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“You guys have always had my back. Though I may not have said it lately, I do appreciate it.” Damian shook his head. “Not sure how much I appreciate all this advice, though,” he said wryly.
“Hey, that’s what friends and brothers do,” Kyle said pointedly.
Damian nodded. “I realized this week that I miss having fun,” he confessed. “I can’t go back to being alone all the time.”
“What if things don’t work out with Karen?”
Once again, the thought of not being able to give their relationship a chance didn’t sit well with him. “Even if they don’t, I’m going to try to get out more.”
“My boy is back!”
“Shut up, Kyle.” But Damian was grinning as he said it.
The three friends spent the evening catching up and reminiscing about old times. Damian enjoyed himself but anxiously awaited morning so he could get back to the ship...and Karen.
* * *
As soon as he’d boarded the ship the next day, Damian went to Karen’s room but got no answer. He spent more than an hour searching the deck and various places for her, before concluding that she might have gone ashore. His friends agreed and convinced Damian to have lunch and wait for the ship to leave before resuming his search. When the ship pulled out of the dock, Damian strode urgently down the hallway toward her room, hoping to catch her before dinner. He stopped at her door and knocked. When she didn’t answer, he knocked again.
“Karen? It’s Damian.”
He needed to find her and explain. Damian knew she was probably upset with him and wondered if she was in the room and refusing to answer. No. She wasn’t that kind of person. An elderly couple stopped at the room across from hers, and the man eyed Damian warily. Moving away from the door, Damian trudged back the way he had come and took the elevator to the main dining restaurant and started his search again.
There had to be more than a thousand people on this cruise. Everyone seemed to be out milling around and enjoying their last night, which made looking for Karen more difficult. He ended up back on the deck staring out over the water, thinking about what would happen when he found Karen. In a perfect world, they’d exchange personal information and then... Realistically, life never went according to plan, and he had to wrap his mind around the possibility that she’d say no. However, the chemistry between them remained strong, and he’d use that as his starting point. But he had to find her first.
It was nearly midnight when Damian decided to try knocking on Karen’s door again. At the last moment, he scribbled a note, leaving his number and asking her to wait for him in the morning before disembarking, just in case she hadn’t returned. He took the elevator to her deck and moved quickly down the corridor.
He stopped at her door and took a deep breath. Raising his hand, he knocked softly. No answer. He knocked harder and called out to her.
“It’s a little late to be going around knocking on folks’ doors, don’t you think, son?”
Damian spun around to find the elderly gentleman he’d seen earlier that evening—the last time Damian came to the door—standing in his doorway wearing a pair of striped flannel pajamas.
“Either the young lady isn’t in, or she’s sending you a message.”
Damian lowered his head in embarrassment. “I apologize for disturbing you, sir.”
The man regarded him silently and nodded. He smiled knowingly and said, “I hope things turn out for you.”
“So do I,” he said. “Again, my apologies.”
The man nodded once more and closed his door softly.
Damian pulled the note out of his pocket, slid it under the door, then made his way back to his room to pack. He tossed and turned for hours, finally drifting off near dawn. It seemed as if he had just closed his eyes when a loud bang next door startled him. He groaned and glanced over at the clock. Eight. He cursed under his breath and jumped off the bed. Snatching back the curtains, he saw buildings and realized they were pulling into port.
He quickly showered and dressed. Praying she hadn’t left, he hurried to Karen’s room. His anxiety mounted as two elevators passed because they were full. When he finally got to her room, Damian’s heart nearly stopped. The door stood open, and the housekeeper’s cart blocked the entry. I’m too late. He peeked in the room, knowing she was gone, but wanting to be wrong.
Sighing heavily, he trudged to his room. Kyle and Troy stepped out into the hall as he reached the door. Before they could ask, Damian shook his head, opened the door and grabbed his bags.
