-Devin-

"Where are we going?" Avery asked again.

"Be patient."

We'd been driving for three hours, and as soon as we crossed the state line into Oregon, I headed in the direction of the coast. At this point Avery assumed we were going to the beach, but then I turned off when we reached a small town named Astoria.

"Have you ever been here?" I asked.

Avery shook his head. "Have you?"

"No, but there's something here I think you'll appreciate seeing. We're going to stay here tonight, and then tomorrow we'll head over to Cannon Beach."

"I've never been to Cannon Beach," Avery said, looking out the window at the vast Columbia River.

"Seriously? Everyone I know has been there."

"My family didn't have a lot of money for vacations. We camped and hiked a lot since that's cheap. Cannon Beach is a bit pricey."

"Sorry," I said. "Add this to the long list of times I've been a privileged asshole."

All Avery did was laugh.

-

We stopped at a waterfront restaurant for dinner before making our way to the hotel to check in. Avery gently pushed me as we walked down the hallway to our room.

"A chain hotel?" he joked. "I thought you only stayed in places that charged five hundred a night."

"Usually. But I picked this hotel for a reason. You'll see."

Once we dropped off our stuff in the room, we went out the back of the hotel and I led Avery to a path along the river. The water was beginning to take on a more orange and pink hue as the sun slowly made its way down towards the horizon. Container ships floated by in the distance, silhouetted against the hills surrounding the river.

"We're going for a walk?" Avery asked.

"Not far. Just onto the pier up ahead." I smiled. "Do you hear it yet?"

Avery cocked his head to the side and listened. In the distance, we could hear a bunch of noise that sounded like hoarse barking. "Are there sea lions here?" Avery asked, his eyes getting bigger.

"Yep." I reached out my hand and took his. "Let's go."

Once we were on the pier, we didn't have to walk far before I saw what must be a hundred sea lions on an attached dock. Some were piled on top of each other, and others barked and dragged their bodies across the wood before sliding into the water.

Avery's face lit up as soon as he saw the sea lions. That smile was the reason I had stopped in this small town and booked a room in a hotel I wouldn't set foot in otherwise. All I wanted was to see him happy and make him forget about work for a while. Given how much he cared about fish, I assumed he liked other wildlife.

"This is awesome!" Avery said, grinning at me. "How did you know they were here?"

"I did some research. I wanted to know what animals we could see around Cannon Beach, and I found this instead."

Avery put his arms on the railing and watched, still smiling. I took out my phone and took a picture of him looking out at the sea lions, and then zoomed in and took a picture of a particularly large sea lion. They looked so funny sticking their noses up in the air.

I had to admit, they were pretty entertaining to watch. Some of them would push off the dock into the water, and others would try to get up on the dock, usually landing on top of another sea lion that was already there. They walked all over each other, jockeying for space, and once in a while, two of them would start to fight.

Avery and I were looking at all of them, trying to find the fattest one, when one of the sea lions threw up on his neighbor. He shook his head as he did it, which caused vomit to fly everywhere.

"Ugh, that's gross!" I said, making a face.

Avery was laughing so hard he had to hang onto the railing. "The one he threw up on doesn't care! I don't even think he noticed."

"Well, look at them. They aren't the epitome of cleanliness in the first place."

We watched the sea lions until the sun set, and even then, I had to drag Avery away. As we walked back to the hotel hand in hand, I couldn't remember ever being happier than I was now.

-Avery-

Back at the hotel, I laid on the bed and waited for Devin to finish brushing his teeth. I was still smiling and thinking about the sea lions. Devin had done a great job so far of picking out places and activities I'd enjoy, and I felt lucky to have a boyfriend like him. For someone who had never been in a relationship, he was surprisingly considerate and attentive.

Devin sat down on the bed, and then looked over at me. "Can you scratch my back? I feel itchy."

When I sat down behind him, he pulled off his shirt. Frowning, I reached out and ghosted my fingers over a large purple bruise on the back of Devin's shoulder. "What'd you do? You have another bruise."

Devin looked over his shoulder and wiggled his eyebrows. "You must be getting too rough with me in bed."

I rolled my eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"I don't know," Devin continued. "I might have whacked it on the doorframe when I carried our bags in."

"That hard though? This is a decent sized bruise," I said as I began to lightly scratch his back. "Maybe you should have your doctor check it out. You know, since you've had a few bruises lately."

