Page 2 of Total Ship Show

“Why are you looking at Dove like that? What’s wrong?”

When he doesn’t answer right away, I know exactly what’s wrong.

My shoulders fall and my stomach turns. “You’re not going, are you?”

He winces even more.

“Shit! Joaquiiiin,” I whine. “Why? You promised you would go!”

He places his hand on mine and looks between Dove and me. “Because I think I found the girl of my dreams, Amiga.” His expression teeters between elation and guilt.

Dove gasps. “Is this about Camila?”

“Si.” He nods, his cheeks reddening. “Things have been great with us and the other night we…” He looks at me and I know exactly what he’s going to say.

“You slept with her.”

He nods.

“Took you long enough,” Dove says with a smirk as she chews on another fry.

Joaquin smiles. “Hey, a good guy is respectful and pays attention to what his girl wants.” He shakes his head, looking guilty once again. “Anyway, she wants me to come with her to a party her family throws every year and there was no way I could say ‘Sorry I’ll be on a love cruise with another woman’, even if she is one of my best friends. Lo siento, Adrienne.”

I see it in his face. He really does feel badly, but I can’t let him feel that way for long. We’ve been friends for way too long to let actual good news come between us.

“Hey.” I smile, squeezing his hand and smoothing my other hand across his arm. “What kind of friend would I be if I wasn’t excited for you and Camila? You’ve been pining after her for weeks now. It’s high time you get the girl and chase your happily ever after.”

“You sure you’re going to be okay?”

No.

“Yeah.” I nod and grab for my drink, taking a hearty sip. “I mean I could hold auditions really quick, right? I have a week. Maybe some super-hot starving actor of a guy is out there just waiting to go on a week-long cruise with me to the Caribbean and pretend to be head over heels in love with me.”

“It could happen,” Dove agrees.

I gesture to her. “See? Even Dove thinks so.”

She shakes her head. “Mm, nope, not really. I think you might be a fish out of water with that idea. I was just trying to make you feel better.”

If looks could kill, she would’ve died just now.

Lucky for her, I love her. She’s my best friend.

“Well thanks for the vote of confidence.”

She’s probably right though. Trying to come up with a completely fake story with someone I don’t know all so I can look like I’m happy and in love is a shipwreck waiting to happen.

“So, what are you going to do?” Joaquin asks.

I take a deep breath and chew the last bite of my sandwich. As if it’s been the plan all along, I raise my chin and make my declaration. “I guess I’m going on this adventure by myself. Can’t be that bad, right?”

Dove’s brows raise as she looks to Joaquin. “Have you ever taken a trip like this? On your own, I mean?”

Shaking my head, I grab my sandwich wrapper and the rest of my trash. “Nope, but all I have to do is get myself to New Orleans and it’s not like I’ve never flown before. I can handle that. Once I’m on the boat I’ll just…” I shrug.

Dove’s eyes narrow. “You’ll just…”

“I’ll just tell the girls my live-in boyfriend won a starring role in a foreign film and had to fly to Paris to meet the producers.”

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