A Summer Romance

1

"Hi, welcome to the Seaside Hotel. Are you checking in today?" the lady at the desk asked as I approached.

"I am. Darcy Davis."

"I'll be happy to help you. I need to see your ID and the card you reserved your room."

I fished out my wallet and handed her the items needed. I took a look around the lobby as she did what needed to be done. When she was finished, she gave me a parking pass, my keycard and told me all the info I needed to know during my stay.

I decided to take the summer off this year and went to the beach. For the first two weeks I was staying in a hotel. After the hotel stay, I'm suppose to stay with a cousin of mine at her beach house.

When I got all of my things in my room, I took a minute to go out onto the balcony. My parents paid for one week here and they wanted me to have a beachfront room. They tried to pay for both weeks and only agreed when I told them that I would use the extra money to buy groceries instead of eating out every day. Of course, we had to find a room with a kitchenette.

There wasn't much that I would complain about being here. Typically, I would take summer classes at college but I was exhausted after last semester and needed to recharge. The balcony was going to be my morning coffee spot. As I was walking back in to unpack, my phone started ringing.

"Hey mom."

"With you answering I guess it's safe to say you're there," she said.

"Yes," I said. "I've been here about 20 minutes."

"Is your room nice?"

"Oh yes," I smiled, looking out of the living room window.

"Is it a small apartment like your father and I was reassured?"

"It has a separate bedroom with a little kitchen and living area."

"Have you let Charity know you're there yet? Maybe you all can meet up for dinner or something."

"Not yet. I'll text her in a little while."

"I'm not going to lie. I don't like you being down there by yourself. Neither does your father."

"Mom, I'm 20 years old. I'm carrying my taser, pepper spray and I know self defense, remember?"

My parents were a little overprotective when it came to me. I had always been a little sickly growing up. It took forever to figure out what all I was allergic to. Being this far away from my doctors made my parents nervous.

"I know, sweetheart."

"I already have an urgent care and hospital marked in case of an emergency."

"Okay," she finally sighed.

"And yes, I have plenty of sunblock. I've got this, mom."

"Enjoy yourself Darcy."

"I love you, mom," I said and then she ended the call.

The first thing I needed to do was go find something to eat. I would find food and then go to the grocery store. Didn't want to go shopping on an empty stomach and end up spending more than I allotted for groceries.

I grabbed my purse and went out the door. I knew I'd find something easily and just a few hundred feet from the main strip, there was a restaurant that my nose followed. Mel's Seafood. I walked in and luckily for me, there wasn't a lot of people in there. Thankfully, seafood and anything to do with shellfish was not on my list of allergens.

"Welcome to Mel's. My name is Lena. What can I get started for you?"

"I'll take a sweet tea with lemon. I need just a minute to look over the menu."

"Sure thing," she said and walked away.

While I was looking through the menu, I heard another voice.

"I'd suggest the honey garlic glazed salmon with summer veggies if this is your first time here," he said. "Or if your feeling a little daring, the seafood gumbo."

The man across from me had the most beautiful white smile with his tanned skin that set off his green eyes and dirty blond hair.

"The gumbo sounds lovely but... if it's made with bay leaves, I'll have to pass."

"Oh, are you to good for the taste?"

"Kind of allergic to it," I said. He stood up and walked to my table.

"I'm John," he said, sticking his hand out. I took it and introduced myself.

"Darcy."

"Pleased to meet you Darcy. How long are you in town?"

"Here specifically, a couple of weeks and then I'm staying with my cousin."

"Cool."

"Are you ready to order?" the waitress came back. "Hey, John," she smiled

"Lena."

"Are you working today?" she asked.

"Yep, just taking a break," he answered before turning back to me. "See you around, Darcy," he said and walked out of the door.

"I'll take the honey garlic glazed salmon with summer vegetables. I'll also have one of the mini sample platters. None of those items are made with bay leaves, are they?"

"No," Lena said, writing things down. "Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you," I smiled and handed her my menu back.

I looked out of the window and saw John pulling his white shirt off and throwing it on the back of the lifeguard stand. I should have known, I thought to myself. When he looked back over in my direction, I turned my head quickly. I only hoped that he didn't actually catch me looking at him. I had to admit that he was very attractive.

This was going to be an interesting summer if he was going to be around much.

I knew Charity didn't live too far from here, only a couple of miles or so, so I wondered how often I would actually run into him. Just as I started to glance back, Lena brought my food to me. She just kind of slid the plates down and without a single word, walked away. The gesture was very rude but I also picked up on her liking John and the attention he gave me was different than what he gave her. When he spoke to me, he was smiling and looking at me. When he spoke to her, he just kind of glanced at her and just seemed bored.

This was a fun way to start vacation.