Vacation buddy, p.1
Vacation Buddy, page 1
Table of Contents
Dedication
The Pact
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
About the Author
Vacation Buddy
by
Delaney Rose
Vacation Buddy
Copyright 2021 Delaney Rose
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published by Four Aces Press
Formatting by Bob Houston eBook Formatting
Editing by TC Media FL
Cover art by BookCoverZone
Dedication
To all my girlfriends:
Hailey, Elyssa, Layne, Alyssa, Addison, Ellison, Stella, Lucy,
Jessica, Audrey, and Mattie
May all your summers be filled with sunshine, laughter, and love.
The Pact
Have you ever been on vacation with your family and met a kid your age and then ended up hanging out with them the entire trip? You explore the hotel, swim in the pool, and eat ice cream together. However, soon the time would come when you have to say goodbye but you really hope you will be able to see them again someday. But deep in your heart you knew it wasn’t likely. Instead, you just treasure the memories.
Well, my family's yearly vacation drastically changed my life when I met a boy. I was twelve years old, on the cusp of turning thirteen, and the only thing on my mind at the time was having fun! After a vacation filled with a new friend and crazy adventures, instead of saying goodbye forever, we made a pact.
We would be each other's vacation buddy and see each other every single summer, always meeting at the same resort.
There were only two rules to our pact: Don’t catch feelings and don’t ask questions about each other's relationships.
Chapter 1
Current day
The sun was beaming on my face as I sat by the pool, my feet dangling in the refreshingly cool water. I watched as other resort guests were splashing around and enjoying the beautiful Florida weather. It was a shame that we had to go home tomorrow. Our vacations always seemed to go by way too fast. One week was never enough at our favorite resort, the Barefoot Bliss Hotel at Wonderpark Orlando.
I was waiting to meet my friend Luke, so we could say our goodbyes. We had been coming to the same resort and theme park for five years in a row now and always spent the entire week together. We would hang out, go to the pool, go for walks, and spend hours exploring the theme park.
My phone vibrated, I got a text message. Squinting at the phone I read:
Hey, meet at our spot. We need to talk!
Well, that didn’t sound good. The bench behind the water slide was our secret spot. Luke has been acting really weird this entire week and I have been worried. But our relationship is… well, complicated. You see, we made a pact when we were just twelve years old. Our pact was simple… we would spend a week together every year at the resort while my family was on vacation, and we would always be friends! We agreed we wouldn’t catch feelings for each other and we wouldn’t ask any questions about each other’s relationships, either.
But what happens when your heart and head are at odds?
I got up and walked down a small path that winded through some heavy shrubs and perfectly shaped trees. It led to the backside of the pool. To the side of the path, there was a white bench. I sat down and as I was waiting for Luke to show up, I started thinking back to the first time Luke and I met.
I was 12 years old and my family had just arrived at the resort. I remember walking through the entrance of the Barefoot Bliss Hotel. The entrance had huge glass sliding doors, pristine marble floors, rock band posters framed on the walls, colorful leather chairs and velvet couches, and a sweet intoxicating smoky vanilla aroma that filled the grand lobby. There were a ton of families checking-in and our room wasn’t quite ready so our parents let us put on our swimsuits and go to the pool while we waited for our turn.
My brother, Wake, and I made our way down the stairs and out the side door to the pool. Every lounge chair was already occupied with hotel guests, their white pool towels draped over the top of the chairs, flip flops and beach balls littered the sandy beach entrance of the pool. We were lucky to find two chairs right by the waterslide. So we quickly threw our towels on the chairs.
The Beach Club is the poolside bar and restaurant, and boy was it busy. The bar was full of adults standing around, waiting for drinks. The restaurant section under a covered patio was serving a large lunch crowd. All the tables were taken. Servers were rushing around, delivering hamburgers, nachos, chicken tenders, and those really cool turquoise colored drinks that came in funny shaped souvenir glasses. My parents waited for a table, which only took a few minutes, and immediately ordered drinks. I couldn’t blame them, after all they had just put up with me and Wake fighting for our entire hour long plane ride. Then the twenty minutes it took us to get from the airport to the hotel. As my mom and dad waited for the drinks they had just ordered, we went to explore. Wake headed for the slide and I headed for a small section of shade at the far edge of the pool, dangling my feet in the water.
A few minutes passed, when I was startled by a girl's voice. “Hey! I’m Hailey. I’ll be your server for today. Your parents sent me to take your order.”
“Hey, I am not that hungry right now but what drinks do you have?”
Hailey rattled off the drink list.
“Do you have lemonade?” I asked.
“Yes. I can add blueberry or raspberry flavoring if you would like.”
