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After we landed in Florida, Shawn reached over and squeezed my knee. “Ready to go hurry up and wait?” he asked. He had a sarcastic grin on his face, as though he doubted my knowledge of what would happen next in our journey.
“You think I’m exaggerating, but the line to board the ship is no joke. It might be hours.”
“Good thing we’re both young and dumb.”
“Some of us aren’t as younger as others,” I said as I slid out of the seat and into the crowded aisle of passengers clamoring to get out of the recycled air.
“How old are you?” Shawn asked. “Did I marry a cougar?” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
I rolled my eyes as I reached to get my case from the overhead bin. Shawn snatched it for me and brought it to the ground. “Thank you. And I’m not a cougar, but I’m no longer going to be in my twenties after Wednesday.”
He yanked his case down and popped up the handle. “Wait, you’re going to turn thirty on our honeymoon?”
I sighed. “Yep. I was hoping a cruise would help me forget I’m going to officially be old, but somehow, I don’t think it will.”
“Thirty is hardly old. And I like the idea of being with an older woman. It’s hot. They know what they want.”
What I want is your hands on me...
Feeling myself flush, I grabbed the handle of my bag and turned around to deboard. We had to stop every few feet to let other passengers get their bags, and each time they stopped, Shawn subtly cupped my ass. He was not helping my libido in the slightest.
Once we cleared the plane, I headed for the taxi area. Fortunately, there were several already waiting, which relieved some of my anxiety. It would be my luck to miss out on a cruise I’d been mentally planning for since I was a teenager because of a freak cabbie strike or something.
When we were safely on the road to the boat, I let out a breath. He reached over and took my hand, melting away the rest of my stress in a single touch.
“If there’s something you need that I didn’t pack, don’t worry,” I said. “There are several stores on the boat that should have the basics.”
“Stores? On a boat?”
I nodded. My eyes danced with excitement. “This thing is massive. Wait until you see. I’ve been telling my clients about how amazing this particular cruise is for years, so I know all the places to go and what to see and what to avoid, but this is my first time actually getting to go on it!” I squealed with delight.
“Your clients? You really are a travel agent? That wasn’t a joke on the plane?”
“I am. Wow. I guess I never told you that, huh? It’s not my full-time job, though. There isn’t much of a need for it in Erwin, as you can imagine, so it’s sort of a side gig. But I’m also a librarian at the public library. Lame, I know.”
“I fake married a hot librarian who has a side hustle as a travel agent? Well, damn. I won the lottery.”
I laughed and nudged him playfully with my elbow.
“What about you? What do you do? How screwed are you going to be for taking a week off?”
He shrugged. “It’s fine. And I don’t have any other obligations. No pets or plants that need tending. So you can stop stressing out and enjoy our honeymoon.”
He leaned across the seat of the cab and kissed me so gently that I thought I might pass out.
“Damn, you’re good at that,” I whispered.
“Ditto.” He grinned.
“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” I laughed. There was a tinge of hysteria in my tone.
“Looks like. We’ve already done the hard part. Now we get to have fun.” His eyes darted quickly down to my chest and lingered there long enough for me to know it wasn’t a mere casual glance. He was admiring the view.
“Yes, they’re real.” I smirked. It was one of the first things guys asked whenever we were about to hook up, and surprisingly, one of the first things women asked if given the chance. I might not have much in the way of height or an ass, but tits, I had.
“And now they’re mine,” he whispered. It sent a shiver up my spine. For half a second, I wondered if he’d be down to screw right there in the cab, because, damn, that was hot. But of course, that was when we pulled up to the parking lot.
It wasn’t until we got out of the car, bags in hand, and saw the boat was still docked and hadn’t somehow left without us, that I fully relaxed.
“We made it,” I whispered.
Shawn let out a low whistle as he took in the cruise liner. “That’s not a boat. That’s the entire state of Rhode Island.”
I turned to see him staring at the ship, gobsmacked. Fourteen floors, roughly a thousand feet long, and all of it was there, waiting for us to enjoy. Finally.
“Isn’t she beautiful?”
He looked down at me and held my gaze. “Yes, yes she is.”
Instant blush. I held out my hand for him to take, which he did willingly. “What do you say we blow this popsicle stand of a state?”
He snickered. “You said blow.”
Not to be outdone, I replied, “If you keep calling me beautiful, you might get a blow of your own.”
