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And so would Blake. Was that good?
“We can’t predict the future,” Axel said. “There’s just what we choose to do now. We need to focus on what we can do. If you can’t get along with Blake, for whatever reasons, then let Corey and those willing do what they can. However, you all are required to talk to both Ethan and Blake with respect, even if you don’t like him. Which means no attacking him without a definite reason. That counts for both verbal and physical.”
There were slight shifts among them all. Corey appeared pleased with the results, but his brother seemed dour. Kevin tilted his head back and forth, like he wasn’t totally sure how he felt. Raven sat back, rolling his head back, relaxed. Maybe he chilled out when it was clear we weren’t going to fight. Marc was the only one whose reaction I didn’t understand. He kept his eyes on me. It was an uncomfortable stare, like he was waiting for me to say or do something.
There was nothing to be done. I agreed with Axel. No matter what, I’d gotten myself into something deep. If Ethan trusted me and brought me into his circle, then I would remain. If I wanted the boys to stay, then I had to get the Academy on my side, too. No matter what, we were linked now. We had to make this work.
Axel clapped his hands together once. “Just keep me updated. Slight change in the lineup, too. Kayli and I will be taking the lead together as far as appearances to everyone on the ship. She and I will be working closely on everything, which means we need to stick together. The rest of you will have to coordinate with each other.”
“But I’ll need to work with her on who we might need to lift phones from to switch them out,” Corey said.
“And Corey and I were going to be her ‘date’ to switch out phones,” Brandon said. “Just like last time.”
“I’m her date from this point on,” Axel said. “You can still do this without the same pretext. I need to be around in case there’s any decisions that need to be made quickly between her and Ethan and Blake.”
I grimaced. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work if Axel never left my side at all. It left no room for me to work with the others if some opportunity should arise. I also wanted to check in with them, and maybe smooth things over.
Corey looked at his brother, and Brandon shrugged. “I guess we’ll figure it out, then,” Brandon said.
“Then everyone knows where you need to be,” Axel said. “Focus on Nightingale and where we can, we’ll spread out to other companies. We’ll knock them out one by one if we have to. Get ready. I need to go take Kayli over for a wardrobe change.”
I was going to ask what was wrong with what I was wearing, except everything was wrong with what I was wearing. I wasn’t outfitted for a luxury cruise vacation with snobby rich people. “I just need a new shirt,” I said, trying to make a joke and ease the tension. “Maybe some flip flops.” And underwear. And a bra. And basically everything.
Axel turned toward the door, opening it and motioning for me to step through. “Sweetheart,” he said. He motioned to his own white pants and the blue polo. “If I have to wear these ridiculous yacht fashions, you do, too. I’m not suffering alone.”
It was hard to imagine Axel suffering. It wasn’t exactly a bad look for him. He blended in pretty well. I swallowed, though. Not thrilled to think I might end up in white pants.
WARDROBE ASSISTANCE
Later, we got directions from Avery to Fancy’s room. He even gave us a little paper map of the ship and marked off where it was. That was helpful. I asked if he’d make sure the others got a map as well.
Axel and I took a few wrong turns at first, getting lost amid the corridors of the ship. Eventually we got the hang of the map and how the ship was situated and set off in the right direction.
“We need to scope out this ship,” I said as we walked through luxurious hallways and passing the occasional crew member on their way with deliveries of snack baskets and other tasks. I was glad to see Avery had been taken seriously about the baskets. It was a nice touch. “I can’t get lost every second, even with a map.”
“It’s a huge ship,” he said. “Before the crowd gets here, we need a tour. I’ve taken a bit of one, but it can take a couple of hours to check out even just the guest portion of the ship, let alone the crew decks down below.”
“Then maybe you and I need to focus on just the guest portion,” I said. “Kevin and maybe Marc and a couple of the others can monitor the crew. We don’t have enough time to keep up with everything.”
Axel looked over at me as we walked. “You’re really thinking things through.”
I didn’t know what to say to this and I waved him off. “I’m just trying to make this work.”
“It’s working,” he said. “You don’t make a bad co-lead.”
“With Blake?”
“With me.”
I laughed a little. “You mean with your A... amazing team.” I almost said Academy and then caught myself.
“The boys listen to you, for the most part. I think because you’re a girl.”
“Then wouldn’t that mean they don’t listen to me?”
