Page 44 of Ship Happens
Cat stands on the other side. Her hair is a disheveled mess, and she’s nearly green with nausea. She holds a bag of ice to her wrist as she motions me inside. “It helps with the seasickness,” she says before bolting to the trash can by her bedside.
I stand patiently as she dry heaves, glancing around the room for any sign of the man. How could he leave his woman alone in such a state?
“Bennett went down to the—” Her voice is cut off by another guttural gag. “Bennett went down to the?—”
“Maybe just give me the second half of the sentence on your next breath,” I say with a gentle smile.
She nods and wipes a string of drool from her mouth. “Infirmary. Motion-sickness patch.”
“Ah, got it.” I look around the room for a place to sit, but the cabin chair stands on their balcony. I step closer to the bed,prepared to sit on the edge, but that’s when I notice the dildo sinking up to its silicone ball sack in a glass bowl of mashed potatoes. “What the actual fuck?”
Cat flinches as she follows my gaze. “Sorry. We like to play with our food.”
“Do you . . . eat it after you fuck it?”
She nibbles her bottom lip and wraps her arms around the metal trash can resting on her knees. “Sometimes.”
Note to self: decline any food from these two.
“I wish I could be more hospitable, but I can’t stop gagging long enough to fix you a drink.” She pushes the trash can away from her. “I think I’ll be okay if I just stay still.”
My gaze darts around the room as I look for any clue as to what might have been given to Maverick, but aside from the mashed potatoes, nothing is amiss—and my god, I hope he didn’t eat those potatoes. It feels too accusatory to ask, but I don’t have another choice, and I want to help Maverick.
“Um...when Maverick was here earlier, did you guys...give him anything?” I choose my words carefully. I don’t want her to feel as if I’m wagging my finger at them.
“Bennett loaned him a shirt. I styled his hair and?—”
“Gave him the clip-on earring. Right.” I dare to sit beside her on the edge of the mattress. “No, I mean anything that might have loosened him up a little. He’s acting strange. Sweating, remarking on how everything feels.”
“Fucking Bennett,” she mutters with a shake of her head. “He keeps a little pharmacy on standby, and I wouldn’t put it past him to slip something to Maverick, especially with how he was acting.”
I cock my head. “What do you mean?”
“I only caught bits and pieces because they were having a boy-talk sesh on the balcony, but the gist was that he wanted to make you laugh and didn’t know how. He wanted our help.”
“So Bennett drugged him?”
“Probably.” Her eyebrows pull together as she bites her lower lip again. “Actually, yeah, he was drugged for sure. Probably shortly after they spoke on the balcony, because by the time we got to his hair, he was willing to let me style it. He’s very particular about his hair.”
“So I’ve noticed. It never moves.”
“I don’t know why he’s so funny about the style.” She holds up a finger, then heaves into the trash can again. When she’s done, she flops backward on the bed. “Bennett should be back any second. He can tell you what he gave him.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m fairly certain he micro-dosed him with MDMA. His high should pass in a few hours. I’ll just keep him hydrated until then.”
“You want some too? The sex is pretty amazing, not gonna lie.”
I don’t know whether to laugh at her assumption or set her straight, but I settle on the latter. “Maverick and I aren’t intimate. To be frank, I think he’d rather stick his dick in a light socket than me.”
“I disagree.” She sits up and brushes a stray lock of blonde hair from her forehead. “He’s kind of mean to you, right?”
“I wouldn’t say mean, but he certainly doesn’t treat me like he treats everyone else.”
“Yeah, that’s my point. Take it from someone who pined after him for months. If he’s acting different toward you, there’s a reason.”
She’s right. There is. It has nothing to do with some imagined affection for me, though. He treats me differently because I’m a fed.
“Thanks, Cat. I’d better get back to the room before he starts wondering how it would feel to leap off the balcony, but I appreciate your help.”
