Page 28 of Love on Deck

“Tonight?”

“Always.”

“I’m guessing the hot water here is unlimited, like everything else.”

“It’s a matter of how long my hair takes to dry.”

His eyes flicked to my hair. “You can’t twist it to death into that knot thing while it’s wet? What difference would it make?”

Knot thing? Twist it to death? My style was perfectly sleek and presentable. “There’s nothing wrong with my hair.”

“Not if you’re trying to channel the Trunchbull.”

Literally the image used in any meme to demonstrate a bun done wrong. “Thank you, Mr. Charmer.”

“You don’t look bad—”

I slid from the stool. “I’ll stop you there before you say something even worse. I’m going back to the room to shower. Give me an hour at least.”

He recovered from his surprise and looked at the time on his phone. “I have to stay here for another hour?”

I leaned in—too close, because now I could smell his delicious cologne—and whispered. “Maybe you should have considered that when you disappeared for the last hour.”

His face tightened. “I just needed a minute.”

“And now I’m giving you sixty more. You’re welcome.” I started to walk away when Jack took my hand and spun me back toward him, sliding his other hand around my waist and pulling me close. He still sat on the stool, and I was nestled right between his knees. My hands went up and pressed against his shirt on impulse, feeling the hard planes of his stomach. “What the—”

“Sydney’s coming this way. Can your shower wait five minutes?”

At this point, it needed to. I couldn’t move. Jack’s hands were tight on my waist and clouding my thoughts. It had been so long since anyone held me like this, the pressure soft but sure, like he was gently laying claim to me. “Since she’s the whole point of this, do I really have a choice?”

He smiled victoriously. “Nope.” His smile wavered. “For the record, I consider this necessary touching.”

Sydney barreled up to the bar. She leaned against it and giggled. “You guys coming to dance?”

She asked both of us, but her eyes were on Jack.

“We’re not really feeling it tonight,” I said.

Sydney pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.

“We can do one dance,” Jack said, his hands moving subtly to my back.

Panic tightened my gut. “I can’t dance, though. I really don’t think—”

“Just one, snookums? For me?” His puppy eyes were vastly effective.

I fought the allure, but it just wasn’t in me to deny puppy eyes. Or break our agreement. “Just one. But then I need to go to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

Jack’s hand dragged down my waist, finding my fingers. He pulled me through the throng of unsteady cruisers to the center of the room where the lights flashed and my sister and her friends were grouped, Sydney following close behind us. She joined them seamlessly, dancing close enough that there was no way she wasn’t pressing herself against Jack, though the darkness made it hard to see. All around me, people danced with abandon.

I didn’t know how to exercise abandon. I was pure spreadsheets and sharpened pencils and clear, concise order. Chaos made me dizzy and uncomfortable.

Amelia looked surprised to see me but tried to cover it.

I tugged on Jack’s hand. “This is a bad idea.”

“Let your hair down!” he called, yelling because the music was so loud. The DJ had imposed a techno beat behind the classic 90s songs, making them easier to dance to for today’s clubbers.

---