24. Day Thirteen
CHAPTER 24
Day Thirteen
SEA DAY
DOMINIC
“Nope. No way. I told you no more dancing. Damn it, Katie.” I rub my hand over my face.
It’s too late though. She’s already written my name down on the list.
I have to do it now.
“Please, Dom. It would make me feel better.”
Those damn puppy dog eyes can get this woman anything in the world she wants. I am a sucker for her.
I let out a deep sigh. “I swear you are going to be the death of me. Fine, I’ll do it.”
She squeals, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “Thank you, babe.”
I can’t help but smile at her excitement.
Happy wife, happy life, right? Well, maybe this is my practice.
Leading her over to our group of friends, I help her get settled, waiting for them to call the contestants.
“Surprised to see you up here, Dom. Figured you two would be locked in the room until the trip’s over,” Grant teases me.
I glance over to where Katie sits with her sister and the other girls surrounding her. I don’t miss the way Candice is also sitting by her, but they actually look friendly.
“Nah, she wanted to come up here and witness the festivities,” I tell him.
“I heard this is the best contest on the ship,” Alan adds in.
Brock and Barrett are having their own conversation next to us, but I don’t miss the wounded look Barrett sends Katie’s way.
It makes me want to punch him in the throat. He’s using it to manipulate her into feeling bad for him. I knew that when I saw him talking to her earlier up on the adults-only deck. I wanted to pressure her to see what he wanted or remind her how he cheated on her, but I didn’t.
Instead, I let her keep it to herself, deciding to trust that she is smart enough not to fall for his bullshit.
“I hope it’s not too bad. Katie entered me into it,” I tell them.
They hoot and holler with glee, catching everyone around us attention.
“Seriously, bro? You let her do you dirty like that? I cannot wait.” Grant is bent over laughing.
Alan slaps me on my back. “Good luck, man. You don’t have a shot in hell. You need to be sasquatch to win this one.”
Shaking my head, I ignore them. Katie gives me a questioning look. I wink at her, making her smile.
Before they can continue to pester me about it, they call all the contestants down to the deck.
I flip the guys the bird as I walk away.
Stopping next to Katie, I drop a quick kiss on her lips. “You’re going to owe me for this.”
“Anything you want, babe.”
Shaking my head, I make my way over to the cruise director. After a few minutes, he turns to us.
“Thank you guys for participating. Here’s how it’s going to work. First, I need you to take your shirts off. You can set them here, and we will be sure to get them back to you. After that, you can prepare yourself any way you want. So we have some baby oil here, or you can go all-natural. Once we start, we are going to announce you. One by one, you will strut down the stairs, dancing and showing the goods. Once you get to the deck, we will have three ladies lined up to judge. I want you to stop in front of each, giving them a chance to look. Then you will end your turn. After the first round, they will eliminate two of you. I’ll explain the other two rounds when we get there. Any questions?”
We all shake our heads.
“Good. Let’s get started.”
Taking my shirt off, I set it on the chair with the rest of the men. I can see why they call it the hairy chest competition. Most of the men up here have an entire grizzly bear chest full of hair. There is no way I’m making it past round one. I barely have any hair on my chest.
Ignoring the baby oil, I wait for my turn.
I can’t deny that this is funny. Watching these men of all different sizes moving to the music as they try to seduce the judges. When one of the bigger dudes bends over to twerk on the ground in front of one of the ladies, I’m doubled over laughing. Her eyes are wide like she doesn’t know what to do.
When it’s finally my turn, I move down the steps, trying to keep with the beat. I’m not the best dancer as is, and I already showed Katie my best moves to get her that stupid trophy. Glancing up to where she is sitting, she is beaming, so I do the best I can.
When I step in front of the first judge, I see she is a young girl, probably college age. She’s eyeing me like she wants a piece, so I move on quickly. The middle judge is a middle-aged woman with a wedding ring. Her face is red as if she is embarrassed. After the way the last man bent over in front of her, I can see why.
Then I get to the third woman. She’s an older woman who could be a grandma to someone. She’s dancing along with the music, motioning me to get closer. I give her a tight smile and take my place in line.
Once the men are all lined up, the women confer. I’m expecting to be eliminated right away. Then granny looks my way and shoots me a wink, making my stomach drop. She’s going to fight to keep me in this.