A wicked grin crept across his lips. “You’re beautiful, beautiful, beautiful—”
Unable to resist the delighted curl of his lips, I grabbed a fist full of his shirt and yanked him to me, silencing his tongue with my own. At first, his kiss was hesitant. Perhaps because we were in public with people making their way to the entrance, but after a moment, he seemed to give up his reservations. He wrapped his hands around my waist, sliding both expertly over my ass, where he lifted me off the ground and caused me to squeal.
“It’s okay, everyone. This is my wife. I’m kissing my wife!” He winked at me, but he was positively beaming at the onlooking crowd.
“This is our honeymoon,” I added quickly as he set me back onto my feet.
That earned us a few “Awws” and “Congratulations.” I couldn’t help but smile. They bought us as a real couple when we weren’t. We were two people trying to escape reality. Still, it was nice to pretend I had an adoring husband. Even if it was all for show.
We wheeled our bags to join the line, which snaked around the parking lot, only to spend the next hour and a half weaving in and out of metal barriers before we finally got to the entrance.
“I told you it would be a long wait, but all things considered, we made good time,” I said, stepping inside where I saw an even longer line. “Are you kidding me?” I groaned. Why is there an inside one too?”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind. I’m not going anywhere.” Shawn seemed perfectly content with this entire process. He slid his hand into my back pocket and gave my cheek a quick squeeze. For a guy I wasn’t technically dating, he sure was giving me boyfriend vibes.
No. This is a bit of fun. Nothing more. For both of us. I refused to let my heart latch onto the idea that this was anything more than a week of casual connection.
Doing my best not to focus on the warm hand against my ass, I glanced around the large holding area. It was a bit like a gate at an airport. The queue for a final check of documents wrapped around red velvet ropes. There were bathrooms, payphones, and a wall of storage lockers. This was the point of no return. “Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now? After everything we’ve done to get here?”
“It’s just...we don’t even know each other, you know? Like, I have no idea who you are. What you do for work. If you have siblings? What sign you are? For all I know, you could be a serial killer.”
“A serial killer who walks into random churches to marry women who have been left at the altar?”
I frowned at him. “I’m being serious. Usually, I am a very thorough stalker of guys I find cute before I agree to be alone with them. Like deep dive on the internet sort of thing, but with you...”
He placed both his hands on my shoulders and held me in place until my eyes locked with his.
“You think I’m cute?” His dimpled smile made my heart soar.
“You know you’re cute,” I said.
“Well, I know I’m cute. But it’s nice to hear you think so too.” His smirk was downright delicious. “I’m not a serial killer. I’m a Pisces. I grew up with six sisters, yes, six. I like to hike and play video games, not chop up sexy women and store them in my trunk. Okay?”
I let out a deep breath. “Okay.”
“And what about you? All I know about you, aside from being the most beautiful woman in the world is that your ex-fiancé is a moron, you’re a travel agent, and a hot librarian. What else do I need to know about you? Have you lived in Erwin your whole life?”
“No. I grew up in New England. Met Dwayne on a dating app.” I cringed as we inched up the line. “He got a job here and, at first, we were long-distance but eventually, I moved here to be with him. I had my own place though. I wasn’t that stupid.” I shook my head. “I gave up seasons for Erwin. I was an idiot.”
“Aw, come on, Erwin’s not so bad. I mean, I’ve only been there a few weeks, but it doesn’t seem awful.”
I blinked at him. “You just moved to Erwin? On purpose?”
He laughed. “Yeah. I used to live out on the East Coast myself. Right outside of Boston...had to get away from it.”
“The cold?”
His eyes went to the ground. “Well, that and too many people. I couldn’t find any peace. Felt like everyone wanted something from me, you know? And I didn’t have any more to give, so I ran away from home.” At that, he lifted his eyes into a smile.
“But why Erwin of all places?” I said with a frown. No one wanted to be in Erwin.
“My dad lives there. His arthritis couldn’t take the cold, and he has a brother out that way so... I figured Erwin was as good a place as any to start over.”
“Well, give it time. You’ll see there’s nothing special about it soon enough.”
He brought his hand under my chin to lift my eyes from off the ground. “I wouldn’t say that. It’s where I met you.”
Talk about a swoon-worthy line. From anyone else, it would have felt cheesy, but when he’d said it, I could almost believe he meant it. When this week was over, how was I supposed to let him go?
