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“Get whatever you like,” Maddie said as she dozed in a chair waiting for me to decide on a new dress. The sales clerks brought out the works, including shoes, bangles, and bling, making me feel like a princess or a supermodel on a runway as I tried on one designer outfit after another. Maddie perked up occasionally and nodded or grinned in agreement about what she liked or didn’t, and Ethan goaded me on to try one more. He was either the most tolerant boy I’d ever met, or he actually enjoyed our company. I was definitely enjoying his.
We shopped ourselves out until Maddie called it quits just in time to meet the tour bus and head back to the ship for dinner.
“Are you planning on spending the whole evening in the bathroom? My blood sugar is dropping as we speak.” Maddie’s voice sounded muffled through the door. I’d slipped one outfit into the pile without first modeling it. When I came out of the bathroom, she raised a brow. “Was it your aim to pass for my thirty year-old daughter instead of my granddaughter?”
I’d picked out a short leather skirt and a frilly, capped-sleeve, fitted blouse that barely covered my belly post. The scooped neckline showcased more cleavage than I’d known I had.
“This is what all the girls my age are wearing.” I tugged the shirt down an inch.
Maddie let out a sigh and continued to fuss with her jacket in the mirror, finding a tiny piece of lint on the shoulder to pluck at.
With the red, open-toed pumps I bought to go with the outfit, I did look years older than my age—an effect I was sure wouldn’t go unnoticed by Ethan, but a niggle of doubt crept in at Maddie’s disapproval. Would Ethan think I was trying too hard? Would it make me seem desperate...or worse...slutty? I suddenly had the urge to change clothes, but before I could decide, Maddie pushed me out the door, citing what bad manners it would be to arrive late for dinner.
My fears fled when I saw the appreciative look on Ethan’s face.
“Wow,” escaped his lips as he approached our table and pulled out a chair. His green eyes shimmered in the ambient light, and his short hair was nicely gelled and spiked on top. He wore a blazer and collared shirt with nice fitting jeans, and had intentionally forgotten to shave the past few days, giving him a mysterious dark shadow over his upper lip and on his chin. I nearly giggled out loud but held it back, hoping to appear cooler than I felt.
“Right back at you,” I said, smiling as he unraveled his fork and knife from his napkin and then laid the white linen across his lap.
“You both look quite metropolitan,” Maddie said, grinning. She ordered herself a bottle of wine and we waited for the others who would be joining our table for dinner. Tonight’s seating included Ben and David, who Maddie had become great friends with after the magic show and a few nights of ballroom dancing. Another couple settled in at our table, bringing Maddie to life with their introduction as Mary and Joe and their admission that yes, they were Jewish—apparently part of a Jews for Jesus convention on board. Conversation bounced back and forth and I tuned out the repetition of each person’s life story, how many kids and grandkids they each had, and what they had all done before retirement. Even the delicious flavors of the gourmet foods couldn’t take my attention away from what mattered most—the super cute and awesome smelling guy sitting next to me.
After dinner, Maddie excused herself, the wilted expression returning. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me,” she said. I’ll have to start taking some vitamins or something. I’m completely exhausted after that long day of sightseeing and shopping. I’m going to run off to bed. You two go and enjoy the show. There’s a wonderful cabaret act in the Vista Lounge.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Ethan asked politely. I wanted to elbow him in the ribs. All I could think about was being alone with him again, and the smell of his manly scented soap made my mouth water.
“No, I’d rather hit the hay early. They have a tai chi class tomorrow morning I want to attend. You two have fun—but behave,” she added sternly, eyeing me like she knew exactly what was on my mind. She turned to Ethan and threatened with a wag of her index finger. “I trust my granddaughter is safe in your care.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ethan responded, a charming and dimpled grin covering his face as if he were the most trustworthy guy on the planet.
I ground my teeth and sighed. Maddie gave me an eye of warning one more time and turned toward the elevator leading up to deck four. I grabbed Ethan’s hand and pulled him in the opposite direction.
“Follow me. I have a surprise for you.”
Ethan checked over his shoulder to see Maddie disappear as the doors closed. “Should I be scared?”
“C’mon. We’re on our own for the night. Let’s have a little fun.” I led him up the main staircase and up several more flights until we reached the top level of the ship. We burst out into the warm air, the breeze raising my hair and taking my breath away. I laughed as Ethan picked up his pace to stay with me. We rounded the pool and hot tub, which were empty by this time. A few crew members passed us by and headed for the stairs down, leaving us alone on the highest deck of the ship, looking out over the dark night sky and endless expanse of water. Lights shone far in the distance, outlining the coast of Italy. We would be at sea for a day before coming into our next port of call in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
“Hey...” Ethan stopped and caught me in his arms, ducking us into the shadows of the lifeboats. “Did I tell you how pretty you look tonight?” His eyes sparkled under the starlight and the angle of his jaw appeared sharper and more masculine than I’d noticed before. This close, with his warm breath on my skin and his arms encircling my waist, I saw a man before me and not the boy I’d met only days ago.
My cheeks heated and I bit my lower lip. “I think the ‘wow’ earlier was sufficient.”
A grin spread. “That obvious, huh?”
It took all I had in me, but I pulled away, anxious to see if Ethan really accepted me for who I was and not only as a hot girl in an Italian leather mini on an exotic vacation—someone he was never going to see again after this trip. A crack edged its way into my heart. I shut out the painful sensation and focused instead on what seemed a plausible cure for my impending heartbreak. I checked to make sure we were alone and pulled out the joint.
Ethan’s eyes grew big. “Are you crazy? If we get caught...”
“We won’t. Don’t worry. There’s no one else around.” Having confiscated matches from the smoker’s lounge, I lit the joint and took a big hit, letting the burn in my chest expand and holding the smoke until it made me cough. I let it go slowly, handing the joint over to Ethan.
He eyed me warily, scoping out the area, on the lookout for other passengers and crew. “You are nuts,” he whispered. After a moment’s hesitation and a raised brow of challenge from me, he took his turn and inhaled deeply, bursting into a coughing fit.
“Take it easy there, killer,” I said, chuckling softly. I took another hit and passed it back to him.
“I told you I don’t smoke. It would kind of interfere with Lacrosse. I need all the lung capacity I can get,” he said, choking as he held in another hit.
“I wish I was that committed to something,” I replied with a shrug. Then changing the subject away from me, I asked, “Has your dad ever seen you play?” I regretted the question when I saw a hurt look darken Ethan’s eyes.
“He used to come to games once in a while when I was younger. He hasn’t been around much the past year or two.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a sore subject. Tonight is supposed to be about helping you forget about him.” After another sharp lungful, I handed him the joint one more time. He took it, taking another deep inhale and letting it out slowly, his eyes narrowing against the burn of the smoke.
“Nothing for you to be sorry about. My dad’s the one who let me down...again.”
After a few more hits each, the two of us relaxed. “I wish I could do something to take the hurt away,” I said.
Ethan rested his head on one of the lifeboats hanging down behind us. “I’m done,” he said, waving off another hit. He closed his eyes as if contemplating the meaning of life or looking as if he was ready to drop into a deep sleep. I traced the outline of his jaw in the shadows and ran a finger over his ear, drawing a sliver of a smile to his lips. “I’m totally stoned,” he said, sounding not at all like the put together guy I had come to know so well.
“Lightweight.” I laughed, took one more hit, and snubbed out the joint. I slipped the remainder into a little baggie and dropped it and the matches into my clutch for another time.
Ethan popped to his feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me up from the deck.
“We’ll see who’s a lightweight.”