Page 36 of All This Time

Henley adjusts his helmet. “This is the beginner’s course, Fletch.”

“You’re kidding me.”

He holds his stomach while he laughs. “Nope. Sorry to deflate your ego.”

“Well, consider me humbled.”

I decided to pay a visit to Henley at Sky’s the Limit ski resort and adventure park since I don’t have much else to do while waiting for seven o’clock to get here. Business was slow today, so Henley convinced me to tackle the ropes course while we caught up.

I would have been fine just sitting at a table and talking, but Henley’s not the type to sit still. When he told us he was going to take over the resort from the previous owners a few years ago, it didn’t surprise any of us. Honestly, this job was right up Henley’s alley, given his daredevil tendencies.

On the other hand, the only adrenalineIlike to chase is that which occurs with my feet planted firmly on the ground.

During the winter when the snow sticks, this place draws skiers, snowboarders, and families with young kids to enjoy the winter activities, scenery, and Santa’s Village that the resort transforms into in December. But during the summer, the slopes shut down and the adventure side of the property opens with ziplining, rock climbing, hiking, biking, and apparently near-death rope challenges.

Hence why I’m sweating my balls off while my fear of heights keeps me from moving too fast so I don’t fall to my death.

Henley leads me through the rest of the course, and when I’m back on earth, I take a seat at the bar in the lodge while Henley orders us some lunch and checks on his employees from behind the bar.

He slides me a water and leans in front of me. “Well, it looks like all of your body parts are still intact, so I take it that Laney hasn’t tried to jeopardize your football career yet with any physical harm?”

“Nope, you’re doing a better job at that than she is, making me do that course.”

“Oh, stop whining or I’ll make you do the mountain bike trail next.”

“Hard pass.” Sighing, I lean back in my chair. “I knew having to spend time with Laney for Elliot’s wedding was going to be interesting, but I severely underestimated how much she wants to avoid me.”

“The Fletcher Adams charm isn’t working on her, huh?”

“Nope. The nicer I am to her, the more riled up she seems to get.” Chuckling, I spin my glass on the bar in front of me while remembering how flustered she was when I ripped my shirt off in front of her yesterday, or how painful it was for her to thank me for carrying a box to her car Saturday night. Yeah, so maybe that wasn’t me being nice, exactly.

In fact, watching her struggle with how to handle me is starting to become its own source of entertainment. The way she glares, how her lips purse like she’s trying to hold back a whole monologue.

But the only thing those annoyed expressions do is remind me that once upon a time, I couldn’t think of anything but what those lips would feel like against mine.

Yeah, it’s official—my feelings for Laney Hart haven’t diminished over the years, even though I’ve shoved them down and ignored them with alarming success… Until now. Being near her again is bringing everything back to the surface, reminding me of the girl I fell for in the first place and how those feelings never went away. I’ve just been avoiding them because it was easy to do with space and time between us.

But Laney’s not the same girl I knew. And, against my better judgment and my loyalty to Rhonan, I want to know how the brave and fascinating girl who captivated me back in high school has become the version of herself she is now, with thicker walls than Fort Knox.

“Riling her up probably isn’t the best plan,” Henley says while he fills up his own glass of water just as his phone rings in his pocket. When he fishes it out and glances at the screen, he rolls his eyes and declines the call.

“Not someone you wanted to hear from, huh?”

“It’s this girl, Meghan, that I hooked up with last year. She’s been calling me for a few months now, but I was clear it was a one-time thing. Apparently, she can’t take the hint.”

“You aren’t even interested in a couple dates?” I ask, already knowing the answer since Henley is not the relationship type. I always assumed I wasn’t either… But things can change.

“You know that’s not my style. One night only works just fine for me,” he says.

“Normally, I wouldn’t even keep a girl’s number, but now I’m glad I did so I know to avoid her. Anyway, back to you pissing off Laney.”

Chuckling, I say, “I’m not doing anything horrible to her, but apparently it doesn’t take much to get on her bad side. Yesterday I went to her salon because I booked a few appointments there to support her business, you know? And I thought that would help, but then I found out she calls me Lucifer and makes her employees put a dollar in a jar every time they say my name.”

Henley throws his head back in laughter. “Oh, fuck. That’s priceless.”

“I can’t deny that it is pretty funny, but fuck, Henley… How the hell am I supposed to come back from that?”

“Why don’t you ask her what the problem is?”