You Kissed Me First

25. Day Fourteen

CHAPTER 25

Day Fourteen

DEBARKATION

KATIE

I startle awake.

Something isn’t right.

The whole boat seems to be shaking.

Jumping up, I run toward the balcony door.

“What’s wrong, baby doll?”

I glance back at Dominic, looking sleepy.

Then I look back out the door.

“We are at port. Jesus, that shaking scared the fuck out of me.”

“Come back to bed.” He holds his hand out.

“Let me go to the bathroom first.”

After I rush through taking care of my business, I come out to find Dominic sitting up in bed on his phone.

“It’s three in the morning. They aren’t letting us off until seven.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It scared me.”

Setting his phone on the nightstand next to mine, he turns to me. “Come lie with me.”

As I climb into bed, I hear his phone vibrating. “Your phone is making noise.”

He grumbles, “I turned it off Airplane Mode. Ignore it.”

Reaching out, I grab my phone, turning Airplane Mode off as well. Then I turn mine on silent.

After several minutes, I can feel Dominic fall asleep against me.

His phone keeps vibrating, making it hard for me to ignore along with the loud noises coming from the ship. So I grab his phone, clicking the volume button to put it on silent.

I wish I didn’t look at the screen. I really do.

My blood runs cold.

Sasha: Are we still meeting up tonight?

If it were just the words, I would brush it off, but the eggplant and water emoji tells me this is more than a friend.

Of course he would have a girl lined up to fuck after a cruise. He said he wasn’t planning to get laid on here.

Is it because he has a girl back home?

Slipping out from under his arm, I move to sit on the couch.

I can feel myself growing more and more irritable. To the point that I want to grab my suitcase and take Barrett up on his offer to stay in his room for the several hours we have left.

It’s illogical. I’m being irrational.

Yet when my hormones are at such a high, I can’t stop myself.

Changing quickly, I shove my sleep clothes into my bag. I hesitate when I realize it’s his T-shirt. I’ve been sleeping in it most of the trip, so I’ve started thinking of it as mine.

Shaking off the thought, I shove it in my bag too.

Fuck him.

Then I grab a jacket, slipping on my shoes before leaving the room.

It’s three in the morning, so no one is out and about. There’s nowhere to get food, but thankfully I find an employee willing to grab me a cup of coffee.

Once I have it, I make my way to the upper deck and find a chair at the back of the ship.

I don’t know why, but I want to hide. I hadn’t even realized this seating area was here.

Blowing out a breath, I sit there and let my mind mull over my life.

These two weeks have been a vacation from reality.

When I step off this ship, I have to go back to my apartment and start packing. I hadn’t told Nessa yet, but after losing my job, I can’t afford it anymore.

Mom and Dad have agreed to let me come back home. They also agreed not to say anything to Nessa until after her wedding.

I sigh when I think of the wedding.

Everyone else is leaving for St. Augustine tomorrow, but I’m putting it off for two days. The wedding is Saturday and while I know my sister wants me there to help her before the wedding, I have too much to do at home.

Then there is the issue of Dominic.

I considered leaving with him tomorrow. I wanted to spend more time with him.

Now, there is a pain in my heart.

I know I should talk to him about it, but that familiar insecurity is there now.

What if this was all a fling on the cruise? We haven’t talked about what happens after the wedding. He said he wanted me to be his date to keep his mom off his back, but what happens after that.

Do we part ways? Stay together?

My head is pounding now. Between the period symptoms, the shaking of the boat, and this clusterfuck, I can’t deal with this right now.

I wait until five before I head back to the room. Once inside, I let out a sigh of relief. I thought I would have to force myself to act normal around him. He wouldn’t understand my need for some distance.

Instead, he’s not here. Logically, I know he’s probably at the gym with Grant, but part of me wonders if he left so he could call Sasha.

Instead of dwelling, I make sure all my things are packed. Then I grab the hundred-dollar bill he shoved back in my suitcase and add another one to it before setting it next to his sunglasses. Then I write him a note.

Dominic,

Thank you for letting me stay with you. This has been the trip of a lifetime. One I won’t be quick to forget. I’ll see you at the wedding in a couple of days, but until then, please give me some time.

Best Regards,

Katie

It’s the coward’s way out. I should have a conversation with him like an adult, but I’m afraid if I do, I will lose it. I’ll either cry or scream, and either way, it would ruin whatever it is that we had.

So instead, I grab my bags and head to level three, the same level we will get off on. When I find the cruise director talking with some employees, I smile and wait for him to notice me.

“Can I help you, miss?” he asks after a moment.

“What time will we be getting off? I’d rather get off sooner rather than later,” I tell him.

He smiles. “We were scheduled to get off at seven, but since we arrived early, we should be able to start letting people off shortly. Since it’s so early, if you sit here, I’ll come grab you when we get ready.”

“Thank you.”

Then I make myself comfortable.

