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My eyes drifted to Leo. He was such a good guy, a bit of a father figure to the staff that worked here. He’d given me some sage advice when I first arrived, lost and totally unsure about what the fuck I was doing with my life. I guess not much had changed in the few months I’d been here, really.
"He’s leaving. Packing as we speak," I announced, feeling the weight of every word.
"And you like this guy?"
I felt a stinging sensation behind my eyes. "I do. I really, really, really like him. I’ve never felt anything like this before, Leo. It’s more than attraction. It’s more than desire. It’s this feeling of just wanting to be around him and feeling so fucking good when I am. He...he lights me up." The words gushed out of me as Leo simply sat and listened calmly, letting it pour out of me.
He cast a glance out toward the horizon. It was a clear day, not a single cloud in the perfect blue sky.
"Then I’ve got one question for you, Cayman." The register of his voice went low. "What the fuck are you doing here? Why aren’t you packing?"
I shook my head, certain I’d misheard him. "Packing?"
He let out a stupefied grin. "Yeah, you know that thing people do when they’re about to leave for another place? That thing you told me you did on a whim"—he drew a special emphasis onto those words—"when you knew you wanted to leave the UK and travel the world to find out who you were and what you wanted?"
"Wha… Huh? You think I should?—"
Leo snickered. "Let me help you out with that. I’ll speak slowly and clearly so that you understand."
I smacked his shoulder gently, and we both smiled.
"Life is short. Too short." Something dark flashed in his eyes, but he pressed on. "If you feel it, go for it. You left the UK on a spur-of-the-moment whim, so you're not averse to taking risks. And if you regret it, if it turns out to be the worst decision you’ve ever made, there'll always be a podium here with your name on it."
The stinging sensation behind my eyes gave way to a few wayward hot tears.
Dammit.
"So much for the British stiff upper lip," I tried to joke as I quickly brushed them away.
Leo’s hand found my shoulder. "There’s no shame in crying. It takes balls. Just like it takes a strong man to go after what he wants."
I nodded, mulling his words over in my head. He was right. Of course he was.
Ever since I had first met Mitchell, it was as if a tiny seed of hope had been planted in my chest. That hope had blossomed into a flower, and now, I wanted to see whether that flower could possibly grow into a beautiful field.
I knew what I wanted, and I knew what I had to do to get it.
"Thank you, Leo," I said, wiping away the last remaining tears.
"You can thank me later." He was smiling warmly at me. "And at the risk of repeating myself, let me ask you again. What the hell are you still doing here?"
A whirlwind ten minutes later, I had literally packed up my entire life into a suitcase—which was either a sign of the sorry state of my life or a credit to my ace packing skills. Either way, I didn’t have time to think about that right now.
Miguel was shocked—all the guys in the staff headquarters were—but I knew it was the right thing to do. I was bummed I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to the others who were on-shift or even tell Miguel the full story of what was happening. As I hugged him a hurried goodbye, I promised to call him as soon as I could for a proper chat.
But my mind was on one thing and one thing only. I raced across the resort to Mitchell’s room, hoping I wasn’t too late. Just as I reached his room, dropping my suitcase at my feet and letting out a loud puff, the door opened.
"Cayman."
Mitchell’s adorable light brown eyes went wide at the sight of me. The sweaty, disheveled sight of me. "What—what are you doing here?"
"I want to go with you," I panted.
His brows pressed together as his eyes traveled down to my suitcase, going wide for the second time. "You mean…?"
I nodded. "I want to go back to Cowbell County with you."
"It’s Creek, Cowbell Creek," he corrected as his lips stretched.
