Who: Team Monster Movie (Chloe and Henry) What: Surprise weekend away Where: Apartment -> Car -> San Diego area When: Memorial Day weekend Rating: PG Status: Complete
Memorial Day weekend was the perfect excuse to go spend a long weekend with Henry and not worry about how things were going at work. She had put in her time off request a while ago thinking that she would be spending it out with her friends, but it was better to spend it with Henry. Things had been a little busy lately with summer movie season descending upon them and she had spent a couple late nights at work and she just wanted to give Henry her undivided attention. It didn’t help that Derek had shown up unexpectedly and she had been dreaming about how they got caught after the crawl space together and accused of fooling around. Things seemed to be settled for the most part because she was helping him and Simon plan an escape from Lyle house.
But now was the time to forget all about that and ghosts because she had packed up her car full of things that they would need. She had booked a bed and breakfast for them on the beach near San Diego and she packed a bunch of stuff for them to spend a lot of time at the beach as well. It might not be a very far distance but it was still far enough away for them to be on a vacation together. She had texted him earlier in the week and told him that they were going away for the weekend and he should pack enough stuff for three days. She finished packing the car and went up to Henry’s apartment and knocked on the door.
This was going to be their first trip together as a couple. Actually, it was going to be their first trip together period. Henry was beyond excited about it too. Three days together, just the two of them. No worry about Dreams or ghosts or hauntings or weird holes in bathrooms. They were going to have a drama-free weekend with just the two of them and with zero distractions. He could give Chloe all the attention she deserved.
Her text had come as a surprise. He wasn’t sure if it was normal for a couple who had just become “official” to go off on a long weekend, but it seemed ok. Better than ok. It seemed right for them, a chance for them to get to know each other even better without the threat of any weirdness happening and ruining it for them. Not that Sharon the Ghost had ruined Henry and Chloe’s first night together, exactly. She had certainly made it memorable and as far as Henry was concerned, as long as he got to be with Chloe, he didn’t care who decided to show up.
After receiving Chloe’s text announcing that they were going away together, Henry could not wait for the weekend to come. He promised the people he answered to at the studio that he would put in the extra hours before hand to get everything taken care of that needed to be done before the weekend. And he was good to his word, although his mind was already on vacation, thinking about walking along the beach with Chloe, hand in hand, or sitting out under the stars and talking, and waking up next to her every morning. It was going to be the best vacation Henry had ever been on.
He had an overnight bag packed for their trip as well as his camera bag. Both of which were ready and waiting at the door when Chloe knocked. A moment later, Henry had the door open, a big doofy and excited grin on his face. He pulled her in for a kiss and a hug, “You have no idea how slow this week has gone by. I am beyond ready to get out of here with you.”
That doofy grin on his face was one of Chloe’s favorite things to see. The fact that he was excited to spend the weekend with her made her so incredibly happy and she knew this would be good for them. It was a time to just relax and not think about what was going on in Dreams and on the network. The idea of relaxing on the beach with Henry was high on her list of things to do on this trip because she just needed some time to soak up Vitamin D and see her boyfriend in barely anything while in public. Their time spent in the bedroom would be quite enjoyable as well and hopefully no strange ghosts would be making a sudden appearance in the middle of the night.
A small noise of excitement escaped her lips when he pulled her in close for a kiss and she couldn’t help but let out a laugh at his comment. “I am feeling the exact same way. You have no idea how hard it’s been to not tell you everything about the trip. I wanted to surprise you, but I wanted to make sure you packed,” she explained to him as she reached up to lightly draw doodles on his chest, “You’re bringing your camera, right?”
That was something Chloe was looking forward to. She hadn’t had a chance to watch Henry take photos before and she knew that this place would be an amazing opportunity for him to get in a lot of work. She would take silly photos of the two of them together on her cell phone, but he would be the one perfecting his art while they were on vacation. She wanted to see the world through his eyes while he was looking through his camera lense.
“Of course,” Henry said. “I decided to bring the camera bag. I have enough memory cards and battery to last the whole weekend.” This was their weekend, but Henry was a photographer through and through. It was his passion, his life. He hadn’t thought twice about bringing a camera with him. His best one, as a matter of fact. Only the best to commemorate their first weekend together. He wanted to show Chloe the way he saw the world every bit as much as she wanted to see it. Not just by showing her the pictures he took, but how he took them. He also wanted to take pictures of her. She was important to him, so it was only natural he wanted her to be a part of what he loved some way and somehow.
