Page 41 of Never Been Shipped

“Definitely,” he said, then hesitated. “Are we good?”

“Great,” she said, and now it had to be obvious how much she was overcompensating. Her voice sounded unnaturally high. She knew John heard it, too, because he frowned at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “for—”

The last thing she wanted right now was one of John’s fucking apologies. “Seriously, we’re great,” she said. “And don’t be sorry. You were the one who said sex didn’t seem like a good idea. I was the one who pushed it. Like I said, I was feeling horny, and now I’m less horny, so…yeah. I’m great. What about you?”

He was still looking at her, like he didn’t believe her. “Great,” he said finally, and she couldn’t tell if he was answering about his own state or just responding to her babbling characterization of her own.

He stood up then, and for a second she thought he’d give her a hug goodbye. Her body tensed, anticipating it,cravingit, but he seemed to clock the tension and read something else into it, because he just shoved his hands in his pockets.

“We’re due for shuffleboard soon,” he said. “And I should probably—”

He’d need to change clothes, if nothing else. She remembered the way she’d ground against his jeans only minutes before, and willed her gaze not to drop past his waist. She’d also completely forgotten that the shuffleboard tournament had been scheduled for midnight, which was undoubtedly supposed to be part of theNightshifters-themed fun but now just seemed like poor planning to have to participate in a sport they didn’t know how to play on a dark, cold ship.

“I’ll see you out there,” she said.

“Great,” he said, and that was fast becoming one of her least favorite words. She watched him as he went to the door and opened it, the quick glance down either side of the hallway reminding herOh yeah, maybe we don’t want anyone to know that we did this. She waited for him to glance back at her one last time, had the smile she’d give him all prepared, but he didn’t. He just walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Chapter

Nineteen

Surely on alist of sexiest sports, shuffleboard would be somewhere near the bottom. And yet John was still so turned on, he could barely follow a single word of the instructions the cruise director was giving them about how to play the game.

At the last minute, they’d told Ryder and John they would be the two representatives from ElectricOh!, playing against Tatiana Rivera and another cast member fromNightshifters. John had assumed Micah would be playing in his place, so he was caught unprepared—shifted suddenly from being in the background to being in the hot seat. He sought out Micah among everyone gathered for the tournament, trying to figure out if the change had come from her or from up above.

She was still wearing the Elvis shirt, although she’d thrown leggings on underneath it, and then an oversized cardigan that covered the whole outfit. Her hair was back in the braid she’d had it in post-shower. The whole look should’ve been too casual, maybe, borderline sloppy, but Micah had a way of making anything look stylish and purposeful. Still, John found himselfwondering if that was always what she’d planned to wear. Somehow he didn’t think so, and then he didn’t know if there was any significance to that. She had to know at this point he would have a Pavlovian response to that fucking Elvis shirt.

He should’ve stuck around her room longer. He’d felt theWhat does this all mean?swirling around his head, and the more time she stayed in the bathroom, the more he started to doubt he actually wanted the answer to that question. When she’d emerged, she’d been fully, unapologetically,gorgeouslynaked, and it had taken his breath away. Not just the sight of her—although, Christ, thesightof her—but the fact that he was seeing her that way at all. It felt profound, somehow, sacred. He’d felt momentarily unable to speak.

Then she’d made that crack, which he supposed had answered the question he’d never asked.

This was exactly why he’d known it would be a bad idea, to give in to the temptation to be with Micah. For her, it had obviously been an impulse, something she wanted to do so she did it.I was feeling horny, and now I’m less horny, so…For him, it had opened a Pandora’s box he’d kept so tightly locked away. And he didn’t know if he could get everything back in that box. He didn’t know if he wanted to.

It took a moment for John to realize that Ryder had come up to stand next to him, and that he’d been talking now for a couple minutes.

“Sorry, what?”

Ryder sighed, flicking the hair out of his eyes in a practiced gesture. “I know we’ve all had our differences. But Frankie and Steve say they could be in, depending on what it would look like. A limited run, probably. Dates in a few major cities. Maybeone of the big festivals. There’s that one in Vegas, it’s all nostalgia—”

“Wait,” John said, still trying to catch up. “Are you talking aboutgetting the band back together?”

“Why not?” Ryder said. “We all agreed that tonight’s show went off without a hitch. Just like old times.”

There were a lot of hitches in the “old times,”John wanted to say,you being the biggest one. “And Micah’s into this?”

“Not yet. But she will be, after you talk to her.”

John glanced over at where Micah was standing with Frankie, her arms crossed, her face animated as she said something that made Frankie laugh. The idea that Micah—the same woman who’d walked away from the band in the first place, the woman who only a month ago had saidno rehearsalsbecause that was how little she wanted to spend time with them—would now want to reunite seemed like something to laugh about. And yet John found himself considering it, wondering ifhewould want to do it, if it meant spending time with her again. If it meant they could be on the stage like they’d been tonight, some magical alchemy happening that made them feel bigger than their individual parts, if it meant they could have private moments offstage that would bring them closer again.

He’d say yes forher. He wondered if she’d do the same for him.

The cruise director called for all their attention to begin the tournament. He explained that a member from each team would stand on either end of the court, and Ryder was quick to claim the head end. It was clear that he thought it was yet another way of asserting his superiority, but it backfired when Tatiana chose to be at the foot end with John. He could tell that Ryder wantedto be the one next to the actress, but instead he was stuck with her very handsome co-star whose IMDb credits weren’t as impressive.

“Hope you’re bringing your A game,” Ryder said as they split off to their different ends.

“I’ve never played shuffleboard in my life,” John said. “My game is going to be pass/fail, hate to tell you.”

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