“You didn’t want to cancel or bring someone else?”
Dom raised both eyebrows. “I’m not that quick at replacing people.”
Henry huffed. “I meant friends or family.”
“Nah. I work with my brothers as it is. As much as I love both them and my job, I’ve no wish to holiday with them too. And my friends couldn’t get the time off.” He shrugged and gestured to the beautiful scenery laid out below and around them. “It’s not exactly a hardship coming here. There’s plenty to do, and I don’t mind my own company.” Which was true. He would’ve been quite happy going to the spa on his own, but Henry was an added bonus.
They walked further down the path until Henry drew to a halt and pointed up into the tall trees above them. “What’s that up there.”
Dom glanced up to see the aerial walkway course: ropes and wooden walkways of all shapes and sizes strung between the tree trunks. “It’s the aerial walkway.” He gestured over his shoulder. “The start of it is back there a bit. You walk up into the trees, then make your way around the course and there’s a zipwire at the end.”
Henry stared at him, then looked up again, frowning like he couldn’t parse what Dom had said. “It doesn’t look that high from down here.”
Dom laughed. “Yeah, I know, but trust me, it seems a lot higher when you’re up there.” Not that Dom was all that bothered by heights, but the first time he’d done the walkway had been a bit of a shock, because Henry was right, it didn’t look all that bad from down here. But once you were balancing on the wooden steps, swaying from side to side, it soon got a little hairy. Especially if it was wet. But the zipwire ride at the end was awesome. “You fancy it?”
Henry visibly shuddered. “Err... no thanks.”
They reached the bottom of the path and Dom pointed to the group of buildings up ahead. “That’s the sports pavilion. They’ve indoor climbing, badminton, tennis, and Astroturf football pitches out the back. Lots of other smaller stuff too.” Maybe Henry would want to do some of those things with him since they were both on their own? Dom didn’t voice his thoughts though, one step at a time. He pointed to a couple of small buildings to the left. “And that there is where they run all the kid’s crèche things.”
Henry laughed. “I can hear.”
He had a lovely smile. When it reached his eyes like that, it lit up his whole face, and Dom got caught staring.
“Where’s this coffee you promised me?” Henry’s cheeks were dusted pink, and Dom didn’t know if it was from the cold or Dom’s blatant appreciation.
Not wanting to make things awkward between them, Dom smiled and looked ahead to where they were going. “Just up here. Come on.”
As Dom predicted, the inside part of the café and the sports bar next door were full to bursting, but the seats outside were empty apart from a few hardy customers. After collecting their drinks, Dom led them back outside and took a seat at one of the spare tables.
It was cold, but hopefully the coffee would help keep them warm for a bit.
“So,” Dom began, sipping his drink and stealing a glance at Henry. He was busy admiring their surroundings, gaze darting from place to place. “You never told me how you ended up here on your own?”
“I did.” Henry frowned. “I told you my skiing trip got cancelled because I caught my boyfriend fucking his neighbour.”
“Oh, yes. Me and half the people at reception.” Dom chuckled at Henry’s groan of embarrassment. “But why did you comeherewhen it’s obviously not your type of place?” Dom waited while Henry seemed to struggle for an answer.
Eventually he set his mug down and rubbed at his temples as though he had a headache forming. “I got very drunk with my sister after I walked in on Kyle and his wandering penis.”
Dom choked a little on his drink. “Thanks for that image.”
Henry smirked. “Ella, that’s my sister, knows someone who works in one of the restaurants here. Apparently they’d had a few late cancellations and he got her a friends-and-family deal. So it was, um... cheap.” He looked down at his drink, and Dom got the impression he hadn’t meant to say that bit.
“Didn’t you get a refund from your skiing trip?” Surely that would’ve cost way more than a week at a UK holiday village, considering it wasn’t school holidays or anything.
Henry bit his lip, his cheeks growing pinker by the second, and Dom was beginning to wish he’d never asked.
“You don’t have to talk about this if it makes you uncomfortable. I was just curious.” And that curiosity had only increased with Henry’s reluctance to answer, but Dom wasn’t the type to push.
Henry seemed to waver for a moment before slumping in his seat. “Kyle paid for the trip. I just saved my spending money.”
“That was nice of him?” It didn’t seem to fit with someone who’d then cheat. Assuming they’d been exclusive.
“In a way, I suppose it was. He really wanted to go, so I guess it was either pay for me or go on his own. But I’m scared of heights, so I’m not convinced my enjoyment featured heavily in his plans.”
A surprised laugh escaped Dom. “You’re afraid of heights and yet he booked a skiing trip for you?”
Henry nodded. “Yep.”
