looming in the hallway. He grinned sheepishly at the sight of her. Kelsey laughed and grabbed her bag, heading down the hallway beside him silently.
“I thought the tickets weren’t until tonight?” She eyed him suspiciously at the entrance to the festival.
“They aren’t,” He nodded, “I have other things planned between now and then. You’ll see.”
Matt tugged at her arm and pulled her through the already thickening crowd of tourists and townsfolk. The walked past the marketplace and headed into the courtyard for a hearty lunch. Matt gnawed on a hunk of roast meat and Kelsey gave a grin. In that moment he looked like a barbarian, fitting right in with the rest of the crowds in costume. She sipped on a freshly squeezed lemonade and admired the crafting booths, filled with handmade candles and rugs, even oil paints with proud artists working their magic for the crowds to watch. Street vendors passed by shouting out fresh peanuts and almonds for sale and a few of the performers entertained amused guests in the streets. Though it still didn’t compare to the streets of Paris, it was an interesting and unique start to their European vacation. She had learned that her new stepmother was obsessed with the renaissance days and that had prompted the first stop. But as the day wore on Kelsey found herself once more in irritation at Matt, more specifically his behavior.
It began with the archery range and his need to show off his skills. As they approved, a group of younger males pranced around one another in heated contest to see who shoot the most bullseyes on the target. Matt grinned that familiar cheeky smile and paid the man for his time. He turned and shot a “look at me" glance toward Kelsey who folded her arms barely amused. He pulled back, his thick muscles tightening from the strain and making her gut yearn once more. With a snap he released the bow, hitting his target on mark. The boys noticed his shot and called him into their heated play.
“Nice shot buddy,” The boy called out, “But an old man like you can’t do that twice.”
That was enough for Matt and the challenge was on between them. He shelled out dollar after dollar for his handful of arrows and the hour passed with the group keeping score of shots. Some of them sided with Matt and high fived him in triumph each dead eye shot he landed while the others cheered for their friend. Kelsey stood in the background, bored and annoyed in the heat, watching the show of manhood progress. The game ended a tie and the two men shook hands, Matt beaming at the fun. But Kelsey glared at him as he approached.
“Did you see that babe?” He laughed, full of himself, and “Head to head with those young punks.”
“Yeah I saw, can we go do something we can both enjoy now?” She rolled her eyes and continued down the path.
Matt ignored her subtle warning and continued to test his strength and agility at every turn, hoping to impress her. He spent some time at the strength testing machine, smacking an anvil with his mallet and sending the bullet screaming up to the bell. He drew a crowd as they watched him hit, dead mark every time and each time it rang the bell chimed out with the cheering group. Some woman had taken notice too and huddled around him like a pack of hungry wolves. She rolled her eyes and stepped back to the shade of a nearby tree. Matt glanced back to find her, but noticed she had left and ended his game, the woman whining as he walked away. He held out his hand, pulling her from the ground with a frown.
“Sorry I get carried away sometimes,” he rubbed his neck, “Just testing myself whenever I can.”
The day wore on into early afternoon and the show of manliness continued. First the darts and a twenty minute battle against the champion, then more shows of strength and skill along the way. Kelsey felt her blood boiling; it had been the most boring and hot day of the entire trip. Her ideal