At some point, when she wasn’t slammed with Summer Block Busters, Henry wanted her to show him how she saw the world. How different or the same it may have been. To be a part of what was special to her was important to him.
He picked up both bags, positioning the camera bag on his back and the over night bag over his shoulders. He looked skeptically at the latter. “I hope this is enough,” he said. “I mean, I have clothes for each day and I ...uh…” he looked at her sheepishly. “I had to go out and buy a new set of trunks. It’s been a while since I actually went to the beach to, you know, be at a beach. They aren’t neon green, I promise.”
“You’re adorable,” she retorted with a smile as she reached a hand up to lightly run her fingers through his hair, “I’m really excited to what you take photos, which is really strange to admit aloud, but you understand. I’m going to instagram the shit out of you.” That part was definitely true and she knew her friends were wondering who her mystery man was and she couldn’t wait to brag about him over the social media channel. They were an attractive couple and taking advantage of making sure there were photos of them to document this part of their lives was key.
And if Henry wanted to see her film side of the world then she would probably try to get involved in some indie films or student films to help out and get her hands dirty again. It would be nice to be behind the camera instead of just helping out with the finished product. She might start speaking to people and putting her name out there to get attached to their projects and she would happily invite Henry along to the set.
A playful pout was on her lips at the mention of his new trunks not being neon green. “I have to say that I’m slightly disappointed that they’re not neon. That’s my favorite color on you since that’s how we met,” the pout slowly dissolved into a smile, “But honestly, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you have enough and if not we can run to the store. Let’s get down to the car and head out while it’s not so bad out there for traffic.” She waited for him to lock up before they went down to her car and she made space in the trunk for his things to join hers.
“Neon green is not a good color for me,” Henry laughed as he and Chloe left his apartment. “But now that I know you’re a fan,” He winked playfully at Chloe, “the next time I go underwear shopping, I’ll get bright green shorts, just for you.”
Henry paused once before closing the door to look back into his living room. The hauntings in his apartment had been steadily increasing over the last month or so – although nothing even compared to waking up with Sharon the Ghost hovering next to his bed. Other than that, the manifestations had been fairly limited to less disturbing incidents. The most common of which were the windows in his bedroom and living room rattling, as though someone were banging against them or shaking them violently. Occasionally the clock on his living room wall would go completely haywire, with its hands spinning around the face at an intense speed, sometimes backwards, and ticking loudly. The living room clock had never had an audible tick before. The clock on his bedside table would act just as strangely. The digital numbers flashed and changed at a high rate of speed, also sometimes going backwards, or in no order at all. The alarm would go off at odd hours, even though Henry had never actually set the alarm before it, having always relied on his phone as a morning alarm to wake him up. The weirdest manifestation was the low almost mechanical sounding hum Henry sometimes heard in his apartment. He could never identify what it was, or where it was coming from. He heard it at all hours of the day, sometimes being woken out of a solid sleep because of it. It would last anywhere from a few moments to several minutes before everything would go quiet again. Nothing like this was happening in his Dreams, at least not yet, and it was becoming extremely unnerving, especially with Sharon the Ghost’s visit still fresh in Henry’s memory.
The hauntings seemed to have intensified, but the hole in his bathroom remained mostly unchanged. It had grown just a little bit when Henry started dreaming of the Other World version of South Ashfield, but not alarmingly so. It didn’t beckon to him the way it had when it had first appeared, nor did Henry hear any whispering coming from it, although there were times when he was in the bathroom, he could feel a light breeze, as though air were circulating from within the hole. He had mentioned all this to Chloe during their research into her powers, mostly because Henry wanted to prepare her if she was going to be spending a lot of time in his apartment, and secondly (and perhaps a little selfishly), he was more than a little interested to see if they came across anything in their findings that may have explained the phenomena and how to stop it.
Henry gave one last look at his apartment. On the one hand he would be glad to be spending three days away without any rattling windows or humming or clocks going apeshit. On the other, he was a little nervous about what he would be coming home to after three days away. With a tight breath he closed and locked the door. When he turned to look at Chloe, his excitement for their first weekend together all came back and pushed all the thoughts of what was happening to his apartment out of his mind. He took Chloe’s hand and the two of them headed for the elevator.
