Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Normally, ships run on a schedule, but game logic means that when we get there, it’s ready to go. That’s an immense relief since it’s been a long day, and we’re a little afraid that something terrifying might possess Tara again. There’s also a pang of grief that we have to part from our friend.
Hermes dubbed Tara a rogue, but she only ever wanted what was best for everyone, even if that slowed down her own progress.
Now she’s on her own, which isn’t a safe situation for anyone in Peripeteia.
There’s a reason we don’t see players wandering around alone outside of the starting village.
Those people are all dead. Well, except for Miko, but she probably would have preferred death over what Hekate did to her.
Now, we’re onboard a ship called the Argo.
So of course the captain is named Jason, and he keeps rambling on about golden fleece to his sailors, which he named the Argonauts.
It seems like a missed opportunity that we’re not following his quest line.
Did Jason even come close to Thrace in the myths?
Well, that doesn’t matter. Peripeteia’s map looks nothing like a real map of Greece and Thrace.
Since it’s nearly sunset when we board the Argo, we spend our first night on the ship close to Mysia’s coast, and the water is calm.
Our room is spacious, and our beds are soft, but sleep keeps slipping out of my grip.
My mind finally drifts into slumber, only to have a dream about Mom.
I’m holding her hand and kissing our overlapping thumbs like I did way back when I was a kid.
She whispers my name and dies. This wakes me with a start, and I decide I’d rather stay awake than risk a dream like that again.
I sit up and scan our dark room to see my companions are asleep.
I can tell they’re not enjoying a peaceful slumber as they toss and turn; some of them are even mumbling what sounds like pleading.
There’s one person missing: Guy. Did he have a bad dream?
Did he even sleep? I decide to seek him out so we can at least offer each other sympathy.
When I get above board, I head toward the forecastle. What better place to contemplate our situation than near the figurehead, where I can stare at the inky waves and imagine I’m Kate Winslet in Titanic?
As I predicted, Guy had the same instinct.
Maybe it’s because of the roar of the ship or because he’s so lost in thought, but he doesn’t notice me approaching from behind.
I decide to announce my arrival instead of getting close to him and scaring him.
But when I say, “Hey, it’s Lauren,” he nearly jumps anyway.
After Guy catches his breath, he says, “Couldn’t sleep either?”
I shake my head and move to his side where I place my hands on the railing. “Had a nightmare.”
“Monsters?” he asks.
“No,” I answer and let out a long sigh. “But it’s a long story. I don’t want to bother you.”
Guy puts his hand over mine. “You won’t bother me.”
His fingers are so warm and comforting despite the icy wind whipping over the waves.
Wrapping my legs around him would take my mind off all my fear and pain and confusion.
It would feel like cheating on Cait, though.
Meanwhile, thinking about Cait feels like cheating on Guy.
But I still leave my hand under his because it’s comforting, and I finally feel safe enough to share this about myself.
“Before I wound up here, I wasn’t just dealing with a breakup.
” Just the thought of what I’m about to share forms a painful lump in my throat.
I swallow it down and continue. “My mom, she…she’s in hospice.
Or she was when I left. She might be…” I can’t finish.
Fat tears fill my eyes. Wiping them away only causes them to splash all over my cheeks and blurs my vision.
“Anyway, she’s why I really need to get back.
I just want a chance to tell her I love her one last time. In my dream, I didn’t get that chance.”
Guy pulls me into an embrace and kisses the top of my head. “Oh, Lauren, that’s so much to deal with alone. I’m so sorry.”
“I should have told you sooner.”
“You told me when you were ready to,” he says. “Any sooner than that wouldn’t have been right.”
God, he’s so perfect.
“You should have been the cleric, not me,” I say. “You’ve offered more healing with those words than I have the entire time I’ve traveled with you.”
“That’s not true,” he says and sighs. “I’d lost any hope until you joined us.”
Ugh. Here comes the guilt again. The other kind, the one that says I’ll wind up breaking his heart.
Guy must see it on my face, because he says, “Not because of how much…” He clears his throat. “Not because of how attracted I am to you. You look at this game differently, and maybe you’re the ticket to finding the right offerings.”
“God, I hope so,” I whisper.
