Page 36 of Not that Sea-Rious
“Are you going to buy the first round?”she asked Beau.
He chuckled.“Absolutely.”
With a nod, Tina grinned.“You have my blessing for your first date.”
Date?Marissa’s eyes bulged, and she sputtered a nonsensical response.Date?Did she saydate?Why would she think that?Swimming with water mammals wasn’t a—
Oh holy hell.It was.How in the hell had she missed that?
Everyone peered at her, Beau included.
“Are you alright?”he asked.
“It’s not a date,” Marissa blurted through an anxious laugh.“It’s simply an activity—something to do while we are in Mexico.That is all.It’s not a date.”
“Okaaaayyy…” Carolyn drew out her response, but her tone clearly echoed the group’s skeptical sentiment.
Marissa was being weird, but she couldn’t stop it.So, the next best thing was to pretend her anxiety and odd reaction wasn’t happening.Stepping away from him, she headed for her clothing.Grabbing the first bathing suit and cover-up she could find, she whirled around, still chuckling.Her cackle bordered on maniacal at this point.
“We don’t have to go,” Beau offered.“I could either do it myself or—”
“No.No.No.”Marissa waved her hand as she passed him and headed for the bathroom.“I said I’d join you, and everyone agreed it’s a great idea.It’s not a date.I just need to get ready.Besides, we’re burning daylight.”
Before anyone else could say anything and she could earn more odd looks, she disappeared into the bathroom.Dropping her items on the floor, she gripped the sink and peered at her reflection in the mirror while she hyperventilated in private.
Adate?
Had she really agreed to adatewithout even realizing it?
No.She said she would swim with dolphins with him.That wasn’t adate.It wasn’t a romantic dinner or anything.This was an excursion—an activity specific to the island that she couldn’t do in New Jersey.She said she would join him during an experience.This wasn’t anything more than that.Her friends were only busting her balls.Everything was fine.A bunch of people would be there too.
This wasn’tsomething.She needed to stop overthinking this.Obviously, Beau wasn’t making it a big deal and her friends were just teasing her.
After she flicked the faucet on, she bent forward and splashed water on her face.
“Relax,” she whispered to herself.“Get out of your head and just enjoy what is going on around you.”
22
Beau
Thatwasawkward.Marissa’sreaction wasn’t what he expected.Then again, he hadn’t really thought of his offer as a date either.Though, on the outside, he had to admit the optics were there.He couldn’t argue with it.
This cruise was full of surprises.He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing on this boat, but he couldn’t turn back now.Marissa’s friends were polite enough not to stare at him as they busied themselves with packing for their day in Mexico.
“Marissa says you’re from Florida?”Joyce said as she rubbed lotion into her arms.
“Ilivethere, but I wouldn’t say I’mfromthere,” Beau answered, thankful for the polite conversation.“I’m definitely not aFlorida man,” he joked as the jingle by Sarah Hester Ross played through his mind.
The women snickered, and in that moment, he realized this was the first time he’d been with them sober.Over the past two days, when they’d crossed paths, everyone among them had been in various stages of intoxication.He wondered how different they were without a few drinks in them.
Hell, how different was he?
The bathroom door opened, and Marissa returned to the room wearing a calm expression and a smile.At least she didn’t look as frazzled as before.He’d forfeit the cost of the dolphin experience if she changed her mind.He wasn’t about to hold her to a post-sex commitment.
When she crossed his path, he reached out for her, and she paused, meeting his eyes.“You don’t have to go if you aren’t feeling it,” he whispered.“It’s not a date.I merely had an extra ticket.”
Her smile grew, and she patted his cheek, and his hand fell away from her arm.“I know,” she said.“But I want to go.It’s not every day a cute guy asks me to swim with dolphins in Mexico.”
