Two months later:

They lay together in bed, relishing in the afterglow of their lovemaking. The doors to the terrace were open and they could hear the waves lapping against the shore. The sun was just beginning to set over the water and the evening breeze felt good on their sweaty skin.

“So Mr. Dorough,” Christine picked her head off of Howie’s chest and smiled at him. “What are our plans for this evening.”

“Well, Mrs. Dorough,” Howie grinned back at his brand new wife. “We could either go eat some dinner or we could order in and make love all night long.”

Christine threw her head back and laughed. “As wonderful as that sounds, I think we need to join the land of the living for just a little bit.”

Howie sighed, playfully. “Fine. Where do you want to go for dinner?”

Christine climbed out of bed, grabbing her robe off of the chair next to the bed. “Let’s walk up to the resort and go to dinner up there. Do you think we need reservations?”

He shrugged. “No idea. I’ll call up there.” She was halfway in the shower by the time she answered him. “Alright, babe. Maybe you should give one of the guys a call. Let them know what you’ve been up to for the past forty eight hours.”

“Yeah yeah yeah.” Howie rolled over on to his back and sighed happily, staring up at the ceiling. Two and a half days ago, Howie had dropped down on one knee and asked that same question for the second time in four years. And this time, he knew that nothing was going to stop them. No psychos from Connecticut. Nothing. So, instead of a long, drawn out engagement where they planned the perfect wedding, they decided to jump on a plane and fly to the Caribbean. Have the ceremony there. No parents. No siblings. No Backstreet Boys. No Backstreet Girls. Just the two of them. Completely private. Completely perfect.

Howie was shaken out of his daydream by the annoying sound of a cell phone ringing. Where the hell was that coming from? He leaned over and discovered that it was his. He reached down and grabbed it, seeing that it was his good buddy AJ. “Jay, what’s up?”

“Where the hell are you?”

“Uh…the Caribbean.”

“Dude, what are you doing there? And why the hell didn’t you tell anyone?”

“It was kind of spur of the moment. We just decided to get up and go.”

“Little romantic getaway. Nice, D.”

“Actually, uh…we got married down here man.”

“You did what?” AJ was clearly stunned by the news. Ever since he had known Christine, she had wanted a big fairy-tale wedding. Jumping on a plane and flying to the Carribean just to get married was hardly a fairy tale.

Howie laughed. “We got married. We decided that too much went wrong during the time we tried to plan the last one so it was just easier this way. Sorry none of you could be here but…”

“Don’t apologize, man. I completely understand. And I’m happy for you. Do you want me to spread the news up here or do you want to do the honors yourself?”

“Nah…you go and do it. I don’t even know when we’ll be back.”

“Take your time. So…give me details. Have you even gotten out of bed since you arrived?”

Howie could hear Krista yelling at him to shut up in the background and, again, burst out laughing. “Bye Jay. I’ll give you a call when we get back.”

“Later D. Have a great time.”

Howie hung up the phone and then called the restaurant in the resort to make a reservation. He took the next available reservation, which wasn’t for another hour and a half, so he decided there would be no harm in joining Christine in that shower.

He quietly opened the bathroom the door and crept inside. He could hear Christine humming quietly to herself as she rinsed off in the shower. He carefully pulled the curtain back and saw that she was leaning her head under the spray, her eyes closed. He wrapped his arms around her waist, causing her to jump, startled. “Jesus,” she breathed, a huge smile on her face. “You scared me.”

He kissed her neck. “Sorry babe. But I couldn’t control myself, knowing you were in here without me.”

She shook her head, chuckling. “I thought we were going to dinner. Out in public. Remember?”

He took the sponge out of her hand and began to wash her back. “Yes, I remember. And we’re going at seven thirty. I figure we have plenty of time.”

“Plenty of time for what, Mr. Dorough?” she playfully asked.

“Oh I can think of plenty of activities to keep us busy.” He began kissing her neck again as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “By the way, AJ called. He wanted to know where the hell we were.”

Christine lifted her head back up and glared at her new husband. “Can you not bring the little tattooed freak up while I’m in the shower with you? It completely ruins the mood.”

“Sorry, babe.” Howie laughed. He silenced any response from her with a kiss. They barely made it to dinner that night. Running up to the resort from their private villa with their hair still wet and their clothes barely on. They ate dinner outside, underneath the stars. Real life was far, far away. There was nothing keeping them apart anymore. They were just two people who had been through so much to get where they were that night. And looking back, it was all worth it. They had each other. Forever.

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