5. Sarah
Chapter five
Sarah
This can't be happening. I'm sure this has to be a mistake. My hands tremble as I pick up the handset to the phone, pressing the button down to customer service. A young girl answers, "How can I help you?"
"Yes, it seems my room has been double booked," I tell her through the phone.
"Let me look into that for you…I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't see anyone else on the booking for your room."
Letting out a breath, I hang up the phone before responding to her, which as rude as can be, but today has been a load of manure, and I need a moment before I let out all my frustrations on the poor girl.
An idea comes to my mind, I need to go down and talk with someone in person, maybe she just didn't understand what I was saying. When I look the person in the eye, I can enforce that we will need two separate cabins. Over the phone they can try to avoid me, or lead me around in circles.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see the hunk of a man that's been on my mind nonstop since he became my client, lying down on the bed with his eyes closed, and as much as I want to be with him, I can't. Sharing a room with him will be my downfall.
I need to fix this. "I'm actually going to go down to the customer service desk and talk with someone," I let him know as I rush to grab my purse. Before my hand can even wrap around the knob of the door, a deep gruff voice has me stopping right in my tracks. When I look over my shoulder, I'm surprised when I realize that he's suddenly right behind me.
"I'll go with you," he says, giving no room for argument.
Rolling my eyes at him, I swing the door open. "I don't need an escort. I'm a big girl."
A shiver wracks through my body as his eyes rove over my curves.
"I know you don't, sweetheart. I want to go with you," he declares.
We make our way to the customer service desk in silence. Not a tense silence, an actually very comfortable one, which tells me he's perfect for me even more than I already thought. In life there are many times where I don't want to talk. After a long day of dealing with people, the only thing I want to do when I get home is sit in silence, even if I’m with someone. Just being together.
Which tells me this has to be a punishment from fate. I must've done something terrible in a past life that the only person I've been attracted to is the only person I can't have. What a freaking impossible situation! My heart is whispering, "no, stay in the same room" where my brain is yelling, "Danger zone!!! Get the hell out of there."
Listening to my brain, I send up a small prayer. Crossing my fingers, I just hope the cruise line can fix this, because I'm not sure I or my panties will survive the trip even if it's only three days.
We approach the desk where a beautiful woman with a friendly smile greets me. "Hello. How can I help you?"
"Hello. Somehow, we were accidentally booked into the same room. We require separate rooms." I say pointing between Barrett and myself.
"Let me look to see what's going on," she says as she types something into her computer. Her forehead creases as she focuses on the screen in front of her. When her lips turn down and she looks up at me, her eyes are full of sympathy, and I know what she's about to say isn't good. "Unfortunately, there seems to have been a glitch in the system, and we have no more rooms. I can offer you a voucher instead."
Pressing my forearms onto the counter, I lean over it, bringing myself closer. I narrow my eyes at the woman across from me. "Are you sure?"
Before she can even answer me, a chuckle comes from next to me. I turn my head toward the sound in disbelief, because damn, none of this is funny and how dare he laugh at a time like this? And even though the sound goes straight to my clit, leaving me confused as to why a laugh is turning me on, I still glare at him before snapping at him, "This is not funny."
He lightly brushes his fingertips against my arm when he leans into me. "Come on, darling. Admit this is some cosmic shit."
Our faces are so close together as our breaths mingle. I close my eyes, trying to get my bearings. "We can't do this," I whisper.
"It'll be fine, darling. It's only three days. Let's go back to the room and figure this out."
Nodding in agreement, I push off the counter as I whisper to the woman, "Thank you."
Because even though I'm mad, it's not her fault, and I was already rude to one person today. We head back toward the room in defeat. We both walk back in silence, but this time it's different. It's tense because even though he said we would figure it out, I can't help but wonder if I'm going to make it through this.
Standing in the center of the room, I glance around and realize we'll have to share a bed. There is no way around it. This room is so small we won't have anywhere to escape to. Staring at the bed, tears of frustration well up in my eyes. I don't like how I feel right now. This was supposed to be a vacation to relax, and so far, nothing is going the way that it should. I try to blink them away, but I can't seem to stop them. They spill over, leaving a streak down my cheeks.
Strong arms wrap around me, he spins me around and I tuck myself into his chest, not being able to look at him. We stand there silent for a few minutes, snuggling into each other. When he rests his chin on the top of my head, he whispers, "It's okay, darling. It can't be that bad. Don't cry."
His kind words incite me to sob even harder, letting out every single emotion I've been holding in for the last few years. I'm not sure why I'm choosing this moment to let it all out. I just know that deep down I feel safe, and now that I've let them out, I can't put them back.
We stand like this until I'm able to calm down. I wince when I see that I've made a mess of his shirt. Taking a step back from him, he lets me go, and I drop my gaze to my feet when I say, "I'm sorry, Barrett. None of this is your fault. I don't know why this is getting to me so much."
Barrett's strong fingers grip my chin, and he forces me to look him in the eyes. "Sarah, you don't have to apologize. You're allowed to feel, no matter the reason."
He's looking at me as if I'm his whole world and even though I love it, I know it can't last, so I think of the first thing that comes to my mind, whispering, "There's only one bed."
The most beautiful grin spreads across his gorgeous face, drawing my attention to his stunning blue eyes, ones that compliment his dark hair perfectly. He chuckles for the second time. This is a side I've never seen of him. Usually, he's just a huge ass when I encounter him. I'm not sure what to do with this new discovery.
He says nothing else but leans in and gives me a chaste kiss on the lips. An electric current run through my whole body and every thought in my mind leaves me. I can't do anything else but feel. I wrap my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, as I open my mouth and, he slips his tongue in.
The whole time I can only think one thing, holy shikies I'm kissing Barrett Thomas!
The realization from that thought barrels through me and I pull away suddenly very interested in the carpet underneath my feet. While the whole scenario plays once again in my mind, I keep thinking, frickers, I kissed Barrett Thomas, my client, the one man I shouldn't be kissing.
Barrett shakes his head. "Stop it."
"What?" I ask, trying to seem casual, although I'm anything but. I am freaking out on the inside, and Barrett must be able to tell too, because his eyes bore into mine.
"I can tell you have a ton of thoughts running through your head right now, darling. Don't worry. It's just you and me here in this room."
Since he brought it up, I begin to explain, "Barrett, we can't do this. You're my client. It's against the rules."
Does he not understand that we both could lose everything if we're discovered? I can't risk my job.
"Sarah. We're only here for three days. Why don't we just feel for those days? We can figure the rest out once the cruise is over. What do you think?"
I contemplate what he's saying. Maybe if we spend this time together, we can get each other out of our systems and move on. Yes, yes, this could work. "Okay," I whisper.
"Okay?" he asks, taking a step closer.
Not thinking past anything else, I answer him, "Okay."
Ignoring the small voice in the back of my mind that is telling me this is the worst idea ever.