Chapter 11
Reed
Fuck, I’m screwed .
Well, technically, not screwed. Hell, I barely kissed her. How torn up would I be if I’d actually gotten a taste of her? Any of her.
It’d only been a freaking day. Less than twenty-four hours since I’d last seen Cici, and I couldn’t believe how much she preoccupied my mind.
Messy strands threaded through my fingers as I rubbed my hands through my hair and stared blankly at my laptop screen, parked at the café once more. Every movement at the entrance dragged my attention away, praying Cici would need her coffee fix soon.
I flipped through the photos from parasailing, pausing briefly at each: the vivid blue water, golden-sand beaches, crashing waves at the shoreline, her. Her smile. Her eyes. Her lips. Her, her, her.
Fuuuuck.
Looking through the time frame of each shot, I snuck Cici into several photos, capturing her remarkable bravery taking form.
Her eyes squeezed shut. The parting of her lips on each gasp.
The peek through one eyelid, and the tilt of a smile.
The look of awe with her head turned, facing the landmarks.
The laughing, the pointing, every little moment.
“Whatcha workin’ on?”
I startled, then thanked the heavens, even though I expected—truly hoped—she’d show up today, as she had several times each day since boarding this ship.
Tomorrow we’d be heading our separate ways, and I begged the universe for one more chance to grow a pair and ask her if she’d see me once we got home.
And there she was. She smelled like coconuts, her cheeks were bright pink, and the hint of a sunburn reddened her shoulders.
“Just checking some emails.” I tried to sound mildly unaffected. A balance between “So happy to see you. God, I missed your face. Can I kiss you again immediately” and “Oh, hey.”
Cici sipped her coffee, and then her eyes fluttered when she exhaled with a sexy moan, and I wondered how I could cause that reaction. My words. My hands. My mouth.
“Someone got some sun,” I managed to croak out after admiring her lips around the straw.
“Sure did. We spent the day at the pool, and I got a little toasty,” she said while rolling up on her toes, then back down on her heels. “That’s why I’m here.”
I quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Well, that and I love coffee.”
Both brows raised, I tilted my head to the side, egging her on, watching her squirm. “Any other reason?”
She swayed and then looked up bashfully. “I thought, maybe, I’d run into you.”
“Good.” I rested my chin on my hands and gazed up at her. “I might have parked myself here to work in hopes that you’d be by.” I looked around. “So, where’s the clan? How did you escape them?”
“They’re still out there.” She tossed a thumb over her shoulder.
“At the pool. They’re all gluttons for punishment, and I’ll have to hear them bitch about being sunburnt the rest of the trip.
” She rolled her eyes, but a sweet smile played on her lips, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how they felt, how they tasted.
She plopped down in the seat next to me, and I quickly closed my laptop like a boy caught watching porn.
“You two!” A loud voice and clapping startled me out of my fantasy, which was probably for the best.
The attendant from our excursion stood in front of our table, chirpy as ever.
“Good afternoon…” His name slipped my mind, but Cici cut in, “Oh, hello, Jasper.”
He clapped rapidly and did a little hop. “I’m so glad I ran into you. I need you!” He closed in on us with prayer hands and a tentative smile. “We’re about to run the couples game, and I need contestants. You guys would be perfect,” he exclaimed and clapped again.
Turning to Cici, the panic on her face mirroring mine, I said, “Uhh…” She fumbled with her hands and parroted my response. “Umm…”
“It’s easy, guys. You just answer some questions. Have some laughs. And there’s a priiiiize.” He strung out the word prize as if it was the winning argument. There was nothing you could give me that would—
“What kind of prize?” Cici asked.
Welp.
“We are giving the winner their last night in one of our couples suites,” he said in nearly a whisper, clearly trying to intrigue us with coveted information. A cringe spliced through me, but Cici gasped.
Ah, hell.
Grabbing my attention, she nudged my flip-flopped foot, and I glanced over to find a pleading look on her face and an eager one on Jasper’s.
“We’re having a throwback sleepover for our last night.” Her eyes were wide and bright, the color matching my black coffee, swirling as if being stirred. Almost twinkling. “Do it for the girls?”
Fuck me.
With a wink and a kiss to her nose, I conceded defeat. “Whatever my girl wants.” If she was going to force me into this ridiculousness, I was going to go full-on boyfriend mode. She turned beet red, then nodded to Jasper. “Where do we go?”
He pointed down the promenade. “The Royale Stage.”
“And when?” I asked. “I need to—”
“Umm. Now, actually?” Jasper interrupted, screwing his face up apologetically.
Cici stood and grabbed my arm. Where was this blitz of bravery coming from?
