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He settled against the wall as she nestled closer to his thigh and drifted to sleep.
CHAPTERSIX
Courtney came awake slowly.Her head was foggy and her mouth felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton balls dipped in dry vomit. Just the thought made her gag. Cracking her lids, she peeked at the sunlit room around her. Suddenly the night before came flooding into her mind. Dancing at the club with some random guy, drinking some rum punch concoction specific to the cruise line, and then Seth.
Her eyes flashed open now.Seth. He’d come into the club, interrupted her dance, and sent her partner packing. Then when he’d been walking her to her room . . .Oh God!She closed her eyes again. Only to see the image of Seth’s face coming closer to hers before she kissed him. She groaned, or maybe moaned, because that kiss had definitely been moan worthy. Until . . . now she did groan. She’d gotten sick. The last thing she remembered was sitting on Seth’s bathroom floor, sweating and queasy. Pushing herself up, she took stock of her body. Her stomach felt better than it had the last she remembered. Her head, although a little foggy, didn’t hurt the way she expected. She looked down at the t-shirt she wore.Rusty Balls Hotshot Crewwas scrawled across the front along with a logo. She didn’t remember putting the shirt on. Had Seth dressed her? Which meant Seth would have had to undress her. Had they slept together? When she’d been kissing him in the hallway, she’d been almost certain they were headed to bed. The way he’d crushed her against the wall, rubbing his body against hers, had resurrected parts of her body she’d been sure she buried with Kyle. Had they had sex and she couldn’t even remember it? The scenario seemed unlikely. She was mostly certain if she ever did have sex with Seth it wouldn’t be something she, or her body, would forget. And since he wasn’t in the room, she couldn’t use his cues to figure it out. She should leave before he got back. She looked at the watch still on her wrist. It was still early. Seth was probably exercising like she’d seen him do every other morning. They were docking in Jamaica soon and then she and Ashley were scheduled for an excursion that would take most of the day. With a little luck, she could slip out now and avoid him the entire day.
* * *
Courtney’s luck was shit. She’d managed to make it back to her room and off the ship without seeing Seth. Unfortunately, she hadn’t seen her roommate either, but she’d assumed they’d meet up at the van taking them to their excursion. Only, as the time inched closer and closer to departure, Ashley had never shown. Briefly, Courtney considered leaving the van and going back to look for her roommate. Maybe the other woman wasn’t feeling well and needed to stay on the boat. But if that were the case, wouldn’t she have been in the room when Courtney went to shower and change? Besides, Ashley always told her she needed to branch out and live. This was the start, right? If Ashley wasn’t going to be here, then Courtney would just have to start living on her own. She’d gotten used to doing things alone over the past three years, today would be no different.
As the time left for Ashley to arrive lessened, so did Courtney’s courage. What was she thinking? Zip-lining sounded fun when you were on a cruise far away from trees and cables, but now it sounded like an accident waiting to happen. She could just picture one of them zipping through the Jamaican treetops and then BAM crash landing.
“Is this seat taken?”
Courtney’s head popped up at the deep voice above her.
Seth.
Her stomach went haywire. Not like the rolling, about to be sick craziness from the night before, but the feeling she used to get before embarking on a new adventure. The tingles that told her her life was about to change, thatshewas about to change.
Unable to form words to answer his question, she shook her head.
Smiling, he unshouldered his backpack and slid onto the seat next to her.
“Where’s Ashley?”
Settling into his seat, he cringed. “She’s not feeling great. She asked if I’d join you. She swears after a day of rest, she’ll be good to go tonight.”
“So she can start the cycle all over?”
He shrugged as if to say she was probably right. “You left before I could take you to breakfast.” He bumped her playfully with his shoulder.
So, this was what they were doing—acting like nothing happened. Did that mean nothing did happen? Well, other than her jumping him in the hallway, then throwing up in his bathroom.
“I . . . uh . . . I needed a shower.”
He nodded. “Probably a good idea. How are you feeling?”
She lifted a shoulder, causing her arm to slide against his. Now the stomach tingles were racing down her arm. “Good. Considering.”
He shifted in his seat so he was facing her. “Considering?”
She glanced around the van to see if any of the other passengers were listening. Most were staring out the windows as the van passed lush fields and small cottages. “Considering I don’t remember last night.”
His blue eyes narrowed. “You don’t remember anything?”
She shook her head. “I remember some things. I just . . .” She lowered her voice. “Did we . . .” She moved her hand in a circular motion meant to make him fill in the blank.
Instead, he cocked his head and studied her like she imagined he would a new species. “Did we twirl in circles?” A grin peeked from behind the dark stubble on his face. “Did we send the runner home from third? What are you asking me?”
Covering her face with her hands, she dropped back against the seat. Beside her, he chuckled at her expense. Then his hands took hold of hers, and he slowly pried them away until she was staring right into his eyes. This close she noticed the blue held a hint of brown. When she’d awoken this morning, she’d assumed she’d imagined the unusual color.
“What’s wrong?” he asked when she just stared at him.
“You’re making this hard,” she whispered.
His eyes darkened before his smile turned wicked. The butterflies in her stomach spread through her limbs and heat climbed into her cheeks.
