Chapter 40: Chapter 40

"A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking."

-Earl Wilson-

***

Within three hours they were heading to the airport. Raphael had booked two first class tickets, of course, someone as high caliber as he was, he needed to give her the utmost luxurious experience. All she had to do was to follow along. It was her first time flying first class. The service for those in the upper class as soon as she arrived, the flight attendant had guided them to their seat at the front part of the plane.

They said money could not buy happiness. For Clara, what she saw before her was already a minor sign of happiness. Their seat acted double as bed, there were some complimentary drinks and snacks served right after they were seated. They had their privacy, since the first class was reserved only for those who were willing to pay for it, which were not that many.

On the cushion while watching some news on the TV. Raphael read a book to kill some time. He had brought his reading glasses which he had never showed her before. Clara who was munching on the snacks turned her head toward him, directing her gaze on him while trying to get unnoticed. It looked alien to her, but somehow Raphael looked a tad bit sexier with the them on.

He looked more sophisticated and intelligent, he had a great posture to begin with, in fact she had never seen him slouch before, not even once. He possessed a calm demeanor when he remained still like that, resting his elbow on the side with his fist under his jaw.

She could not help but steal glances at him once in a while in between drinking her juice and watching the news. Admiring his whole body. It was like dating a Greek god, only, he was French.

When the sky had turned dark, they were served dinner. Most of the time, she was someone who was not fond of airplane's meal, since she often had terrible experience with them, but that time the dinner served was pretty good.

Outside the plane, the sky had turned completely dark. The only light seen came from the plane's inner light. She closed the window, feeling tired about everything. Clara was the first to doze off, her head rested on his shoulder. When her soft hair touched his skin, he had a grin plastered on his face. He closed his book, removing his glasses, gently putting them aside ever so softly to avoid making any drastic move. He watched her beautiful face sleeping innocently, his fingers grazed over her lips. He let Clara remain in the position the whole night, ignoring the cramp on his shoulder from the weight of her head before he fell asleep himself.

The flight did not feel that long with all the ease they had. The sun had only risen when they arrived. It looked beautiful from above. Clara could only imagine what it would feel like to dip her feet into the crystal clear water. Raphael felt amused by Clara's every move. They landed at Bora – Bora airport and headed straight to their resort with a boat. Their arrival had been anticipated by the staff, one of the staff approached them, asking to handle their luggage.

After checking into their room, she was astounded by the view from their balcony, they had full access to the water straight out of their room. The only problem she had was the bed. They had to share the same bed. Somehow it made her feel nervous. When she expressed her concern to him, he laughed it off

Raphael found nothing odd about them sharing a bed together, after all, they had spent a wonderful night together the other day. He had seen everything. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

After putting down their stuff, the two decided to head straight for breakfast, both of them were starving, they had not eaten anything in over eight hours. As they stepped into the breakfast hall, which had direct view of the beach and the ocean, Clara could feel the warm salty air her hair as they took a seat on one of the seats at the outdoor patio. She could even feel the sand underneath her feet when she took off her slippers.

"It tickles." she giggled. It had been a while since she was exposed to the sight of the island. How long had it been since the last time she took a tropical vacation? Raphael came over with two bowls of açaí, one for her and another for himself.

"Might as well have tropical breakfast while we are in here" she thanked him. Digging through the colorful bowl with a spoon, she took a bite out of the blueberry, and coconut yogurt on top of the mixed fruit smoothie. It tasted fresh, a little bit crunchy from the granola. Definitely different from the pastry tasting breakfast she was used to.

"C'est trop délicieux." she spoke with a mouthful. Both of them were laughing at the moment for no particular reason. It was just the moment they had spent with each other that stirred up so much happiness. Although there were some things to be done even during vacation. Those things could wait.

"We can rest for a few hours, you must be jet lagged. It's okay, we can just go out tomorrow, let's spend today in ease, shall we?" He told her. She nodded. Right, she was indeed jet lagged. Going out would definitely tire her out even more considering she did not make much preparation.

She was the most excited for the view of the Island at night. The stars should be more visible at such places compared to the city who had been covered by the artificial lights from the building, overshadowing their brightness. As somewhat of a romantic, the sight of the stars always calmed her down.

On the other hand, Raphael felt a sense of relaxation he had not felt in a while. Being alone with Clara had been a dream of his for such a long time. Since he left her a few years ago, he had been anticipating moments like that. For once, he expected them to enjoy themselves without a care for the world. He had planned everything so they could hang out like normal couples, there would not be any other thoughts involved throughout their trip.

And maybe.

Maybe.

He would be able to get another taste of her during their trip.