Page 12 of Not that Sea-Rious
Focus.She had things to consider here.The rooms were booked with the expectation of two people, minimum, occupying them.Which meant the likelihood he traveled alone was slim.Who went on a cruise by themselves, anyway?He had to be withsomeone.A friend?Maybe.Men took trips like this all the time but usually they stuck together in a pack, doing stupid tests of masculinity.At least, that was what was always depicted in movies.It wasn’t like she had any firsthand experience.Though, his solitariness begged the questions.Why was he by himself at the roulette wheel?Whom had he traveled with?
Hopefully, no one important.
“Did you want to meet up with your roommate?”she asked, hopeful they were a buddy.Maybe he was with his friends or family or something.Anyone but a wife or girlfriend.A boyfriend wouldn’t bode well for her either.
Then again, if he was with someone in that way, wouldn’t they have shown up at the roulette table looking for him by now?He’d been with Marissa and her friends for hours at this point.
Maybe she,or he, was sleeping it off.
Eying Beau, she considered the possibility, but she didn’t get the vibe he’d leave someone who was blackout drunk unattended.There was a positive aura about him.Her gut told her he was a decent dude.
Well, either her intuition or the martinis.She couldn’t be sure.
As her mind raced with the possibilities, Beau broke into her thoughts.“I’m by myself.”
Wait.What?How?Why?
She cocked her head, picking up on a bit of sorrow there.Narrowing her eyes, a new set of wonderings ping-ponged in her brain.She chose to keep them to herself for now.The admission seemed to bother him, and she didn’t want to ruin the mood.
“Would you like to get another drink?”he asked, gesturing down the hall.“There’s a really cool piano bar just outside the casino.”
Grinning, she nodded.“Yeah.That sounds fun.”
Beau
Truth be told, Beau wasn’t ready for the night to end.Sure, their party had been cut down to two, but he enjoyed this feeling.It wasn’t him wallowing in self-pity as he drank toward liver failure.He actually got to laugh.Marissa was good company.
Why would he want to return to his lonely, somber existence, where all he could do was replay walking in on Megan and Jordan?Nope, this distraction was far better and probably healthier.
As they strolled toward the piano bar, the two of them discussed music and what songs they’d like to hear.Mutually, they’d decided no Billy Joel or Elton John.Nothing was wrong with either of those very talented musicians.Beau and Marissa just wanted to hear something a little different.Maybe they could challenge the guy behind the ivory.
They sat at one of the small tables across from each other and looked over the drink menus.
“Did we want to stick with chocolate martinis or mix it up?”she asked.
Beau lifted his brows in intrigue.“What did you have in mind?”
Hiding her face with the menu, Marissa lifted a shoulder in a half shrug.“I don’t know, something fruity.Chocolate is good and all, but I think a palate cleanser is in order.If you’d like a beer or whatever, I totally understand.”
Smirking, he leaned over the table to get closer to her.“I’m going to tell you a secret.”
She glanced around as though someone else even cared about their conversation before she, too, extended her body over the table.They were inches from each other, and he got an up close and personal view of golden flecks in her rich brown irises.Her beauty captivated him.
“I don’t like beer,” he admitted in hushed tones, feigning shame by lowering his head.“I know.Hops and barley are supposed to be my thing.”
Falling back in her chair, she let out an exaggerated gasp and held a hand over her chest, clutching her nonexistent pearls.“Sir,” she declared.“Without beer, how do you have testosterone?”
Meeting her playful gaze, he grinned.“Oh, if you’re worried about that, wait until I inform you I don’t follow sports either.”
After another intense sharp inhale, Marissa flailed a little.As she purposely sputtered, he could tell she stifled a laugh to remain in character.
“Are youeven a man?”The challenge in her tone hinted at something else.The gleam in her eye and the smile playing on her lips enticed him.
She was flirting.Shit.So was he, but it looked a thousand times better on her.
“Would you like to find out?”His response fell out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about it.This game was fun, and he wanted nothing more than to play along.
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