“No,” he said. He reached out, taking my hand, holding on to it and weaving his fingers between mine. “Because all of them grew up down here, except for Raven, but even he gets quiet when you talk for the most part. They listen to what you say and want to do what you ask.”
“Because it’s polite to be nice to a girl,” I said.
“Don’t mock that southern hospitality,” he said. “It’ll be to our advantage here.”
It was funny to be holding his hand and doing it openly. My eyes went around the hallway, as if the other guys would come across us at any moment. Sure, we were supposed to look like we were together now since the change up, but I wondered if it was part of Axel’s plan to get the other guys to accept we were a couple as part of some transition plan he had. What would Raven say to that? I wondered if the others had given up their romantic notions.
I was sad at that thought. I wished I wasn’t, but I was. My mixed feelings were even more of a mess now. I wanted Brandon and Marc to like me, maybe even more than like me. It was weird how close I’d been before and then now I wasn’t sure if they were still interested in at all. It was an out for me, a reason to say yes, I was with Axel or I was with Raven, but at the same time, I missed them a lot.
Again, I wondered if I could be comfortable on this team. Could I openly date Raven, knowing the others had crushes on me before, or that I’d had crushed on them? If during our job here, I had to share a bed with Marc to sleep, would Raven not have a fit? Would I be able to resist Marc?
I was starting to doubt my previous idea of simply selecting one to date. Even that didn’t end the problems of being a girl amid a group of guys like this. What happens when Kevin and I are forced to share a bed? I wasn’t interested in Kevin, but would Kevin be uncomfortable, given his soon-to-be fiancé would be on his mind?
It was like being on this ship, and now aware after recovering, that I realized I really needed to consider more than just my own desires as far as who I might want to date. It was a lot to think about.
We eventually found the right room. I stood beside Axel after he’d knocked softly on the door.
“I don’t want to ask Fancy for clothes,” I said.
“You need to blend in and you won’t without the right clothes,” he said. “We already run the risk of the crew wondering why you’re here. If they’re asking questions about you, then those might get passed on to the guests. That’s something we don’t want.”
“But why Fancy?”
“She’s your partner in this,” he said. “We need to work with her and maybe we can use her to coordinate wardrobe for everyone while we’re on board. I don’t think the crew wears much else other than black, but you and I need to dress up.”
I sighed, tilting my head as we waited. “I don’t want to wear a dress.”
“You might have to. We’re going to be limited to whatever she has with her, and what we can purchas
e from the shops downstairs. I didn’t bring any cash and I’d rather not use a card while we are here. I don’t want to have us identified while we are on the ship. I hope you’ve brought plenty of underwear. I don’t know if you’d want to share hers.”
I shivered at the thought of wearing anyone else’s underwear, despite the fact that I often wore Corey’s clean boxers often enough. There’s just something not right about sharing girl underwear. “I’m not wearing any underwear right now.”
This caused the slightest lift of Axel’s lips. He recovered quickly and then knocked louder at the door.
“Why can’t a girl get any sleep around here?” Fancy boomed through the door in her man voice. There were muffled footsteps and then the door was unlocked. Fancy appeared wearing a sheer robe...and nothing else. Perfect perky breasts poked out at us in greeting and thick male junk hung below. Fancy displayed all. Her hair was short now, slicked completely back. She squinted out at us. “Why?” she said, her pitch changing to a deeper version of her female voice and then raising to her usual tone as she continued. “Why, why are any of you here at this ungodly hour?”
Axel grunted, diverting his eyes. “Sorry, Fancy,” he said. “I need to talk to you about your plans. And Kayli needs an outfit.”
“Of course she does,” Fancy said, opening the door further and stumbling back into the room. “That girl’s been in need of my help since we met. Pretty damn thing still doesn’t know how to use her God-given gifts.”
We followed her into the room. Axel kept diverting his eyes from the mostly-naked Fancy.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered, recalling the first time I’d met him and he hadn’t even been wearing a robe. “Can’t stand your own medicine?”
Axel shook his head, but there was another slight smirk again.
Fancy’s room was larger than ours, with plenty of floor space that was home to a couple of hot pink rolling suitcases stacked one on top of the other. The top one was open. The bed was larger, too, and piled with blankets and a ton of extra pillows.
“How’d you score this room, Fancy?” I asked.
