Going Nowhere (A Romantic Comedy Novella) (16 page)

She laughed. “Of course not. I know because when you left the club last night, you were plastered.”

“True.” I grabbed her orange juice and took a sip. I gasped, surprised at the taste of alcohol, and swallowed reluctantly. “April! Did you put vodka in here?”

“Hair of the dog, baby.” From under the table, she showed me a bottle of sublingual B12 liquid, obviously not filled with any actual vitamins. “I just tell the waiter it’s for my stress.”

I shook my head and drank more of her juice. “Why didn’t you stop me from doing him? You shouldn’t have let me leave with him.”

“I was busy with my own things. I’m not your nanny.”

“You as a nanny‌—‌that’s a horrible thought. You’d have the grape juice in one sippy cup and your wine in another, trying not to mix them up.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why would I want to stop you, anyway? You and Max make a cute couple. What are you so afraid of?”

I met April’s gaze. “I’m not afraid, and there is no couple. Max and I are friends.”

“Yeah. Friends with benefits.”

I sighed. “I was drunk and it will never happen again.”

“You were only tipsy, and you’re dying for it to happen again.” She grinned and grabbed a piece of bacon with her fingers.

I wanted to tear my hair out and deposit large clumps of it in April’s lap. “I didn’t want to give in so easily.”

“Why not?”

Absentmindedly moving the cutlery on the table around, I said, “Whenever I’ve rejected him, he’s given up too quickly.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. If you turn him down, that’s the end of it. Don’t play games.”

The waiter came by and I ordered pancakes with extra whipped butter on the side.

After he left, April said, “I know having sex is always a little scary. I’m feeling pretty intimidated myself, at the moment.”

“What?” The gears in my head were turning, albeit slowly. “Oh no, April. You didn’t!”

April froze, a look of abject misery on her fair face.

“You had sex with Sam. Why? How?”

“If you hadn’t noticed, I was drinking, too, last night.” She yanked back her orange juice, finished it in one gulp, and signaled to the waiter.

“So that’s where you were last night. Was it any good?”

She shrugged. “He was quite energetic about the whole thing.”

“I can imagine. I don’t want to, but I can.”

“Now I’ve really screwed things up for both of us. How am I going to let him down easily? He seems to think we’re in a relationship.”

I picked at her leftover fruit. “We have to figure something out.”

“Do you think we could talk to Max about it?”

“I don’t feel like I could talk to Max about anything at the moment.”

April pushed her plate away with disgust. “I’m just going to avoid Sam until we’re back in Miami.”

“And what about Monday morning at work?” The thought of it made my palms sweat.

“I’ll figure something out by then.” She looked me up and down. “So what are you going to do with the rest of your day?”

“Relax. Avoid Max and relax.”

Sighing wearily, she looked out the window at the ocean. “We are two mature women, aren’t we?”

“I don’t think there’s a word for what we are.” I massaged my temples with tense hands and groaned.

Deep breath. Everything was going to be okay.

Exhale. I wanted to enjoy the last day of my cruise. All I needed to do was find a quiet spot out on a deck by myself and focus on Kate for a while.

Simple, right?

“Kate?”

It was never simple. I didn’t open my eyes, but I knew Max’s voice as well as my own. It was the only thing that could make me shiver while I lay in a bikini under the hot tropical sun.

“Kate?” Max asked, more forcibly this time. “Are you awake?”

I tried not to flutter my eyelashes as I remained completely still.

“I have chocolate...”

My hand stirred reflexively, but didn’t reach out.

“Come on, Kate. Stop ignoring me.” Max’s shadow lifted, but he didn’t seem to have gone far. I imagined I could I hear him breathing.

I relaxed a little, muscles releasing from no longer having the strain of staying immobile. Then I felt something brush against my foot. It tickled, so I jerked my foot away. Then it happened to the other foot, and this time, the onslaught was worse. With an angry grumble, I bent my legs at the knees so that my soles would be pressed against the wooden slats of the chair.

“Fine. I’m going to start talking, whether or not you give any indication that you’re listening.”

I ignored him.

“I assume that you have some regret over what happened between us last night.”

I kept my mouth shut.

“I don’t see how it has to be such a tragic experience for you. All you’ve done this entire cruise is give me mixed messages. First you’re on, then you’re off, then you’re on again... I don’t know what the hell’s happening.”

Biting my bottom lip, I kept my eyes tightly shut. I pulled my chic, floppy hat down over my face.

“Are you afraid?”

I yanked my hat off my face and sat up. “I’m not afraid. Now would you please leave me alone?”

“You are afraid, aren’t you?” He towered above me, blocking the sun with his broad shoulders.

I straightened my camisole top, aligning the charms on the shoulders. “Why would I be?”

He sat on the divan next to me. “Maybe because of what you were telling me about your parents last night. You’re afraid to commit to one man in case you choose the wrong one and end up like your mother.”

I planted my hat back on my head. “I have too much of a hangover to be talking about this.”

Max rested his elbows on his bare knees, black shorts cresting an inch above. He’d paired the shorts with a plain white tee. “You should have some orange juice.”

Before I could say anything, he’d signaled a waitress. He ordered juice for me and sparkling water for himself.

“We can take it as slow as you want. And if you‌—‌”

I held my hand up, effectively cutting him off. “Maybe I don’t want to take it anywhere.”

He nodded. “I see.”

The waitress came back with my orange juice. I took the cool glass and held it with both hands. I focused on the pulp swimming on the surface. “I’ve been avoiding you so I could think.”

“Are you sure you haven’t been avoiding the whole issue by running away?”

The condensation from the glass dripped cool water onto my bare legs. I sipped slowly, then lowered it back to chest level. “I’m ashamed of my behavior.”