"Nah. And I don't even have a doctor. I haven't been in years."

"Not even to get your bloodwork done? Or just check in to make sure everything is okay?"

Devin scoffed. "Don't tell me you're one of those people who goes in for a 'check-up' every year. That's for kids."

"No, it's not. Everyone should go in and make sure their health is okay. It can't hurt."

"I'll think about it," Devin replied. I knew the conversation was over, so I resolved to bring it up again later when we weren't on vacation.

-

The next morning, we arrived in Cannon Beach. It was a cute seaside town with several nice restaurants and shops, so there was plenty to do for people who didn't want to spend their visit outdoors. Devin and I got some crepes as a late breakfast before heading over to the nearby state park.

The first trail we took came out to a bluff overlooking the coastline and the town. Sea stacks dotted the landscape, sticking up from blue water of the ocean, and mountains rolled in the distance. It was a beautiful view, so I pulled my phone out and took a few pictures. Stepping back, I got a couple of Devin looking out towards the ocean.

He was so handsome, and even though we'd been together for several weeks now, there were times I still couldn't believe he was my boyfriend. Not only was he really good to me, but I relied on him to be a calming presence through all the long hours I spent working. On days when he wasn't by my side, his face was the one I was most excited to see at the end of every day.

All along, I'd wanted to be absolutely sure I loved Devin before I told him. If I said 'I love you' too early or without truly meaning it, and then something happened and it didn't work out, I got the sense it would hurt Devin a lot. He'd put himself out there and taken a chance on being in a relationship, and it'd probably destroy him if things fell apart.

I knew I loved Devin. I couldn't picture not having him by my side. There were so many places I wanted to go and experiences I wanted to have with him. I wanted to tell him this, but I didn't want to just throw the words out there. I wanted it to be special.

"What are you thinking about?" Devin asked, interrupting my thoughts. I hadn't noticed that he'd turned around to face me.

"You. Us."

"Good things, I hope?"

I smiled and stepped forward to put my arms around him. "I was thinking about how you're an amazing boyfriend, and about how much I appreciate you planning this trip."

"I'm actually really enjoying it," Devin admitted. "It's completely different from the trips I'd take with Carter or with my friends, but I like it. The sea lions were funny, and I have more respect for the outdoors because of you, so it's nice to focus on the scenery."

"It makes me happy to hear that." I reached up and kissed him. "And I'm happy you're in my life."

Devin's smile lit up his face. Seeing him react that way only made me more excited to tell him how I felt.

-

That night, I stood in the doorway of our balcony listening to the waves crash on the shore. Devin came up behind me and put his arms around my waist.

"I've always loved the sound of the ocean," I murmured. "It's comforting."

"I know what you mean."

I turned in his arms. "I think the only thing more comforting is your voice. Can you sing for me?"

Devin's eyebrows rose slightly. "You want that?"

"Of course. I haven't forgotten how beautiful your voice was when you sang for me a couple weeks ago. I still think you should look into doing something with music."

Devin reached behind me and shut the door to the balcony. "Let's lay down."

As soon as I was cuddled up next to him, he began singing softly, one song after another until I fell asleep to the sound of his voice.

-

I woke up in the middle of the night, closer to my edge of the bed than to Devin. When I scooted back over to him, I recoiled. The sheet was damp. I looked at Devin and saw a sheen of sweat on his forehead and across his chest.

I gently shook him awake, concerned that something was wrong.

"What?" he mumbled.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked. "You're sweating. It's bad enough that the sheet is damp."

He sat up, wiping his hand across his forehead. "I don't feel sick."

"You're sure?"

Nodding, he moved over to my side of the bed. "Maybe I just got too hot. But I don't want to sleep on a damp sheet."

I got up and went into the bathroom to get one of the smaller towels. I used it to wipe the sweat off Devin's chest and back before getting back into bed. It was a tight fit with both of us on one side of the bed, but it would work.

Devin fell back asleep almost immediately, but I couldn't sleep. All I could think about was the bruises I'd seen on Devin's body for the past few weeks. Bruises that seemed too big for what caused them, or seemed to have no cause at all. Now, with Devin sweating this much in the middle of the night, I was worried. What if something was wrong with him? All I knew was that he needed to go to the doctor, and I was going to do whatever it took to get him there.