DOMINIC

Dominic,

Thank you for letting me stay with you. This has been the trip of a lifetime. One I won’t be quick to forget. I’ll see you at the wedding in a couple of days, but until then, please give me some time.

Best Regards,

Katie

I feel cheap. As if she paid me for being her boyfriend for two weeks.

I knew this was a possibility. Seeing her hug Barrett yesterday left a sinking feeling in my gut. I figured she was going to go back to him.

Why wouldn’t she?

Sure, he’s a douche, but he’s a master manipulator. Grant told me this morning about the conversation they had in front of everyone.

Seems like she gave him exactly what he needed. Instructions on how to be the man she wanted so he could win her back.

Running my hand over my face, I look at the note again.

She asked for time. Is that because she wants to think about what she wants, or is it her way of letting me down easy?

I should have never gotten in this mess. I was so desperate for any time with her at all that I threw all caution to the wind. I let myself believe I could actually win her over.

Rubbing my aching chest, I toss the note back down. Then I sit on the bed.

“Attention, guests. As we have arrived at port early, we are starting the debarkation process. If you are planning to self-debark with your bags, you can begin to make your way to the third level now. If you set your baggage out last night to be carried off the ship for you, we will call you shortly. Please do not forget your customs form. We appreciate you traveling with us on your trip and hope to see you next time.”

The intercom cuts off, making me drop my head.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Katie has been sitting up there waiting for this. She’s probably already off the ship and in her car.

I could call her, but I also want to respect her request.

I have to hold on.

A knocking on my door has my chest pounding.

Did she come back?

Flinging the door open, I groan when I see Grant.

“What the fuck happened?” He pushes his way in, Nessa on his heels.

“I don’t fucking know, okay?” I tell him, closing the door behind them.

Nessa glares at me. “My sister has been through enough. Her life is in shambles. So whatever the fuck you did, I’m about to put my foot up your ass.”

I hold my hands out. “I woke up, and she was gone, so I went to the gym to meet Grant. When I came back, her things were gone, and she left me this note and two hundred dollars. I have no idea what happened between us cuddling last night and this morning.”

“Who is Sasha?” Nessa asks.

I think about the question a moment. Then I sigh.

“She saw the text from Sasha. That’s why she’s running?” I wipe my hand on my face.

“That’s why. Who is she?” Nessa asks.

Grant answers her, “Sasha is a girl Dom used to have an arrangement with. He broke it off before the trip though, right?”

This time, he’s glaring at me.

“I did. I told her we weren’t doing that anymore. She must have thought I was joking. She messaged me the day we left, asking if I was still coming over, but I was never planning to go. That’s what she saw. She probably thought that was for tonight,” I tell them as I sit on the edge of the bed.

Nessa moves to sit next to me, grabbing my hand. “Tell me something. Do you actually like my sister?”

Shaking my head, I laugh. “Like? I’m in love with her. I think I’ve been half in love with her since the day we met.”

Nessa’s hand comes up to cover her mouth. “Love?”

I shrug, giving her a sad smile. “Your sister has always been special to me.”

“Okay.” She stands and starts to pace. “Okay. She said she needs space, right? So we give her space, but we aren’t letting this go. At the wedding, you are going to tell her you love her. She will admit how she feels, and this will work out.”

“No, Nessa. I don’t want to ruin your wedding,” I plead with her.

She shakes her head. “My sister can be reactive at times. That’s why she left. She felt some way, and instead of confronting those feelings, she ran. Unfortunately, she’s been that way our entire life. No, you are going to have to be the one to admit your feelings first. Otherwise, she will hide.”

“Nessa, what if she wants Barrett back? I caught them talking yesterday morning, then she hugged him yesterday afternoon. She seemed okay with me after that, but what if he wormed his way back in?” I verbalize my own worries.

“I don’t think she would ever take him back. He cheated. There is no trust there anymore. However, if for some reason she does, I’ll kick her ass. She deserves better. She deserves you.” She offers me a small smile.

“She probably thinks I cheated too. I should have never turned on my phone this morning.” I shake my head.

“Stop beating yourself up, man. It’s all going to work out. Nessa here has insider information. We are going to get your girl back.” Grant pats me on the shoulder.

“Wait, so you knew this whole time how he felt about my sister?” Nessa pops her hip, resting her hand on it.

“Babe, it’s bro code. Of course I knew he had a thing for her, but it wasn’t my business to tell.” Grant tries to ease his blunder.

“No secrets, Grant. Even with your bros. Do you hear me, Dominic?” She points at me. “If you tell him something, it’s like telling me because we are going to be married. There are no secrets between us.”

I hold my hands up. “I got it. I don’t know why it matters though.”

She gives me a wicked smile. “Because we could have won my sister over long before now. Before she even had to deal with Barrett. Now what grand gesture are you going to do to get her back?”

“Grand gesture?” I look at Grant, but he looks confused too.

“Of course. How do you feel about Speedos?”