Page 11 of #Resort Romance
“Yeah, but…you could still go back to Long Island and your childhood home and family, Jayce. If I do this, it’s all gone. Every connection to my family is just…” Another sigh.
“Oh.” It was such a small thing to say, but it genuinely hit him how much she was struggling with. Releasing her hand, he stood and stretched. “Come on. Let’s walk.”
She looked at him like he was crazy. “Walk? Jayce, it’s dark out and while the paths have some lights, it’s not really enough to see beyond a few feet in front of us.”
“Just…trust me, okay?” And, holding out his hand again, she grasped it and got to her feet. “I feel like I keep putting my foot in my mouth with you today.”
They were leaving the fire pit area, and he started walking back toward the lodge.
“Multiple times today, I’ve brought up topics that seem rather innocuous on the surface, but they end up upsetting you. I swear I’m not usually this insensitive.”
“To be fair, life in general is upsetting me,” she clarified. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Trust me.”
“Well…it feels that way. So I’m going to try to do something that can’t possibly make you sad.”
“Famous last words…”
That made him chuckle. “I think you’re making fun of me.”
She laughed too. “I think you’re right.”
They walked along the path and then took a sharp right. Earlier tonight when they had walked up to the lodge, Jayce saw the path and was hit with a ton of memories. It was someplace he thought he’d take Kelsey to at some point, but it seemed important to bring her here now.
“Wait…are we…isn’t this…?” There was wonder and amusement in her voice, and when they made their way around another bend, he heard her gasp of pure delight. “Oh my goodness!”
And just like everything else here at Lakeview Harbor Resort, it looked almost exactly the same as the last time he’d seen it.
“I can’t believe you brought me to the playground! Jayce, this is awesome!” Gently pulling her hand from his, she ran over to the swing set and immediately sat on one of the swings, playfully kicking her legs. “Come on! Let’s see who can still go the highest!”
Part of him wanted to run over and do just that, but…he was an adult and quietly strolled over. When he sat on the swing beside her, he grinned. “My plan was to push you on the swing like I used to when we were kids, but the challenge was too great to ignore.”
It didn’t take long for the two of them to erupt in a fit of laughter because swinging on the swings wasn’t nearly as easy as it used to be.
“Isn’t this supposed to be like riding a bike?” she asked, laughing. “I thought this was a skill you never outgrew!”
Jayce was doing his best to get into the groove of it. He had height on his side, so he at least gave the illusion of swinging higher. “Clearly I’ve found something to add to my fitness routine!”
Eventually, they perfected things, but they laughed like crazy the entire time.
Then they had to declare a tie because they were both getting tired.
By the time Jayce came to a stop, he was more than happy to get up and stand behind Kelsey and gently push her.
“Thank you,” she said, looking at him over her shoulder.
“For what?”
“For making me laugh like that. I swear it feels like I haven’t laughed in months.” They both grew silent for several long moments. “Do you remember all the games we used to play with everyone here? The obstacle courses we created?”
“Oh, yeah. Back then, we could make a competition out of anything.” Just thinking about it made him laugh. “As adults, I can tell you we still do. Whenever I talk to those guys, someone throws out a challenge of some sort.”
“Really?” she asked, shaking her head. “Like what?”
“The last one was a triathlon. Walker and Axel were doing one and challenged the rest of us to do it too.”
“And did you?”
“Hell no. I know my limitations.” He continued to push her. “How funny would it be if all those guys were here now too? What kind of trouble do you think we’d get into?”
