Chapter Eighteen Lucky
Chapter Eighteen
Lucky
Later that night I lay in my bed, reviewing how Hunter and I had spent our evening. I’d had to disentangle myself from his hug once I realized how much I wanted to stay right where I was. It wasn’t good for either one of us for me to behave that way.
We had heard the crew return and their shrieks and laughter, the sounds of them running down the hall and eating loudly in the crew mess.
But none of them came into our cabin.
Until much later on.
Hunter had returned to his own bunk and quickly fallen asleep. I envied his ability to do that.
I was lying awake, reminding myself of all the reasons my job was important to me, how horrible my relationships always turned out, when the cabin door started to slowly open. It was kind of freaky—like something out of a horror movie. My heart accelerated and I looked around for something I could use as a weapon.
That sensation fled when Emilie came into our room, wearing a nightie that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.
She began to creep over toward our bunks. She put her hands on Hunter’s bed and that’s when I spoke.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Emilie froze like a statue. “Lucky?”
“Yes.”
“You’re awake?” I could hear the panic in her tone.
“That’s why I’m talking to you.”
“I . . . got lost.”
Lost. Ha. “This isn’t your cabin. Go back across the hall.”
“Sorry,” she said as she let go of his bunk. “I must have gotten turned around.”
“That can happen when you’re trying to seduce a deckhand against the captain’s rules.” I hoped I sounded firm and not at all like a hypocrite.
Because that was how I felt.
She didn’t leave. Instead she mumbled, “You had him to yourself all evening. You’re so selfish.”
Was she drunk? “You shouldn’t be speaking to me that way. I’m your chief stew.”
That shut her up. I could feel her eyes on me. She finally turned and closed the door softly. Had she actually intended to hook up with him in here while I was sleeping? So foul.
“Thanks,” Hunter said above me.
Stunned that he was awake, it took me a few beats before I could respond. “You’re welcome.”
I wondered how much of that encounter he had heard. There had been the slightest hint of delight in his thanks, like it amused him that I had assigned myself the job of watchdog.
The captain had asked me to keep an eye on him, and it turned out he’d done so with good reason.
Even if sometimes I felt like a fox assigned to guard a henhouse.
I was the first one up the next morning. Hunter was still snoring. I drank the sight of him in briefly and then hurried off to get ready.
Given the fact that not even the mice were stirring, since the whole crew had been struck with a case of hungoveritis, I took it as a sign that I’d be doing my activity alone.
So much for unifying the team.
Maybe Georgia had the right idea and I should go out more with them when they were partying. That would probably bond us better.
It would also have the added bonus of keeping me from spending time alone with Hunter. Being surrounded by a group of people seemed like a safer bet. He tempted me into forgetting all my resolutions regarding staying away from men.
I went to the aft deck with my coffee and watched the sun creeping its way over the horizon. I loved this time of day—the quiet, the tranquility, the beauty.
Even if my life was filled with a lot of hard, manual labor, I was grateful for moments like this one.
“That’s some sunrise.”
I turned in surprise to see Hunter standing behind me with a backpack on. He came over to join me at the railing.
I said, “I think the rest of the crew forgets that we’re in the Mediterranean and how amazing it is here. Don’t you think it’s beautiful?”
“I do.”
But when I glanced over at him, he wasn’t looking out at the horizon.
He was looking at me.
A knot formed in my throat and my vision went a bit hazy. Something was happening.
Or I just really wanted something to happen despite my best intentions.
It was impossible to tell. I turned my gaze back to the ocean. My heart was attacking the inside of my chest, my lungs constricting. “What are you doing?” I asked.
He didn’t seem to understand that I was asking him to name what was happening between us; he failed to pick up on the desperation I was feeling. There was an impossibly long moment before he finally answered. “I thought we were going on a hike.”
Just the tour, then. Nothing else. I wished I could flip a switch that would make my heart beat normally again. To be as indifferent as him. “Was anyone else awake downstairs?”
“No.”
I set my coffee down and pulled out my phone. My hands shook slightly as I sent a text to the group chat, asking if they were coming. I waited for a bit, trying to calm my nerves, but there was no response. That wasn’t good. I put my bag over my shoulder. “I guess this means it’s just the two of us.”
He grinned. “If you wanted to go on a date with me, Lucky, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t have to go to these extremes.”