“All right. Sorry bachelor number seven and three. You have been eliminated.”
I watch as the two men say their goodbyes to the judges and make their way back to their families. I wish that were me. Why the fuck did they keep me?
Then granny blows me a kiss.
I curse under my breath.
“All right. Round two. As I call you up, each woman is going to smell you. That’s right. They are going to sniff you. Based on how good you smell, they will be eliminating another two men.”
The music comes back on. This time, I am not buying into the antics. The only woman not getting all up on these men is the middle-aged one. The other two have their hands behind their backs, but I can see the way their nose is touching all down the mens’ chests. When it’s my turn, I cringe at the way their skin feels on me. Then I get to granny. She’s a feisty one. Not only does she sniff, but when I go to move away, she leans forward, nipping my nipple with her teeth.
I jump back, shooting her a glare, but she only winks.
Looking up to where our group sits, they are all laughing at me. Especially my girl. She’s doubled over in her chair, dying of laughter.
That’s the only thing making me not storm off this stage. That and by storming off, I would probably only embarrass myself more.
Shaking my head, I wait for this round to be over and pray the other two want me gone.
I don’t have great luck. As they eliminate the next two men, it leaves the contestants to me and number five. I’m praying he wins. I do not want to win this. I have a feeling if I do, granny is going to try and take me back to her room, and I just can’t handle that.
“Who is ready for the third and final round?” The cruise director gets the crowd hyped for this next round. “For round three, they will be touching. That’s right, you will come stand in front of them, and for fifteen seconds, they can touch all up on your chest. Then they will decide on the winner.”
I groan. The man next to me shoots me a smirk.
How do I get myself into this shit?
As the music starts, I watch as each woman feels up on the bigger, hairy guy. He has to win this.
When it’s my turn, I stop in front of the college girl. She is tentative but has no problem feeling all over my chest. Looking over her shoulder, I see Katie glaring at her.
As I move on to the middle-aged woman, she’s hesitant. While she touches me, it’s only with her fingertips, as if she doesn’t actually want to do it. I appreciate her more than she knows.
Then I get to granny. She looks downright gleeful.
“Come on, sugar. Come here and let me feel those abs of yours.” Her voice holds a southern twang, making her seem innocent even though her eyes say she has devious intentions.
Her hands land on my abs, skipping my chest completely. She’s not even trying to hide that she’s aiming for lower. When she’s about to slip her hand underneath my waistband, I step back.
“Whoa, I didn’t agree to this.” I hold my hands up.
She smirks. “Don’t be a sourpuss. Can’t you let an old lady get her kicks?”
I don’t answer, moving back to the other gentleman.
When they announce him as the winner, I look toward where Katie was, but she’s gone.
Where could she be?
KATIE
Poor Dominic. He looks like he is going to bolt at any moment.
When the young girl was touching him, I wanted to rush down there and smack her, but then he looked up at me, and I knew he wasn’t into it. Especially not when he got to the old lady. She is probably the main reason he made it to the last round.
Standing, I head down as they get ready to announce the winner. I know he was feeling violated after the old lady tried to touch his junk. I figured I might as well save him from her.
As I get closer, I really take in the older lady. She looks familiar.
That’s when it hits me.
She’s the one who encouraged me to shove my panties in his pocket and mount his face.
She also has his arm in a vise grip as she talks to him. I watched him try to get free as soon as they made the announcement, but my man wasn’t fast enough.
“Dom, baby. Are you cheating on me?” I tease him as I plaster myself to his side.
While the old lady had grabbed his attention right away, the young girl is standing to the side as if she’s waiting for her turn.
No way, missy. This one is mine.
Dominic turns to me, finally pulling his arm from the older woman.
“Baby doll. Where have you been my entire life?” His eyes are wide and panicked.
“I should have known he was taken. I see you took my advice about the panties.” The older woman waggles her eyebrows at me.
I snort. “That I did, and as you can see, one taste and he can’t think of anything but me.”
Her smile is bright. “As it should be. A shame, really, though. I’m sure he could have given this old lady one hell of a good time. Oh well. Until next time, stud.”
When she spanks his ass as she walks away, he jerks toward me.
