Page 16 of Letting it Ride

I settle for noncommittal. “Mmm,” I say. “What else?”

Cam turns a page—another arm brush, another tingle—and starts to tell me about the pools on the upper deck while I do my best to keep my body from spontaneously combusting from being so close to him.

It’s hot in here, isn’t it? And humid. I mean, of course it is. It’s mid-April and we’re in Miami. The weather here is obviously going to be different from what I left behind in Philadelphia.

I rub a sweaty palm on my shorts and turn the page in the guidebook. As we’ve flipped through the pages, I’ve done my best to focus, and I think that now I have the tiniest bit of a handle on where things are around here. At the very least, it’s not like I can leave the ship. I’ll find my way back to our room eventually, even if I get lost.

Being this close to Cam is getting a little intense, atleast from where I’m sitting. Cam, however, seems totally unfazed. I search for a reason to distance myself, just a little bit.

“Do you mind if I change?” I ask him, pushing the guidebook onto his lap. “It’s pretty warm in here. I need to change my shirt.” We’ll blame it on the weather, even though almost anyone would argue that you can’t get much more warm-weather-appropriate than a crop top.

But itishot in here. It’s just not the weather, entirely. It’s mostly the man next to me.

Cam takes the book from me and turns another page, seeming oblivious to my internal struggles. “Nah, that’s fine.”

I pull open the closet and take the first tank top off the pile I put in there a few minutes ago, then hold it up. This one is more modest than some of the others I brought, so a good choice for now.

I turn in a circle while I look around. This room is small. Did I mention that? Like, really small. And right now, it feels even smaller, because I don’t want to pull my shirt off in front of Cam.

Right. Bathroom. That’ll work.

“I’m, uh, going to change in the bathroom,” I say, cringing at my own words. Did I really need toannounceit like that? Dear lord. This whole being a mature woman is not going well.

Cam finally meets my eyes, and I can tell this is the first time that this part of things has crossed his mind. That we’re stuck together, and part of sharing a room is changing clothes near one another. I mentally cross my fingers that he won’t think this is incredibly awkward.

But as I watch, his pupils dilate as his gaze lowers to my chest before he snaps it back to my face.

It’s not much, but it gives me hope. That once we get past the weirdness of this situation and he stops seeing me as Maddox’s little sister, there might be a chance for us.

In the distance, a horn blows, signifying that the ship has left port.

And that we’re trapped together.

7

CAM

The afternoon has been… interesting, to say the least. I like Addie, I do. She’s always been fun when I hang out with Maddox’s family, which is a common occurrence, especially around the holidays.

We have a long history of being friendly and even teasing one another. This cruise should be just as much fun as those gatherings.

But every time I’ve seen Addie in the past, it’s with the buffer of her family and, most importantly, her brother. Because sometime in the last several years, I realized that Addie wasn’t the kid sister I met all those years ago.

She’s grown up. And she’s absolutely gorgeous.

And way,wayofflimits.

It hasn’t been a problem, because Thanksgiving dinners don’t exactly lend themselves to one-on-one conversations or even flirting. But since she showed up here, it’s just been the two of us.

Thank God Addie suggested getting out of our room and exploring the ship. The cabin seemed small when I first saw it, but once Addison walked in? It shrank down to next to nothing.

I’m a good guy, or at least I like to think I am. But fuck if this cruise isn’t already testing me.

Four days, Allen. Keep it in your pants.

“Let it ride,” the player across from me says, leaving his bet in place on the green felt of the poker table without raising the bet.

I drag my attention back to the poker game I’m dealing, focusing on the game in front of me and trying to block out the noise of the hundreds of people jammed into the casino. The lights are low, but the excitement of night one of the cruise is palpable among the passengers.

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