Finding Justus (6 page)

“Right, so since I don’t have any flaws,” Justus said jokingly, putting one hand on her chest, while the other held her drink.

“Why were you the one who got screwed over?” Krystal finished for her.

“Yeah, I think so. I don’t remember at the moment, I guess I’m getting a little tipsy. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t tell you about this before. I was embarrassed I guess. Maybe I felt as though you would think I was naïve or gullible. I mean, he was engaged to me and I couldn’t see he was a cheater, for crying out loud.”

“It’s okay Justus. Y
ou can’t blame yourself for everything. You weren’t doing anything wrong by trusting in Alex, that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

She shrugged, “Yeah, I know you’re right. Well, Krys this is off the subject, but I could really use some shut eye right about now. I think all the alcohol has finally caught up to me.”

“Me too, goodnight,” Krystal said as she pushed her empty plate aside and snuggled down into the covers.

***

The next morning the ship pulled into the first port of call. After eating breakfast, they walked onto the top deck to get a bird’s eye view of their stunning surroundings. “Wow, look at how beautiful it is here, Krystal. We’re in Puerto Rico, isn’t it so exciting?”

“Yes, it’s unbelievable. I never even imagined tropical places like this existed.”

The two hurried down to the bottom level of the ship and walked out into the brightly painted port of San Juan. They went shopping and sight-seeing, with Krystal practically dragging Justus into every store in the quaint area of Old San Juan. Justus would have been happy to simply sit and people-watch taking in the unique sights, sounds and smells surrounding her.

Justus’ eyes feasted on the centuries-old buildings, and the Spanish colonial-style architecture. She noticed the cobblestone streets as soon as they’d left the dock and would’ve liked nothing better than to grab a cup of coffee and find a comfortable seat at the Plaza de Armas, which according to the literature she’d brought with her from the ship, was Old San Juan's main square. As Justus followed Krystal into the various shops, she read more about the Plaza’s four statues which represented the four seasons and was located in the center of the Plaza de Armas. While she quickly scanned her brochure about the port, she learned the statues were over one hundred years old and the area had served as a social meeting area for generations.

“Oh, look at that cute little shop,” Krystal said excitedly, interrupting her reading. Justus stifled a groan and bid a silent farewell to any hope of seeing the rest
of the old metropolis. She wanted to learn more about the city’s antique architecture, but she knew Krystal didn’t share her enthusiasm for historic construction.

Once they
boarded the ship again, Justus and Krystal put away their purchases and prepared themselves for dinner. It turned out they were able to squeeze some sight-seeing in between shopping. They had visited a brewery and between the two of them, they had purchased the maximum bottles of alcohol they could bring back onto the ship.

“Well, I think we can safely say we have a lifetime supply of rum,” Justus said with a laugh.

As Krystal laughed with her, Justus realized she was getting back to her old self. This was the real Justus and her personality had started shining through over the past couple of days. She knew Krystal hadn’t seen this version of her friend for a long time. As much as Justus was a strong, independent, and opinionated woman, she now knew somehow she’d lost a lot of herself when she had been with Alex.

***

After dinner Krystal wanted to go back to the cabin but Justus wanted to walk off her food so she toured the ship alone.

“I shouldn’t be more than half an hour.”

“Oh, Jus please, I don’t mind how long you walk. Don’t worry about coming in late and waking me either. I’m just not up for anymore activities today.”

“Okay, but I probably will only be thirty minutes, so if you’re hinting around that I can find Miguel and stay out late with him, don’t waste your breath.”

“I wasn’t,” Krystal said with mock innocence.

Justus rolled her eyes and turned
to walk in the direction of the deck. Once she was there she walked around the pool, since her knowledge of the boat was still limited. As she looked up, she couldn’t help but admire the sky. It was a beautiful night, clear and full of bright stars. It looked to her as though the heavens and the ocean met and were almost one.

“It’s beautiful out here isn’t it?”

At the sound of his deep, accented voice Justus turned toward Miguel. “Hi. Yeah, it really is.”

“I try to come out here as much as I can when I’m on the ship.  The sky looks so different out here. It’s so much bigger and clearer without all the lights of the city to get in the way.”

Justus nodded in agreement and turned to face him, “Miguel, I’m sorry about last night, about how I acted.”

“It’s okay, Justus, I understand. You were upset.”

“No, no I have other reasons and I want to tell you, because I feel like you should know this, for some reason.” She took a deep breath and proceeded. “I’m just not good at relaxing and letting a man act like a gentleman. That may not make sense to you, but it does to me. What I mean is, I’ve never really had anyone take up for me so I’ve always taken up for myself, and I know that’s good, but I have to admit it felt great to know someone else was there to look out for me for a change. I took it wrong last night though, and I looked at it as undermining me as a feminist, instead of you respecting me as a woman. My pride got in the way, that’s all.”

Miguel took a step toward her and reached for her hands and took them into his own. “That’s okay. I understand, and like I said
, I don’t need to know all the reasons why you did what you did. You know why and that’s all that matters to me. Yes, I will admit last night I was angry. I got over it and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable in any way.”

Justus was getting lost in the emerald pools that formed his eyes and in the beautiful melody in which he spoke. They were still locked in a gaze when Justus realized he was going to kiss her and this time she wanted him to.

“Miguel!”

Justus whipped her head to the left to see Tammy coming toward them and stopping suddenly when her eyes landed on Justus. “Oh, I didn’t notice you had
company. Am I interrupting anything?” Tammy asked as she looked from Miguel to Justus and back again.

