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I shook my head. “No one. Besides Luna of course.” I rubbed my chin, my stubble scratching an itch on my finger. “Is this an impossible task? Did I just ruin your vacation?”
Shy huffed out a laugh. “Are you kidding? You’ve made this vacation, Nick. I’m going to figure out who’s on this ship and leaking photos of you. That’s beyond fucked up. You should be able to live without worrying over who’s profiting from rumors and unsolicited photos of you.” He pursed his lips into a tight smile. “And me.”
“Thank you, Shy.”
“Of course.”
I kissed that smile of his, kissed him until he said we needed to go down to the sweater party before Ace knocked down the door SWAT-style. I didn’t want to go anywhere, just wanted to keep kissing him until we ended up as a tangle of arms and legs and tongues. I never wanted to leave the confines of this room, just wanted to stay with Shy, exploring his body after shedding off all our clothes, cruising into Christmas with his naked form against mine, not worrying about the outside world for a single second.
That sounded like it would end up being one hell of a holly jolly Christmas.
10 Shiro Brooks
The ugly Christmas sweater party was popping. The Frosty Ballroom had been packed from wall to wall with cruisegoers wearing their ugliest of sweaters. The grand room had been transformed so that it looked like we were inside of a large igloo. The walls had been covered in big, opaque bricks that looked like they were carved from ice blocks, blue and white light shining from behind them, casting an icy glow on the party. The temperature also reflected the setting; the air-conditioning must have been working on overtime to cool down the huge space. There was a lot of dancing and drinking and eating, along with a corner that had an assortment of different board games and card games people could play. It didn’t help that the ship appeared to be going through some rough waters and was slightly choppier than usual, but the drinks and good company minimized any discomfort.
Nick and I sat next to a Christmas tree, which looked fake but still gave off the fresh pine scent that always teleported me to the holiday season. It was decorated in blue and silver ribbons and balls, a bed of golden gift boxes wrapped up and piled underneath.
None of it really mattered, though, and that was all because I could hardly take my eyes off the man sitting in front of me. A man whose secrets had been unraveled and who now felt even more surreal than before. I had initially thought Nick looked princely, making him feel like he had waltzed onto the ship after walking straight out of a fairy tale.
I had no idea that Nick actually was a prince. And now I wondered if there actually was a fairy tale.
If things weren’t complicated before, they sure as hell were now.
I couldn’t continue staring at him forever, though. One: because that was creepy as hell, and I wasn’t here about to scare off the man of my dreams by acting like Krampus. And two: I found myself back on the job even though vacation was far from over.
I didn’t mind it. I loved my job, and I loved to help people with their problems, even when those problems quite literally fell on my lap. I wasn’t about to tell Nick I couldn’t help him figure out who was leaking the photos because I was off the clock. So I would occasionally peel my eyes off Nick and his perfect princely jawline and scan the crowd, trying to spot any lingering cruisegoers, anyone who had their gaze in our direction for too long. I already clocked one lady wearing a vomit-green sweater with two elves holding hands on the front who angled her phone toward us a couple of times already, and then there was a man in a maroon sweater with silver tinsel attached randomly around it, who I had caught staring on multiple occasions.
I filed them away in my memory, noting the woman’s halo of orange hair and the man’s bald head and crooked-toothed smile. I was going to keep my eye on them, same way they appeared to be doing to us.
“Hey, Nick, when you get a chance, stretch to your left and look at the man in the red sweater. Do you know him?”
Nick put his arms in the air and gave a convincing yawn as he stretched, twisting his body so he looked in the direction I asked. But, just as he did it, the man turned and moved behind the large Frosty the Snowman cake sitting on a tall table against the wall.
“Who?” Nick asked, finishing his stretch.
