keep his hands and lips from his wife away either as her by now slightly tanned skin was only covered with the tiniest bit of fabric that her bikini was.

In the early evening, they surprisingly even managed to work out a bit in the hotel's fitness room that was almost as big as a gym as a sudden wave of motivation overcame them but they kept their training short anyway and only for good conscience as they had a significant better way to wear themselves out than with treadmills and lifting weights.

As Jay nonchalantly and teasingly mentioned during dinner that evening, that they easily could've saved a whole lot of money and stayed somewhere close to Lake Michigan if the almost only thing they did was having sex, they found themselves packing their carry-on bags on Friday morning as they now had quite big plans for this day and the following Saturday, plans that consisted of leaving Jumby Bay for the next 36 or so hours. After breakfast and receiving a picnic basket and ice box with all kinds of beverages and food from the hotel, a boat brought them over to Antigua where they'd organized the rent of a motorboat at the harbor and after getting a handful of instructions that mainly had to do with anchoring the boat, they were off to explore all the little, uninhabited islands with their gorgeous, lonely bays.

″Babe, where are you?″ Jay called from outside, the sound of the waves crushing against the shore almost swallowing his voice. They'd anchored their boat at one of these incredibly beautiful bays, where the water seemed even bluer and everything was even more peaceful and quiet, a couple of minutes ago and while Jay was already outside to prepare their picnic area, she'd excused herself under deck for a minute as she had a very special surprise for him, one he sure as hell didn't envisage at all. She was kind of proud of herself that she'd managed to keep this a secret from him, ordering these special items at the reception on their first evening when she'd excused herself to the bathroom during dinner, picking them up after her massage when a delivery guy from the shop in Antigua had especially brought them the next day and then putting them in her bag while he'd been in the bathroom this morning.

″Just give me one more minute,″ she called back, taking another reassuring glance into the mirror and giggling slightly at how ridiculous she looked in that special outfit. But she would do anything for her man, especially since he's teased her about it for so long and talking about it over and over again, making his point clear that this was really something he wished to see.

″You have 45 more seconds before I'm coming and get you myself,″ he laughed while Erin took the few steps up to deck.

″I'm here,″ she chuckled, his back currently facing her as he arranged a couple of things on their sheets.

″Amazing! What did even take you so-,″ he asked, his jaw dropping and his mouth losing his ability to form words when he turned his head around and saw her standing on deck of the boat in the shortest of hula skirts that sat low on her hips. She was wearing some kind of matching bra that only consisted of a couple of colorful orchids and covered almost only her nipples. A lei with the same flowers hung around her neck and there were petals tucked behind her ears, her brown-blonde waves flapping in the sea breeze.

″Surprise,″ she smirked sheepishly and as he simply kept on staring at her, which was by the way the best feeling in the world, eating her up with his eyes, she couldn't hold back the sass that came with his facial expression being completely incredulous and his jaw literally on the floor. ″I would close my mouth before some Caribbean mosquitoes decide to make themselves a home in there.″

″Holy fuck Erin,″ he breathed out, the biggest of smiles appearing on his face. He couldn't take his eyes away from her and roamed every inch of her body when he waded through the shallow water to the boat so he could lift her right into his arms. He's seen her in the sexiest lingerie with lots of lace countless times, red, black, purple, in string panties and all but this was a sight he hasn't expected to see ever and damn did she look amazing and beyond sexy in that fucking hula skirt and seeing this for real was so much better than where his mind had always gone when he'd teased her about it. His wife knew how to wear the shit out of such an outfit. Not that this was a particularly surprising discovery since she even wore the shit out of his old shirts that were too big for her and were only long enough to fall over her butt.

″Always knew you'd be one for hula skirts,″ he murmured huskily when he lifted her into his strong arms and only let her down enough so her feet dipped into the water and they were eyes-to-eyes, lips-to-lips. ″I could get used to that. So sexy,″ he whispered against her lips.

″You better don't. That's some kind of once-in-a-lifetime thing,″ she chuckled in response after his lips had released hers.

″So I better make the most of that, huh?″

″That would be wise,″ she grinned and she placed another lingering kiss on his lips before he carried her through the water and to the sheets where they were supposed to have their picnic.

He lay her down on the blanket, her hair fanned out, and took in the sight of his wife in that little outfit once more. Some rays of sunshine shined in her face and let her glow even more, eyes full of undeniable love were blinking up at him and for a moment he got lost in her green orbs.

″God Erin, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on,″ he said, his voice low, his mouth speaking out loud the thoughts that swirled through his mind and Erin felt her cheeks blushing. He leaned down to kiss her slowly in a way that made her heart stop and beat faster all at once, their lips melting into each other, his hand stroking her thigh simultaneously and traveling under the hula skirt she was especially wearing for him and no later than when he discovered that she wasn't wearing anything underneath, the picnic and their rumbling stomachs were forgotten. Not that this was what they'd aimed for when he'd carried her to the blankets anyway.

