Page 17 of Wife Unwanted
The Captain nodded. "Right on." He flicked on his radio and told whoever was on the other end to bring the stranded passengers in.
"What happened?" I asked.
The Captain looked at Carey, but Carey kept his attention on the capsized yacht. "Looks like they hit that rock there," The Captain said. "We've already called the coastguard, but I don't know when they'll arrive."
"Are they okay?"
"I was able to speak to the captain, and he said everyone who was on board is in the boats. There's ten people. Apparently it started sinking in the middle of the night, but they weren't able to contact the coastguard. Their radio only started working until we came along."
"We should help them out." As soon as I said it, I realized how superfluous it was. They were already doing that and didn't need my input. Feeling useless, I went out to the deck to receive the shipwreck survivors. As the lifeboats came closer to the yacht, I saw the captain was right. There were four people on one boat and three on each of the other two. Each boat had a stack of luggage in the middle. Carey came to join me as they were being taken on board. We both greeted each passenger. First the geriatric couple, followed by the boat crew, and finally the captain. Carey led them all to the yacht doctor, because of course this boat had that. While I helped store their luggage safely.
The couple later joined us for the late brunch Carey planned. They were both skinny and tall. The man was willowy with a blond, balding head, the woman swanlike with black hair streaked with silver. They were apoplectic and the man, Arther Bardwell, kept over-explaining himself. "We were on our way back to Santorini when the boat crashed. I shouldn't have overexerted the captain. But I was overexcited. I had planned a surprise, you see. It's our anniversary. I made him steer the ship the whole night. He must have been tired."
"These things happen."
"And now we've ruined your honeymoon!"
I almost choked on my mimosa. "We appreciate the company." I echoed Carey's earlier words. He glanced at me. He was sitting beside me at the table while we sat opposite the older couple. The woman, Mae Bardwell, who had spoken little, chimed in, "You must be enjoying yourselves. Santorini is very beautiful," she said with a distinct Greek accent.
I turned to Carey. To my surprise, he stretched his arm and enveloped it around my shoulder. I froze and let him speak. "We haven't gone to shore yet." The innuendo was obvious.
Arther chuckled. Mae smiled. "Ah," she said, "To be young and in love again."
"Hey!" Arther playfully jabbed his wife. "I am still in love. I don't know about you." They both laughed, clearly referring to some inside joke. Mae turned to me. "When you've gotten to our age, in love means tolerating his silly jokes."
I plastered a smile, my body fully aware of the point where Carey was touching me. It put me off kilter because I'm pretty sure this is the first time he's touched me since we danced together at the wedding. I know he's playacting. He doesn't have to tell me to for me to figure it out, but it unnerved me, nonetheless. The thought of being married to him for as long as this couple had never entered my mind. I cast a small sidewaysglance at him. We would never be as in love and happy as this couple was, and yet I was going to spend all those years pretending that I was.
Mae and Arther were really sweet and fun to be around. The mood of the day changed, and I happily listened to all of Mae's suggestions on where and what to visit on shore, even though I knew Carey and I would never go to any of these places. But just imagining myself on an actual honeymoon with him didn't hurt. Carey with his arm around me walking with me as we did nothing and everything in a foreign city. Wouldn't that be lovely?
Spending the entire day pretending to be a loving couple on their honeymoon was excruciating. Somewhere along the line, we had telepathically decided that this would be the way to go and spent the entire day inseparable. Carey would either hold my hand or my waist. Sometimes he would surprise me with a spontaneous kiss, like he did while we were on the deck in the evening. All four of us were lounging on deck chairs, star gazing while drinking prosecco and talking about nothing, when Carey leaned over to me and kissed me on the cheek. His mouth felt hot where his lips touched my skin, and it took all my strength to not jump out of my seat in surprise. I swiveled my head to him. Mae and Arther were distracted by a constellation they were arguing over. "What are you doing?" I whispered to Carey. His eyes glistened under the moonlight and the deck lights.
He leaned back in his seat but did not remove his arm from my shoulder. He took a sip of his wine, his gaze locked on my face. "What couples do."
I shimmied my shoulders to drop his arm, but he only put it back. "You don't have to do it when they're not watching."
He pouted. "What if I want to?"
My heart slammed against my chest. "You don't mean that."
He lean over and placed his chin against my shoulder. "I've just realized that we haven't consummated our union yet."
I snapped my head to face him and almost bumped into his. "Con-consummated?"
"Make love. Have sex. Fuck."
"I thought you didn't want me." I peered into his gaze, more inquisitive this time. His eyes were bright, his eyelids droopy, his gaze unfocused. "You're drunk."
"And?" As to prove his nonchalance, he took another sip of his wine and placed the glass on my lips. I glanced at Mae and saw her watching us, so I took the sip. It was clumsy and some of the wine ran down my chin. Carey raised his head and licked the drink. My insides trembled. I stifled a moan as he trailed his lips to mine and coaxed them open. I relented. There's no way I wouldn't, not with them watching. Deep down, I knew it was not as if I didn't want to either. His tongue toyed with mine as though this was just another game to him until he delved deeper. I felt a hand pulling me closer to his body, and then the kiss changed. It became rough and desperate. Hungry with a slight desire to hurt. He bit me and I fucking loved it. I drew myself to him and he groaned. My hand went to his head so I could pull him closer to me. Give me more of whatever this drug is.
Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, I heard a cough and a throat being cleared. Reluctantly, he let go of me and I opened my eyes just as he drew back into his chair. A gust of wind passed by and, like a cooling agent, it lowered the temperature of my desire.
With one kiss, I had forgotten we were not alone. Mae was gleefully glaring at us, while Arther's face was beet-red. If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be Carey and I.
"Um," Arther said, standing up, "I think it's time we should go to bed." Mae nodded along and rose just as swiftly. She stretched her limbs and feigned a yawn. "It's been a long day."
Carey untangled himself from me and got up as well. "Let me show you your cabin." And in another surprise move, he took myface into his hands and bent down to kiss me again, saying, "Stay here. I'll be right back, baby."
"Awww," I heard Mae say and felt even more exposed.
