Page 26 of Knot Going Down
The cruise ship employee glares at us again, so I attempt seriousness. Having secured Knox, Declan adjusts Emily’s vest like he’s handling a priceless artifact. Emily laughs, pink-cheeked and flustered. I glance sideways at Ava. Her expression is carefully blank, but I catch a flicker of something that matches the twist in my own gut.
“So, Emily and Declan,” I whisper this time, leaning close enough to feel assaulted by the flood of perfume Ava is wearing. It reminds me of the way my grandmother would try to hide her body odor with the strongest perfume she could find. Somehow, I doubt Ava’s natural scent could be anything but delicious, even if she seems to want to cover it up. “How long have they been together?”
“Oh, um, it’s new. She says it’s not serious.”
As if she knows we’re talking about her, Emily tilts her head and smiles at me over her shoulder.
“What are we whispering about?” Knox slides up on my other side with the confidence of a man who’s just finished looting a yacht. Tan, relaxed, probably hiding at least three secrets beneath his flotation device. He’s a very attractive criminal.
“We were judging everyone’s life vest technique,” I answer, gesturing to my flotation sausage.
“So far, Declan has an angry scuba dad vibe,” Ava says, turning back to study Emily and Declan with a smile a little less genuine than it was before. “And Emily is doing a nice lost tourist from Kansas.”
“The pretty doe eyes truly sell it,” I add.
“Love that for her.” Knox chuckles as he slings his arm over my shoulder, our life vests bumping together. I have always craved touch, especially from alphas, so I melt easily into his side, despite having only met the man a little over an hour ago.
“Heard there’s a limbo contest on deck five later,” Knox says. “Loser has to eat one of those weird lukewarm shrimp cocktails from the buffet.”
“I will accept that challenge. But what will I get when I win?” I give Knox a flirty eyebrow wiggle.
I don’t have a type exactly, but Knox is the kind of guy I’ve gone for in the past. Confident, funny, flirty. His bad boy charm is, well, charming.
“Huh, it can’t be anything too good, cause I’m pretty sure I’m gonna lose against a bunch of athletes like you.” He gives Ava an appreciative look, gaze traveling up and down her body.
“I’m not playing.” She tries to cross her arms over her chest as best she can in her flotation device before giving up and rolling her eyes.
“Oh, come on. You’re not gonna show me how low you can go?” Knox winks at her, while bumping his hip against mine. “There’s pretty much no chance you’ll be eating shrimp. My hips weren’t made for bending backward. They were made for awkward shuffling, pretending to be a good dancer, and leaning casually against things with smoldering eyes.”
“Why bet when you know you are going to lose?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“The fun of the game.” He releases his arm from my shoulder and gives me a quick slap on the ass. There’s nothing sexualabout it, just playful. But it has my mind conjuring all kinds of wicked things. Who can blame me? It’s been far too long since I’ve had sex, and now I’m surrounded by four of the most attractive people I’ve ever met who must pretend to be my pack.
“It’s time for theemergencydrill.” The cruise lady cuts in, voice sharp and too loud. I think she saw the ass slap. Great emphasis is placed onemergencyin case we didn’t feel the full threatening weight of dying lost at sea in our flotation sausages. “You will find your muster stations on your keycards. You’re required to report and check in.Allmembers of your party.”
She pauses to make direct eye contact with us.
“We are very responsible,” I assure her, flashing my most charming grin.
She doesn’t blink. Doesn’t smile. Nothing.
Cruise lady needs something frozen and blended with a little paper umbrella in it to lighten her up.
A horn blares loud enough to startle a few nearby seagulls. Ava gives an adorable little jump that makes her wobble on her stilettos. The group scatters to our muster stations as quickly as a mass of cruise ship patrons can, given half the boat is probably already daydrunk.
I pull out my keycard and compare with Ava. “Looks like we are together. Lucky you.”
“Or cursed.”
“I am choosing to believe this is destiny. Maybe we will get a private tutorial on lifeboat deployment.”
“Or they put us all together because we’re in the same pack, remember?” She reminds me of our story, but I haven’t forgotten. I’m enjoying our game of pretend. This isn’t the pack I thought I’d be here with—we aren’t a pack at all—but I find myself liking this little group Emily has introduced me to.
And I very much enjoy trying to coax out Ava’s smiles.
Emily and Declan fall in with us as we move toward our muster station. A salty breeze kicks up, carrying the scent of sunscreen, fried snacks, and a faint whiff of someone’s body odor. I eye the hairy-backed man in front of us, the likely body odor culprit.
Betas don’t have the same overwhelming presence to our scents the way alphas and omegas do, but I wish I could smell something of Ava. Instead of just that overpowering perfume. Maybe it would be too difficult to scent her even without it. She’s a beta, and there are a lot of people around. Especially with Back Hair desperately in need of deodorant.
