Page 3 of Key Lime Kisses
I stopped in my tracks, halfway to the donation table, and groaned at the sound of my brother’s voice.
“My schedule cleared up and I was able to make it after all!” Pete said eagerly, winding his way through the crowd to me. “Have you found some to bid on?”
“Yeah,” I lied, forcing a smile.
“Which ones?” I could tell from his tone that he saw right through me.
“The uh… that one,” I said, pointing.
Pete leaned over to read it and then glared at me. “You’re bidding on a date with another omega?”
“I meant that one,” I said, spotting the word alpha on the tag of what just happened to be my favorite kind of pie. “The key lime.”
Pete chuckled, then took a look. “A Sunday brunch cruise, that sounds fun!”
Actually, itdidsound fun. Minus the date part.
“Yeah,” I said. “I hope I get it.” I didn’t hope that at all.
“Me too!”
I got it.
The alpha who baked the key lime pie wasn’t there, which resulted in lower bids since people wanted to see him. Thanks to the watchful eye of my brother, I bid several times, careful not to jump the bid up too high. But the fourth time I bid, nobody else stepped up.
Soon, I was walking back to my car with a key lime pie and an upcoming date.
At least the pie was delicious. Maybe a little heavy on something, cinnamon maybe, but not so much it ruined it.
~~~***~~~
Like all things that you're not really looking forward to, the big day came all too quickly and soon I found myself standing on the gangway, waiting to board. To my surprise, the boat looked like some huge ocean-going cruise ship. I couldn’t believe it was going to sail around the lake for a couple of hours.
In fact, I suspected it was used as a cruise ship sometimes, I could see what looked like private balconies lining a couple of the decks. It would have been nice to be on a private balcony and away from him from the crowd. As I studied the people around me, wondering if one was my date, I noticed several had large suitcases. Maybe some had the option of staying longer after the brunch. I did a cruise years ago and some of the passengers had left halfway through and new ones had arrived.
I gave them the ticket that had come with the pie and they printed out a plastic card for me. They handed the card back with my ID, and a map of the ship, with directions to brunch. I felt awkward trying to put everything away with people waiting behind me, so I scurried to the side and juggled everything into one hand while pulling out the paper from the auction.
Meet for brunch on the Upper Deck dining area, at the back of the boat.
Off to the top then. Confident I could remember the meeting spot, I glanced at the map, then tossed it and the paper from the auction into the trash, before tucking my ID back into my wallet.
The ship was so big I got a little turned around, but found a couple of tablets mounted to the wall with maps pulled up. Eventually I found my way to a staircase. I rounded a couple of landings and was about to go up again, when I spotted a fancy glass sign on the wall that saidThe Upper Deck. Beyond the door next to the sign, I could see what looked like a restaurant. I almost wished I hadn’t seen it, might have been nice to wait for my blind date in the wrong place and miss it altogether.
Too late now. As much as I would have loved to skip it, I wasn’t going to ditch some poor alpha on purpose. I headed into the Upper Deck and looked around; it was a huge room, lined with windows. If it weren't for the fact I had to spend the evening with someone, this would have been a really nice time.
I headed to the back where I was supposed to meet my date and stopped near a stage, keeping an eye out for anyone who looked like they were looking for someone.
After a few minutes with no luck, a young woman in a waitress uniform came up, holding a tray of appetizers.
“Deviled egg?” she offered.
Well, I couldn’t say no to those! “Please,” I said, taking one.
“Do you have a table yet?” she asked me. When I shook my head, she gestured around. “You can go ahead and sit anywhere.”
Perfect. I thanked her and looked around. I spotted a table for two in the back corner, right by the window; exactly what I was looking for. Now I would have a wonderful view of the water and I could see the entire room and scan for my date.
A waiter came by with another tray of deviled eggs. Without a date to worry about impressing at the moment, I grabbed two and quickly popped one into my mouth, whole.
