Page 50 of Love on Deck

“So. Why did you bail on our date?” he pushed, his breathing coming faster. Clearly the man was exerting extra energy keeping us both above water.

“You know.” I closed my eyes, letting the sun wash over me, my arms around his shoulders. One of his arms held me tight, but the other was working to keep us afloat, and I pressed my hand to his deltoid, feeling the muscle move.

“No, I really don’t.”

I peeled my eyes open. He looked serious. “Does making out with a waitress in the hallway of the restaurant mean anything to you?”

He went quiet, his mouth dropping open. Ocean water went inside and he turned his head to spit it out. “What?”

“You know what. I don’t date guys who cheat mid-date.”

He cringed. “Is it cheating if we weren’t together yet?”

So he wasn’t denying it. Part of me hoped, the longer I’d spent time with him on this ship, that maybe he would have some reason to explain it all away. He’d been drunk and didn’t realize the waitress wasn’t me. It hadn’t been him, but someone with the exact same shirt, haircut, and jawline. He had a secret twin no one knew about. But his guilty face was taking ownership and it soured my stomach.

His expression morphed into confusion. “Wait, it wasn’t cheating at all,” he said, holding me tighter, like he was going to keep me from running away. “You left before I kissed her.”

“I left because you kissed her,” I corrected.

Jack narrowed his eyes, shaking his head softly. “She was waiting for me when I came out of the bathroom to tell me you’d left. We talked for a minute, and she kissed me, which wasn’t expected. It took me a while to stop her.”

“I saw you guys, Jack. It took a long while.” I considered what he said, though.

He didn’t seem satisfied. “Why would she lie about you leaving?”

“I took a phone call.” It hit me that she’d probably seen me walk outside, but she must have known I was going to return. I was only talking on the phone.

“So she assumed... and then you came back and saw us.” Jack’s eyes turned pleading. “I’m not proud. But I didn’t seek her out. I knew her already—her cousin worked in my office and we’d hung out before. It wasn’t like she was a total stranger. I don’t kiss every attractive woman I speak to.”

My insides turned to sludge. “You were on a date with someone else, though.”

“I didn’t know that. I thought the date had ended.”

That I’d ended it. Could I really be mad he’d moved on so quickly? It stung, for sure.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “It’s the past, and it’s why we don’t have a future.”

He looked at me long and hard. “That’s why you left the restaurant and didn’t return any of my texts.”

“Part of it.” I didn’t want to go into the voicemail bit. Not here. It was too embarrassing. I pushed away from his chest, kicking my legs to keep me afloat. Cold rushed over where his skin had been pressed to mine, keeping me warm. “I think our hour is almost up. I want to see more fish before they call us back.”

“Lauren, wait. We should discuss this.” To his credit, he looked sincere.

“In the middle of the ocean?”

“Back on the ship, then?” he asked. “Please?”

“There’s no point,” I called, swimming further away. “We’re here for Amelia and Kevin. Let’s try to remember that.” I put my goggles on and shoved the mouthpiece in before dunking my head underneath the water, where it became silent immediately.

* * *

I should have listened to my gut. It knew things my brain didn’t. It had a sense all its own, and thus far in my life it had yet to steer me wrong.

It knew fake-dating Jack was a bad idea. Check.

It knew I would start falling for him and end up disappointed. Check.

And it knew an hour without a rashguard in the sun would give me severely burned shoulders. Check.

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