“Why?”

I didn’t answer. When I took another mouthful of my orange juice, I realized how tightly I was holding onto the glass. I carefully set it down on the table beside me.

Just then the wind picked up. And though I went to grab my hat with my free hand, it was too late. A gust had already lifted the hat from my head. “Crap!”

I immediately ran after my hat, which was floating toward the railing. Max was right behind me, so whatever happened, one of us was sure to get the hat. I was only a few feet away from victory when the wind lifted it again.

Jumping sideways to catch it, I felt like I was playing a mean game of Frisbee. I missed the hat by a millimeter, but Max was right there. He made a grab for it, too, but it floated higher, out of his reach. Side by side, we raced down the deck after it.

Suddenly the hat drifted closer to the railing. I raced to beat it there, but as I watched helplessly, the wind carried it off the port side of the ship.

Max leaned against the railing beside me. “Sorry, Kate. I tried.”

My hat was still airborne. I watched it fly. “Maybe it will come back.”

“Like a boomerang?”

I leaned over the side to get a better look, feeling sweaty and uncomfortable, no longer having anything to shield my face. I thought I saw the hat rally a comeback, so I subconsciously leaned a little farther over the edge. A mistake.

My upper body was suddenly heavier and it could only mean one thing. In the two seconds it took for me to struggle to get a grip on the railing and for Max to grab my waist, I saw my life flash before my eyes.

Max pulled me back to safety. “That was stupid, Kate. It’s a hat.”

“I didn’t mean to‌—‌”

He waved at the sea. “If you’d fallen overboard, you’d be dead. You know that, right?”

“I didn’t think it would be so easy to tip over the side.” If there hadn’t been warmth in his deep voice, I would have dropped him overboard with my hat. I tucked my now free-flowing hair behind my ears.

He physically pulled me away from the ship’s railing as I moaned about my bad luck. He led me back to my lounge chair, his hand sizzling against my bare arm and branding my skin. “Did you hear about Sam and April?” he asked. “Looks like we aren’t the only ones who got up to no good last night.”

“Yes, I heard.” I sat down on my towel and looked away.

“Unlike you with your charming demeanor this morning, Sam is thrilled. He’s already planning the wedding.”

I looked up at the sky and questioned what I’d done to deserve this day from hell. I couldn’t hear one more piece of bad news. I was ready to clog my ears with cotton balls. “That’s wonderful.”

“We need to discuss what happened last night.” His hands were crossed in front of his chest.

I shoved my sunglasses into my purse. “Why don’t you make another notch on your bedpost and call it a day?”

“I’m starting to think that would be a good idea.”

I stood up. “Last night only happened because we both drank too much. I think it would be a very bad idea to go out with a coworker. End of discussion.”

He was shaking his head, eyes wide in disbelief. “I don’t know why I even bothered.”

“Me, neither.” I said and turned away so I could no longer see his condemning eyes.

He walked away without another word.

So that was that. It was over.

“
K
ATE
! O
VER HERE
!”

I was waiting in line for a latte when I heard Sam call out to me. I looked behind me into the busy café and saw him sitting by himself in one of two low club chairs flanking a coffee table. He wasn’t drinking anything. Judging by the way he rapidly tapped his foot against the footrest, he didn’t need any artificial means to increase his excitement.

On the downside, April was avoiding him, so I probably should, too. On the upside, he had one of the last free chairs in the café. Either way, I couldn’t run away from someone for no reason. Unless their name was ‘Max,’ obviously.

I made a ‘one minute’ sign to Sam with my index finger, then ordered two lattes and four cookies. The lattes were premium and I had to pay a few bucks with my ship card, but the cookies were free. My parents would think I was crazy to buy a drink that wasn’t even alcoholic when there were so many free options to be had. Right there in the café, you could get hot water, tea, both regular and decaf coffee‌—‌all for free. After being on the ship so long, though, the free stuff gets to be a bit of a bore.

I collected the drinks and snacks then joined Sam. “Hi, Sam. I got you a coffee. And some cookies if you like.”

“Thanks,” he said genuinely.

It wasn’t until I watched him take a sip and smile that I realized I had bought him the coffee just to be friendly. I’d actually forgotten about the whole sucking up thing since my life had gotten so complicated with Max.

“Do you happen to know where April is?”

“No, sorry. I heard things went the way you’d planned.”

“I thought so, but now‌—‌not so much.”

I ate some of my double chocolate cookie and felt calmer. “Why is that?”

He put his coffee cup down forcefully on the coffee table, causing some of it to slosh over the side. “I’ve been looking for her all day. I think she’s avoiding me.”

“I don’t know about that. But if she is, how do you feel about that?”

“How do you think I feel? I feel angry.”

I noticed the paper bag he was holding between his legs. I took a deep breath. “What’s in the bag?”

He reached into the bag. “It
was
a gift for April.”

I stared at the big blue stuffed dolphin he deposited on the table, one of the branded gift items sold in the Connoisseur Cruises gift shop. I had to look away. “Maybe April just got carried away. You know, a shipboard romance. We can all go back home and pretend like nothing ever happened.”

“I don’t think so. I could never work with someone who has humiliated me.” He put away the dolphin. “I don’t like being rejected.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to consider it a rejection. You had a brief, whirlwind romance‌—‌”

“No!”

The anger of his response startled me and I jerked away. I noticed other people in the café looking at us with concerned expressions. I lowered my voice and said, “Whatever happens, you need to be reasonable. If you fire a woman for not wanting a relationship with you, you are entering dangerous territory.”

“I don’t need a lesson in the law from
you
.”

I stood up with my coffee. He could keep the cookies. I needed to get away before things got worse. “It was lovely talking to you, but I have some things I need to attend to.”