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“What was wrong with Ted?” I cross my arms.
“Well, other than the fact that he was chronically unemployed and still said things like ‘righteous’ and ‘right on, man’?” He draws his words out, sounding so much like Ted I have to laugh. “He once asked me if the name Blake wasshortfor anything and, if you remember, he lost us a trivia game at Hank’s because he said the capital of California was,and I quote, ‘C.’”
My giggles grow louder. “Okay, okay. Fair enough. He wasn’t exactly a scholar, but not all of her boyfriends have been that bad. Besides, she’s entitled to date whoever she wants. Lars left her for her cousin a month before their wedding.”
“Oh, I was there. You don’t have to remind me,” he says, dropping the items from his hands into his suitcase. “And anyway, I’m saying Patton seems cool. He could be good for her.”
“Yeah, I think so. I like him, too.”
“Yeah, we could all tell,” he says with a mischievous look.
“What does that mean?”
He chuckles. “If I was an insecure man, I might’ve been offended by how often you checked out his muscles.”
“I did not!” I shriek, my face burning hot in an instant.
“Mm-hmm.” He flexes dramatically. “These guns aren’t enough for you, hmm?”
I swat at him in the air. “Oh, shut up. You know you have nothing to worry about.”
“Nope, I guess I’ll be spending the cruise in the gym. When we leave, I’ll be able to deadlift you.” He launches forward, lifting me into his arms. I laugh loudly as we fall forward onto the bed. He catches us, so the impact is lessened. I kiss his nose, brushing the dark hair from his eyes.
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“You love me.”
“I do,” I confirm, pressing my lips to his. At once, his muscles relax, his hand sliding down to grasp my side. His kiss is fierce, demanding. I didn’t miss the way he pressed himself against me last night as we were falling asleep—an open invitation despite how exhausted we both were. I wasn’t receptive then, but now… I feel my skin heating as his fingers explore my body, sliding under my shirt.
“I love you, too,” he whispers, pulling back only slightly. “More than anything.”
“More than everything,” I vow, raising my hands so he can tug my shirt over my head.
* * *
Four hours later, the sun beats down on us through the windows of the gangway as we wait in line to board the ship. The line moves slowly, buzzing with excitement as we draw nearer to the entrance.
“Almost there,” Florence squeals quietly, squeezing my arm from behind. I smile at her over my shoulder, careful not to trip on uneven footing. Through the cracks where the flooring meets, I see the ground several feet below. Concrete. Crew members milling about, loading our luggage through a different entrance.
My stomach churns with nerves I hadn’t expected as we get closer to the ship’s entrance. I never considered myself to be afraid of water, as much time as I spend at the beach, but a ship is a different story.
I know they wouldn’t judge me if I admitted this, but I can’t. I have to be brave, both for them and for myself.
“Once we’re inside, we can go to the bar and get a drink or head to the casino. They usually have live music from what I read,” Patton says. “It’ll be a few hours before we can get to our rooms.”
“A drink sounds nice,” Blake says, tossing a look back over his shoulder. When he locks eyes with me, he tenses. “Maybe.” It’s slight, but I notice it.
It’s still pretty early, and I want to remind him of that, but I know I can’t without seeming like I’m nagging. It’s a vacation, and I’m supposed to be relaxed. I just wish my body would get the hint.
It would be easier if we weren’t being herded by the thousands like cattle onto this ship.
God, sometimes I don’t know how anyone puts up with me. My negativity, even internally, is so far past annoying that I can’t understand how they still want to spend time with me.
No wonder he drinks so much.
When we reach the entrance to the ship, we step inside past the smiling crew members who welcome us and direct us to follow the crowd through the next set of doors, which lead to the ship’s atrium. From there, they tell us we can go anywhere we’d like except our rooms.
In the atrium, I stop, looking up at the sun shining through the glass above us. Without realizing I’m doing it, I find myself spinning in a circle, wanting to take in every angle of the rainbow haze that fills the space.