“I’m not dignifying that with a response,” I told him and headed for the stairs. I was still fighting off the disappointment he’d caused by being oblivious.
Or maybe he wasn’t oblivious. I’d been telling myself since he arrived that he wasn’t interested. I thought I should probably start believing it.
I should also remember that it was a good thing there wasn’t any romance between us.
“Yes, you will. You can’t help yourself.” He had no problem keeping up with me.
And he was right. “It’s not a date. And it’s not a hike.”
I could hear the smile in his voice. “Whatever you say.”
As I stepped onto the dock, he asked, “Are we meeting someone? Didn’t you say this was a guided tour?”
I held up my phone. “We’re going to follow an app. It will tell me the path to take. The whole thing is ...” I peered down at the screen. “Like six kilometers. I don’t know how far that is.”
“It should take us about an hour and a half to walk that. So long as you’re not slow.”
Why did he enjoy baiting me so much? “I don’t do anything slow.”
“That’s a shame.”
He’s teasing you, I had to remind my frenzied libido. I was glad we were going for a long walk. My body needed the exercise so it could work off some of this lust. “This way.”
We began our walk through the narrow cobblestone streets of Old Town, surrounded by yellow, ochre, and orange buildings that were covered in green leaves and bright pink flowers. The streets were quiet, mostly empty.
It felt otherworldly. I reached out to let my fingertips graze the building closest to me. It was cool to the touch, but I guessed that once the sun rose high enough, the stone would warm up.
“Why do you think people stopped saying ‘take a hike’?” he asked.
If someone had asked me to predict what he might say, that would have been dead last. “What?”
“Think about it. It’s such a great way to tell someone off. Completely dismissive without being crass. Telling somebody to go away and experience the wonder of nature for a little while and leave you alone.”
One of the bells from a nearby cathedral rang briefly—as if it had been hit by mistake. “I suppose it is the ancestral form of ‘go touch grass.’”
His smile lit up his whole face. It seemed very unfair that he was pretty enough to distract me from our surroundings.
And my inattention was so great that my phone began to beep at me, letting me know I’d missed the street I was supposed to turn left on. I turned around and doubled back until I reached the corner and went the correct way. “Ancient people could navigate by the stars and I’m about to get lost while having GPS.”
Hunter laughed as we walked together in companionable silence. We’d had our share of awkward moments so far, but that was mostly due to me and my overactive imagination. He seemed perfectly content to be walking in the quiet with me, not rushing to fill it in.
And for the first time in forever, I didn’t feel compelled to fill it, either.
We had just reached the outskirts of the city proper and were headed along a route that took us past beaches, neighborhoods, and through areas with rocks, tall grasses, and trees.
It was strange to be in such a lush, green area and know that there were white-sand beaches with bright blue waters just beyond them.
There was movement to our right in the underbrush and I came to a stop, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. “What is that? Do you think there are bears in France?”
“I don’t know. If we see one, we’ll ask him. Did you bring bear spray?”
“What’s bear spray?”
“It’s like pepper spray for bears. You should always use it if a bear attacks you because you’re going to die anyway so it’s better if you make the bear really and truly mad so that he’ll maul you faster.”
His silliness made my fears ease. “Have a lot of experience with bears, do you?” A cat came out from the underbrush, stared at us for a moment, and then left. Feeling ridiculous, I shook my head and started walking again.
“I’m actually quite the outdoorsman. I’m an avid bird-watcher and have a secret talent for identifying them.”
“Oh?” There was a small brown bird singing in the treetops not too far from us. “What’s that one?”
He peered at it, shading his eyes while he studied it. “Yep. That one’s easy to classify. It is definitely a bird.”
I laughed, scaring the little creature away.
“All jokes aside, I really do love being outside,” he said. “It’s one of the best things about this job. The constant nature.”
“Same. Why do you think I chose this as our activity?”
He moved closer to me. “Your mind always goes to the worst possible scenario, doesn’t it? Like automatically assuming a noise you hear is a bear?”
My skin prickled at the uncomfortable sensation he caused. It was like he saw through me so easily, so clearly. “It does. I’m always worried about what bad thing is going to happen next.”
“Considering what you told me, that makes sense. You’ve had more than your fair share of bad things. I understand why you’d always be bracing yourself for the next one.”
It was the most profound and correct thing that anyone had ever said about me.
Which meant I had no idea how to respond to it.