Chapter Ten

Luca

"No, seriously, come here. I'm not kidding."

I took Roxie by the wrist and pulled her up the thickly carpeted stairs to the second floor of the bed and breakfast. She had been spending so much time with Thea over the last couple of days I had been left to my own devices and ended up exploring the resort during my free time. I had spent a considerable amount of time hiking in the woods and roaming the beach before eventually getting bored, and ending up in the main building of the resort. Just like I told Roxie, it really did remind me of the vacations I used to take with my family when I was younger. It made me remember being little and still unaware of the larger world around me. I guess every child goes through that. The first few years of a child’s life, their world is made up of their home, parents, and maybe a few extended family members and friends. To them, that’s their entire existence. But eventually, that bubble pops and you’re suddenly irreversibly aware that there is a vast, unpredictable world out there.

For some people, this realization meant they would find out there was so much more to life. Different people. Different places. New experiences and opportunities. For me, when that bubble popped, I realized I was different than the other kids. I honestly assumed everyone had the same experiences and lifestyle we did. It was after that awareness came to me that I truly became appreciative of everything that was provided to me when I was a child. Even though I rarely discussed my money and didn't live nearly as lavishly as the rest of my family, I still held onto that appreciation and gratitude in my heart. Standing inside the bed and breakfast, however, I remember how it felt before I was aware of our status and wealth. When my favorite memories didn’t come from exploring the world or hosting extravagant parties. Instead, they were from the summers my family would go to a beach resort very much like this one and spend two weeks away from the chaotic existence of our daily lives. When we were at the beach, my father wasn't leaving for work at the crack of dawn. And my mother wasn't running herself ragged managing the house and our schedules, making sure everything was always perfect for the clients and dignitaries we would entertain for my father’s business. When we were at the beach, the suffocating suits and formal shoes I had to wear so often were replaced by bare feet and swimming trunks. It was just us, and it was blissful.

There wasn’t much to find in the bed and breakfast building. Beyond the two suites, the sun porch, the breakfast room, and the ballrooms, the lower floor had little to see. When I climbed the stairs, however, I discovered a room that made me feel like I had stepped into another time. It was like the upper floor of this building had been forgotten years ago, or had been preserved in such a way to reflect a simpler time. Unlike the lower floor that had been extensively renovated to accommodate the large rooms necessary to host events, the upper floor seemed largely intact. Instead of keeping the rooms as bedrooms, they had been converted into dedicated activity rooms, like Thea had mentioned. One of the rooms was filled with heavy oak tables, plush chairs, and board games. When I found that room, I discovered a table set up with a game of chess that had either been played partially and abandoned or set up to look like someone was playing it to make the room more appealing. I moved a few pieces around just in case.

Another room was filled with shelves of books and magazines. It was organized with the children's books in one corner, arranged on low, colorful shelves. Large bean bag chairs strewn around the carpet invited little guests to curl up and read in comfort. The other corners of the room were filled with a wide variety of genres in both paperback and hardback. One shelf was even filled with comic books and magazines.

A third was set up as an art studio with long tables along the walls and containers of paints, pencils, and even clay. I envisioned leaving a masterful tiny sculpture in the middle of one of the tables for someone to find years from now. I managed a nice stick figure on a canvas by the window.

It was the fourth room I was bringing Roxie to now. I didn't know if she was going to be as excited as I was, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to show it to her. I brought her down the hallway and opened the door dramatically. She stepped inside and looked around, then looked back at me.

"Seriously?" she asked. "Am I actually seeing this?"

I stepped inside and laughed, looking around just as she had.

"Yep," I said. "We have discovered the cavern of the long-lost DVDs."

The room was slightly larger than the other three, but it was hard to tell because of all the shelves, displays, and tables that were laden with DVDs and DVD players. The fact that there were no televisions in the room told me this room had been intended as a lending library of sorts, allowing a guest staying at the resort to come and borrow the technology for their room or cabin.

"I can honestly say I never would have guessed this is what you wanted to show me," she said. "For such an expensive resort, this seems like an odd use of space."

