For the first time in forever Charlie actually woke up before me. Someone was definitely excited to be spend all weekend at the water park. I was happy too but the six hour drive to Texas was going to be a bitch especially with two rowdy eight year olds in the back seat.

Alex's mom had not been hard to convince considering how much she loved Charlie. The two best friends were getting really close and I was scared it would be hard for Charlie to leave Alex behind when the time came but he'd get over it. I would not dwell on that and would cross that bridge when we got to it.

We were leaving super early in the morning so as to arrive early and enjoy as much of the place as we could. It would have been easier to fly there but Charlie hated flying so we stuck to driving.

After making sure that we had everything we needed I packed Charlie up in the backseat and texted Henry to meet us in front of his house. Henry was already there when I pulled up so he put his bag in the truck bed before getting into the passengers seat.

"Good morning."He greeted.

"Morning."I mumbled sipping on my coffee.

"Good morning Henry."Charlie cheered in the backseat.

"At least one of you is happy to see me."Henry retorted earning an eye roll from me.

"Charlie are you excited for your birthday?"Henry asked ignoring me and my foul mood.

I just needed coffee in my system to wake up then I'd be as cheery as they needed me to be.

"Yes."Charlie replied unable to hide his excitement.

I drove towards Alex's house to pick him up since his mom insisted on talking to me before we left. I left Charlie and Henry in the car before walking up the steps to Alex's house. It was a beautiful two storey house coated with a warm yellow paint, it had a white picket fence and a well maintained garden.

I knocked on the door and it was opened two seconds later by Alex himself.

"Hi, Alex. Are you ready for our trip?"I asked holding my arm out for a fist bump.

"Yes."He grinned.

Alex was a cute kid with brown curly hair, gray eyes, soft baby features and the most adorable smile, after Charlie of course.

His mom was right behind him holding his suitcase and backpack. We would only be gone for three days but I'd not argue with her about over packing.

"Hi, Beth."I greeted politely.

"Morning Willow. Are you all ready for the trip?"She inquired.

"Yes we definitely are, it's going to be so much fun for all of us."I assured her.

"Okay I trust you to take care of my boy. Don't let him have too much sugar and you have my number so please call me incase of anything. There's a list of Alex's allergies in his bag but I've packed a couple of EpiPen's just in case."She explained.

"Beth I've got this. It's not my first time with the boys, they will be okay. I'm a safe driver and Henry is really good with kids. Trust me to take care of your son. I will bring him back in one piece."I assured her.

"I do trust you. Okay, no more mama bear demands, drive safe and have fun. Update me always."She requested.

"I will."I replied.

She bent over to kiss Alex goodbye"You be a good boy for Willow and have fun with Charlie alright?"

"Yes mom. I love you."Alex answered.

"Okay baby. I love you too."She sniffed.

Their bond made me jealous because my mom and I would never have that but I was happy that Alex had his mother's love.

"I've packed you guys sandwiches and fruit for the drive."Beth informed me handing me me the suitcase and a mini sized picnic basket.

She gave the backpack to Alex who strapped it on his back before rushing to the car.

"You didn't have to but thank you. We'll see you on Sunday."I replied.

With nothing else to say I waved goodbye before walking back to the car. I put the suitcase in the truck bed but put the picnic basket on the floor of the car in the back seat. I made sure both boys were strapped in carefully before getting behind the wheel.

"Is everyone ready?"I asked.

Everyone yelled in approval and I smiled before driving off.

"Hey I was thinking that we could take turns driving so you don't have to drive the whole six hours."Henry suggested.

"I would like that, thank you."I smiled sparing him a quick glance.

I appreciated his offer because it made my burden easier. We would have bathroom breaks but other than that we weren't stopping for anything as we had enough food, drinks and snacks for the whole drive. The boys would be occupied by the games on their iPads and Henry and I would talk or just enjoy the drive in silence. It was going to be a great trip and I was happy Henry was with me because a six hour car ride with the two best friends would definitely not be easy.

"I meant to ask, what did your family say when you told them you were coming on this trip with me?"I asked hoping to initiate conversation.

"My dad didn't care, my mom called me ungrateful and insolent while Matthew glared at me for so long I got a migraine. I think he was trying to blow up my head with his mind."Henry replied.

"I'm sorry about them."

"Don't be, I get to have fun with you guys and make my family miserable at the same time, I love it."He grinned making me laugh.

"You're an odd fellow Henry."I commented.

"I will take that as a compliment."He responded.

"If it's any consolation my mom didn't like it either but when have I ever cared about her opinion."I added.

"No wonder our moms get along, they are birds of a feather."Henry pointed out.

"They deserve each other."I replied.

After getting the talk about our terrible families out of the way, the conversation took a lighter turn as we talked about more positive things like the arcade and our love for both vintage and modern games.

I thought that Henry would make the journey easier and he did when he helped me drive but I might have overlooked the fact that he too was a boy. He and the boys drove me to my limit by constantly asking for bathroom breaks, eating excess sugar thus getting too hyper, playing loud music and overfeeding. I had packed more than enough for the trip but we had to stop at only half the journey for me to do more shopping. I didn't take it easy on Henry that time and made him pay for everything.

During the last hour of the drive I made Henry take the wheel so I could get some rest. On the drive back, I'd drug them all with sleeping pills to keep them quiet. It might be illegal but no one would ever have to find out.

"Willow wake up, we're here."A distant voice cut in through my perfect dream of blissful sleep.

It was weird dreaming about sleeping while you were sleeping but I loved it.

I blinked my eyes open to find Henry looming over me as he woke me up. I sat up straighter and rubbed my eyes to clear my vision. The car was too quiet so I looked at the backseat and found the boys passed out with food crumbs all over their laps. We had arrived later than I had planned for since it was two in the afternoon but that's what I got for being in charge of three boys.

