Page 53 of Cocky Cruiser

After dinner, we went back to the suite since neither of us was in the mood to participate in any of the ship’s activities. Instead, we decided to pack and get everything ready for disembarkation.

As we packed, the tension in the room was thick, and I hated the awkward silence between us. Clearing my throat, I spoke to break it, “Hey, don’t be so down. We still have one more day in paradise.”

“Yeah.” Adele scoffed. She started packing more aggressively, roughly shoving clothes in her suitcase. After about a minute, she asked, “How is this so easy for you? Aren’t you going to miss this?”

My gut clenched. I knew she was referring to us, but I played dumb because I didn’t want to talk about it. “Of course, but we can’t stay on the cruise forever.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, the anger evident on her face. “That’s not what I mean, Cohen, and you know it.” She slammed her suitcase shut and stood. “Just forget it.”

Then she stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Fuck, I didn’t want our last night together to end that way or for our last day together to be awkward because Adele was angry with me. I followed her into the bedroom and heard the shower running.

Adele was standing at the sink, gripping the counter tightly. She looked up at me in the mirror when I came in, and the sadness in her watery eyes made my chest ache.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want things to end like this.”

I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her. “Please don’t be upset with me. I’m just not good with goodbyes.”

Her eyes softened, and her body relaxed in my arms. She turned to face me and returned my embrace. “It doesn’t have to be goodbye.”

My stomach tightened. I didn’t want it to be, but it was best for her. She needed more than what I could give her.

Pulling back a little, I tipped her chin up so that she was looking at me. Then I softly kissed her, hoping it would end any further discussion that could lead to another argument.

Thankfully, she kissed me back, and within seconds, the natural chemistry between us ignited. We stripped our clothes off, then I picked Adele up and carried her into the shower, hoping to wash away any lingering troubles from our argument.

Chapter Seventeen

Iwoke up with a pit of dread in my stomach. We were disembarking the ship that day, and that meant the end of my fantasy with Cohen.

And even though we’d made up in the shower after our argument the night before, I still felt like things were unresolved between us. Cohen avoided any serious conversation involving us after the cruise, so it seemed things would remain unresolved unless I pried it out of him.

And if it really was our last day together, I didn’t want to spend it fighting.

Our last excursion was a full day at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Honolulu and ended with an authentic Hawaiian luau in the evening. I was glad I still had a full day with Cohen before the end of my vacation of a lifetime.

As we did one final check of the suite to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind, I sighed. My eyes pricked with the burn of tears, but I fought them back.

“Everything okay?” Cohen asked as he wheeled my luggage to the door.

A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to tell him how I felt. We needed to talk about what was going to happen between us once the cruise ended. Instead, I echoed my sentiments from the night before. “I’m just not ready for this to end.”

Our eyes met, and he held my gaze for several seconds. Neither of us said anything, and I wondered if he picked up on the underlying meaning of my words. He’d played dumb the night before, so even if he did, I knew he wouldn’t address it. Cohen avoided confrontation like the plague.

His lips turned up in a lopsided grin. I wanted him to agree with me; for him to say that the cruise wasn’t the end, it was only the beginning for us. But instead, he replied, “We still have today. And it’s going to be a great day.”

My heart sank, but I forced a smile. “Yeah. Let’s make the most of it.”

After we left the suite, we went to have breakfast in the main dining room instead of the buffet like we usually did. Technically, we didn’t have to be off the ship for a couple of hours, and I was definitely not in a rush, so we took our time.

Once we finished eating, we made our way to the disembarkation area, where there were several lines for the passengers to exit the ship into the cruise port.

“I figured we could rent a car for the day so we don’t have to lug our stuff around everywhere we go,” Cohen said.

“That’s a good idea,” I agreed.

“We can Uber to the airport, get a rental car, then head over to the center.”

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