Inferno Anthology (54 page)

“What’s the plan now?” Nicole asked, looking at Avery.

I was too busy looking into the mystical eyes of Easton to realize that Nicole was already in lust with Avery.

“Our dinner time isn’t until the late seating…” Avery started to say, but was cut off by Nicole.

“Us too!”

“Perfect, do you ladies want to grab a drink with us then?” he asked.

Easton and I were both looking at each other…but not looking at each other. I caught him stealing glances, and he caught me as well.

“I would like that,” Nicole replied, eyeing me and silently telling me that we were going with them even if I didn’t want to.

“Sounds good to me.” I smiled, looking over at Easton again.

He smiled back with a nod of his head. “Perfect.”

Nicole and I sat in the lounge area, listening to the piano in the background, watching people walk by in awe of the foyer as we waited for Easton and Avery to return with our drinks. They were only a few feet away at the packed bar, and Nicole leaned into me so they wouldn’t hear.

“Avery is fucking hot, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, he’s cute,” I agreed.

“What about Easton? Are you interested in him?”

“Nic, remember Jared, my boyfriend?”

“Whatever,” she huffed, waving her hand to brush off my statement. “Remember, I won’t tell if you hookup with someone—especially Easton.”

“I’m not hooking up with anyone. I’m here to get a tan and a massage and to be your damn wingwoman. So, if I have to sit here and talk to Easton while you and Avery flirt, fine. But I already told Easton that I have a boyfriend, and he was cool with that. I’m sure he’s going to find a
single
chick—not hang around with me.”

“Your loss.” She shrugged. “Easton is much better looking than that loser you call a boyfriend.”

“I know,” was what I wanted to say, but I didn’t. Jared was slender with no muscle and had shaved blonde hair. Easton was cut and had broad shoulders and dark blonde hair that I wanted to grab while his head was buried between my legs. In the twenty minutes that I’d known Easton, I had already pictured him in several different positions.

I’ve never been a cheater and wasn’t going to start now. After Jared’s lack of help while my shoulder had been bothering me, and his flirting at my birthday party, my gut was telling me that I should have ended our relationship. The other part of me kept reminding myself that we had been together for four years, and during those four years, he had shown me that he loved me—he just wasn’t good at it and hadn’t been doing it lately.

Easton and Avery came back with our drinks before I could respond to Nicole. I didn’t know how any of this worked. I figured that once I told a guy that I had a boyfriend, he would move on to the next girl on the cruise—not sit with us and have a drink.

“So, do you two come on single cruises often?” Nicole asked, but only looked at Avery—again.

“No, this is our first time,” he said back.

“Ours, too. I heard we should sign up for activities before they book up. Maybe we should do that after this drink?”

Easton and I both sat and watched them talk. I sipped my margarita and he sipped his beer. I shouldn’t have been drinking because of my medications, but I figured one wouldn’t hurt. Plus, Nicole would tell me to loosen up and have a good time, when in fact I
was
having a good time.

We continued sipping our drinks and making small talk as Nicole and Avery practically made footsies under the small cocktail table. Now that I was paying attention, I saw that Nicole was glowing. I hadn’t seen her react that way to a guy in a long time. She didn’t have that look about her when she was crushing on Mike from work. This was different. Her eyes were twinkling as she talked to Avery, occasionally touching his arm and laughing. I missed that.

Jared and I never experienced that. The night we met, we were both drunk and made out at the party Nicole dragged me to. The only flirting on Jared’s part was telling me that I was hot and then going in for the kill.

The more that I thought about my relationship with Jared, the more I realized that being with him was convenient. Before we met, I was single and lonely. I’d always had boyfriends throughout high school and for a few years afterwards. But when I met him that night, I had been in a dry spell and he had shown me the time of day. Before I realized it, he practically moved in with me.

After months of him paying rent elsewhere, we figured he should just officially move in with me and pay me rent. We had things in common, did things together at first, but lately we were more like roommates than lovers. As I sat watching Nicole and Avery flirt, I felt jealous.