"They fell asleep during the last hour of the drive."Henry informed me.

"They look so cute when they sleep it's hard to imagine the terrors they evoke when they are awake."I commented with a chuckle.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused on the drive over."Henry apologized.

"I really want to say it's okay but it was three against one."I remarked making him chuckle.

"It was just fun letting loose without my parents restricting me. I'd forgotten how good it feels to actually experience the joys of childhood without an adult looming over you to hinder the fun."He explained.

"Now when you put it like that its hard to stay mad at you."I whined with a soft smile.

Henry smiled back and in that moment, the joy in his eyes made all the trouble he had caused me on the drive over worth it. If I could make him that happy in those few hours I was happy to do it even if I was irritated half the time.

"Why don't you watch over the boys while I go check in and come back with the our accommodation details."I requested.

"I'll be here."Henry replied.

I smiled at him before getting out of the truck. Texas was definitely as hot as advertised even when it was already winter. I was definitely happy with my outfit of choice of shorts, and a cropped top.

I found the reception and had to wait in line for a few minutes before getting served.

"Hi welcome to Morgan's Inspiration Island."The young receptionist welcomed me with a warm smile.

"Thank you, we have a reservation under Robert Miller."I replied.

"Let me just check that out."She mumbled tapping on her laptop.

A few seconds later she smiled as she handed me two room keys "Here are your room keys Miss Miller. I hope you enjoy your stay and in case of any problems feel free to contact us here at the front desk or ask any of our employees for help."She ranted out but I was too distracted by the keys in my hand.

"I thought we were getting four rooms."I inquired showing her our passes.

"Whoever made the reservation clearly asked for two rooms."She insisted.

"Can we get two more rooms?"I asked.

"I'm sorry miss but we're completely booked considering its the holidays."She apologized.

I nodded stiffly unable to say a word before getting out of there. It made sense that Robert would book two rooms, one for him and mom then one for me and Charlie. I just thought that with the change in plans he had made the necessary corrections.

"Hey what's wrong?"Henry asked when I got back to the truck.

"Well we only have two rooms booked when I thought we were going to have four or at least three."I frowned.

"So what are we going to do?"Henry inquired.

"I have no idea but let's get the boys up to the rooms first then we'll decide later."I replied.

Henry carried Alex while I carried Charlie. We left our luggage in the truck and would be back for it later after we figure out our sleeping arrangements.

Our rooms were on the second floor so I used the key card I was given to let us into the first room. It was a good room with a queen sized bed, floor to ceiling windows opening up to the balcony, a wardrobe and ensuite bathroom.

We placed both boys on the bed, took off their shoes before covering them.

"If it weren't for their hearts beating, you'd think they were dead."Henry commented making me laugh.

"Yeah it's always the after effect of a sugar rush. I'm surprised you're not passed out yourself."I commented.

"I'm a walking zombie right now, I'm this close to falling asleep on my feet."He replied holding his thumb and forefinger out with just a little space between them.

"Let's check out the other room and you can pass out there."I replied as we left the boys to sleep.

The other room was right next door and it was exactly the same as the other room except it had two twin beds instead of a queen size.

"This might be the exhaustion talking but what if you and I share this room while Alex and Charlie share the other one. It makes more sense since it would kind of awkward if Alex and I shared a room or if you and I shared a bed."Henry suggested.

"Isn't it too early in our relationship to be having a sleep over?"I asked with a teasing smile.

"I'm fun, I don't know what you're whining about. You're the party pooper."Henry retorted.

"Keep making comments like that and you'll sleep in the bathroom."I warned.

"You're so mean."Henry whined.

"Let's just go get our things before you drop dead."I said giving into the idea of sharing a room.

"Yes ma'am."

Now that we didn't have two sleeping eight year olds in our arms I took my time admiring the place. It definitely looked like any kids dream come true. They offered a variety of tropical themes like Rainbow Reef, Calypso Cove, Hang Ten Harbor, Shipwreck Island, Castaway Bay, and the River Boat Adventure. Charlie was definitely not going to forget his eighth birthday.

We grabbed all our stuff from the truck before heading back to our room.

"You go ahead and get some rest, I have a few things I need to take care off."I informed Henry when we got back up.

"When will you rest?"He asked.

"It's nice of you to think that I'll have time to rest with three boys to take care of."I commented with a chuckle.

"I'm no boy, I'm a hundred percent man."Henry retorted.

"Keep telling yourself that, you overgrown man child."I retorted.

Before he could get a chance to reply I left the room.

Technically Charlie would be turning eight the week after Thanksgiving weekend but there was no harm in celebrating his birthday a few days early. Robert had been kind enough to pay for the trip and I was going to make sure we enjoyed ourselves to the max.

I found the only bakery in the water park and after a lot of pleading and paying a little extra I was able to order Charlie a better and bigger cake than what they had on display. It was a rush order since it had to be ready by the following day but they assured me they would get it done.

Before going back to the room, I made a short lap of the premises and it all had the promise of us having a great time.

When I got back to the room I found Henry passed out on top of his bed. He'd taken a shower since he'd changed his clothes and his hair was clinging to his face indicating it was wet. He looked so cute while sleeping, making it hard to resist the urge to take a picture. It would be creepy and I didn't want to be that girl who took secret photos of the boy they may have a crush on.

I grabbed my stuff and entered the bathroom to take a shower myself. Afterwards I checked on the boys who were out cold before I took a much needed nap myself. We weren't at the water park to sleep but there was only so much fun you could have on your own as your companions slept off their sugar rush. I set an alarm to wake us all up in time for dinner before I closed my eyes and was back to dreamland.