Chapter 181: What Paradise Tastes Like
- RAYA -
"Costa Rica," I repeat in awe, staring at the lush green tropical surroundings and thinking how much better in person this is than anything I could have ever imagined. "Wow. This is just... incredible. Definitely a good choice."
Dex grins and pulls my hand behind his back so that I’m forced against his side. He kisses my head and growls affectionately.
"There are so many fun things to do here. You will love it. Kayaking, hiking, swimming in the ocean, horseback riding on the beach," he murmurs against my hair. "The resort looks really beautiful, but there are so many things we can do on our own as well. Whatever you want to do angel, we’ll do it."
Rory watches us with a soft smile while Luciano looks around distractedly. Our bags are being transferred into a van that’s taking us to the resort.
"You don’t look surprised at all," I say to Rory. "Dex told you, didn’t he?"
My voice rises with a lilt of joking accusation, but it’s punctuated with a small laugh at the end. I don’t actually care.
"No," she says, appearing startled. Her eyes widen. "Luci told me on the flight. Blame him."
Luciano’s lips twitch toward a smile while my sister isn’t looking, and now I’m deeply curious about what I missed. They aren’t looking at each other, but I can sense a gravity between them now that is stronger than what was there before.
Luciano’s not staring at Rory, but he’s not really looking at anything else either. And she is definitely avoiding looking at him. But it’s not out of anger. There might be a bristling annoyance that she has always had around him, but it’s charged with something else now.
Their bickering right before we landed only adds to my curiosity. They obviously weren’t just sitting there absorbed in their own thoughts the whole way.
When we climb into the van, I get into the far back with Rory.
"You can sit by Dex," she whispers before the men get in. "You don’t have to give me any special attention, Raya."
"How is this special attention? You’re my sister. I can’t sit by you?"
She sighs heavily but forces another smile, and I swear—we’re going to find a way to get her smiling naturally while we’re here. If there’s anywhere that can do it, it has to be here.
I can’t even begin to imagine all the wildlife that we’re going to see. I already spotted a vibrant colored bird that I’ve known exists in real life but never really appreciated the reality of until getting a glimpse of it myself... just casually. Climbing into a vehicle and not at a zoo or on TV.
We’ve been here a total of maybe fifteen minutes, and I can already understand why so many people decide to move here. It feels like an entirely different world.
"Isn’t this exciting?" I ask, nudging Rory with my arm, and she chuckles softly.
Dex and Luciano both climb in. Dex’s gaze flicks my way before he sits down, and Luci’s does the same to my sister. A warm comfortable knowing suddenly alights in my chest... like this was divined. This moment. This place. We were all four meant to be here. It was always going to happen.
I try to shake it off as the van begins moving with the cheerful, friendly driver making conversation with Dex and Luciano. More scenery that I can only gape at glides by, but that feeling stays lodged deeply inside. I want to ask Rory if she feels it, too, because it has to do with her. It’s not just me and Dex this time.
Despite the dark turn of events that we all endured, this just feels... right. Very, very right. And with that feeling comes a sense of familiarity that even extends to the vibrant life passing outside the window.
"Weird," I mutter to myself, glimpsing the ghost of my reflection in the van window.
"What?" Rory asks, obviously paying closer attention to me than I realized. I thought maybe she was listening to the conversation the others are having about the ’green season’ here.
"Nothing." I turn to her and see a spark of fire and intensity that hasn’t been there for quite some time. I can tell she isn’t accepting that answer. She expects more. "I’ll tell you later."
We arrive at a dock with a small water taxi waiting for us.
"The resort is on the peninsula. It’s only accessible by boat," Dex says, turning to us with the explanation.
"You can also hike, though it’s not ideal," our driver says with a wide, friendly smile. "Or travel by small plane."
I can almost sense Luciano tuning into Rory’s reaction to this information even though he doesn’t turn to observe her. She doesn’t say anything, and I don’t think this is something that would bother her. But I guess we haven’t really had many experiences together like this.
Our luggage is transferred to the water taxi, and Dex offers me his hand when we climb on. Rory ignores Luciano and climbs in herself, and I have to restrain a snort of amusement.
All of this is surreal. The open ocean, the coastline, the rainforest in the background. Rory and I watch for dolphins and sea turtles but don’t see any before arriving at our destination. But the water is just... breathtaking. All of it is.
A woman with thick dark woven hair and a beautiful floral dress greets us on the dock. "Welcome to the Cattleya de Arbol Rainforest and Beach Resort," she says. "My name is Xeni."
Dex introduces us as several young men in green collared shirts come to take our bags. Another young woman waits nearby with a tray of fruity looking drinks, and Rory and I accept them gratefully when they’re offered.
It’s seriously brilliant hospitality. A drink has never looked more appealing than it does at this moment.
When several small black and white monkeys skitter across the branches of a tree off to the side, I glance at my sister, eyebrows raised in excitement. She winks at me, taking a sip of the yellow drink with the pink floral garnish, and I do the same. This must be what paradise tastes like.
