CHAPTER 9
CHANEL

“Oh, shit! Do you remember that time Emma Deese took a dive off the bleachers and broke her nose? What the fuck? Does anyone remember that?”

“Tommy, I think you’ve had too much to drink,” Ana said.

“You mean no one remembers that?” Tommy asked.

“I’m sure Emma does,” I said.

“I remember that, actually. Does anyone know why she did it?” Rhett asked.

“I figured it was some bonehead challenge or some shit,” Ana said. “The cheerleaders at our school weren’t the brightest of characters.”

“Don’t let them hear you say that,” I said. “They might take offense and dive right off this ship.”

Dinner that night was going wonderfully. Rhett and I had slept through lunch, and I’d woken in his arms. It had been a wonderful feeling, one I hadn’t been sure I was ever going to experience. We showered together, and we explored one another’s bodies a little more. Then, I’d slipped into my room just as Ana was getting back. If she was curious as to where I had been, she made no mention of it. So, I let it slide and tried not to worry about it.

“I’m glad to see you two have kissed and made up,” Tommy said.

“What?” I asked.

“You and Rhett! Fuck knows he couldn't stop talking about you before this damn trip,” Tommy said.

“The fuck are you talking about?” Rhett asked.

“You what?” I asked.

“Yep. He was all worried you would hate his guts or not remember him or something. He was being a real pussy about it, but it looks like you two are fabulous!”

“Yep. Tommy’s drunk. When he starts using words like ‘fabulous’, he’s drunk,” Rhett said.

“Not gonna lie. I expected Chanel to hate you a lot more than she apparently does,” Ana said.

“I just want the past to stay in the past. We’ve talked, it’s in the past, and now we’re all moving forward,” I said.

“Uh-huh,” Ana said. “Well, if he hurts her again, I’m gonna chop his dick off.”

“You would have to catch me first,” Rhett said.

“And he’s a fast fucker. Don’t let his size fool you,” Tommy said.

The night was going well. Luke was nowhere to be seen, dinner was full of laughs, and the drunker Tommy got, the more obscure memories he began to pull from his memory banks. I had no idea how he could remember all this shit. I had forgotten at least half of it, but some of the stories were too good for me to forget again, so I was jotting them down in a notebook I was carrying around with me.

“All this shit’s going on your website, isn’t it?” Tommy asked.

“If it does, I don’t want to forget it. I’ll make sure to warn my audience that they’re the drunken ramblings of a real-life man whore,” I said.

“She called you out, Tommy! You gonna take that shit?” Rhett asked.

“If I wanna fuck her friend tonight, then, yep,” Tommy said.

“At least he’s honest about it,” Ana said, shrugging.

“The two of you are weirdly perfect for one another,” I said.

“The man can throw down in bed. Sorry, Rhett,” Ana said.

“Why are you apologizing to me? This man brags about his sex life enough for me to know the most intimate of details, and I’m not proud of that shit,” Rhett said.

“What?” Ana asked.

“I hear you like that little foot thing he does,” Rhett said.

I threw my head back and laughed as Ana’s cheeks began to burn. She got up and walked away from the table, and Tommy got up to go after her. I pushed his shoulder, laughing so hard tears were pooling in my eyes.

“That was terrible,” I said.

“The funny thing is, I made that shit up. I have no idea what the two of them have been doing, but now I’m curious,” Rhett said.

That made me laugh even harder, and I leaned into his body for support.

“I’m glad you’re having a good time,” he said.

“Oh. My stomach. Hold on. I gotta breathe.”

I drew in a few deep breaths as Tommy ran up to the table.

“We’re going dancing. You guys wanna come?” he asked.

“You up for some dancing?” I asked.

“If you dance better than you did at prom. I still think you broke my toe,” Rhett said.

“Dick. Come on. Let’s go dance,” I said.

We made our way to the dance hall on the ship, and there was a slow song playing. I felt Rhett slip his arm around my waist and pull me to his chest. His other arm held mine out, our hands clasped as we swayed together underneath the dim lighting of the room. His brown eyes sparkled with delight as I melted into him, our bodies swaying as one in our little slice of heaven.

“You remember those winter balls we used to attend?” Rhett asked.

“I do,” I said. “My mother made me buy a new dress every single time.”

“And you looked beautiful in every single one of them,” he said.

“Those were so much fun.”

“They were. We had a lot of fun together in high school.”

“Remember how we would always go to the football games and then walk around the campus underneath the stars?” I asked.

“I knew how much you loved doing that, yes,” he said.

“You didn’t?” I asked.

I looked up into his eyes as a grin tugged at his cheeks.

“I was secretly clocking the scoreboard for the football game,” he said.

“Rhett! Why didn't you tell me you actually wanted to watch the games?” I asked.

“Because I saw how your eyes lit up whenever I would take your hand and pull you away from everything. It’s my favorite memory of you.”

The music changed to an upbeat song as Rhett twirled me around. His hand threaded around my waist and pulled me into him as our hips began to sway. He was a much better dancer than I remembered him being. I slid my hands around his neck, allowing my fingertips to dance along the back of his neck as we started to grind on the dance floor.

I looked around for Ana and found her dancing with some random guy who wasn’t Tommy. I shook my head as Rhett and I continued to dance, losing ourselves in the beat and the friction of our bodies. One song turned into two, and two morphed into four, and soon, Rhett and I had been dancing for over an hour and sweat was pouring down my back.

“Would you like to take a break?” Rhett said.

I turned around and looked up at him as Ana came stumbling up to me. She had yet another guy on her arm, and the two of them were beyond drunk. I giggled at her as she tried to talk to me, stumbling over her words through half-hooded eyes. I looked up at Rhett and saw him scanning the crowd. He pointed once he found what he was looking for.

“Tommy’s over there,” he said. “With … some chick.”

“I’m serious. The two of them are more perfect for one another than they realize,” I said.

Ana giggled and slapped my arm, drawing my attention away from Rhett as she threw her arms around me.

“I love you so much,” she said.

“Love you, too, girl,” I said.

“You’re just so awesome. And if you don’t hit that at some point this week, I’ll be so disapp-point.”

“You’ll be disappoint?” I asked. “I thought you didn’t like Rhett.”

“Who’s Rhett?” she asked.

“I’m Rhett,” he said.

Ana looked up at him, craning her neck back before her jaw fell open.

“He’s hot as fuck! Nail him tonight,” Ana said.

“Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, make sure you get back to the room. Or a room. And sleep all this off,” I said.

“Don’t worry. I got me a slab of meat I’m, uh, what?” Ana asked.

I threw my head back and laughed as she stumbled off with the guy on her arm. I watched her for a little while, making sure she wasn’t with some asshole who was going to take advantage of her. But if anything, she was pulling him around, completely in charge of the situation.

“Yeah. She’ll be fine,” I said. “Where are we taking this break?”

“I figured we could slip out to the private deck over there,” Rhett said. “We could keep an eye on the toddlers, but we could also talk for a bit.”

“Talk?” I asked.

“Or stand around and look at the ocean. It’s up to you. I can feel the sweat coming through your dress, though. I figured you could use a rest.”

“Yep. I’m bringing all of the sexy back with that move,” I said.

“You’ve never been anything but sexy to me.”

I looked up at him as his hand raised to cup my cheek. I was hesitant about going out onto the balcony with him. People would talk, especially now with his hand caressing my skin the way it was. But the music was loud, and I didn’t want to leave Ana here by herself without knowing she was going to be safe.

“Okay,” I said. “To the balcony, it is.”