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Captain Santiago is all apologies, which makes me feel even worse.
“It’s not your fault at all,” I assure him. “It’s all me. I should have insisted that we go get some seasickness medicine before we left.”
“Next boat ride is on me!” he assures me.
“Ha ha, yes, definitely.” Never.
Paxton supports me as I walk to the limo. “Sorry about that, Ruby. You really should have told me.”
I answer with a moan, clutching my stomach. “Yep. Should have.” We’re off the boat. Why do I still feel like warmed-over roadkill?
On our way back to my apartment, Paxton insists on stopping at a pharmacy. I wait in the limo while he dashes in and comes back out with several bags. First he has me take Dramamine, then he gives me a ginger candy to suck on as we’re driving.
When we get back to my dorm room, he walks me in. I’m too weak to argue. I stare at the ground and lean on him and hope nobody is taking pictures of us, but who am I kidding—of course they are.
“Boat date,” I moan to Clair as I stagger in the door.
“You took her on a boat date?” Clair cries out in horror. “Why, why would you do that to her? I thought you liked her!”
“I did not know that as soon as she hits the water, she gets possessed and her head spins around and she spews out pea soup,” he says, kicking the door shut behind him.
“She never told you about how she puked on her best friend on a boat trip when she was fifteen?” Clair shakes her head at him. “And her best friend’s dad? And all over the boat?”
Paxton gives me an exasperated look. “No, she neglected to share that information with me. That would have been some helpful information to share before we got on that boat.”
He walks me over to the bed and helps me climb in.
“I’m going to make you some tea,” he says. He disappears for a few minutes and returns with a steaming teacup. Then he proceeds to sit there while I drink it, rubbing my back the whole time.
The nausea fades. My head still aches, but at least I’m not praying for the sweet, sweet, merciful release of death any more.
“Swoon!” Clair cries out. “I think I’m going to dump my boyfriend. He just doesn’t measure up.”
I pull my covers up over my head and close my eyes.
20
RUBY
Are you still on for tonight, honeybuns, loveycakes, Scooby-Ruby? Pax has sent me a text, but I can practically hear his taunting voice.
And part of me wishes he was there to ask me in person, so I could give him a hard time and he’d laugh and parry, and...
Ugh.
Sometimes this contentious relationship is too much fun. What is going to happen between us at the end of the summer when we “break up?” I guess we won’t speak anymore.
I will make you mentor twenty kids straight out of juvie. Don’t think I won’t, I text back to him.
Nope, already got everything arranged with Dominique. She adores me by the way. And the Rovers are now the official sponsors of Buddy Match. Your sister set that up.
Everyone loves Paxton, damn him. Fine. I’ll release an embarrassing story about you to the press but make it look cute. You don’t want to mess with the sister of a publicist.
I’m scared, he texts back. So scared. Hold me.
Hold you hostage maybe. Stop texting me, I’m meeting my friends for lunch. Yes, I will be there tonight. There’s a charity calendar signing at a bookstore today. The whole team will be there, and I agreed to go. I’m actually kind of looking forward to it. I mean, it’s in a bookstore, woot woot! The scent of books is my crack cocaine. And my TBR pile definitely is not big enough.
Give Clair and Kennedy my love, okay? he texts back.
