‘Never call me that again.’
My attention briefly moves towards people laughing loudly at someone who apparently lit their cigarette at the wrong end.
‘Fuck it, I’ll manage. Maybe they sell ear plugs here. And nose plugs. Maybe a fire extinguisher with a sniper crosshair. . .’
I scoop up my shoes and we move a few feet to the next seating area. While I sit, Ellis stands at the railings, taking a deep breath. ‘Had the chance to look at the sea at night?’ he asks. ‘It’s quite something.’
‘A man watched me at the beach and then told me about it. To my face. Irish guy. Hairy arms.’
Ellis stops admiring the view. ‘He did what?’
‘Can you believe it? He knew everything. He watched me get chased by a bee and didn’t even help.’
‘Sophie, did you report this? That’s creepy as hell.’
‘Of course,’ I reply, getting up to join him. ‘Tonight I am the defender of women everywhere. If I see him again, you can hold my earrings while I fight him.’
He’s right about the sea. It’s as black as the night sky, only broken up by the white crest of the waves as the ship speeds through. Even the noise from the club doesn’t drown out the rushing sound. Even inebriated, I can still appreciate it.
‘Yeah, it is definitely something,’ I reply. ‘Beautiful. . . and utterly terrifying.’
He laughs. ‘Terrifying? You think? Maybe I’m just used to it.’
‘Absolutely!’ I exclaim. ‘Before I came, I was joking with my friend about falling off the ship, but the longer I stand here, the more of a possibility it becomes. I could launch myself off in a moment of madness. YOU could push me off!’
‘In front of all these people?’
‘Maybe you’re a crazy person who enjoys murder and jail, I don’t know. But I’d have at least half an hour of frantically treading water to consider your motives.’
He looks over the side again. ‘If it’s any consolation, from here you’d probably just hit one of the several decks below. Maybe a lifeboat. That guy in the white baseball cap might cushion the fall.’
‘Nope,’ I reply. ‘That’s no comfort at all.’
He turns to face me. ‘Do you always worry so much about things that’ll never happen?’
‘Always,’ I reply with a confident head bob. Then I pause to reconsider. ‘Actually, that’s a lie. I’m not usually like this. But recently I have discovered that I live in a bubble. I’m very comfortable in the bubble. There are no surprises within the bubble.’ My arms wave around, gesticulating the bubble’s sphere of protection.
‘So, you like to be in control. That’s not a bad thing.’
‘It is a bad thing when you’re out here on a ship, but that ship is not in the bubble, and you have no idea how to sail the ship.’
‘Cruise ships don’t have sails.’
‘Don’t you come at me with facts.’
‘Bad Guy’ by Billie Eilish starts playing in the nightclub. He laughs as I start to dance. I don’t mean to, my body just reacts all by its little drunken self.
‘Why are you laughing?’ I ask, grabbing onto the railing as I wobble. ‘You don’t dance?’
‘Nope.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because people will see me,’ he replies. He smiles as I shimmy. ‘I can tell that you do not have the same reservations as I do.’
The song ends and we both head back over to sit on the bench. ‘Today was fun,’ I tell him. ‘Though you’ll be sick of the sight of me.’
‘Not at all,’ he replies. ‘You’re a blast. It’s not exactly a hardship.’
