Page 10 of Curves and Waves

"You never did show me those other tattoos."

He grinned, a promise in his eyes. "All in good time, shortcake. All in good time."

We reached our cabin, and Caleb took me to my small private entrance. An awkward silence fell. Part of me wanted to invite him in to my room, to finish what we'd started in that alcove.

Caleb seemed to sense my hesitation. "I should probably head back to my section. Jake might be wondering where I am."

I nodded, relieved and disappointed in equal measure. "Right. Jake. We should probably talk about how we're going to handle that."

"Tomorrow," Caleb said, cupping my face in his hands. "We'll figure it all out tomorrow. For now, let's just-"

He trailed off, leaning down to kiss me. It was softer than our earlier kisses. When we parted, I felt a little dizzy.

"Goodnight, Zo," Caleb murmured.

"Goodnight," I whispered back.

I watched him walk away, admiring the way his shoulders filled out his shirt. Just before he turned the corner, he looked back, flashing me that heart-stopping grin.

Once inside my room, I leaned against the door, letting out a long breath. What a night. What a completely unexpected, incredibly hot, potentially life-changing night.

As I got ready for bed, my mind raced with questions. How would Jake react? What would happen after the cruise? Were Caleb and I really ready for a relationship, or was this just vacation madness?

But as I climbed into bed, my body still humming from Caleb's touch, if nothing else, I thought with a grin, the rest of this cruise was certainly going to be interesting.

Chapter 5: Zoe

Iwoke to the sound of waves lapping against the ship and sunlight streaming through the cabin window. For a moment, I basked in the warm glow of a good night's sleep. Then the memories of last night came flooding back, and I sat bolt upright.

Caleb. The alcove. Everything.

A laugh bubbled up in my chest. Had that really happened? It felt like a dream, too good to be true. I flopped back onto the bed, grinning like an idiot. Who would have thought that boarding this cruise would lead to, well, being boarded in an entirely different way?

A knock at the door startled me.

"Zo? You up?" Jake's voice called through the door.

I groaned, pulling the pillow over my face. Right. My brother. The one complication in this whole wonderful mess.

"Just a sec!" I called, scrambling out of bed. I threw on a robe and ran a hand through my tangled hair before opening the door.

Jake stood there, already dressed in swim trunks and a tank top. "Morning, sleepyhead. Thought you might want to join us for breakfast before the snorkeling excursion."

Us. My stomach did a flip. "Us?"

"Yeah, me and Caleb. He's waiting by the buffet. Said something about making sure they don't run out of croissants for you."

I felt a rush of warmth at Caleb's thoughtfulness, quickly followed by a wave of guilt. Here was my brother, oblivious to the fact that his best friend and his sister had been best friends with benefits just hours ago.

"Uh, sure," I managed. "Just give me ten minutes to get ready?"

Jake nodded. "Cool. Meet you there."

As soon as the door closed, I leaned against it, taking a deep breath. Okay, Zoe. You can do this. It's just breakfast. With your brother. And the guy you've been in love with for years. Who licked your hoo-ha last night. While on vacation. No pressure.

I threw on a swimsuit and cover-up, a quick brush through my hair and a swipe of tinted lip balm later, I was as ready as I'd ever be.

The breakfast buffet was busy with people of all shapes and sizes in their swimwear, ready for the day. I spotted Jake and Caleb at a table near the windows, both nursing cups of coffee. As I approached, Caleb looked up, and the slow smile that spread across his face made my knees weak.

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