“Is it weird you want to watch me take pictures?” He asked. It didn’t seem that weird to him. Photography was an art form not dissimilar to the type of art Chloe practiced with her movies. “It makes total sense to me. I mean, I’d like to watch you film a movie sometime. You know, if that’d be ok with you?”
“You are so sweet to me,” Chloe teased as she stepped back to watch him. There seemed to be a flurry of emotions on his face as he got ready to leave. She knew about the hauntings and she truly hoped that nothing major would happen to his place while they were gone. The phenomena was strange, but she also had no idea how to stop it. Getting Max to come over was tempting, but there was a part of her that doubted he would be able to make any kind of difference. It might require something intense and possible involve them going through that hole in the wall. It almost seemed like the hole wanted them to fix things like Henry did in his dreams, at least to Chloe.
Once he turned around she could see that he had come back to normal and she gave him a small smile as she squeezed his hand. The elevator took a moment to open up for them and she shook her head, “I guess it’s not that weird. Watching me direct a film would be a little more interesting since there’s a lot of activity going on, but watching you take photos is almost calming. But of course I would let you watch me.” She would just have to come up with a new project to do in order to invite him along.
Once inside the elevator she pressed the button to take them down to the lobby and stepped closer to her boyfriend. Closing the gap between them she stood up on her toes to give him a kiss and smiled against his lips before pulling away. “I’m really excited for this trip.” A lot was riding on this trip since it was their first big step in being in a relationship together. Chloe wanted everything to go perfectly, but she was also doing her best to know that not everything would be perfect. As long as she and Henry had smiles and were still into each other by the end of the trip then she would consider it a success.
Henry leaned back against the wall of the elevator car and put his arms around Chloe’s middle. He smiled at her happily. Even if the weekend wasn’t perfect, even if everything that could go wrong did, he would still be happy just being with her. Just having the time together, just the two of them, was really all he wanted.
“You haven’t told me where we’re going,” he said. “Or what we’ll be doing. You just said to pack for three days and bring a bathing suit. Do you want to tell me now, or do you want to keep it a surprise?”
He wouldn’t have minded if she decided to keep it a surprise. He didn’t really mind surprises. It was impossible to plan for everything, especially when you were a Dreamer in Orange County and Henry had always been a Roll With The Punches kind of guy. He had to have been given the life he’d lead.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened up to let them out into their apartment building’s front lobby. He left the elevator with Chloe, arm around her waist, holding her close to him. Yup, as long as the two of them were together, everything would be great!
“I think I can tell you the things we would be doing on one hand,” Chloe countered with a smile as she began to count off on her fingers. “Beach, photography, sleep, food, and sex,” five things and five fingers and she held them up to him with a laugh before shaking her head, “I think that covers the basics and how little I truly intend to do while we’re off together.” She just wanted to relax for the weekend and if they didn’t leave the room right away then she wouldn’t complain.
They made it to her car and she popped open the trunk to fit his bag inside. “I’ve got the GPS set up and you can be in charge of music for our little roadtrip. It won’t be a long trip, but long enough that we need some good music.” Chloe gave him a kiss on the cheek before going to the driver’s side. It was more amusing to keep Henry in the dark about what they were doing because if he hated the idea then they wouldn’t be sitting in awkwardness in the car. Instead he would have to suffer while they were at the place and hopefully he would grow to enjoy their time.
Once he was in the car she started to follow the GPS route to lead them to the freeway and take them away on their vacation. Her hand slipped into his and she gave him a small squeeze with a smile, “So, how’s work been? I’m glad you were able to take time off so we could go out this weekend.”
It was unlikely that Henry would hate anything Chloe had planned for them. Unless it was skydiving. Henry didn’t quite have the balls of steel to jump out of a perfectly fine plane. Or bungee jumping. In fact, as long as Chloe hadn’t planned anything that required them to jump off of or out of anything they shouldn’t be, then Henry was sure to love it. Actually, her list of beach, photography, eating and sex sounded like heaven.
Henry settled into the passenger seat, his role of Music Coordinator taken quite seriously as he searched for a radio station for the two of them. His hand slid easily into hers and returned her squeeze affectionately.