Justus and Tammy exchanged heated glances and Justus couldn’t help but notice Tammy was wearing another one of her barely-there ensembles. Tonight she was wearing a red sequined mini-dress and her large silicone enhanced breasts were popping out of the spaghetti-strap top. Justus thought Tammy looked cheap and tawdry, but she wondered if Miguel found her attractive. She looked at his face to try to read his expression, he looked perfectly normal, but his fingers, which were still laced through hers, felt tense.

“No, you weren’t interrupting. Justus and I were taking a walk.”

“Oh,” Tammy said with a pout. “Well, I guess I’ll just call it a night. It is a beautiful night for a stroll, but I don’t want to walk alone so…I’ll see you in dance class tomorrow morning, Miguel.”

Tammy turned on her heel and left, sashaying her hips as she walked away. Miguel started shaking his head and began laughing.

“What?” Justus asked him.

“Women like Tammy, I think they’re funny. They are so obvious. In fact, the only thing funnier are the men who actually fall for their tricks. I have never found women like that, who seem to be advertising themselves, to be attractive. Confidence is sexy of course, but I think women like Tammy go a little too far with the confidence. I like someone who isn’t afraid of who she is, and I also like women who wear their hair in ponytails,” he said as he tugged hers playfully.

She smiled at him and felt flattered. After their day in San Juan, Justus had gone to dinner in a sundress, sandals and a ponytail. She looked into his eyes and they shared another intensely sensual stare. Justus knew yet again Miguel was going to kiss her and she still wanted him to.

She actually wanted it even more now, since she knew Tammy wasn’t his type. Miguel leaned toward her and began angling his head at the same time that Justus angled hers. When their mouths met she felt a tingle in her tummy in anticipation of his kiss. Miguel had the softest, sweetest lips Justus had ever tasted. His warm body pressed closer to hers and Justus could feel the heat radiating from his skin. Their kiss deepened and Miguel moved his hands to her face, and tilted her head ever so slightly. He relaxed the hold his mouth had on her, eased away a little and kissed her lips a few times softly.

After pulling his face all the way back from hers, Miguel said, “Are you coming to dance class tomorrow? I’d love to see you there, and dance with you again.”

“Hmm…” Justus pretended to think about it. “I guess, but only if you promise to dance with me, and right in front of Tammy, too,” she said with a laugh.

“Okay, no
problema
.”

“Oh, I really should be going now,” Justus suddenly remembered she had told Krystal she wouldn’t be gone long. “I told Krystal I’d only be here for half an hour, so I’d better go now.”

“Would you like me to walk you to your cabin?”

“That would be great, thanks for offering.”

On the walk back to her cabin, Miguel asked her how long she and Krystal had been friends. Justus told him a shortened version of how the two had met, almost ten years ago, in beauty school. Krystal had taken to the beauty industry right away whereas Justus quickly realized it wasn’t something she wanted to do. After taking a semester off, she had decided she was better suited to interior design than hair.

“Krystal ended up staying in beauty school, and became a great cosmetologist. She works in her aunt’s shop, and I happen to think of her as my aunt, too. Actually, we had both planned on working for her and saving up enough money to buy a large house, live there together and have our own salon in a small part of the house. After I dropped out, I felt like I was letting Krys down tremendously. But, she understood and told me to go for my dreams and do what made me happy.”

“Sounds like good advice to me.  I guess you’ve been close ever since, huh?”

“Yeah, something like that. Oh, I’m here,” she said pointing at her cabin door. “Thanks again for walking me back, that was really sweet.”

“You’re welcome, and I meant what I said about wanting to see you in dance class tomorrow. I really hope you and Krystal will come.”

“I think we just might,” she said in a flirtatious tone that surprised her.

Miguel leaned forward, kissed her and said, “Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Miguel.”

***

“Who were you talking to? I know I specifically heard a male voice, a deep one, with a sexy Spanish accent. Could it have been
Miguel?” Krystal teased.

“Maybe,” Justus said in a singsong voice.

“What happened with you two? Did you run into each other, or was this planned?” she asked with a mischievous smirk.

“Hold on, before you get any ideas, no it wasn’t planned. I did just happen to run into him, or him into me actually. Open those doors,” she
said as she gestured toward their patio with her head. “Let’s go out on the balcony, and you can see for yourself. It’s breathtaking.”

They walked out onto their balcony together and at first Krystal was enthralled with the spectacular view, but she quickly returned to her inquisition.

“So, anyway about Miguel, what happened? Did the two of you talk about the stars and nothing else?”

“No Krys, we also talked about possible cures for AIDS and world peace,” she said sarcastically and laughed at her persistence. “We just talked about things, nothing in particular. We made
conversation. He asked me how long you and I had known each other, and if we’d be in class tomorrow. You know, general things,” Justus told her with a trace of boredom in her voice. “He did however,” she paused to clear her throat, “kiss me.”

Krystal squealed and said, “You did want him to, right, and you did enjoy it, right?”

“Yes, on both accounts, even though that really surprised me.”

“I’m so glad. I really want to see you have fun and just relax and enjoy this, whatever this may be. You know, I would call it a fling, but…”

“I don’t know what it is either, but I’m enjoying it, no matter what it is.”

“Good, that’s all that matters.”

“I know and I’m okay with all of it. I mean knowing this is just a fling or whatever and doing what’s right for me for a change. This is the first time in a long time I’ve felt like I’m in control of things. But, at the same time I don’t feel like I have any control of my feelings or this situation, and that scares me. Does that make any sense?”

“Yes. You know you don’t really need my advice, you always know wh
at you should or shouldn’t do. It’s just nice for someone to reiterate it to you, huh?”

“Yeah.  Krys it’s so beautiful out here, I wish we could sleep outside. Maybe we could sleep with the doors open tonight, since it’s so nice.”