I shrugged.

"I think it's awesome," I said. "I love movies."

She slid her eyes over to me.

"So do I," she said.

"You do?" I asked.

Roxie nodded.

"I love curling up in a blanket with snacks and watching as many movies as I can fit in. As sad as that might sound, it’s how I got through a lot of lonely nights when I first moved to the city."

"I don't think that sounds sad." I looked around at the movies again and then back at her. "I tell you what," I said. "Why don't we each pick a few of our favorites and we'll binge."

Roxie looked tempted but shook her head. She took her phone out of her pocket and glanced at it before tucking it away again.

"We can't," she said. "They're doing that clambake down on the beach tonight. I'm supposed to be there early and help Thea make sure everything is set up and greet everybody. By the time that's done, it will be too late to do anything but go to sleep."

"Alright," I said, "but I'm going to point out that when it comes to a clambake, the movie sounds like a lot more fun than an actual one."

"Bringing out the Elvis movie references, I see," Roxie said as we walked out of the room.

"Just a little test of your classic movie knowledge."

"Oh, we'll see," she said. "We'll see who knows their movies."

We went back to the cabin and she changed before heading down to the beach, leaving me behind to kill time before I had to make my own appearance at the party. I could have gone down with her, but that would mean following her or Thea around while they made preparations or offering to help the staff. There was a fine line between being attentive and being intrusive. And while I knew plenty of boyfriends who not only rode that line but often toppled over onto the wrong side, my faux boyfriend persona was firmly committed to showering my fake girlfriend with all the attention in the world when I was needed and giving her plenty of space when I wasn't.

Only as the week progressed, it was getting harder to stay away from her.

There wasn't much to do in the time I had unless I wanted to see if I could beat myself at chess. Instead, I made myself a cup of coffee and walked out onto the back porch of the cabin. The air outside had drastically changed in the small amount of time that had passed since we got back to the cabin. Clouds had rolled in across the sky and a breeze was coming in from the ocean. I leaned against the railing of the porch and stared down over the trees. I thought about the picnic that I had made for Roxie and her reaction to it. Her eyes had filled with such pure joy, and yet there had also been a hint of something else lingering there. Seeing that happiness, though, had been worth every single ounce of effort.

A stiffer wind blew up and I swallowed the rest of my coffee before heading back inside the cabin. I dressed, adding a sweatshirt to counteract how chilly it would be down by the water, and started to leave. Before I made it all the way out, I paused and jogged back into the bedroom. I grabbed a hooded jacket from the wardrobe and brought it with me as I made my way down to the beach. Roxie had seemed surprised at how much luggage I brought with me for the week, but if there was one thing I had learned during my younger years traveling with my impulsive mother, it’s that I needed to be prepared for anything. To this day, no matter where I was going, I was just as likely to throw a couple of jackets and sweaters into my luggage as I was a bathing suit and sunglasses. Sometimes it meant that it was more hassle than it was worth, dragging around my huge suitcase only to leave half of it folded, but sometimes it actually came to good use. As I walked down the path to the beach, it felt like the temperature dropped around me with every step. I was glad for everything extra I brought with me.

Roxie had wrapped her arms around herself when I found her and was shivering close to a bonfire that was struggling to survive its infancy in the wind that was now howling in off the water. Staff members stood close beside it, trying to encourage it to grow by prodding the embers and occasionally tossing in another stick or log. I walked up behind her and draped the jacket over her shoulders. She jumped slightly, but smiled when she looked back and saw it was me. With a grateful expression, she slipped her arms into the jacket and lifted the hood up over her head.

"Thank you," she said. "It's getting really chilly down here."

"I know,” I said, zipping the jacket up for her. "That's why I came down here early. I didn't want you to be cold."

I heard several voices give a resounding 'aww' and saw Roxie's sisters coming toward us. There was still a distinct look of disdain on Marcia's face, but each sister’s face was less scowly than the last as I moved down the line of sisters. In fact, Kimberly's face looked almost completely friendly toward me. Despite their still lukewarm demeanor, they seemed genuinely touched by my gesture, and I felt like I had made some progress with them.

