Page 104 of Why Cruise

“I have an idea.” She pulled out three bottles—a navy base and then two cat eye glitters. She applied the base, cured it, and then worked the glitters so that the resulting pattern looked like a trail of stars in a dark sky.

“All boys like space,” she said with a wink

“Galaxy nails. Do that.”

Ren and Theo emerged just as the tech finished painting a few start bursts on an accent nail with silver chrome. I could hear Theo’s purr from halfway across the room. His hair was sticking up at all sorts of weird angles.

Ren held a hand out for me. “I need your help,” he said, tucking me under his arm. “Pedicures are next, and I have a terrible foot fetish. I need a chaperone.”

The rest of the morning was lovely and relaxed. We ended in the sound bath room. I climbed into Theo’s lap in a giant bean bag chair as we listened to rainfall and singing bowls, feeling safe and cozy like a nest should feel like.

Mackenzie

The afternoon sun sparkled off the water as our group crossed the upper deck. I barely felt like moving. Justice walked very close to Theo. His hand twitched like he was resisting the urge to touch Theo. Ren and I trailed behind. Even my brain was fuzzy and content.

“Food,” Theo whined. “I was promised food.”

We came to an abrupt stop. A crowd had gathered, blocking our path to the restaurants. Aria stood on a small platform, her violet dress catching the breeze.

“Welcome everyone to Bond Voyage’s first ever All At Sea Scavenger Hunt!” Her voice carried across the deck. The crowd clapped politely.

“Just walk through,” Ren said gruffly. “I’m not scared of her.” Theo and I traded a glance.

“Alright, big scary alpha, you do it then.” I motioned to Ren like I was giving him the floor. And then raised an eyebrow when he didn’t plow forward.

“The sex can’t be that good,” he muttered.

“The rules are simple,” Aria continued. “Teams will receive clues through the cruise app. Simply take a photo of your team with each answer and submit it for points.”

“Oh look, if it isn’t the sausage in the navy dress.” Rose’s voice dripped with false sweetness as she passed by with her besties, her eyes locked on Justice. “Good luck finding anyone desperate enough to be on her team. Losers.”

“That doesn’t even make sense as an insult. She has lost the plot,” Theo said.

“We don’t hit omegas, right?” Ren folded his arms.

“I’m an omega. I’ll hit her.” I took a step to follow in Rose’s wake. Ren snatched me back, laughing.

“Can I borrow your phone, Theo?” Justice, his voice deadly quiet.

“Sure. Why?”

“She can’t take a hint, and if I’m outwardly mean to her, it’s going to end up in the papers. But we need to beat her.”

“Absolutely.” Ren leaned over his shoulder to look at the screen. “Oh, right here. Team name. Type in Angry Flirt.”

“You… you want to do a scavenger hunt?” I asked, a little horrified by the idea.

“We’re defending your honor,” Ren added. “It’s an alpha thing.”

“We literally just had massages,” Theo protested. “I’m too relaxed for competition.”

“Too late.” Justice registered our team. “Our first clue just came through. ‘Where mermaids dance in crystal light, above the folk who dine at night.’” The deck erupted in conversation and little groups of people had their heads in their phones and started dispersing throughout the ship.

“Fucking riddles?” Ren groaned.

“Okay, so we have to find a mermaid?” Justice was tapping his bottom lip.

“Could be a metaphor?”

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