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We shared a brief smile.
Suddenly, the ship lurched to the side, knocking us both off our feet. I flew onto Henrik’s bed, and he stumbled forward, landing on top of me. I instinctively shut my eyes as the ship rebalanced itself, Henrik pinning his elbows on either side of me to keep us both steady.
When it had calmed, I opened my eyes and huffed out a shaky breath, realizing how close he was to my face.
I gave a charming smile.
“Perhaps this was all a ruse to get me alone?” I asked, raising my voice slightly to make it sound more innocent despite the content of my words.
His eyes changed. It was such a small shift, but it was enough for me to see I shouldn’t have spoken so thoughtlessly. Even more so when his fingers brushed my shoulders. I froze again.
“H-Henrik?” I asked.
He then shook his head sharply, pulling away from me and coming back to his feet. He didn’t make any eye contact as he turned away and checked on the belongings that had slid off his desk.
“That’s enough for the night,” he said, his ears turning pink as he picked things up off the floor and threw them back on the desk. “You should return to your roo—”
He stopped, realizing.
“You mean Adrian’s room,” I finished.
He huffed, licking his lips. “That’s right. You sleep in his bed, don’t you?”
I tsked. “The monster makes me sleep on the floor. Then he purposely sticks his foot in my face to wake me up in the morning.”
Henrik snorted, pressing his lips together to swallow an obvious smile.
“He’s probably waiting for you,” Henrik finally said after clearing his throat. “And the storm is coming. You should get back to your room.”
“Can’t I just—”
“No.”
He paused, sucking his lip for a second and shaking his head.
“What I mean is…” he began. “I’m a…and you can’t…”
He trailed off, looking completely lost at how to answer. I sighed, sliding off the bed.
“I understand. I’ll go back.” I gave a slight curtsey before going to the door. “Thank you for the lesson.”
“Esmeralda, wait.”
I turned toward him.
He avoided my eyes for a moment before speaking. “If…if my brother tries anything, please inform me.”
“Tries…?”
He narrowed his eyes, and I caught his meaning.
“And come back tomorrow,” he continued. “I still have a lot to teach you.”
“Can you teach me how to get revenge on your brother for the beer stains in my dress?”
His lips pulled to the side. “It’ll be our first lesson.”
***
