He shook his head. “First time for me, too, remember?”
I grinned and looked back at the dock. Then started to bounce when I realized that the dock was getting further and further away from the side of the boat.
“It doesn’t even feel like we’re moving!” I gasped in amazement. “Do you think it’ll be like this the whole time?”
That question was aimed toward Tobias, but the older lady answered instead. “This is smooth, but then again, you’re in a very good cabin. The one you got, which is the one we always pick, is in the very center of the ship, both side-to-side and top to bottom. This is the cabin that will be the least susceptible to the waves or any wind we have.”
“Ahh,” I said again. “That’s awesome. Did you mean to get this cabin?”
Tobias shook his head. “No. I just told the woman that was booking the reservations that I wanted to be somewhere that wasn’t going to make me puke the whole time if the boat started rocking. She was very adamant that this would be the best cabin on the ship. Which you already know since you came with me.”
He looked at my pointedly.
“It really is,” the old lady agreed. “This has the biggest balcony, too.”
I looked around at our balcony, and then at the one directly below us.
“Imagine that,” I said. “You’re right. Why do you think this balcony is bigger than the others?”
She shook her head. “No clue, but this is what we get each and every time we set sail.”
I nodded.
“Come on,” Tobias said, grabbing my hand. “I want to go to the buffet.”
I rolled my eyes and watched as the dock where we’d boarded the ship disappeared from sight. “It was nice meeting you,” I told the lady. “My name is Audrey.”
Her smile was infectious. “You too, dear. My name is Della. You and your husband go enjoy eating. I’m sure we’ll see you again.”
I didn’t correct her ‘husband’ comment. Instead, I walked to the door that was closed behind the man who was slowly starting to take hold of my heart, and opened it.
Stepping through, I once again took stock of the room. “This is tiny,” I commented.
He grunted in response as he reached into his bag and withdrew a pair of shorts. “Let me change really quick, and we’ll head out. It’s fucking hot as balls in here right now.”
I hid my smile and presented him with my back, once again taking in the water which was all that I could see now.
I heard his belt clink as he undid his pants, and I felt a shiver tear up my spine.
This man, with his insistence that he was going to ‘get me out more’ was slowly tearing down every wall that I’d erected, and building them back up behind him as he did.
He was protecting me while, at the same time, offering me the freedom I was slowly coming to realize that I needed.
All these years, since the day I was assaulted and raped, I’d been hiding from myself and from life. I’d been doing everything I could to protect myself and, in the process, found myself not actually living my life.
I’d finished school and gotten a job, but I then buried myself so deeply into that job that I didn’t have time to do anything but work, eat and sleep.
These last few weeks with Tobias forcing me to do things without taking no for an answer was eye opening. It made me see exactly what I was missing, and the realization was overwhelming.
I had been in hiding, and I didn’t have plans to come out.
Or hadn’t, until Tobias forced me out of my comfort zone.
“Done,” he said. “You want to change, too?”
I thought about it, then shook my head. “No, I’m okay.”
He looked down at my jeans and three quarter sleeved t-shirt and then shrugged.
“Okay,” he said, picking up his wallet and the ID card that was now our lifeline on this boat. Anytime we wanted to buy something—a drink, a souvenir, an excursion or a spa service—this ID card would be used for payment. Of course, the card was linked to Tobias’ debit card, so it was unlikely that I would go buy things willy nilly.
Well, unless he pissed me off, that was.
He turned on his heel and walked to the door, opening it and gesturing for me to precede him.
“After you,” he drawled.
I bit my lip to keep from smiling and walked quickly to the door and through it, as I waited for him to close the door in the hallway.
“It feels better out here,” I muttered to him. “Do you think we could leave the door propped open to let some of that cool air in?”
He grunted. “No.”
Just that. One word to my question. No.
I rolled my eyes and started down the hallway, only for him to grab me moments later and gesture to the side with his hand.
That was when I saw the stairs. “Are you kidding?”
He shook his head. “Nope. There are three thousand people on this boat, darlin’,” he answered. “And all of them are going to be heading up to the fuckin’ buffet.”
“Hmm,” I said, eyeing the stairs. “Well, let’s go.”
I took the first four flights without problem, but by the time we got to the fifth, my thighs were screaming.
“You’re killing me,” I wheezed, seeing him already at the top landing holding the door for me. “I can hardly draw a breath!”
He rolled his eyes. “Maybe while you’re here with me, we’ll workout. Work on those puny thighs.”
I looked down at my thighs, then up at him. “They’re not puny. They’re fat.”
He snorted. “Those legs are anything but fat. They’re shapely, yes, but they’re not fat. Have you ever heard the saying ‘thick thighs save lives’?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He hummed as we made our way out of the stairwell and straight out into the pool area. “Wow,” was all I could think to say.
“Three thousand people on board this ship. Three hundred of them are officers and their spouses. The other twenty-seven hundred of them are people over seventy,” he commented.
I couldn’t disagree with him. Every single person we passed on the way to the buffet in the corner was an older man or woman. None of them were under the age of sixty.
“They did say this was a nicer boat. Maybe the other cruise lines are a little more geared toward the younger crowd. That boat we saw as we pulled out had a water slide on top of it,” I pointed out. “And maybe these people were just priority boarders. They just got on and settled faster than the rest of us. Maybe they just haven’t made their way up here yet.”
He grunted something indistinguishable in reply, and I held my tongue as we made our way, following the masses, who all had the same plan to get food, into the dining room where the buffet was housed.
My mouth twitched when I saw Tobias stiffen.
There had to be at least three hundred people in the large room, but he didn’t say a thing as he grabbed a plate and made his way through the buffet tables where dish after dish was set up and waiting.
I chose a few rolls, some sliced beef that was served by a guy with a chef’s hat about three feet tall, and a scoop of spaghetti in meat sauce.
“That’s all you’re getting?”