Page 46 of Always Been You

Han:If he hobbled his way into my ER, I’m not sure that I would save him. Cheating scum are the worst. We are here for you. Liv. Girls’ night again Saturday?

Liv:Can’t, Josh and I are heading to Whistler this weekend.

Liz:You will have to keep us updated about your weekend.

The rest ofthe week goes by as normal; Josh goes to work and I hang out at home. I read, keep up on some basic cleaning, text with the girls, and get lunch with Matt and Gi on Wednesday. The only difference is now I’m getting texts from Drew regularly, I ignore them. On Friday Josh only heads into work in the morning and is back by one o’clock so that we can get on the road before traffic gets bad on the Sea-to-Sky highway.

You lose service partway up the Sea-to-Sky, so I downloaded a couple of playlists to make sure that we have music. We take our bags down to the car and head out onto the road.

You can’t have a true road trip without a stop at Tim Hortons, so we stop at Timmies so that I can grab an Ice Capp and a bagel and Josh grabs a double-double from the drive-thru.

We listen to music, and I sing along to some of my favourite songs while Josh drives one-handed while he rests his other hand on my thigh.

I look out the window and take in the view as we make the two-hour drive. I watch the ferrieson the water and the ripples of waves that trail them and the birds flying overhead. I can see how the highway winds its way up through the mountainside away from the ocean. It slowly takes you out of the bustling city and into the calmness that is the small towns between Vancouver and Whistler. It’s been a long time since I’ve been up this way and I’m reminded of the beauty of the drive.

Pulling into Whistler, we drive through the village and Josh takes us straight to our hotel to get checked in. Walking into the expansive lobby, the black and grey marble floors shine. In the centre, the hotel logo is engraved on the floor in gold. The reception desk is to the right of the front doors.

There is a large carpet in the centre of the lobby, with a couch on each side and two chairs on each end, with a table between them. A restaurant is hidden in the back of the lobby behind elaborate dividers. Large hallways to the left lead to event spaces. People are bustling around the lobby, checking in and visiting the restaurant.

We make our way over to the reception desk, hand in hand, where a pretty blonde girl with bright blue eyes greets us.

“Good afternoon. Do you have a reservation?” she asks as she bats her eyelashes at Josh.

“Yes, I have a suite booked under Lincoln,” Josh says. He squeezes my hand and pulls me into his side, his hand resting on my hip. His thumb making slow movements over my hip.

“Yes, of course. Here we go.” She looks between Josh and me, almost as if wondering if it’s just the one room. “We have you in suite 1505. This suite only has one bed,” she says, giving Josh a questioning look.

“Yeah, my girlfriend and I only need one.” He smiles and looks back at me, flashing me a wink.

I take a step back from Josh and wrap an arm around myself. Is this how it will always be? People questioning Josh being with me? Will I have to watch other women check him out everywhere we go and have them think they would be better with him? Drew always said that I was so lucky to be with him because it would be hard to find someone who could look past my plus-size body and love me. It took a lot of work on myself to be able to push those thoughts out of my mind and ignore him, but was he right? Would Josh prefer to be with someone like the pretty, thin blonde receptionist? Will he also try to change me?

“Okay, well, here are your keys. The elevators are just to your right here around the desk. Please let us know if you need anything. Enjoy your stay with us.” She smiles a tight smile as she hands Josh our keys and we make our way to the elevators. Stepping inside, Josh presses the button for the top floor and we follow the signs to our room. He waves the key in front of the lock. When the green light flashes, he holds the door open for me. I only make it a few steps in before I stop, taking in the room before me.

I am standing in what looks like a living room, with a couch and two chairs in front of a large flat-screen TV. A dark brown table sits in front of a window with a view of the village. Along the wall behind the couch, there is a counter with a coffee maker, microwave, and a mini fridge hidden below. The door leading to the bedroom is the right of the TV. To the right of where I am standing is a huge washroom. Sitting in the centre of the wall is an expensive-looking clawfoot tub and to the left is a tile walk-in shower. Josh leans in behind me and places his mouth beside my ear. “You like it?” he whispers, and I nod slowly.

This room seems like way too much. I can’t believe he got us a room like this. I would have been fine with a regular hotel room. A room with a basic bathroom, a bed, dresser, and TV. He’s gone above and beyond for this trip so far.

“Good. Let’s put our stuff down and get ready. I made dinner reservations for us.”

I turn my head and look at him. “You did?”

“Yeah. Now let’s get ready.” He kisses me before moving around me and making his way into the bedroom. I follow behind him and place my bag on a chair in the corner of the room. The bedroom has a large king-size bed in the centre with a dresser and flat-screen TV across from the foot of the bed. There is a door that leads into the washroom from the bedroom as well.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

I did pack something nice, just in case. I always make sure that I have everything I might need when I go on a trip, but I want to make sure that I dress appropriately.

“It’s a surprise,” he says, trying to hide the smile on his face.

“Well, what should I wear?”

“Whatever you would like, Olivia.”

I shake my head. “What are you wearing, Josh?”

“Dress slacks and a button-up.”

“Okay. What time do we need to leave?”

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