“Work’s been alright,” he said. “Not nearly as busy as yours, but I had a lot of catching up to do from when I was crypt keeping.” He laughed a little. “You know, only in Orange County can you get time off to literally guard a body. My boss is pretty understanding about these things. He doesn’t Dream himself - that I know of - but he knows some really weird shit goes on around here. Not like my last job. You remember when I told you last Halloween how I got turned into a demon horse? I missed about three days worth of work because of it and they fired me. It wasn’t as though I was the only photographer on the payroll, but I violated the ‘no call - no show’ policy. Tsk. how was I supposed to call when I had no opposable thumbs? Whatever. The point is that I really like where I’m working now.”
The GPS continued to chirp at her until they made it onto the freeway and then it would be smooth sailing for about forty-five minutes before they had to squirrel around to find the actual B&B. They were leaving at a decent time, so they wouldn’t hit as much traffic and Chloe was thankful for that. The last thing Henry needed to see was her road rage on the freeway when people started driving like total idiots.
Her brow furrowed a little when he explained that because he turned into a demon horse he was fired from his job. She could understand the company taking that policy very seriously, but it seemed absolutely stupid. The porn studio was still an amusing thing to her and she honestly hadn’t met anyone who worked in that industry, but now she was dating a boy who worked in porn and dreamt of murders. Her parents would be so proud of her. “That’s total bullshit,” Chloe quipped with a roll of her eyes, “I’m glad your new job is way more relax. I can’t imagine missing work because of the Dreams and I’m not looking forward to the day that finally happens. But as long as I can get my body out of bed, consume large amounts of caffeine, I will be to work.”
Missing work was not an option for her if she could help it. She reached up to grab her sunglasses off the visor and stuck them on her face as they drove. “I’m sure you’re looking forward to something more relaxing this weekend though. You’ve had to put up with a lot of shit lately and you deserve this.” The missing heart and the crypt keeping were not things that normal people had to go through and Henry really deserved some recognition for putting up with a lot of stupid shit and Chloe felt bad for him.
“Kinda has to be,” Henry said with a shrug. “I mean, porn is still serious business, but I’ve learned that you kind of have to be chill about the whole thing. Especially because it’s a serious business. Otherwise you’ll go crazy. And I don’t even do the really important stuff like writing or directing. I’m just kind of a fill-in. Not for the actors,” he said hurridly, “but, you know for other stuff. Lighting, props, art consulting for the DVD covers, head shots and other stuff like that. It’s actually, really interesting.” He laughed, “definitely not the job I thought I’d have, but I like it and I like the people I work with.”
He looked at Chloe over the tops of his own sunglasses. “I really hope you don’t have to miss work because of these Dreams. I know how important it is to you, but...sometimes things happen. Sometimes they happen and they have nothing to do with what we’re Dreaming and it has everything to do with what someone else is Dreaming. Which, kind of happens more often than not.” He frowned slightly. Most of the bullshit he’d put up with lately had to do with what someone else had dreamed and he’d just gotten sucked into it. Sort of sucked into it. Ok, he may have dove into it, but that was his nature. He’d wanted to help.
He squeezed Chloe’s hand. “Any time you need me, I’ll be there.” He said with a smile. “And you’re right, I am really looking forward to this weekend and some time not dealing with Dream bullshit. So, thank you for setting this up for us.”
Everything Henry had gone through, he’d gone through because he had wanted to. Well, he hadn’t wanted to have his heart pulled out of him, but it had happened because he’d wanted to help. That was also why he had guarded Killian’s lifeless body for days while the others went searching for his soul in the underworld. He never did it for praise or thanks, it was just in his nature to be helpful, to be there for others in the way he’d never had someone there for himself. Still, having someone acknowledge what he’d done and gone through was nice every once in awhile. Henry leaned over and kissed Chloe on the cheek as she drove. “You’re the best girlfriend ever.”
Listening to Henry wax poetic about working at the porn studio Chloe had to fight to keep from giggling. He sounded so happy and so proud about what he was doing and she was just happy that he had found something that was enjoyable. She wouldn’t really be able to tell her parents where he worked, but she would find a way to get around that one. As long as Henry was happy then she was happy. It did seem like there truly was a lot of work to do at the studio and it seemed to run a lot like a regular movie studio. However, she couldn’t control her laughter when Henry made sure to mention that he didn’t fill in for the actors.
