The shock of the state of the room has me reeling. Who would’ve done something like this? Surely not Aaron. He was looking for a place to camp out, not to get back at me for years of brotherly bickering.

I turn back around and walk out of the room, walking down the hall, searching open cabin doors until I find who I am looking for.

“Do you have any trash bags, paper towels, and cleaning supplies?” the small, balding man in the ship’s uniform stares at me in shock. It’s as if he can’t believe someone like me, a guest, would even acknowledge that housekeeping exists on the ship.

“On the cart,” he points to the cart which was the clue I’d been looking for in the hall. At this late hour, not many people are prowling the halls, so like with hotels, housekeeping had been tasked with cleaning the empty rooms after the majority of the occupants of the ship had gone to bed. “Do you need something cleaned, sir?”

“No, thank you. I’ll take care of it,” I grab the supplies I need, and the man looks uneasy at the amount I take.

“If you need anything, I’ll be in this hall for the remainder of the night.”

“Thanks so much.”

I turn and walk out the door, sighing at the potential task ahead of me. The damage dealt to the room was extensive. The cruise line company is sure to charge me for the mess. I’m sure with such high-maintenance actors and models, he has insurance on the cruise for that very reason. Celebrities have a tendency to flaunt their bottomless wallets and think they can get away with anything they want. Not being of celebrity status, I can’t claim immunity to amassing fines for damages.

I get back to my room and stand outside the door shaking my head, trying to get the images of David underneath me out of my mind. As erotic as it was, it’s dangerous to dwell on it, not knowing his intentions.

I push open the door and jump, seeing Aaron standing in the middle of the mess.

“Where have you been?” I snap.

His face tightens, and he looks like he is going to snap back. “I went to the back deck for a cigarette.”

“Did anyone see you?” I can’t keep the irritation out of my voice.

“No. It’s the middle of the night, Alex. Everyone’s asleep.”

“Apparently not,” I gesture around the room angrily.

Aaron glances around with me and his face tightens.

“Any idea who did it?” I ask. I dump the cleaning supplies on the small table beside the bed and grab a trash bag. Snapping it open I start picking up pieces of broken items from the floor and cram them into the bag. I’m not sure how to get the busted glass out of the carpet. It’s too late to run a vacuum cleaner, and I think the housekeeping guy would throw a fit if one of the guests took it upon themselves.

“No. I was about to ask you the same thing,” Aaron picks up a drawer and examines it, pressing the frame back together. It snaps in place and he returns it to the chest of drawers in the closet. Most of the other ones aren’t so lucky.

“Well, I didn’t trash my own room!” I snarl and shove a tattered pillow into the bag. Downy feathers puff up in my face, and I swipe at them angrily.

“I didn’t ask if you trashed the place, Alex. I asked if you knew who did it.”

I don’t bother to answer him. We both know I wouldn’t have done this. I abandon the trash bag and begin righting the clothing racks with clothes that have been torn down off hangers. If there’s one thing I need to have ready, it’s the items for my job. When the cruise line gets wind of this, I’ll need the income to pay for the damages.

Aaron continues fixing drawers, or trying to, while I hang the set clothes back up. Fortunately, most of them had just been ripped off the hangers, not ripped themselves. The clothes that have been ripped can be repaired and I set them aside to take a look tomorrow. Surely one of my assistants has brought a sewing machine.

We use a small hand broom I’d grabbed from the housekeeping cart to sweep up the glass. An hour later, Aaron is just wiping up the toothpaste smears in the bathroom when I pop my head out the door and see the trolley only a few rooms away. I bring the bag of trash down to the hanging barrel and return all the items to the very confused looking man.

“Someone broke into my room and trashed it,” I explain.

The man’s eyes widen. “Should I inform…”

“No, it’s okay. They didn’t take anything, but they trashed the room. I’ve cleaned up as much of it as I could.”

“But sir!”

“Really, it’s okay. I’m okay. Nothing was taken, and I just want to go to my room and sleep now, okay? I’ll report the break in tomorrow morning and find out what I have to pay in restitution. Can you just have someone vacuum the rug tomorrow though? There was broken glass and I’ve swept it up, but there’s probably shards wedged into the carpet.”

I don’t give him a chance to answer, but instead turn around and walk back to the room shutting the door firmly behind me. I wait a minute, expecting the man to knock. When he doesn’t, I turn the lock and glare at Aaron.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know damn well what I mean. I’m tired, I’m going to bed. You can sleep on the couch.”

I walk past him and he looks like he’s going to argue, but I hold up my hand. In addition to being exhausted and worried the perp might come back, I’m anxious about David and the way I left things with him. Flopping on the bed, I pull my phone out of my pants, setting an alarm. I close my eyes, feeling the ache in my balls that I’d been trying not to dwell on since I got back. I hear Aaron rustling around behind me, trying to get comfortable on the couch. He seems to know he’s pushed me too far today, although no doubt he’ll be back to being a pain in my ass tomorrow. The problem is, there’s nothing I can do about my current condition below the belt with him less than ten feet away.

Images of David panting and wrapping his legs around my waist pop into my head. I grit my teeth and turn my face into my pillow as the eroticism kicks me below the belt again. My fingers curl into the mattress as I try to block the images of what it felt like having his dick rubbing up against mine, but it’s like trying to tell a kid not to think of candy on Halloween. David’s my sugar rush and I’m jonesing hardcore. I sigh into my pillow, squeezing my eyes shut. There’s nothing to be done about it now. Exhaustion from denial, anxiety, and work all weigh heavily on me, and before I know it, I’m drifting off to sleep.

The lights flicker in the hallway as I walk back to David’s room. I have to apologize for the way I acted. Just running out on him like that was not mature. I need to be an adult about this. I keep thinking of all of the things I need to say. I need to make him understand that I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just, so many people have hurt and used me for so long, I don’t know who’s genuine anymore.

When I reach his door, I pause, wondering if he’ll even answer when I knock. I run my fingers through my hair. It’s been a long day and I haven’t showered or changed out of my rumpled clothes. He’s going to think I look like a bum. Maybe he doesn’t care. He was just as disheveled when I left him. I hear a thump on the other side of the door and a muffled cry.

“David?” I pound on the door, not caring if I wake up anyone else in the hallway. “David, are you alright?”

I hear another thump and then a crash. I try to open the door, but it’s locked. Something is very wrong in that room. “David!” I slam my shoulder into the door and the latch busts. I tumble into the room just as I see the tall figure of a man shoving David towards the bathroom.

“Hey!” I shout. The man looks up, but his face is masked. His dark clothing makes him look like part of the shadows of the room. David looks terrified, but the distraction of my entrance is enough to buy him some time. David kicks the perpetrator in the shins and starts running toward me.

“David!” I scream again, but it’s too late. The man in the mask pulls something from behind his waist. The glinting metal in the moonlight streaming through the window is enough for me to know what it is.

“Gun!” I scream, but David is already running toward me. I leap, grabbing for David to tackle him to the floor, just as the blast goes off like thunder in the room.

David lands heavily on top of me on the floor and I stare up into his face.

“David?” His white hat falls off his head and rolls across the floor.

I wake up with a start and a shout, sitting up in bed panting, a cold sweat dripping down my body. Aaron grunts from the couch and rolls over. Looking at the clock on my phone, and then toward the pale morning glow of the dawn light, I feel the weight begin to lessen. It was a dream. Just a dream, right?