Their love-making was incredible and breathtaking, just as always, but something about this place, about being the only people on this island and no other humans anywhere around them made it even more special and their groans and exclamations and riding out their orgasms were especially loud, no holding back here in the middle of nowhere.

″I love you so much,″ Jay murmured, his breathing still not anywhere near of being steady, their bodies covered in sweat, sand sticking on them as his hand moved up and down her spine. He pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead and she snuggled even closer to him subsconciously, her arm lying across his chest, her leg draped over his.

″I love you so much, too,″ Erin grinned, her eyes closed as she enjoyed these pure moments of afterglow, and as she was too lazy to lift her head she only pressed a light kiss onto his chest where her head rested at her favorite place in the world.

They continued to lie there in silence, hands and fingers caressing their bare skin lazily and they only moved when their stomachs signalised them that they needed to be filled with food, not love. They ate chicken wraps and muffins and fruits and when they had the feeling that they'd eaten too much for their own good, they went for a swim that soon turned into water fights and chases, their laughters possibly hearable all over the island.

They left the island somewhat reluctantly a little later, Erin wearing that outfit for Jay again because he deserved to see her in it a little longer and she hadn't organized all of this only that he could peel her out of it after five minutes, and continued to explore the Caribbean sea with stopping by at three other islands that were equally beautiful and lonely before they headed back to the harbor of Antigua. And long before they even saw their destination on the horizon, this day provided them another highlight when suddenly three dolphins were swimming alongside their boat, jumping in and out of the water joyfully. As neither Jay nor Erin have seen these incredible animals before, they turned the engine down and watched them in awe for a moment, trying to take some photos and videos they could show their daughter one day. Even when they continued their journey back to the harbor, the dolphins kept on guiding them and only left them once the big island got into sight.

They returned the boat and strolled to a hotel not too far away from the harbor where they would spend the night as they had more adventurous plans for the following day that required them to stay at the main island instead of going back to Jumby Bay. Naturally the hotel wasn't as fancy as the resort, though it was even impossible to find a fancier one, but for only one night they didn't need more than a bathroom and a bed. And after going out for dinner at a restaurant close by the water, where they could watch the sun go down while eating seafood on the patio, another perfect day found another perfect ending.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

″Babe, wake up,″ Erin purred into Jay's ear at 3.30 in the morning, peppering soft kisses along his jaw, his stubble scratching on her lips.

″Huh?″ he mumbled disorientated, his eyes fluttering open slowly.

″We have to get up,″ she said quite excitedly for that time of the day.

″How late is it?″ he yawned, stretching his limbs.

″3.30.″

″Oh god,″ he sighed and pulled his pillow over his head.

″Come on, don't be such a sleepyhead,″ Erin chuckled and reached for the pillow to throw it down on the floor so she could kiss his lips and tease him a little more.

He opened his eyes again and gave her a confused look. ″Who are you and what did you do with Erin, my morning grouch?″

″Who are you and what did you do with my Jay, the morning person par excellence?″ she laughed in response and stradled him with one fast move, her hands stroking his bare chest, her eyebrow raised playfully as she looked down at him.

″I'm tired. You know, my wife wore me out last night,″ he noticed casually but he couldn't keep a straight face as a smirk tugged in the corners of his lips.

″Pretty sure my husband didn't complain last night,″ she sassed back. ″So get that lazy body up,″ she added, gave his chest a pat, kissed the tip of his nose and left the place on his hips and pelvis to get up and go to the bathroom for a quick shower before they would head out.

″Ey, what about our newly established morning-routine?″ he pouted.

″Well, a minute ago my husband whined that I wore him out, so I thought the poor guy needs to take a break,″ she teased him, biting her lower lip innocently. ″But in case he feels super energetic out of a sudden, he only needs to get his ass out of the bed and join me in the shower.″ With these words she turned around and walked the short distance to the bathroom, throwing him another look over her shoulder before she closed the door slowly. Jay needed exactly ten seconds to jump out of the bed, leaving the comfy mattress behind, and open the door to the bathroom so they could enjoy this very early morning shower together.

They left the hotel around 45 minutes later and hiked to Shirley Heights, an overlook from where they had a tremendous view over the English Harbor and the Falmouth Harbor with all the yachts and sailing boats and the mountains in the south of Antigua. The only reason they'd gotten up this early was because they wanted to see the sunrise. Even before the sun came up, the few clouds and the sky shined in all colors of orange, red and purple and when the sun started to rise, a bright yellow was mixed into it as well. And when all these colors sparkled from the early morning sky, almost like some rainbow, they knew that every minute of less sleep they'd gotten this morning has been more than worth it as this was the most beautiful sunrise they've witnessed in their lives so far.

The sun rose further, all the colors from the dawn slowly disappearing and leaving blue skies behind, but they stayed there anyway to enjoy the view, to listen to the birds and soak in these moments in this little paradise they would probably only have once in a lifetime. Erin cocooned into Jay's arms, the one place that would always provide her a home no matter where she was. The tweets of the birds were more beautiful than any kind of music could ever be and it almost lulled them into some kind of slumber. Before they would really fall asleep and wake up with the biggest sunburn in history, they decided to leave this perfect place on the heights and go back to their hotel so they could check out and return to Jumby Bay where they could have a late breakfast.

