Hey Wattpadders! I'm excited to announce that I am partnering with Wattpad and Sunwing Vacations to get you excited about the amazing experiences, feelings, and moments that are back on the table now that the world is reopening. All the experiences we've missed about sunny vacations are now possible again and "Yes You Can" is no longer a distant dream when it comes to travel.

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"Costa Rica?" Jackie sputtered. "You're going to Costa Rica?"

"It's crazy...right?" Reaching across the table, I plucked my phone from my best friend's stunned grasp.

"Are you kidding?" Palms planted to the tabletop, she bounced them enthusiastically. "It's amazing! When are you leaving?"

"There's some amazing deals with SunWing...but I haven't booked it yet."

The excited bouncing immediately ceased, and a look of disbelief morphed her dazzled grin into a bemused scowl. "Why the hell not? What's stopping you?"

Because it's too soon. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. Six weeks into healing from the worst breakup of my life, how could I jump on a plane now? Maybe there was a time when I would've been wildly adventurous, leaping clear across the world on a whim with a moment's notice, but the pandemic had left me land-locked in my home with little opportunity for escape beyond my backyard.

It felt...wrong. On so many levels. I couldn't imagine the daunting process of navigating crowded airports, Covid procedure or the sea of masked faces emerging from hibernation.

But the beach, my heart whispered.

The ocean!

The sun!

God, I needed to get away. Literally anywhere that would allow me to escape the ghosts of my failed relationship. And with that thought in mind, I had opened my Instagram DMs shortly after rolling out of bed to find a message from a guy I hadn't spoken to in over a year making me an offer I didn't know how to refuse.

Come to Costa Rica...

He'd accompanied the message with a short video of him sitting by water tinted soft cotton candy pink from sunrise. The wind teasing his shoulder length curls as a smile slid across his lips, warm and smooth as molten honey. To say he was as gorgeous as the backdrop was an understatement. Bronzed caramel skin, wicked black eyes and a smile that brought a spark to life in me in places I didn't expect to ever feel again...

"Listen," Jackie took my hand, capturing my attention from my spiraling thoughts. "I know you've been through a lot this year—we all have, but life is normalizing again. You deserve this."

"It's been so long...I didn't think I would be so nervous."

"I get it. I do. But lowkey if I had a guy like that asking me to join him on a baecation, my bags would've been packed an hour ago and I'd be on a plane before end of day."

I laughed at that. Jackie was pure adventure wrapped in hustle, so her view on the subject didn't shock or surprise me at all. "You don't think it's irresponsible? Like...shouldn't I wait a bit more? Just to be safe?"

"Airports and resorts are opening again for a reason, babe. For the last year and a half you've done everything you could to be safe and compliant during this shitshow of a pandemic; it's hard to shake it off, but you're allowed to seize this opportunity. To get out there again and experience life. Make new memories with a hot guy asking you to spend gorgeous evenings on the beach with him." Jackie sighed. "It's like a start of a rom-com, I hate you."

Jackie was right. I'd spent so long living in a mindset of 'No' that suddenly this resurgence of 'Yes' felt ... strange. Unfamiliar. Like waking out of the muted silence of a coma into vibrant, chaotic sensory overload. But the time had come for me to live again, and I was determined to seize it with both fists. To find the parts of me I had lost and create something newer, and stronger, from the ashes.

Unlocking my phone, I pulled open the page for the flights I had located on SunWing. And with an excited swipe of my thumb, hit book. "Oh my god," I gasped. "I did it."

Jackie punched both fists in the air. "Costa Rica, baby!"

"Costa Rica." I laughed.  It was time for new adventures. A fresh start. "Ready or not, here I come."