As the night waned and the guests began to stifle yawns, I changed into a more casual dress - a sporty black number I’d ordered after Daniel gave me his card - and got my bags ready. John was waiting outside to drive us to the…airport, probably. Hell if I knew.
Daniel was in much better spirits as we climbed into the backseat of the town car, guests yelling their well-wishes after us. He even smiled when I put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. For appearance’s sake, of course.
After a short while on the highway, it became obvious that we were indeed going to the airport. Well, I’d know where we were headed soon enough. He couldn’t keep it hidden forever. All he’d told me so far was to pack for warm weather, and that hardly narrowed it down very much.
Then, John bypassed the usual pick up/drop off points, going around through a back road that said “AIRPORT STAFF ONLY.” I started to speak, but Daniel shook his head.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve made special arrangements.”
I settled back in my seat. Well, then.
The road was narrow and winding, until it finally opened up…right on the tarmac. There was a plane parked in front of us - small, but still commercial-sized.
So that was how he planned to keep the surprise going. A chartered plane. Of course.
The brilliant bastard.
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance that somebody’s going to tell me where we’re going,” I said, as Daniel and I crossed the tarmac, with John carrying our bags a few feet behind us.
Daniel shook his head, smiling, as John handed the bags off to someone standing by the bottom of the staircase that led up to the plane’s entrance.
“Have a good trip, you two,” said John, waving.
The inside of the plane was lavish and roomy, with white leather seats and every imaginable amenity. After we’d settled in, a platinum blond attendant took our drink orders, and before long we were soaring in the clouds, headed for an unknown destination.
“Will you at least tell me how long the flight’s going to be?”
“Long enough,” he said. “You’ll want to settle in.”
He wasn’t kidding. I’d only been on planes a handful of times in my life, but I’d always had trouble sleeping on them. This plane, though, was a different situation entirely. I could lean back as far as I wanted, curled up in the luxurious seat. Before I knew what was happening, Daniel was shaking me awake.
“We’re about to land,” he whispered, smiling.
When we disembarked, the heat was the first thing I noticed. It was thick and humid. There were palm trees in the distance.
“Welcome to Florida,” the captain said, as we left.
Well, then.
“I hope you’re taking me to Disney World,” I told Daniel as we got into our taxi.
“No,” he said. “Better. But first, we’re going to the hotel to settle in.”#p#分页标题#e#
A five-star hotel, naturally. I don’t know why I would have expected anything different. We were in the honeymoon suite, on top of everything, so it was massive, and had its own Jacuzzi. I felt like I could get lost just inside our room. It had a dining table, for God’s sake.
“What do they think we’re going to do, entertain guests?” I wondered aloud, running my hand along the polished wood surface.
“Maybe we’re supposed to ‘christen’ it,” Daniel suggested with a half-smile. He’d come a long way - he was actually willing to joke about us having sex again.
I pulled my hand away quickly.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “This is a nice hotel. They actually clean all the surfaces.”
“That’s not what I read once in an email forward,” I called after him as he disappeared into one of the other countless rooms.
I had a very welcome shower in the lavish bathroom, which had more water pressure than any other hotel I’d ever been to, combined. And it didn’t even smell like feet. Was this how the other half lived?
When I’d freshened up, I went out to meet Daniel in the main living area. He was flipping through the channels on the massive flat-screen television.
“Anything good on?”
“Is there ever?” he said. “Come on. We’ve got an appointment with someone I think you’ll want to meet.”
So he was determined to stay mysterious, then. Fine.
We got into another taxi for a short drive. As we drew closer to what was apparently our destination, I saw a massive white building in the distance. It was almost as wide as it was tall. I thought it looked vaguely familiar, but we were apparently approaching it from the back, so I couldn’t see any identifying signs or markings.