I miss that. I want that. I need that.

I was starting to think that maybe this singles cruise wasn’t a bad idea after all. I wasn’t thinking of cheating on Jared—even though I was daydreaming about Easton, but a girl can look, right?

Being away from Jared was already opening my eyes and making me realize that we needed to talk. Things happen for a reason, and luckily he hadn’t proposed, because now I was starting to think that there was someone better out there for me. Someone who would give me butterflies. Someone who would want to cuddle with me and watch movies on rainy days instead of cuddling with a game controller. Someone who wanted me and not a mother figure to take care of them.

“So tell me why you have a boyfriend but came on a singles cruise again?” Easton asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Oh, um—Nicole wanted to come, so she dragged me along. She tried to tell me it was a birthday present.” I laughed slightly.

“What does your boyfriend think of you coming on a singles cruise?”

“He doesn’t know that it’s a singles cruise.”

Easton raised his eyebrows, giving me a confused look. “Really?”

“Yeah, but it’s not like that. I’m just here for the vacation aspect, not to meet anyone.”

“I see,” he said, nodding his head in understanding. “Maybe you can help me scope out the hot babes since these two won’t be leaving your room anytime soon.” Easton motioned to our friends who were too wrapped up in their conversation to socialize with us.

“Sure. That sounds like—fun.” I hesitated on the word fun, thinking about finding other girls for Easton.

Fuck you, Jared, and my morals!

I kept weighing the pros and cons of meeting Easton and being on the cruise. Part of me wished that I would have broken things off with Jared months ago since I hadn’t been happy for a long time. The other part was telling me to just explore things with Easton and
then
break up with Jared when I got home. Actually, there was a third part of me that kept reminding myself that I had been with Jared for four years and that he did love me and I loved him.

“Hey, we’re going to go sign up for a few mixers. They serve free drinks at those,” Avery said, finally remembering that Easton and I existed.

“Sounds good,” Easton replied, taking my hand to help me stand.

I’ve never had someone offer me their hand before. We were living in a time where men rarely opened doors for women anymore. I saw more women holding doors open for men than I did the other way around.

“Thank you,” I told him for the simple gesture.

“You look—your boyfriend doesn’t do that for you?”

“Um—no,” I said flatly.

“His loss. I would do it every chance I got just to touch you.”

I could feel my face flush. It had been a long time since someone flirted with me. I forgot how simple it could be and how good it felt to be desired.

Easton gave me a knowing smile. A smile that I took to mean he knew he was getting under my skin in this short amount of time. There was something special about him. Something that felt right and like we could be either good friends or amazing lovers.

We signed up for the ten o’clock mixer, which wasn’t long after our dinner. We all walked the cruise ship, looking out at the open sea and trying to determine where everything was.

The pools were on different levels than the rooms, several restaurants and bars were scattered throughout, and the fitness center and spa were on different levels, but connected. I knew I would get lost multiple times a day trying to find everything.

We ended up by the pool, sipping on drinks and people watching. People were all around us; some laughing and drinking while others were already making out and probably on the verge of going to one of their rooms to hook-up.

Nicole and Avery continued their private conversation, and I decided that it was time to get Easton a girl.

“What about her?” I asked Easton, motioning towards a blond sitting alone at the bar near the pool.

“No. She looks frumpy.”

“Frumpy?” I laughed.

“Yeah, you know—frumpy. She’s by the pool with a baggie t-shirt on. Next!”

I laughed at him.
This may be harder than what I bargained for
. “Okay, moving on,” I said, scanning the candidates. “Her?” I pointed to a redhead who was laughing with a group of girlfriends.

“No, her hair is too poofy. If she can’t tame the hair on her head, imagine the hair between her legs,” he said, shuddering with disgust.

I burst out with laughter. “I thought the rule of thumb was that if a chick doesn’t keep her toes manicured or at least clean, then she has a jungle growing between her legs?”

Easton looked down at
my
manicured feet. “That too.” He smiled and we both laughed until I realized he
knew
I kept my hair trimmed.

