Page 76 of Mark

“Oh no, it happened. Your nan wanted to know who had the better moves. Dad, Mason, and Myles were all competing. My mum has video evidence,” Hayden answers. “Uncle Mason won.”

“He cheated,” Max snorts as he gets to his feet. “I need more food.”

Hayden slaps her thighs. “I should go and meet the others at the pool. You coming?”

“I’ll be up later. I don’t think my head can handle all the screaming,” I reply, then tilt my head when I realise she looks no different than she did yesterday morning when I saw her. “Why aren’t you hungover? You drank more than everyone.”

She grins. “I never get hangovers. It annoys the fuck out of everyone. Poor Charlotte is still being sick.”

“I hate you,” I remark, though there’s no heat behind the words.

She laughs, getting to her feet. “I’ll see you later.”

Once she’s gone, I get up, picking up my book. I’m too approachable here and I don’t think I can handle anymore socialisation for today.

With my nanna’s key card in my pocket, I go to the one place no one else will think to look for me.

That someone being Mark.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Mark

Waves beat against the side of the cruise ship as I make my way up to the top deck. Sunscreen, sweat and food scent the air, doing nothing to settle my queasy stomach.

Last night is a blur, but throughout the day, more and more pieces of the night have come back to me. Even without all my memories, it was clear we celebrated until the early hours of the morning. I have bruises from being flung from the bull, thanks to my uncle Max. He turned up the speed, catching me off guard. Instead of hitting the cushion, I ended up landing against the podium where the controls were set up.

Although some things are still muddled, there is one memory that is as clear as the sky above.

Freya.

Every caress is burnt into my mind. I can still taste her on my tongue. I’ve had a lot of sex, but nothing else compares to what we did last night. Fucking even sounds tame for what we did together. I didn’t think I could fuck a person harder, but hearing her beg for me, pleading for it and wet for it, I did. I have scratches down my back to prove it—something I wish I had known before I took my T-shirt off to go into the pool earlier.

Waking up alone is another new experience. It’s not something I’m used to. Normally, I will leave before the girl wakes up, but this morning, I found myself reaching for her, wanting more. Instead, all I found was a cold pillow. I felt disappointed, and if I’m honest, a little confused. I thought we were hitting it off, and we both had a good time.

After heading to my own room to get showered and changed, I went to seek her out. My plan had been to gauge her reaction, to maybe let her down gently—or at least, that’s what I toldmyself. My attempt to do either, failed. All I found was other members of her family, who asked me if I had seen her.

I should have felt better knowing she wasn’t just hiding from me, but I didn’t. I don’t. I’ve tried everything to get her out of my head, yet I’ve found myself constantly searching for her around the pool.

I just don’t understand why she’s avoiding me.

Does she regret it?

Is she embarrassed by me?

I throw myself down on the chair with a little more force than necessary. I don’t get why she’s avoiding me. I should be happy that I won’t need to do the awkward, ‘it was just fun’, speech.

“Someone is still in a mood, I see,” Faith muses.

I don’t mean to glare, but I do. “I’m not in a mood.”

“Sounds like it,” Beau mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Your nose is in my business again,” I snap. Liam laughs, taking the empty chair next to me whilst we wait for the others. It’s bingo and trivia night tonight, so we planned to meet up here before heading down. “I swear to God, if you laugh one more time, you’ll be picking your teeth out of your arse.”

“What’s going on?” Hope asks, her eyes glittering with humour.

“Mark doesn’t like that he was nothing but a one-night stand,” Liam replies.

---