Page 50 of Not that Sea-Rious
Her stomach fluttered from his confession.Who wouldn’t be flattered by the guy they crushed on admitting his feelings so genuinely and authentically as he just had?He’d laid his heart on the table.What the hell was she going to do with it?
“I-I have to admit, I have no idea what to say,” she said.
He nodded and lowered his gaze while releasing his grip on her.
“Don’t get me wrong.The last four days have been a whirlwind of alcohol and good times.I would love to keep on riding this wave, but I don’t— It’s not realistic.I’d love it to be, but I just—”
“No.No.You’re right.”He offered her a weak smile.“I don’t know what I was thinking.”He lifted his glass.“Probably too much of this.”
Which was a lie.Out of all the nights they spent together, he drank the least and ate the most during their dinner date.He was sober.Which made this conversation so much worse.He had every one of his faculties.She had hers.He spoke from the heart, and she shot him down.
When he brought the glass to his lips, tipped it, and filled his mouth with the rest of the wine, Marissa’s heart sank.She didn’t want to reject him.
“I’m trying—”
He waved a free hand before returning the empty vessel to the table.“Seriously, don’t worry about it.I only wanted to be honest with you, and I was, and you were with me.”
Frowning, she slumped in her chair.This wasn’t how this evening was supposed to go.They were meant to laugh, flirt, and end the cruise drunk as hell in his bed, exhausted after a plethora of orgasms.Talking about anything beyond this evening wasn’t a part of the plan.
Lifting the small menu, he focused on that.“So, dessert?Yes or no?That apple something or other is calling my name.Did you want indulge before we head to the piano bar for karaoke?”
32
Beau
Thatdidn’tgoasplanned.Beau had screwed everything up.He and Marissa had enjoyed a fantastic long weekend aboard the cruise ship.Then he went and ruined it by talking about what would happen when they disembarked.
Rookie mistake.He’d been out of the game for too long.Being honest this early was never good.He knew better.If there was any potential for life after the boat, it was gone now.All because he couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut and overshared.
What was he thinking?
Obviously, he hadn’t been.Now he’d made a mess of their—what the hell was he supposed to call it?A situationship?Maybe?Whatever they were doing, he’d ruined it.Their last night together and things were awkward as hell.No amount of daiquiris or martinis was going to fix the vibe between them.He probably should excuse himself after dinner.Maybe he could say the food didn’t sit right with him or something.
She’d see through that lie.She was smart.They’d had the same meal, and it was divine.She’d never believe he’d gotten sick from it.He had to roll with the rest of the evening regardless of how uncomfortable it would be.It was only a few hours.He’d endured worse for longer.Like that root canal he had last year, where the dentist hadn’t given him enough Novocain.
Yeah.This was totally the same thing.
He was such an asshole.If he could, he would’ve crawled under the table or chucked himself out of the window to drown in the endless ocean.Unfortunately, for both of them, he had to remain for the silent dessert.
Why had he done that?He was an absolute moron.
As he ran through the gamut of possible excuses he could tell to get out of the rest of the evening so he could lock himself in his cabin for the last few hours of the cruise, the two of them boarded the elevator.
Keeping his head down, he counted the minutes before they could part ways.He could say he hadn’t already packed his bags for the porter to take.That wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.It was a lie, but he could still claim it.
“Listen.”Marissa turned toward him, interrupting his internal rehearsal of the fib.
Holding his breath, he braced himself.
“I don’t want the last few hours we have together to be like this.It’s too weird and doesn’t do justice to the time we shared.”
That seemed like a good opening, so he slowly exhaled.He nodded.“Me either.”
“What you said in there was so honest and beautiful.I panicked.Which was wrong and unbelievably not remotely what I feel at all.”Marissa’s words came fast and high-pitched.
The urge to soothe her anxiety prickled in his arms, but he stood still and waited for the “but.”It had to be coming.No one came off an uncomfortable conversation like they had without using those three letters.He only hoped whatever she’d say wouldn’t make him want to crawl out of the nearest porthole.
“You live in Florida.I’m from New Jersey.I’m going back there next week.So, yeah, in theory, we could keep this going for another few days because I’ll be sticking around.”She took a deep breath.“Listen.I’ve done the long-distance thing before.It’s never panned out, and I know you can say that no relationship works out until you find the one that does.”
