Ten (Josh)

Devina would not tell me where we were going. We had stopped in the middle of nowhere to stay the night and I didn’t even know what state we were in.

We had been on the road for a few hours when I started paying attention to the road signs.

Orlando, 20 miles.

Okay, so we were in Florida. Where in Florida were we going?

Devina wouldn’t tell me until we got there so there was no point asking.

I continued playing Tetris on my phone and glanced up every once in a while. After about forty minutes, we hit a really touristy strip. I noticed a road sign that was purple instead of green and had what appeared to be Mickey Mouse ears on top.

Oh yeah, Disney World was in Florida. I had never driven through Florida so I had never seen these signs. They were cute.

I went back to Tetris and Devina remained silent.

When I looked up next, there were more signs for Disney World and several ads for the park attractions as we drove along.

Wow, we must be pretty close.

Then I realized...

“OH MY GOD, WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!” I shouted.

Devina jumped but then started laughing.

“Yes, darling. We’re going to Disney World,” she confirmed.

I nearly jumped out of my seat with glee.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!”

Devina laughed at me again. I grabbed her free hand that was resting on her right thigh and sprinkled it with kisses.

“You are a goddess!” I exclaimed.

“Whoa! Let’s not exaggerate here,” Devina countered.
I threaded my fingers between hers.

“But you are! I’ve always wanted to go to Disney World!”

“What?! You’ve never been?!”

“I’ve never been.”

“Wow, you’ve been sheltered.”

“You’ve been?!”

“I have, a few times. One of Torin’s really good friends works there. He will be our tour guide.”

“A tour guide?”

“Yes, a tour guide. He will be with us the whole time and cut us through lines and make sure no one approaches you if you don’t wish.”

“Wow,” I breathed. But then I realized the last thing she said wasn’t really my decision. “Well, I guess it will be if you wish.”

Devina sighed.

“I know how much you love greeting your fans, but we can’t trust anyone. Not after what happened yesterday.”

“I understand.”

“Okay. I’m glad you’re excited.”

“Of course I am! This is going to be the best birthday ever!”

Devina smiled brightly at me. Her phone rang and she hit the answer button on the steering wheel.

“Devina Friedmann,” she answered.

“Dev, it’s Holden,” an accented male voice came through the speakers.

“Holden, my darling! We are five minutes away.”

“Fantastic. Go to the far left parking pass lane. You will just need to show your ID and you’ll get in.”

“Free parking? Damn, I love you.”

Holden chuckled.

“Why not? Go to ‘will call’ once you get parked. I’ll have your passes there.”

“You are amazing. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Same here. See you in about half an hour.”

“Cheers.”

I was completely enamored by the big entrance and the parking pass lanes. I was in Disney World and soon I’d be at the Magic Kingdom. I pinched myself. Yes, it was real.

A while later we were walking into the Main Street Town Hall. Behind the counter was a tall, slightly pudgy man with short blonde hair. He looked up as Devina and I walked in and smiled.

“Devina!” he greeted.

“Holden, darling,” Devina replied.

Holden came out from behind the counter and gave Devina a hug.

“It’s amazing to see you,” Devina said and kissed his cheek.

A flame of jealousy and possessiveness flared up in my chest but I quickly tamped it down. No reason to feel that way. This was Torin’s friend. And Devina wasn’t actually mine.

“Agreed. How’s TD?” Holden asked.

“He’s well. I got to Skype with him a few nights ago. We don’t get the chance to do much else but text on instant messenger.”

“It’s cheaper though.”

“It is.”

Holden turned to me.

“And who is this?”

“This is my boyfriend, Josh Hutcherson.”

It was nice to hear her say “my boyfriend Josh." I enjoyed our cover more than I should.

Holden held out his hand for a shake and I accepted.

“Nice to meet you, Josh,” he said.

“Yeah, same,” I replied.

“Okay. Where would you like to go first?”

Devina turned to me.

“Umm... I don’t really have a preference. You guys are the experts,” I said.

“Let’s have you lead the way, Holden. I’m sure you know of a plan to get to everything.”

“I do, indeed.”

“And can we get Josh a ‘first visit’ button?”

“Of course!”

“Dev, that’s not really--”

But Devina gave me a death stare so I shut up.

Holden went back around the counter to get me a button.

“Dev, do you mind if I bring my mobile?” he asked.

“Not at all,” she waved him off.

He came back around with his cell phone and the button.

“Here you go,” he said as he proffered it to me.

But Devina swiped it before I could even raise my hand. She reached up and pinned it to my Reds cap.

“There! Perfect!” she said, beaming at me.

I couldn’t help smirking at her.

“Lead the way, Holden.”

Devina grabbed my hand and Holden led us out.

“Do you want me to allow fans to approach you, Josh?” Holden asked.

“No, thank you,” I replied.

“Not a problem.”

As we walked, I couldn’t stop looking around. There was so much to take in. Holden pointed things out and gave us an ongoing history lesson. It was so awesome.

Cutting ahead of all the lines was one of my favorite perks. We rode so many rides and saw several shows. I loved the Haunted Mansion. I held Devina close to me as we rode through and hummed the theme song for several minutes afterward.

Pirates of the Caribbean was spectacular. Neither Devina nor Holden told me of the drop at the beginning so I ended up screaming my head off. They laughed at me the rest of the ride.

“That’s so not funny, guys,” I would say and they would laugh harder.

I was completely fascinated by Peter Pan’s Flight. The concept was amazing.

I also liked It’s A Small World. Devina sang the song in all the languages she knew. She never failed to amaze me. The song was stuck in my head for a few hours after but I didn’t mind.

Both Space Mountain and Splash Mountain were exhilarating. We rode Buzz Lightyear three times in a row, trying to beat each other. Devina won every time.

The fireworks were beautiful. I wrapped my arms around Devina from behind and managed to steal a kiss.

When I thought this day couldn’t get any more perfect, we arrived at our suite. We were staying at Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort. The furnishings were modern and edgy. At the far end of the room was a balcony with a view of Cinderella’s Castle.

“You like it?” Devina asked from behind me.

“It’s amazing,” I replied.

“Happy birthday.”

Devina kissed my cheek. Before she could withdraw, I turned and placed my lips on hers. I kissed her sweetly but made sure she knew just how much I appreciated this.

I was surprised when she didn’t pull away first.

“Thank you, Devina,” I whispered.

She opened her eyes again to look at me. They were warm and loving.

“You’re welcome, Joshua,” she whispered back.