Score one for Luca.

A brief lull in the wind allowed the fire to grow and Roxie's expression perked up. I didn't know if it was because she was actually looking forward to the clambake or if it was because the fire was giving off more heat now. She took a few steps closer and held her hands out toward the flames. I walked up behind her, made brief eye contact with Marcia, and wrapped my arms around Roxie's waist. For a moment Roxie became stiff, as if she wasn't sure how to react. Then I felt her hand touch my arm and her head lean back against my shoulder. I rested my head against hers as she let out a sigh. Roxie turned to look at me, her lips parting slightly. I could see the fire dancing in her eyes and feel the warmth of her breath on my face. I started to lean in toward her, but Roxie gasped, crying out in surprise at the sudden deluge of cold rain pouring down on us.

Damn.

The fire hissed and sputtered as the rain officially ended its short life, and the guests around us squealed and scattered. I ducked my head and pulled the neckline of my sweatshirt up higher to catch some of the freezing droplets that were sliding down my back. I reached for Roxie's hand and pulled her across the sand and up to the main building. We were laughing by the time we got inside the dry, warm building. Some of the other guests didn't seem nearly as amused, but Roxie was still giggling even as she tried to wipe some of the dripping mascara off her face.

"I feel bad for Thea," I said.

Roxie shook her head.

"Don't," she said. "She told me when I first got down there that she didn't really want to do the clambake and was hoping the weather wouldn't hold up. Apparently, it's a signature experience of the resort that they automatically throw for every event that's more than a day or two."

"Oh," I said. "Well, then good for her. Wedding gift from the sky."

"Thea, I'm so sorry," a voice said.

Roxie tugged me until we ducked around the corner into the short hallway that led to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Roxie held up a finger and we peeked out. One of the members of the resort management was walking beside Thea as they made their way through the front of the building.

"We should have had an alternative activity planned for this evening in light of the weather. That was an oversight on our part and we absolutely want to do anything that we can to make it up to you."

"It's alright," Thea reassured him. "It's just rain."

"But we know how important it is for you to spend time with your guests during this week. We don't want you to feel like this evening is wasted. Allow us to put together something else for you."

We dipped back into the shadows as Thea and the manager passed the corridor, and I found myself pressed to Roxie as she stood with her back to the wall.

"We don't want her to see us," she whispered.

"Why?"

"Do you really want to be a part of any activity with my sisters that follows them being rained on at the beach?"

"So, what are we going to do?"

I was suddenly very aware of our bodies in the space and her breath that pressed our bodies closer to each other with every exhalation. Her tongue slipped out to run across her bottom lip.

"I have an idea," she said.

Two minutes later we had run upstairs and were standing in the room full of DVDs.

"OK, you know the rules. You grab three of your favorites, I'll grab three of mine. We don't compare until we’re back at the cabin."

Roxie gave a single nod.

"Agreed. You get one of the players. I'll start looking over in that corner."

We parted, and she went to the opposite side of the room to start sorting through the cases stacked on a table. I chose a display case and scanned the titles, waiting for something to jump out at me.

"How are you doing over there?" I asked a few minutes later.

"Doing good. I've picked two of my three."

"I've got one. There's something specific I'm looking for, but I haven't seen it."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you that. It's against the rules."

"OK."

I kept searching for the specific title that I wanted, my favorite movie that I wanted to share with Roxie, but I couldn't find it. We switched sides of the room and kept looking for a few more minutes, but I didn't see it. I grabbed an alternative and stuffed the DVDs, along with one of the players, under my sweater.

"Are you ready?"

Roxie eyed the uneven bulge under my sweater and then met my gaze.

"I don't think you're going to be able to sneak that past anyone."

"I just don’t want it to get wet," I said.

She looked like she was considering it for a second before shoving the three cases in her hand under the jacket she still wore.

"Let's go," she said.