Page 1 of Sail Me to Ruin
CHAPTER ONE
elodie
My pulse skyrocketsas my eyes scan the walls of glass floating in front of us. The panes all reflect the sun like a chandelier glistening, borderline blinding me.
What the hell am I getting myself into...
“It looks like a fucking skyscraper! I thought you said it was a small intimate cruise. Nothing about that ship is ‘small’ or ‘intimate.’” My voice shakes. My knees barely keep me upright; I stop, stunned by the lack of information I was given.
She snaps her fingers in front of my face—“Hellooo...Elodie?”—bringing me out of my head. “Earth to Elodie! Hi, your best friend here! Welcome back!”
The smirk she wears tells me about how poorly I’ve hidden my panic. Throwing her arm over my shoulder, she gets us moving again as we head up to the boat. The back reads ‘Sea Seraph’ in a gorgeous script, adding to the beauty of the cruise ship in front of us.
“You said a small four-day cruise, all inclusive for us to drink and have fun!” I accuse once again, not letting her slither her way out of this one.
Jade and I have been friends for years now since meeting at a new teacher orientation at Bluebell Hollow Elementary School.She is the yin to my yang and one of the few people that can pull me out of my shell.
However, more often than not, she signs me up for things without sharing all the details.
This is one of those moments, as I am figuring out.
What the fuck...
“I don't even know why you’re dragging me on this cruise anyway. I’d be perfectly happy grading papers on my couch this long weekend.” The resignation in my voice is clearly what she needed to hear because she turns to me, beaming.
“Ever since your dad passed, you barely get out. You’ve cancelled our Friday nights out. You don’t date anymore, which for the record, you didn’t do enough of to begin with. Just saying, you know I love you. I had to get you out of the house. Some fun in the sun will do you some good.” Removing her arm from around my shoulder, she interlocks our fingers and keeps pulling me along while chatting away like she didn’t trick me into being here.
“Or maybe just to get dicked down,” she states it so plainly, causing my cheeks to flame at the crass language in front of all the people walking in the crowds around us.
The horrified face of a mother with her family passing us has me popping her arm playfully. “Shhh! It’s not just us here, Jade. Please!”
I send a silent prayer up above to get us through the rest of the morning.
She giggles. “Fine! Anyways, the best way to get over the things in your life is to get under some hot man for a while to forget that shit sucks, babe. It’s just the truth. You need to let loose! To hell with money or school. It’ll all be there when you get back. But here, you’re just Elodie. Not Ms. Callahan. So, let’s enjoy this!” She shimmies a little, adding some pep to her step as we come across a steep boardwalk that leads onto the ship.
I smile, unable to ignore the excitement that has slowly been building inside of me. “I’ll do my best to enjoy this, but you know my natural habitat is curled up with my Kindle, not being half naked on a ship.”
Jade just rolls her eyes as we approach the ship's boarding line.
“That’s fine, babe. Going out of your comfort zone is exactly what you need for a fresh reset.” She giggles to herself as if there is a punchline I’m missing.
Shaking my head, we trudge up the ramp as attendants in crisp white uniforms check tickets, passports, and luggage to make sure nobody is carrying contraband in any way. After a short while, it’s our turn. One by one, our belongings are checked and we’re sent on our way to get settled until the all-hands meeting before we set sail.
We make our way to the escalators and head up to the upper levels to find the suite Jade booked us. She said it has adjoining rooms so we both get privacy. Which supposedly, I am going to need.
I highly doubt anyone will catch my eye for a fling. Most of the men we saw in line were either young enough to sag their pants and wear a letterman jacket with greek letters, or old enough that they might have skin sagging. Maybe there will be some better options when we’re fully on board—not holding my breath though.
Finally, after feeling like a lab rat through the labyrinth of halls, we make it to our room. The doors are all the same, a light wood stain with a small peep hole. Jade takes out her key card and lets us into the space.
As we shuffle through the tight hallway, the floor plan opens up to a small sitting area with two doors off to the side for the bedrooms. Straight ahead is a glass panel wall that leads to aprivate balcony which looks out into the port where we can see other ships docked around us.
Jade’s dad really hooked us up. This is amazing.
Taking in the space, excitement begins to thrum through my veins, sending butterflies to my stomach.
Turning my head, Jade is grinning like a cat that caught the canary.
Oh no…