“You do light up a little more when you talk about this job, which certainly means it’s good for you, but don’t let yourself forget about other dreams as well. Owning your own studio and doing your own photography business would be pretty impressive,” Chloe pointed out to him. She would support him no matter what he decided to do, but she wanted to make sure that he kept a future goal in mind and didn’t end up feeling like he had settled when it came to his career, “And I get how things just happen. I’m just going to roll with the punches and see how it goes. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as it possibly could be. But I’ll definitely be coming to you when things get weird because I expect you to explain what in the world is going on.”
That squeeze to her hand drew a smile, “I know, Henry, I know. You’re pretty amazing and I feel really lucky that you came to do laundry that day. And I’m also really glad that you’re excited to just spend a weekend relaxing and being together. I intend to make sure you’re shirtless as much as possible within society standards.” It was a good goal to have and she knew she could accomplish it as long as he was game for it.
The fact that Henry just went in for things whenever he thought he could help might become a point of contention between the two of them, but they would have to see. Chloe liked that aspect of his personality, but there was a point when it became too much to offer to help everyone. It would be a lesson for both of them to learn when push came to shove. But for now they weren’t thinking about things like that and Chloe just wanted to treat Henry to a little rest and relaxation. The kiss to her cheek made her smile even more and she was tempted to lean over to kiss him properly, but she would wait until she was a little further down the freeway for that, “And you’re the best boyfriend ever.”
Constantly helping those around him was Henry’s greatest strength and also his fatal flaw. He had learned that when his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He understood now that he had to be more cautious. Orange County was a dangerous place. He could not continue to put himself in potential harm’s way without thinking. Especially when it was clear to him, now more than ever, that people around him cared about what happened to him. Perhaps Chloe could help him understand and be able to tell when it was alright to offer his hand and when it was in his best interest to stay clear. That being said, there were people that he could never not help. Chloe was one of those people and he cared about her very much. There were also Revy, Rapunzel and Kenzi, who had all made it a point to look after him at some point or another.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten,” Henry assured her. “The studio is fine for now, but I don’t see myself retiring out of there, you know? It’s given me a lot of new contacts and I get all kinds of side work. I’m at the point now where I can actually start to save that money to go towards having my own place. Not to mention the contacts I’ll need so I can actually have my own clientele.”
Henry pulled at his shirt, and looked down at his chest. “I hope we have enough sunscreen, then,” he joked. “I’m not going to lie, I burn pretty easily. Like, lobster style red. And that’s really not a good look for me.” All joking aside, he couldn’t wait for this. Beach time meant swimwear and he was really looking forward to seeing Chloe in hers.
“I really hope not. It’s going to be weird if I have to explain to my parents that you work at a porn studio,” Chloe countered with a small smirk on her face. It would be hilarious if she did tell her parents and her mom would be the only one that wouldn’t mind it. Her dad would probably frown and grump about over that, but a job was a job, “And you should get out more and do freelance for people. I’m sure there’s a handful of people on the network that need professional pictures at some point. Oh! And if you ever need someone to put up flyers with your info on them let me know and I can put some up at various places that I go to.”
Chloe wanted to help him out. It was important to try and reach for your dreams and his didn’t seem that far off, so he should be able to get there. She knew a lot of people and was more than happy to pimp her boyfriend out. But that was pushed to the side when he started informing her that he would burn pretty badly if he was left shirtless outside all day. That earned a laugh, “I brought a lot of sunscreen, so I promise I will make sure you don’t burn. I like you without being red and crispy. I tan fairly easily, so I should be okay, but I do make sure I don’t get burnt and protect myself from skin cancer.”
The traffic was flowing smoothly and the GPS chirped that they would be staying on this road for quite a few miles, “Alright, DJ, time for you to pick some good music because I am setting my cruise control.” She was also able to lean over to kiss his cheek to return his kiss from earlier. She enjoyed driving and there was nothing better than hitting the open road with her boyfriend with the sun shining down on them. This vacation was going to be a lot of fun and she couldn’t wait to get her feet in the ocean and feel the sun upon her skin.