“Can I get a blueberry lemonade?”
“Alright, I’ll get that for you right away... So is this your first day at Barefoot Bliss?” Hailey asked.
“First day and first time,” I said smiling.
“Well then, welcome to the amazing Barefoot Bliss Hotel. I'll be back with your drink shortly,” Hailey said as she turned to walk away.
Wake was across the pool, yelling for me to come ride down the slide with him. So I stood up and untied my swimsuit wrap. I was wearing my simple black and white striped swimsuit. I joined Wake and we raced up the stairs to the slide.
Right away when we got to the top of the slide, I noticed a cute boy hanging around the lifeguard. He was standing to the side of the slide, right next to the lifeguards chair. They were laughing about something, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I pushed Wake ahead of me so he would go first. I suddenly had this feeling in my stomach, a feeling I’ve never had before. I had butterflies because for some reason, I was instantly nervous.
Instead of going down the slide, Wake stopped and started talking to the cute boy. I thought I was going to die, right then and there.
After a minute or two passed, Wake flips around and says, “Hey, Piper! This is Luke, his dad works here, so he gets to come and use the pool or hotel whenever he wants! Isn’t that cool?” I was so lost in thought it startled me and I jumped.
My mouth suddenly wasn’t working and I couldn’t get any words out. This boy, Luke, looked to be around my age. He had dark hair, bright blue eyes and a perfect golden tan.
“Hey, Piper,” he said with a really big smile.
“Hey...” I managed to barely respond.
Wake yelled, “I’m going!” and disappeared down the water slide with a slosh of water rushing down behind him.
I moved up to the slide, which was closer to Luke. “So, your dad really works here?” I asked, finally finding my voice.
“Yeah, my dad’s band plays at the Blue Velvet Lounge and does promotions for the hotel and stuff. So I hang out here a lot and swim.” He shrugged.
“That's pretty awesome that you get to come here so much. I wish I could do that.” I stepped out of the way so the long line of kids that formed behind me could take their turn on the water slide. The lifeguard looked amused that me and Luke were hitting it off.
Then Luke introduced me to the lifeguard, “Piper, this is Jax.”
I gave Jax a small wave as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“I guess I better go check on my brother.” I sat down on the edge of the waterslide, getting ready to push off, when I heard Luke say, “I’ll follow you down. We can go get some drinks at the Beach Club and I can introduce you around.”
As I sat down on the slide, I turned around just as Luke appeared behind me.
“Sounds good, I should have a drink waiting for me already. I completely forgot that I ordered it.” I gave him another shy smile and then pushed off. The water propelled me through all the twists and curves until I dropped off the end of the slide into the pool.
The rest of that night, Luke, Wake, and I played in the pool, ran around the deck and open grass areas, and drank so many Blue Velvet slushies that it made my stomach hurt. The Blue Velvet Slushie was named after the hotel’s famous lounge and it was the most amazing drink I had ever had. Luke mentioned it was his favorite, so I had to try it. It is a delicious non alcoholic drink (of course), made with pineapple juice, blue raspberry syrup and coconut cream. It quickly became my favorite as well.
I had never had so much fun on vacation before, which had everything to do with meeting Luke. He would always be my favorite part of our yearly vacations.
Back to reality, I heard someone coming up the pathway and quickly stopped reminiscing.
I had been sitting on the bench for only about 10 minutes while waiting for Luke, but it felt like forever.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. My parents were fighting again,” Luke said, sitting down next to me on the bench.
It’s been five years since we first met, and even though we were older now, I still see the 12 year old kid I met at the waterslide.
“It’s okay.” I tried to look him in the eyes, but he kept staring straight ahead. Oh boy, now I was really worried. “What the heck is going on with you?”
Luke ran his hand through his thick wavy hair. I just noticed that his hair is longer than normal. He was starting to look more and more like his dad, who was a rock and roll legend. Luke had that tall, lean, rugged look that the girls seemed to love.
He started to talk several times, but nothing would come out but a bunch of long exasperated sighs.
“Oh my God, Luke! Just spit it out already! You’re really starting to scare me.”
“I’m sorry, Piper. I just don’t know how to tell you this.”
Now my stomach is turning, “Is it your mom and dad?”. I knew they have been fighting a lot recently.
He shook his head.
“Is someone sick?” All kinds of bad things crossed my mind. “Oh no! Are you sick, Luke?” He did look like he had lost weight recently.
“No, Piper.” He put his hand on my leg, which was nervously shaking. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Then what is it? Luke, you can tell me anything. You know that.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.
I thought about all the girlfriends he had over the past five years. We had our pact and I know I wasn’t supposed to ask any questions or catch feelings, but so many things had changed recently….