A moment of contemplative silence passes and then Guy says, “I know, by the way.”
I furrow my brow. “Know what?”
“You want Cait.” He looks down at the waves, pain crossing his face. “It’s okay. I promised you that there’d be no drama.”
“Guy, I—”
“It wasn’t even when you told me to fuck off before you kissed her,” he says, ignoring my interjection.
“I mean, that hurt, but I figured it was just the terror of knowing a friend died and there was nothing you could do to save her.” He shakes his head.
“No, it was when I mentioned that Bruce and Dan were another mage and healer dating. You didn’t respond to me at all. You just looked at her.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
Guy turns to look at me, concern across his tented brows. “Don’t be sorry, Lauren. We barely know each other. You’ve spent a lot more time with her, and let’s face it, she’s a real knockout.”
“She is…” I say, stopping just short of a literal swoon and then add, “Not that you aren’t. You’re…Well, I was quick to take you up on your offer for a reason.”
“Thanks,” Guy says with a blush but then his face grows serious. “I should tell you I don’t know if Cait swings that way. Her parents were very against LGBTQ rights, and she grew up pretty sheltered.”
“I know,” I say. “That’s something I’m terrified about to be honest. I know I should just get over it and tell her how I feel, but I think I need to take my time. Even if she is attracted to me, I don’t think she’s the type of person who would jump into anything.”
Guy laughs. “Unless it’s a fight.”
I chuckle in response.
“Look, this is probably really selfish of me but…” He chews on his bottom lip and shakes his head. “Never mind.”
“What?” I ask.
Guy studies my face for a moment, then takes a deep breath. “If you think it’s going to take a while to work up the nerve to tell her how you feel, will you give me that time to get to know you and see if maybe there really is something between us?”
A cloud shifts in the sky, revealing a bright moon that lights up his face. There’s a seductive curve to his lips and a playful twinkle in his eye. He always makes me weak in the knees when he looks at me like this.
“I mean, we could at least have a little fun, right?” he asks. “We’ve only had one proper kiss so far.”
Just a moment ago, I’d felt conflicted between my growing feelings for Cait and the temptation to fuck Guy just so I can forget my worries for a second.
But something whispers across the sea, a familiar voice: Aphrodite.
It’s faint, and I can’t quite make out all the words, but then there’s a notification ping, and I have a strong feeling about what it is.
“Just a kiss,” I say. “For now.”
Guy nods. “For now.”
He tilts my chin up, and his dark brown eyes lock onto my gray ones.
Then his smoldering gaze lowers to my lips, and it’s like he’s kissing me already.
Just a kiss, but I’m sure he wants more because I can almost see the night he’d give me if I gave him the go ahead.
Can he work up as much magic in bed as he can in battle?
Finally, he lowers his lips to mine. We brush against each other, the touch of delicate wings before a butterfly leaves her petal.
It surprises me how sweet it is, given that he’d looked ready to fuck me.
But he doesn’t pull away. Instead, he parts his lips so that he can gently tug my bottom lip with his teeth before deepening the kiss.
And oh my fucking God, he really knows what he’s doing with that tongue of his.
When Guy pulls away, I’m breathless and there’s an ache between my legs. Another notification pings. I suspect I was right about what Aphrodite wanted me to do.
“Just a kiss?” he asks, tracing a finger down the side of my neck to the spot where it curves into my shoulder. How did he know that was my weakness?
I tremble, unable to respond with words, only a soft gasp. Guy chuckles in response.
“Maybe just one more?” he asks.
I can’t help myself. I move in for another, but Guy shakes his head. “No, not like that,” he says, then retraces that same line along my neck. “Right here.”
Goddamn, am I getting wet?
“Yes,” I say, so soft that it sounds like it will drift away with the ocean breeze.
He tucks my hair back before lowering his head to my neck.
That skilled tongue of his flicks the skin there and then playfully nips it.
Then he trails down my neck with soft, sweet pecks until he gets to that curve again and bites it.
There isn’t anything soft about it. It even stings a bit, but in the best possible way.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
Guy places a sweet kiss where he bit, then pulls away. “There, two kisses.” I pull him closer, wanting more, but he shakes his head and takes a step away. “No, I think that’s good for now.”
“But—”