“I am never doing anything like that again, and you cannot make me. Fuck your puppy dog eyes. I’m traumatized.” Dominic’s tone is serious, making me feel bad.
“I’m sorry, babe. If it makes you feel better, I enjoyed the show.” I smile up at him.
The corner of his lips turns up a little. “I think it made me feel better to see the utter jealousy you had when the young one touched me. Made me feel like you might actually want me.”
I pinch his side, making him jump. “You know damn well I want you.”
Nuzzling my neck, he whispers in my ear, “I don’t mind earning some red wings. Want to go back to the room?”
Pushing him away, I glare at him. “Absolutely not. I want fries and maybe some ice cream. Plus, Nessa and Grant rented out the game room for us this afternoon. They want us to meet there in thirty minutes and spend the afternoon playing silly board games.”
He smiles. “You’ll be on my team, right?”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t think there are teams.”
“If there is?”
“Of course I’ll be on your team.”
I have no idea why I agreed to this. Nessa and I are not allowed to play games together. Neither one of us knows when to quit.
While the others have been having fun and joking, Nessa and I have been playing cutthroat.
“Really, babe? Skipping me again?” Dominic is pouting.
“There’re no friends in Phase Ten. Sorry, babe,” I tell him, watching the others.
“Ah, I saw that, Brock.” I shoot him a glare.
He shakes his head. “I wasn’t doing anything. Only telling Casey she looks pretty.”
“Sure. Or telling her what card you need,” Nessa pipes in.
“Jesus, the Ross sisters are no joke,” Alan mutters.
“For real. You sure you want to marry this one?” Barrett quips.
We all glare at him then. He holds up his hands. “Kidding. Jeez.”
Nessa throws her last card when it’s her turn. “Ha. I win this hand. Count up the points.”
Dominic leans in. “I’m going to go get a drink. Do you need anything? Another smoothie? Some chocolate?”
I smile up at him. I can feel my cheeks heating at his attention. I could get lost in his eyes. Why have I been fighting this for so long? I don’t even remember.
“I just need you,” I tell him honestly.
Heat flashes in his eyes. “You have me, but how about I bring you a cola? Caffeine is good for cramps, right?”
Shaking my head, I lean up and kiss him. “You are one hell of a man, Dominic Price.”
“I’m your man.”
Then he stands to leave.
“Where is he going?” Nessa asks.
“He’s going to get me a drink.” I give her a shy smile.
She gives me one back. “He seems to be doting on you.”
I shrug.
“What do you see in him anyway? Didn’t you used to hate him?” Barrett’s tone isn’t biting like usual.
It’s casual, as if he is really curious.
“Come on, Barrett. Knock it off,” Grant says, clearly tired of his shit.
Barrett doesn’t look malicious though.
Maybe that’s why I actually answer.
“It’s okay, Grant. He’s not what I thought he was. I think I made some rash judgments based on my observations instead of actually getting to know him. Then I got with you, and your hatred of him seeped into me. Now that I know him though? I think I was wrong about him. We both were. I think if you were to take a step back and look at your bias against him, maybe you’d see that too.”
Barrett shakes his head. “I’ll never like that guy.”
“You don’t have to, but you should be able to show mutual respect, especially when it comes to group settings. You’re an adult. So is he. We should all be able to hang out without feeling the tension between you two. It shouldn’t be a question of inviting you both places because we don’t want to deal with your shit. You need to grow up,” I tell him honestly.
“And he doesn’t?” Barrett throws back.
“He wasn’t the one throwing out insults this whole trip, now was he? He only reacted to your digs.”
The room falls silent at my observation.
After a few minutes, Barrett nods.
“Okay. Understood. I think I’m going to go back to my room for a bit.” He stands.
Candice goes to stand with him, but he waves her off.
I stand too, grabbing his arm before he can leave. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. You should stay.”
He pulls me in for a hug. “I fucked up with you. I fucked up with him too. This trip has been eye-opening. I think I just need some time to process.”
As he pulls back and goes to leave, I spot Dominic in the doorway. He looks sad but doesn’t say anything.
As he passes Barrett, he doesn’t look his way, instead, coming to stand next to me.
“Are you okay?” he asks me.
I nod. “I think I’m going to be.”