“It’s okay, Luke. Just say it.”
I know what this is about. He’s getting back together with Amber. He knows how much I dislike her.
“Okay, here’s the thing…” Luke starts to say.
And the next words that came out of his mouth, made my heart drop to my stomach...
Chapter 2
Five Years Earlier - Summer 2016
“I’ve got a secret to tell you.” I said to Luke while we were waiting in line for the rollercoaster.
“You’re really a guy?” Luke said, laughing.
I punched him on the shoulder. “No, dummy. Promise you won’t tell?”
“Cross my heart,” he said. “Come on, what is it?”
“I’ve never ridden a roller coaster before.”
Luke pretended to look shocked. “Whaaat?”
“I mean, I’ve ridden the kiddie roller coaster with Wake a few times. But nothing big like this one.”
Luke took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I felt my heart skip a beat when my fingers threaded through his. What was this feeling?
The line moved forward and Luke kept ahold of my hand tightly. I was nervous about getting on the ride, but now even more nervous because of the feeling I had while he was holding my hand.
Luke locked his eyes with mine and said, “Ready?”
I swallowed hard and nodded. My heart was beating so fast I found it hard to breath. The ride attendant opened the queue and I crossed over to the other side of the ride. Luke settled in next to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
The seat restraint came down and locked in place. I looked at Luke and tried hard to not show just how scared I was.
He grabbed my hand again and looked at me, he made a goofy face and said, “Why did the chicken get on the rollercoaster?”
“I don’t know? To throw up!” I said and laughed.
The cart lurched forward. And my heart lurched forward at the same time.
“Just breathe, no turning back now.” Luke said, smiling at me. Then he gave me a wink.
I looked over at him and started laughing, then out of nowhere we shot up into the air and I screamed bloody murder.
The first loop hit and it took my breath away. Suddenly, I forgot all about the nerves and just concentrated on the loops, and well... Luke. After the ride was over Luke said, “Well, you survived. Shall we go ride another one?”
As we headed to the next roller coaster, I smiled knowing that I would never forget this day as long as I lived. I rode my first roller coaster and found a new friend.
***
“Why so sad?” Luke asked me.
“Because I just realized I leave in two days and we will never see each other again.” It was true. The week just blazed by and now I was going to have to say goodbye to a new friend that lived over nine hours away from me.
“Boy, this week went by fast.” Luke said.
“Yeah, I had the best time of my life. I just don’t want it to end.” I admitted.
“Why does it have to?” Luke asked.
I hit him on the shoulder. “Well, dummy, because I live in Georgia and you’re in Florida and unless you’re moving…”
Luke says, “Don’t you come to Florida for vacation every year?”
“It took a lot to just arrange this vacation. My dad is busy with his trial stuff and we don’t get to travel all that much.”
“I’m sure if you asked nicely, you could get them to agree to come back every summer. I mean, our parents got along well, didn’t they?”
I thought about that for a moment. Luke’s dad, Jett, was in a famous band that played gigs at the Blue Velvet lounge and he managed other promotions at the hotel. That’s how Luke was able to spend every day at the resort’s pool while his dad worked. And his mom, Chanel, met my mom the very first day we were here, and they became fast friends, spending the entire week at the pool together. Now we were all good friends.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Let’s make a pact!” We both said at once.
I held out my pinky finger. Luke looped his pinky with mine.
“Vacation buddy!” I said.
“Vacation buddy!” Luke repeated, and laughed.
“Should we have any rules?” I asked. “You know, like conditions of the pact?” I guess having a dad as a trial lawyer was starting to rub off on me.
“What do you mean?” Luke asked.
“You know, like what if you get a girlfriend and forget all about me?” I can’t believe I just said that. I could feel my face blushing. I mean, Luke was cute. He hung around the resort pool all summer long. Of course, girls were going to be all over him.
“Just because I get a girlfriend doesn’t mean that I’m going to forget about you. Why do we have to add rules to our pact?” Luke was definitely more of a rule breaker. While I was a rule follower.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I dunno. Just so there’s no misunderstandings later on.”
Luke tugged on his bottom lip. “Okay, Piper. Well, if you want rules, you make them.”
“How about no girlfriends… or boyfriends?”
Luke said, “Piper, do you have a little crush on me?”
“Ew, no! Gross. I was joking!”
“Alright fine. Then one of the rules should be ‘no catching feelings’ maybe?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” I added.
Luke punched me lightly on the arm. “Wow! I bet by the end of next summer you’ll be the one falling for me.”
“Not likely,” I said.
“We’ll see about that,” Luke thought for a second. “What if I fall for someone?”
