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Zack
“Don’t mind her. She doesn’t get out much,” her friend stated from beside me.
I grinned at her. “How long have you known her?”
She thought about that for a moment. “Since sophomore year in college. We were roommates and hit it off immediately. So why were you calling her Rainbow?” she asked with a bright smile. Had I not just seen Rainey, I might have been interested in her. After looking into Rainey’s serious blue eyes for only a moment, I knew that her friend was nothing compared to her.
“It was just a nickname.”
Bobby slapped my back. “Dude, it was more than a nickname. The girl was all sunshine and rainbows. There wasn’t one person in our school who was as happy as she was—like all the time! She always had a damn smile plastered on her lips. It was almost disgusting that someone could be that happy all the time.”
Her friend cocked her head and frowned slightly, then she laughed. “You sure you got the same person?”
“Oh, yeah, that was Rainbow, alright,” Bobby said with a lascivious grin. “Although she doesn’t look as homely as she used to.”
I frowned at the side of Bobby’s head as Marsha glanced at me and then back at him.
He turned to me. “She sure did have a thing for you though, Zack. You should go for it.”
“Go for it?” John laughed. “I kind of got the feeling she doesn’t want to have anything to do with either of you. Now, she doesn’t know me.”
I wanted to growl at him to stay away from her, but I didn’t because I didn’t understand that feeling in the slightest.
“Well, maybe she needs to get to know you,” Marsha said to John. “What about having dinner with us tonight?”
“Sure,” John said with a shrug, and I noticed the grin on Mark’s face as he checked out Marsha’s legs. I looked away, shaking my head slightly.
“Okay, good. What floor are you guys on?”
I tuned out the conversation as I shifted back to the railing and stared down at the boats and people on the docks below as we headed out of the canal into open water. For a moment, I shifted my gaze back toward the vast land and wondered if I should have stayed home. With so much going on, it had felt wrong to leave. However, I’d been persuaded to relax and enjoy my life for a little while. I’d been assured that my problems would still be there when I returned.
Marsha walked away a moment later to find her friend, and the guys crowded around the railing with me as we enjoyed the sounds of the music and the ocean breeze. I was here, so I needed to trust that things were okay at home and enjoy myself.
* * *
We were standing outside one of the dining rooms a couple of hours later when Marsha and a very anxious Rainey began approaching. Rainey’s shiny hair was pulled back and twisted up behind her head, and she wore a simple sundress in cream and peach that showed off her shoulders, neck, and chest.
John whistled next to me softly, and I had to agree, although I wasn’t sure if he was doing that for Rainey or Marsha. A glance toward him showed me that he was observing Rainey, and I frowned.
“Ladies,” Mark said as they reached us, “glad you are joining us.”
Marsha was all smiles and relaxed, while Rainey looked like she would jump and run away at any moment. Where was the girl who used to smile at everything?
“Hello, gentlemen,” Marsha said, encompassing us all in a bright smile. Rainey glanced at me, then John, and gave me a timid smile before looking away. John bumped his shoulder into mine, then stepped toward Rainey.
“Rainey, may I escort you to our table?” He held his arm out to Rainey, and she stared at it momentarily before slipping her hand into the crook of his arm. As she stepped away with him, she glanced toward me briefly. Had she wished that I had offered my arm instead?
The rest of us followed behind them and the employee who showed us to our table. John helped her take a seat and sat on her left side while I took the chair on her right. Marsha sat between Mark and Bobby on the opposite side of our round table.
The group slipped into a generic conversation about cruising while we decided what to order. After our orders were in and drinks were received, I finally turned to Rainey and spoke.
“Where are you living now?”
“Um, Ypsilanti.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
