Once we got closer to land, my texts to Hailey were finally able to go through. I didn’t want to wait for a text back, so I called her; when she answered, I unleashed a torrent of excitement upon her.

“Wow, he sounds amazing,” she said when I’d gone through all of the Cooper details. “I can’t believe none of your texts went through!”

“Yeah, there isn’t much service at sea. This was my first real chance.”

“Are you still coming home?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, now that you know you’ll take the job, I didn’t know if you’d stay there and start right away or extend your vacation a little to find a place.”

“Oh.” I pondered that for a moment. “No, that’s silly. Of course I’ll be home. I mean, it’s not for sure yet.”

“Oh.” She sounded genuinely surprised. “I just thought with your excitement over Cooper, there was no way you wouldn’t take it. Do you think a long-distance relationship will work?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. We haven’t talked about it, either. I think we both just wanted to enjoy the time we do have without thinking about saying goodbye.”

“Well, that’s good. You shouldn’t make such a huge life decision based on someone you’ve only known for a few days, even if it is getting serious already.”

“It’s not really serious. We’ve been out a bunch of times, but we haven’t made commitments or anything.”

“True, but you did already sleep with him. This isn’t just a one-night stand. There are feelings involved.”

I sighed. “There are. I might be falling in love.”

“Slow it down, there, Lex. Don’t do this to yourself. Take your time.”

“I already asked him if he ever cheated. He never even considered it.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that. And hopefully, it’s true. But Lex, cheating isn’t the only reason not to be with someone. I’d hate to see you get so excited, move and then have things not work out.”

“I know. But remember, Alaska was a real possibility even before Cooper. He just adds a little…”

“Incentive?”

“More like sweetness. He’s the cherry on top, making it a perfect picture.”

“Maybe he can come here to get you when you move so we can all meet him.”

And she accused me of moving too fast? “I’m sure if that’s what happens, he’ll come visit.”

“You didn’t tell him you love him, did you?”

“No.” But in truth, I’d thought about it. “Not yet.”

“Just don’t. Not until after you get home and see what becomes of this, okay?”

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes, but I knew she was right. What if we had the fantasy scenario going on, where everything was paradise while on the ship, but once we got off and went back to the real world, things fell apart?

I still had nothing but thoughts of Cooper and our time together as I fell asleep that night. I was sad that we had just one full day left. Our last day of teaching would be short, then we’d have one last night together.

In the morning, I picked up my room in case we ended up there that night. We’d have to make the most of our last night together. The next morning, we’d all leave the ship and I’d take a plane home. My throat burned at the thought of it, but at least we had one more day.

The following morning, I bounced into the classroom, barely able to wait to see Cooper. We’d been arriving earlier and earlier to class to steal a few moments together, so I got there almost a half hour before the start time. He wasn’t there, and as I sat, the time kept ticking by, my disappointment rising with each passing minute.

When the rest of the group started arriving, I was bummed that we missed our moment. What could be holding him up? I wondered. Then, a woman I hadn’t seen before entered the room and marched to the front.

“Hello, all. I’m Becca Howard. I know this is your last day and that you’ve been working with Cooper Hurst. I’m afraid he’s had an emergency and had to leave the ship late last night. I’ll be filling in for today.”

My heart stopped. Emergency? Left? He was gone? Off the ship?

“Is he coming back?” I blurted.

She gave me a flat look. “No.”

“What was the emergency? Is he okay?” My mind whirled with possibilities.

“He’s fine. Now, let’s get on with the instruction and we’ll finish up quickly so that you can enjoy the rest of your stay onboard.”

I blinked through tears as my heart burned. We wouldn’t have our last day—or night—together after all. I’d been so counting on those last moments, needing them. And now everything was cut short. He was gone. No goodbye, no final kiss. Nothing. As the class went on, I thought about calling him afterward to make sure he was okay. Gasping aloud, my blood turned to ice as I then realized the flaw in my plan: I never gave him my number and he never gave me his. I had no way to contact him.

“Everything okay?” Becca eyed me, stopping her explanation to address me.

“Yes, sorry.”

But my mind spun. How would I contact him? I could try looking online, but what if I couldn’t find him? The panic rose in my chest and didn’t let up until class had ended.

While everyone else said their goodbyes and good lucks, I went to Becca with a piece of paper in my hand.

“Hi, Becca,” I said. “I was wondering if you had a way to contact Cooper?”

“I can answer anything you need to know.”

“Thank you, but I wanted to talk to him personally. We struck up a sort of…friendship this week and didn’t get to say goodbye or exchange numbers.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Friendship?”

My face grew hot and I nodded. “So, I really want to be able to talk to him again.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t have his number or anything.”

“What about the cruise company? Would they have it?”

Her face was cold and hard. “They don’t give out personal information on their visitors.”

“Do you know him? Cooper? Could you get a message to him or can someone give him my number?”

“You want him to call you?”

“Very much so.”

She gave a kind of sarcastic laugh. “I’m guessing you’re not from here.”

“No…”

“Well, let me save you some heartache. You don’t want Cooper Hurst to call you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say he has…quite the reputation.” She gave a smug smile.

“Okay…? Well, are you able to get my number to him, then?”

“I’ll give it to him, sure. But I wouldn’t expect him to call. He never calls. He’s just your average player.”

“Cooper Hurst? He doesn’t seem like the type.”

She laughed. “They never do. Trust me, he does this sort of thing all the time.” She gestured to me. “Finds a cute girl to hook up with, then he’s gone, just like that. I hope you were smart enough not to sleep with him.”

I swallowed hard and didn’t say anything. It wasn’t her business, anyway.

“Well, if you did, just be glad the whole thing is over. He’s gotten what he wants from you, now the vacation is over, and you can go about your life doing whatever it was you had planned.”

I gave her the paper I’d prepared. “If you could just make sure he gets this, please.”

I hurried from the room, my throat tight. Back in my room, I sobbed as I packed. I wandered through the ship, but couldn’t eat dinner; I felt so lonely and just plain heartbroken.

Was anything Becca said true? Cooper didn’t seem like that at all, but she was right: they never do seem like the type. My ex hadn’t seemed like the cheating type, either, but he was. And did it even matter? If I had no way to contact Cooper, was it just over? Would he ever try to find me? Or was I just a fling?

That night, I had thought about telling him I was falling for him; that I wanted to continue our relationship. I had thought about taking the job in Alaska to be near him, but I didn’t know what to do now. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again or hear from him. And if what Becca said was true, then he might have already forgotten about me. Completely devastated, I cried myself to sleep.