Claire's job sends her to Forget-Me-Not Valley to enjoy her paid time off. She's only supposed to be there for the summer, what's there to worry about?

—

When the law firm I worked for decided I needed to take a break, I expected to be sent somewhere exotic or tropical. The last place I expected to be sent to was some dingy, no name valley in the middle of no where. The only upside was that it had a nice beach with clean sand and water, which was a big contrast from the beach in the city I worked in.

The warm sand felt great underneath my feet. Maybe this break wouldn't be such a bad thing at all. I had been working super hard at the office. I'd made my way through the corporate ladder relatively fast for a young woman in my late teens. I would be starting law school in the fall and I couldn't be more excited.

"You look kind of lost," a blond man, about a few years older than me, stood next to me. I whipped my head around, surprised at suddenly being pulled out of my thoughts. "Sorry if I scared you, we don't get visitors around these parts often."

I nodded, not sure exactly what I was supposed to say.

"I kind of am lost now that I think of it. Where is the inn?"

The man looked at me inquisitively before peeling his eyes wide open.

"You're Claire, right?" The man tilted his head to the side, a small smile forming on his lips. "My parents own the inn and they told me to come get you once you got off the ferry. I'll lead you to the inn. My name is Rock, by the way."

Rock started walking towards the town and I followed right after him.

"What made you want to visit here anyways? Nobody ever wants to visit Forget-Me-Not Valley."

I shrugged my shoulder, "I didn't really have a say where I wanted to go for the summer, I was just sent here as a paid time off from work."

"So you're like some big shot from the city then?" Rock smirked.

I giggled and shook my head.

"Not really, I'm just dedicated to my work. Maybe a little too dedicated."

I could see an inn in the distance and a building just off the right of it.

"That's the inn, and over there is the bar," Rock pointed to the two big buildings. "There's not much to do here so I don't really know how you're going to enjoy the next two months here."

"I don't know either, maybe I'll get a job around here or something to keep me preoccupied," I shrugged. It wasn't like I was seriously expected to just stay idle for two months.

"Gee, that sure sounds fun. Working while on vacation," Rock tsked. "It's called a vacation for a reason, enjoy your time here."

We arrived at the inn and were greeted by who I assumed was Rock's mother. They didn't look much alike at all or even act like each other.

Rock's mother saw us from across the counter and smiled widely. She rushed over to us and took my hand in hers.

"I'm glad you made it safely here, Claire," Ruby let go of my hand and glared at Rock. "I hope you didn't give her a hard time on the way here."

Rock raised his hands defensively.

"What do you mean trouble? He was really sweet and helpful," I said. I pursed my lips together. Did this mean that Rock wasn't this nice to everyone on the island.

"Rock has a bit of a reputation here in the valley," Ruby narrowed her eyes at her son. "Not one I'm too fond of him having."

Rock's face started to turn a cherry color. He brought his hand up to cover his mouth.

"Wow, mom. That's exactly what I want you telling the new kid on the island. I kind of wanted to make a good first impression you know?" Rock shook his head regretful and walked past me to the stairs off the side of the lobby and out of sight.

Well, this puts me in a weird predicament.

"I"m sorry about that," Ruby apologized. "I didn't realize that Rock was trying to act like a gentleman. He just tends to go for anything with a skirt."

"Oh, I didn't realize that."

"But if he's trying to act differently towards you maybe he likes you," Ruby giggled.

Romance was not something I was looking for in the valley or in the city for that matter. My job came first and when I successful enough I would consider settling down.

"That's nice to know," I said awkwardly. "I'll see you around, Ruby."

Ruby nodded and went to mind her own business by her desk. I took the time to go upstairs only to realize that not only did I not have the key to my room, I also didn't know which one was my room. After a brief moment of contemplating my next move, I realized that I'd better go downstairs and ask Ruby instead of possibly walking in on somebody.

I picked up my key and room number and went upstairs again. I would be staying in room A.

I hadn't brought much with me to the valley so unpacking took me relatively no time. I only had packed a small backpack with three outfits and my laptop to keep up with work just in case. I figured I wouldn't be needing much out here. I wasn't even sure if they had wifi over here, but I hoped they did.

Rock was probably mopping around his room. I felt bad about how he must have felt degrading at how his own mother saw him. It wouldn't hurt to go see how he was doing.

I went into the narrow hallway and wondered which room was his. There were only four rooms, and I was occupying one of them, so I had a decent chance of finding his. I knocked on the one across form my door.

There wasn't a response but I knocked again anyways.

"Goddess damn it…" Someone muttered from the other side of the door. Thankfully it was none other than Rock. "What the hell do you want?"

I awkwardly stood there.

"Maybe this isn't a good time…" I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to look at anything but his face.

"No, crap," Rock rubbed his face. "I didn't mean that. I thought that you were my mom or someone else."

"Yeah…" I rocked on my heels. "I'm not your mom or someone else. Okay, well maybe I am someone else but—"

Rock laughed and shook his head.

"Do you want to come inside?"

"I mean, if you want me to," I shrugged.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

We sat in his room for a while. He explained how his reputation had negatively impact the way the other villagers saw him. To the others, he was a lazy, spoiled rotten, playboy oaf. It reality, he wasn't lazy, there just weren't any job opportunities in the valley worth taking. He was also not spoiled rotten or and oaf. I wasn't exactly sure about the playboy part. He hadn't made an effort to make a move on me even though we were both sitting on his bed.

"So what's there to do for fun around here?" I asked him.

Rock pondered on it for a bit before. "The bar is honestly the only lively place to go to. We have two farms, an inn, a villa, and a bar."

"Doesn't sound so fun," I pouted.

"I'll take you to the bar if you want. I'll get you acquainted with the other residents. Maybe you'll make some more friends."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Get ready, we'll go in a bit."