“Alright, well…maybe we should start by you telling me what your type is then.”

“Well…” he said, looking directly into my eyes. “She has to have brown hair—I have a soft spot for brunettes—green eyes, a killer smile that lights up her eyes and someone who isn’t afraid to drop the F Bomb.”

I groaned silently; this man was trying to get the better of me. Trying to break me down and make me rip off his clothes.

“Really? Is that all? I’ll be on the lookout for her then,” I said with a chuckle.

Before we could have more of the increasingly awkward conversation, Avery and Nicole returned from their walk—or at least that is what they told us they were doing. I didn’t even realize they left our table. They motioned for us to follow them, mentioning it was time to get ready for our dinner.

*~*~*

The boys waited for us to meet them at the lounge bar so they could walk with us to the restaurant. The sun was setting over the endless sea of blue as we approached The Aqua Room, where we would be dining during our whole cruise. All cruises, especially this one, were set up to place strangers at the table with you so that you could mingle. Nicole and I would be placed at a table with two other people that we didn’t know.

At first, I thought the concept was strange, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. They needed to fill every seat, and this way, Nicole could meet more men—unless they stuck us at a table with women.

When we walked up to the hostess stand, Easton and Avery let us go first. We gave the lady our cruise ID cards so she would know what table we were assigned to. The room was beautiful. Aqua carpeting was throughout with red swirls for contrast. An aqua glass divider divided the hostess stand and the main dining area, and strange aqua art with women dancing in circles hung on the walls.

As we followed the hostess, I looked up at the ceiling that sparkled with LED lights. Each tile above them had been placed randomly to give it a look like we were dining under the stars. It was beautiful. There were just a few windows in the room, casting a fiery hue as we took our seats in orange and red checkerboard chairs at a round table in the middle of at least one hundred people who were already waiting to be served. White tablecloths hung on the tables that were graced with white place settings, only to be offset by a beautiful tiny bouquet of orange blossoms.

I took my seat, glancing up at Nicole, only to follow her eyes as she watched Easton and Avery walk with the hostess who was leading them to their table. Easton’s eyes met mine, and I smiled as I watched them come to a stop at our table.

“This is your table, too?” Nicole asked, giving a hopeful smile.

The hostess answered for them. “Yes, these gentlemen have been assigned this table as well. Enjoy.”

“What a coincidence,” Nicole said as Avery sat next to her and Easton next to me.

“Sure is,” Easton said, giving me another smile.

A waiter came and took our drink orders as we looked over the simple menu. Each dinner would include a soup or salad, entrée and a dessert. I eyed the desserts first, seeing that they had Crème Brûlée on the menu. I already knew that I would be getting that, no matter how full I was from dinner, and I would get it every night after if it was on the menu.

I could tell that Nicole was happy that Avery was dining at our table, too. It was almost as if we were on a double date. She laughed at all of his antics, made googly eyes at him and always found a way to touch his arm.

“So Brooke,” Easton said, attempting to bring the conversation back to the table and not just between the two lovebirds. “What do you do back in Boston?”

When Nicole and I discussed that this was a singles cruise, I told her that I was going to have a fake name and a fake career. I’d already told Easton my real name by mistake, and since Nicole was so smitten with Avery, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get away with a fake career. But I was going to fuck with him just a little anyway.

“I’m a doctor.”

Nicole almost choked on her water, giving me a what-the-hell look.

“Really? What do you practice?”

“Gynecology.”

Easton and Avery both choked on their water as I tried to suppress my laugh. Nicole was still giving me a look and I shrugged, not able to hold my laughter any longer. “I’m just fuckin’ with you. I’m a paralegal.”

Easton laughed after he quit choking a little and then said, “Add sense of humor to my wish list.”

Easton

T
his girl.

This girl was going to be the end of me. Who the fuck goes on a singles cruise and is not single? Well, I actually suspected a lot of people did. Some people living double lives, cheating on their spouse, but not Brooke. I could tell she was genuine and sincere.