“You don’t have to tell them I work for a porn studio, if you don’t want to,” Henry said with a light laugh and a shrug. “I told my mother I work for a media studio and left it at that. She doesn’t ask very many questions, so long as I’m eating well and living in a decent place. My dad knows, but he just laughed at it and the two of them never talk to each other so…” Henry shrugged again. That was one small perk of having divorced parents who hated one another. He didn’t have to worry about his secrets getting blabbed from one to the other. Henry had always been a little closer to his father than his mother anyway, though considering how infrequently he actually spoke to his parents, that wasn’t setting the bar very high.
As they sped down the highway, Henry wondered for a moment when the time would be appropriate for a Meet the Parents visit. His father lived in Phoenix still, it was only an eight hour drive away. He should probably introduce Chloe to him. It would probably be a better visit than making the trip out to Maine and listening to his mother for an extended weekend. Did Chloe want him to meet her parents? He assumed she did at some point. Maybe that was something they could talk about in between beach combing and romping about their room.
He grinned happily when she leaned over to kiss him and forgot all about parents and meeting them. “Alright. This is a very important task. What do you want to listen to, Captain of the Road?”
If this was going to be a serious relationship, which she thought it would be, then she would most likely have him meet her parents. They were nearby, so it wouldn’t be a long trip to get him to them, but she was more than willing to go on the trip to meet his respective parents. “Dads tend to be pretty chill about that kind of thing. But we’ll see, I feel weird lying about what you’re doing. It’ll happen when we come to,” she assured him with a smile. They could put it off for a while if they wanted to, but it would happen some day. She could see a long future with Henry, “And let’s find something groovy to listen to. No boring Top 40 stuff.” She wanted to just jam out with Henry and totally embarrass herself with her awful car karaoke.
The trip went quickly and she was pleasantly surprised with how easily they passed time together. She pulled up to the parking area of the B&B she had booked them in and turned to him with a smile, “Ta-da! Hope you like it here.” It would be nice to stay at a B&B and not in a boring hotel. They would have meals at their fingertips and the beach was just a few steps away. If she remembered correctly there was also a swimming pool and hot tub and she had made sure to book a room with a view of the beach.
Once parked she got out of the car and went to the back to grab their bags. A deep breath was taken and a smile was already on her face at the idea of spending the weekend in this place. It was picturesque and she would be spending it with Henry, which made her even happier. She reached out for him to bring him close and went in for a kiss once he was near.
There was just something about a bed and breakfast that was so much better than a hotel. Sure, a hotel could be part of a resort and have all the comforts and luxuries in the world. When he was doing freelance work full time Henry had stayed at several different hotels, ranging from the extravagant to the budget-friendly, depending on how much his client was willing to pay for living accommodations. However, there was just something more cozy about a bed and breakfast. More intimate. You couldn’t get that at a hotel and Henry was looking forward to the intimacy.
After Chloe had parked the car, Henry got out, stretched his arms over his head and took in the place they would be staying in for the next few days. It was quaint and peaceful. The view of the ocean was spectacular and Henry thought he saw a path that went down towards a beach. He was going to be able to get some amazing shots of the sunrise from this place.
Smiling, Henry put his arms around Chloe from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. “This place looks fantastic,” he said as he nuzzled into her neck. “I can’t wait to take a look around. Get a few shots of the beach. In fact, I’d really love to get a picture of you down there, maybe as the sun sets?”
When his arms went around her she couldn’t help but smile and her toes curled. It was so cute and she was so excited to be alone with him for the weekend. The nuzzling made her giggle and she squirmed playfully against him, “Ticklish. And we can certainly take a lot of photos and I get to model for you? Well well, now I’m going to feel a little nervous.” She was more than happy to model for Henry anytime he wanted and she turned around in his arms so she could nuzzle his neck in return.
“Alright, Romeo, we should get inside and check in,” there was a small bit of reluctance as she pulled away from him and went to grab her bags. Once they had their bags together she lead the way to the front door so they could speak to the person who was in charge of the B&B. It was even cuter inside than she had seen in the photos online, so she couldn’t help but smile as she stepped forward into the house. There was a jingle of a bell from above the door and a kind woman called out to them that she would be there in a moment.