With their fingers intertwined they walked back to the hotel, stopping by at a charmingly small bakery by the harbor as Jay's stomach was rumbling as loud that it could easily wake up the entire neighborhood and they were back at their resort on Jumby Bay two hours later where they spent the rest of the day with relaxing at the beach, in the hammock or in the whirlpool.

″Look at that,″ Erin smiled when they were lying in the shade of some palm trees, bringing her phone up in front of Jay's face.

He opened his eyes, needing a moment to adjust them to the brightness before he could see the picture she was showing him. Crispin was lying on his side on Emilia's blanket, apparently sleeping, Emilia basically lying half on him, her head resting on his neck, her hands burried in his fur while she was sleeping as well.

″Isn't this the most adorable thing?″ he chuckled, not being able to take his eyes away from the photo.

″Uh-huh,″ she grinned. ″Hank wrote he has no idea how they got into this position,″ she laughed. ″Said he went to the kitchen to heat up her pulp and when he came back he found them like this.″

″Little rascals,″ he chuckled. ″I miss them. I miss Emmy more than Crispin though but I also miss this clown.″ Their daily five minutes facetime-sessions and the pictures they got were great but by far not enough to help them closing the hole in their hearts that was there because their baby wasn't with them.

″I miss them, too,″ Erin agreed. ″I miss our little girl so much and I can't wait to hold her in my arms again. I mean, I enjoy this time with you entirely because it's such a rare thing and we really needed this and it's all sorts of perfect. Everything we do here is amazing and distracting but I can't help but feel that something's missing, that I'm not complete, you know?″

″Yeah,″ he nodded. ″I feel the same. I think I could never be without her for more than a week.″

″Those seven days are enough because no matter how beautiful it is to be here and how much I enjoy every second of it, I can't wait to be back on Monday evening,″ she smiled.

″And then Wisconsin,″ he murmured and lifted his head so his lips could meet hers.

″I can't wait to be back there. It's been too long,″ she said, thinking back to the last time they had been there when the man who was now her husband had asked her to become his wife.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

As if this little paradise wanted to show them that it was time to go home, a heavy tropical thunderstorm approached Antigua and the surrounding islands that evening, the penultimate evening they spent here, so they were forced to spend this last part of the day inside of their bungalow instead of having a late-night bath in the whirlpool. They listened to the rain pouring down on the roof and watched the lightnings streaking through the ominous dark sky with all those heavy clouds. As thunderstorms weren't Erin's thing at all, she once again found her safe spot in Jay's arms and soon they were distracted enough anyway and sent into oblivion that she didn't care about thunder and lightning anymore.

The pouring rain stayed while the thunder and lightning and storm disappeared and after their countless time of love-making within the last few days, their naked bodies matted together in silence, Jay suddenly moved and said: ″Come on.″

″What?″ she asked in confusion and looked up at him.

″Let's go outside,″ he winked and the only response he got was a furrowed brow. ″It's going to be fun,″ he added.

″It's pouring the shit down from heaven,″ Erin said, looking at him like she was contemplating whether he was joking or possibly had a sunstroke. But it seemed like her husband was dead serious about this.

″So what?″ he shrugged. ″You never danced in the rain?″

″Uhm, no. Rain usually hasn't been an occasion that made me dance.″

″Then let's change that,″ he smirked, got up and reached for her hand. ″Come on, babe.″

She took his hand reluctantly and let him pull her up right into his arms, still looking at him like he was out of his mind. Jay placed a kiss on the tip of her nose and then pulled her towards the French window with him, stopping shortly before they stepped outside.

″You know, my mom and Will and me danced in the rain occasionally,″ he explained, his blue eyes super soft as he opened up about another chapter of his growing-up. ″Because she had that kind of favorite quote that she told us all the time whenever life got tough.″

″What quote?″ Erin asked carefully, curiously, her hand resting right above his heart.

″Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain,″ he said, remembering his mother's voice while speaking out these words for the first time in fifteen to twenty years.

Erin looked up at him, her eyes never leaving his as her mind processed these words. This quote that fit to them just as well. Their life had been stormy in the past and it would for sure continue to be stormy at times in the future but it was only about how they dealt with these storms. Whether they let them consume them and blow them away or whether they would accept them, stand up to them and make the best out of them. Would not wait for them to pass but learn to dance in the rain.

Her smile grew bigger when she realized how much this quote applied to them and how much she wanted to follow this motto and make this their quote. She got on her tiptoes so she could reach his lips and kiss them gently.

"This is beautiful," she whispered. ″Let's go and dance in the rain then,″ she added and now she was the one pulling him outside.

And like this they danced through the garden and along their private beach until their hair was drenched from the warm summer rain, until they fell down in the wet sand giggling, making memories they would never forget, would never let go, would keep in their hearts forever...

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Honeymoon part 2 coming up next ;)