Tyler
I eventually mustered the courage to go for breakfast on the lower deck. Already there were Paul, Veronique, and Britney, plus Henry. My short, overweight but well-meaning attorney had gone to bed early last night after being talked into doing tequila shots with D Cash and his other porn star playmate, Ruby, much to the annoyance of his date Bella. No doubt her frustration at Henry’s continual failure to show a good time had led to her becoming involved in Ada’s sexy surprise last night. I needed to speak to Henry about what happened. He was my best friend, after all.
As I sat down, Britney and Veronique excused themselves simultaneously. “Was it something I said?” I smiled.
“Are you okay?” asked Henry. “Paul told me about the shouting match between you and Ada last night. What happened?”
“The real question,” I said, really trying to avoid that subject, “is what’s going to happen when D Cash wakes up? Aren’t you the slightest bit worried about him finding out about your little party with Britney and Veronique?”
“No. I squared everything with him,” explained Paul.
“You… You didn’t buy her, did you?” Henry ventured nervously, making the obvious misunderstanding. I snorted a laugh.
“Of course not!” Paul cried. Henry looked relieved. “But I now owe D Cash my Senna Edition Ducati. Was totally worth it, though.”
I shook my head at the Englishman’s nerve, then turned back to Henry. “I have to tell you what happened with Bella last night. It seems Ada managed to talk her into…”
“It’s okay, Tyler. Bella told me,” he said calmly. “She only told me to hurt me, but it came as no surprise to find out she wasn’t actually attracted to me. I’m not an idiot.”
“I didn’t try anything with her. I may have been a little slow to stop her, but…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Henry gave me a smile and a hand on my shoulder, “So, where are you and Ada now?”
Veronique and Britney returned and, pausing out of politeness for Sarah or Tanya to serve, I told them about my feelings for Misty, Ada’s frustration, and that we’d been discovered together.
“That’s why we haven’t seen Misty this morning?” asked Britney.
“Wow. Is so romantic, so passionate,” mused Veronique, dreamily.
“Yeah, but she’s going to lose her job and no one will let me down to see her,” I complained.
“Poor, poor Tyler,” came Ada’s malevolent tones from behind me. I whirled around to see her looking classically stunning. Big shades, big red sunhat and a red two-piece under a sheer wrap. Leaning on her arm was Bella, dressed in her usual denim short-shorts and white crop-top. “Of course, she’s not your problem anymore, darling. She’s fired from this boat and, by this afternoon, she’ll struggle to get a job crewing the ferry that runs the ten-minute crossing between Malta and Gozo.”
I knew she was going to do this. I felt my fists clench, my teeth grind, and I struggled to control my breathing. “Why do you have to do that?” I managed to seethe quietly.
“Because I can,” Ada was yelling now, “and I want you to feel some of the pain and helplessness that I’ve endured these past few days, throwing myself at you and being rejected over and over.”
The other guests shifted uncomfortably.
“I think I’d better go,” I told her, trying to end this encounter.
“I’m not even half done with you yet,” she screamed. Bella stared at me viciously. I slowly stood and approached them, keeping myself under control, just. Everyone held their breath.
“Whatever you’re planning to do to me, Ada,” I said evenly as I walked toward them, “there is, at least, no way you can force me to stand around and watch you do it.” I walked past them to the stairs, leaving them far behind.
* * *
Thankfully, from my point of view, there was only another hour or so before Aphrodite returned to Aruba and the charter was over. I stayed in my cabin and thought about Misty. It’s the craziest thing, I said to myself, this vacation was a chance for a break, to see if Ada and I had a thing worth pursuing. I know it’s all good on paper; a merger between the Harcourt estate and the Showazuki family fortune. But I don’t want to get married because it makes good business sense. That’s what my father would do. Still, I never expected to meet her. I never imagined someone so beautiful, so mysterious, so right for me. I must find Misty.
As soon as the yacht was in dock I heard Ada and Bella disembark, ordering poor Brett, the third deckhand, around and not wanting to wait for the official farewell from the crew. I gathered my things, let the deckhands take my cases off, and went up. I hung around the entrance to the galley and the crew quarters until the others started complaining, just hoping I might catch her, or catch a glimpse of her.
Eventually, though, I was back on the aft deck. The crew was lined up in their whites once again to see us off. The last to leave, I shook hands with each crew member. Sarah and Tanya, the other two stewards, both gave me a quick kiss goodbye. Azure wasn’t present. She was probably a little uncomfortable, to say the least, so I said nothing.
“Well, what can I say?” said Captain Harper, as he shook my hand heartily. “Thank you for giving us a very… interesting charter.”
“I hope it wasn’t too terrible, Captain,” I smiled, pressing the thick envelope into his hand, “I know I caused some problems. Hopefully, this will help you weather the storm.”
“That’s very generous, thank you. Please come back and see us again.”
“I would love to. Please, though, is there any way I could talk to Misty, or get a message to her?” I implored. This felt like the last chance.
“I’m sorry, sir, Misty left the boat as soon as we docked, even before your lady, I mean, ex-lady friend,” shrugged the captain.
Man, I thought, she wasn’t kidding about having to find her. I nodded gratefully to him and trudged off. I followed the others down the jetty to the waiting stretched Hummer and ducked inside. Before closing the door, I allowed myself one last look at the magnificent Aphrodite, gleaming white against the clear blue sky, gently rocking on the sparkling Caribbean waters. My God, I said to myself, what this boat has managed to do.