At least she was friendly and they were checked in quickly and escorted up to their room and Chloe moved to put their stuff off to the side once they were left alone. The sliding glass door out to a small balcony was calling to her and she crossed the room to open up the blinds and the door so she could take a deep breath of the fresh ocean air. “Part of me just wants to stay here forever, you for it?”
The place was so nice. Henry had forgotten that places like this existed. Places away from Orange County and all it’s strange occurrences and drama. And he got to spend a whole weekend here. with Chloe? How could he ever want to leave?
“Completely one hundred percent for it,” he said emphatically. “Do you think the woman downstairs would mind if we just moved in? You could do movies featuring her B&B and I could do promo shots for her. Everyone wins!” He paused and gazed at Chloe standing at the sliding door with the view of the beach behind her. She looked amazing standing like that. The breeze off the beach had caught her hair just so and the light was perfect. She was beautiful. Henry had to take a picture.
“Don’t move,” he lifted his camera bag onto the bed and dug out his camera. “This will be our first photo of the weekend.”
“As long as we paid rent in some form I’m sure she would let us stay,” Chloe agreed with a chuckle, “I think you’re on to the right idea. We’ll have to corner her at breakfast and pitch our proposal to her.” God, that would absolutely hysterical. Two crazy twenty-somethings suddenly falling in love with the B&B and wanting to buy this room out from the lady. She glanced over at him over her shoulder when he told her not to move and she couldn’t help but grin when he declared that this would be the first photo of the weekend.
“Oh gosh, way to make me nervous,” Chloe countered as she stayed in her position, but watched him with an amused look as he dug his camera out and got everything ready to take a photo. She had to admit that it must be an interesting view of her standing there. Her hair was lightly blowing around her from the breeze from the ocean. It would probably be salty by the time she walked away from the doorway, but it would be worth it.
The way she smiled at him was the final touch. Henry took the photo and then looked at hte digital preview and grinned. The sun shone on Chloe’s blonde hair as the wind fanned it around her face and shoulders almost like a kind of veil. Behind her, just out of focus was a backdrop of a light blue sky dotted with a few clouds and a white sandy beach, between which was a deep blue ocean. The picture was beautiful. She had said she was nervous, but the smile on Chloe’s face was brilliant, it lit up her face and eyes.
Henry grinned and joined Chloe at the balcony to shoe Chloe the shot. “See,” he said. “You’re a natural. Probably the best subject I’ve ever had.” And easily Henry’s favorite subject to photograph at the moment. If she would let him, he could probably take dozens of pictures of her over the weekend.
He put his arms around her and kissed her. “What do you want to do now?” He asked. “Should we hang out here and take in the view or go down to the beach and walk around?”
When he brought the camera over she leaned over to look at the display. It was a strange seeing herself through his eyes because he managed to catch her in a pose that she normally wouldn’t do. She looked different - a little ethereal - but it did look quite good. A smile appeared on her face when he commented that she was the best subject. A reply escaped her when his arms went around her and she returned the kiss. She leaned in to nuzzle against his cheek with a laugh.
“Well, then I’ll have to let you take lots of photos of me. And let’s get down to the beach. We will be spending a decent amount of time in this room, so might as well enjoy the ocean right now,” Chloe explained as she moved out of his arms to go grab her suitcase, “I’ll even put my swimsuit on for you.” They still had a lot of light left before it transitioned into night and they would eventually have to put real clothes on and go find some dinner.
It took a moment for her to dig it out of her suitcase, and she looked over her shoulder at him with a mischievous grin as she kept her back to him and undressed. Now that they had finally slept together she didn’t have any hangups about nudity around him. Once undressed she put on her bikini.
Nudity was perfectly acceptable from each of them at this point in their relationship and Henry appreciated the way Chloe still kept up the air of modesty with her back to him as she changed. It let him admire her from behind, his gazed tracing along the outline and curve of her body.
Her bikini was both playful and sexy. It suited her very much. He grinned at her. “I like it,” he said, “but aren’t you afraid these will come undone?” He grabbed playfully at the bow that kept her bottoms on.
After Chloe had changed, Henry did the same. Since his old trunks had seen much better days he had gotten a new pair. He had found that he actualy liked Hawaiin print and had looked for a pair of trunks with that kind of look.
With his new trunks and a pair of sandals on, his camera strap around his neck, Henry held out a hand to his girlfriend. “Shall we?”