Did I create an adrenaline monster after I coerced her to parasail?
I submitted with a resigned sigh and reveled in holding her hand as we both followed Jasper.
I’d missed her hand in mine. It had felt cold and empty since I left her with her friends at the fountain in Cabo, a terrifying revelation.
The stage was decorated with stools on each side. They were placed in front of a backdrop decked out with glowing letters that read Princess Cruise’s Next Top Couple. Jasper led us to a gathering of females.
“Cici, you stay here. Rosa will give you instructions.” He pointed to a woman discussing something with the huddled ladies.
“Reed, follow me.”
I gave Cici’s hand one last squeeze and couldn’t resist placing a quick kiss on her cheek before I pulled away and followed Jasper to a group of guys. They were getting their directives for the game, and I listened in.
We were asked twenty questions, which were simple enough, and wrote our answers on blank boards.
Moments later, our group of guys was escorted to the stage, holding our three boards. On the other side, the ladies sat holding boards as well. Cici gave me a smile, buzzing with excitement, making all this stupid shit around us worth it.
The game host spoke, his voice booming through the speakers, and whatever he said created a ruckus in the crowd. I looked beyond the stage and found a decent number of people watching and cheering. Who knew this would be so entertaining for others?
The MC outlined the rules, and the tension from the guys on either side of me made me question my level of seriousness about what was about to go down. I nudged one. “Are you nervous, man?”
He turned his gaze to me, appearing a bit clammy, and nodded. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “Shit, man, if I get these questions wrong, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
The guy on the other side of me joined in, agreeing, “I didn’t know shit about those questions.”
I suddenly felt a little bad. The supposedly terrifying repercussions for these guys had nothing to do with a prize and everything to do with their actual, real relationship.
As much as I would hate to be freaking the fuck out about this, I envied them a little.
On the other side of the stage sat someone who was all theirs.
Someone they were committed to, and who was committed back.
Someone who would be right there with them when they disembarked this ship tomorrow.
With an easy shake of my head, I huffed, “Be cool, guys. It’s all good. ”
The MC strode in our direction. He placed an arm on the shoulder of the guy to my left. “We’ll start with you, sir. What is your name?”
“Chad.”
My gaze shot to Cici; she was biting her lip, probably holding back a giggle as much as I was. What were the odds we’d encounter a Chad?
It turns out he had every reason to be concerned, after all.
When he answered that if he won the lottery, he’d get his wife a boob job, she stormed off stage.
I happened to guess correctly. Educatedly.
That Cici would donate to an animal shelter.
And that became the trend as we swept through questions back and forth.
Before I knew it, we were tied in the final round.
When the MC revealed the procedure for the flash round, Cici rubbed her hands together maniacally.
She bounced on her stool across the stage like a kitten ready to pounce.
A fierce competitor but also cute as hell.
I couldn’t dampen the goofy grin on my face.
Back and forth, questions and answers were volleyed. Our pre-written answer cards turned in victory over and over again.
Perfect date in one word. My guess: Bookstore. Her answer: Bookstore.
Favorite snack. Her answer: Little boxes of Trix. My card read: Trix cereal (I’m a kid at heart). This earned me an “aww” from the crowd.
Favorite movie. My answer, a full-on guess, going with the book theme: Beauty and the Beast.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Another correct.
When the final question came, I blew out a breathy laugh. What does your partner like on pizza?
My thoroughly educated guess: Extra pineapple. Scribbled on her card, along with an illustration: Pineapple belongs on pizza. Fight me!
And with that, we became the newest Sunset Princess Cruise’s Top Couple.
Did confetti drop? I wasn’t sure. The uproar of the audience could have been an entire stadium of football fans, but I was zeroed in on the beaming girl running my way. The MC approached us with an envelope and two matching shirts—you couldn’t get more coupley than that.
After a round of handshakes and back pats from our miserable opponents, we were cleared off stage. My heart raced with adrenaline and something more as I squeezed Cici into my side, approaching the rowdy crowd.
All I could hear were squeals and incomprehensible chatter as her friends, who had joined the audience at some point, dragged us into their pile of twerks and shimmies.
Cici and I were both crowned with penis headbands—flashing, of course.
And what else could I do but be a good sport?
The carefree laughter coming from Cici was worth it.
The sound floated through my ears and straight into my chest, expanding it to the point I thought it would pop.
I wanted so badly to scoop her up and drag her somewhere private. To kiss and taste and cling in celebration of our victory and this indescribable thing between us. This wasn’t a blip of lust for me, and I refused to let this be something that would end as soon as our feet hit land.
And now it was time to convince her.