"Are you sure you don't want to tag along?" Lindsey was sitting next to Penny at breakfast the next morning, having a cup of coffee and watching her cut up her pancakes.
He had been trying to convince her to go with them to see Erin's cousin, who lived across the island and as exciting as it sounded to be surrounded by more Erin's, Penelope wanted to stay back at the resort...
With a soft smile, those brown eyes met his light blue ones. "I'm pretty certain that I'll be okay right here, dad." She chuckled, shaking her head lightly.
Creasing a brow, he let out a playful sigh as he sank back in his chair. "I don't wanna go alone." He jokingly whined, which caused his daughter to giggle in return.
"You're tough, you got this." She assured as brought her glass of juice up to her lips to take a sip. "How long do you think you two will be gone?" She then wondered, already knowing he wouldn't want to make it a whole day event, but Erin would.
Sometimes it was difficult for Penny to understand that relationship, but she tried her best not to judge and she definitely didn't want to make it obvious, either. She wanted Lindsey to be happy, of course, but it wasn't as easy with Erin.
He rolled his eyes lightly, shaking his head as he shrugged a shoulder. "Hopefully two hours... max." He knew better, but it was super wishful thinking.
She chuckled again, not sure why he always put himself through that sort of stuff... She thought he was getting a little old for the whole dating thing. "I talked to grandma this morning and she wanted to know if your nose is burnt yet." Penny smirked softly, having already been poking fun at his sunburn all morning.
She had told him a thousand times that he needed to put some sunscreen on and since he was notorious for never listening, he was now walking around looking Rudolph the red nose reindeer.
He mimicked her laugh, rolling his eyes playfully just to make her giggle again. "You and Barb are quite the duo." He joked, shaking his head as he kept that smile on his face.
Penny scrunched up her nose, always having loved being compared to Barbara... She thought she was the greatest woman in the world and to be similar to her felt like a gift. "What can I say?" She shrugged. "We just know you too well."
~~~
Stevie didn't sleep a wink that night, she just couldn't. In fact, she tossed and turned so much, at around two in the morning, Dan decided to slip out of bed and went to sleep on the couch so that he could get a little rest.
And the next day, even though there was so much to explore on the island, Stevie lied and told everyone that she had a bad headache and she would stay back... She didn't really want to take part in their bus ride out of the resort anyway and she definitely didn't want to go on their hike up to see some waterfall.
She knew it would be beautiful, but she just didn't have it in her, so she stayed behind and let the three of them go, which was a bummer for Holly and Dan, but fine with Macy, who was all smiles when Stevie announced that she wasn't feeling too well.
Anyway, that left Stevie with lots of time to sit out on the balcony and think... She had so much to think about.
She hadn't seen Lindsey in years, so it felt like she'd encountered a ghost the night before... a ghost of her past, that is.
He was still incredibly handsome, even though he had aged twenty years, his hair was turning grey and he had lived more life than she realized.
He was no longer the man she once knew, but he still made her heart skip a beat the second she'd laid eyes on him. But she knew, when he saw her, he would never feel the same way...
She couldn't run into him... it would be awful if she did.
Anyway, she spent most of the afternoon in their suite, ordering room service and enjoying her alone time... something she really craved.
It wasn't until there had been a dolphin siting on the shore when she finally decided to head out of her room and down to the beach.
It was packed- there was what seemed like a hundred people gathered at the tiki bars and in the sand to watch a couple of dolphins do flips not far from the shallow water.
"What can I get you?" He had a sweet smile on his face as he leaned into the bar top, patiently waiting for the older woman to decide what drink she was going to have.
"Um," she paused for a second, looking up at him over the edge of her reading glasses after she'd scanned the menu. "I think just a Bloody Mary." She returned the faint smile as she set the paper down on the table.
And just as she was getting ready to take a seat at the bar, Penny's voice caught her attention... The resort was smaller than she realized, apparently.
"I really don't feel like it." She was across the bar, drink in one hand as she held out the other to tell the man that had been bugging her that she wasn't interest... For the tenth time, that is.
Stevie tilted her head to the side, creasing a brow when she realized that Penny had been drinking quite a bit... She could tell by how soft and weak her eyes were.
"Come on, please." He was older than Penelope... He was closer to Stevie's age, which caused her heart to sink and her stomach to turn.
"No," she shook her head, obviously very uncomfortable with the situation.
It wasn't until the man had slipped his hand around her waist when Stevie pushed herself up, the motherly instincts kicking in instantly.
"I'm pretty sure she said no." Stevie's eyes were cold and her voice stern as she moved around the bar to be a little closer.
He turned around, shocked to say the least. "I-"
"That means fuck off." Stevie didn't give him any room for excuses- she was so mad, she didn't care what he had to say.
Penny cracked a soft smile, so relieved to see the woman that she'd literally tripped over.
"I'm sorry." He shook his head, rightfully embarrassed as he picked up his drink and started to take the walk of shame.
"Thank you so much." Penny reached out, finding it hard to keep her balance, so instead taking Stevie hand in hers.
Stevie nodded softly, wanting nothing more than to wrap her in her a big hug... she couldn't do that. "Are you okay?" She wondered, eyes traveling the circumference of Penny's sweet face.
Shaking her head, her stomach also did a little flip but definitely from the alcohol. "I feel so sick." She announced, bringing her free hand up to her mouth to cover it.
Stevie quickly helped her off the chair, still holding her hand to lead her back to the hotel doors. "You'll be alright, sweet girl."
