Page 52 of Cocky Cruiser

“No problem,” she replied softly. The hurt in her voice made me feel like an asshole, but I couldn’t get more attached to her than I already was. I couldn’t fall in love with her. One or both of us would end up hurt, and I didn’t want that.

When we got back to the tender area, we decided to walk to the main street in Lahaina to shop for souvenirs and get a bite to eat. Our tour guide suggested a little cafe on the beach that had the best kalua pork on the island, so we decided to check it out.

The cafe was quaint and homey. We decided to sit outside since it was a beautiful day, and they had a patio right on the water.

“This is so nice,” Adele commented, breeze softly blowing through her hair.

Why did she have to be so damn beautiful? I turned my gaze from her to the picturesque scenery. “It really is. I can see why people would want to live here.”

She sighed, her eyes on the ocean. “Maybe one day.”

No matter how much I tried to deny it, I wanted to make Adele’s dreams come true. I wanted to be the one to put a smile on her face and make her moan in pleasure whenever I could. I wanted to be the lucky bastard to wake up next to her every morning and fall asleep with her in my arms every night.

I pushed the thoughts aside. Adele deserved better than me since I wouldn’t be able to love her fully. I wouldn’t hold her back from someone who could give her what I couldn’t, even if it broke me to let her go.

We both opted for the kalua pork since the guide raved about it so much, along with a side of Spam.

“I’ve never had Spam,” Adele commented.

“It’s a staple here. You pretty much have to,” I replied with a teasing grin.

She scrunched her nose. “Canned meat doesn’t sound appealing at all.”

I chuckled. “You never know unless you try it. A lot of things that come out of a can are pretty good.”

She gave me her trademark playful eye roll. “I guess. But you have to take me to that shaved ice place the guide told us about after.”

“Deal,” I agreed.

Our food came out pretty quickly, and I hoped it tasted as good as it smelled. The aroma was mouthwatering.

Adele took a bite before me and instantly moaned in pleasure. “This is so good,” she mumbled with the food still in her mouth.

I laughed. I loved how candid she was. “Guess I better try it then.”

Everything was pretty good, including the Spam, although Adele didn’t care too much for it. As promised, we stopped at the shaved ice place after we finished.

“They have adult shaved ice!” Adele pointed out, hopping in excitement. “And you can add ice cream on the bottom.”

I chuckled. Her joy was infectious, and I enjoyed seeing her so happy. “Get whatever you want, guppie.”

Adele ended up getting their adult banana daiquiri shaved ice with vanilla ice cream. I wasn’t big on sweets, but Adele twisted my arm into trying something, and I opted for their take on a mai tai sans ice cream.

We took our shaved ice to go along the main street. Adele was quiet as we made our way back to the tender area, looking around as she ate her shaved ice.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked.

Darting her eyes to mine, she gave me a sad smile. “Just taking it all in. It will all be over soon.”

I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. I didn’t want to admit how much I was dreading the end of my time with Adele. “All good things must come to an end, right?”

She didn’t say anything for several seconds, and by the look in her eyes, she didn’t agree. I was afraid of what she might say, but when she did speak, she said, “Yeah, I guess so.”

I felt like a jerk. I hated seeing her look so sad and hurt, especially because of me.

At dinner that night, we got one of everything since it was our last dinner on the cruise. “I’m going to miss this,” Adele commented with a sigh.

I’m going to miss you.“Yeah, me too. The service has been great.”

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