“Yeah. Actually, that’s what I want to talk to you about.” I take a deep breath and down a swallow of my latte. “I’m kind of… concerned, I guess.”
Her eyes go round. “Concerned? About what?” she asks, surprised.
“Well, truthfully, Ser, Penn and I don’t even know each other very well. What if we don’t get along? I mean, we’re going to be stuck in this little closet of a room, basically living on top of each other for a whole week with nowhere to get space from each other!” My voice takes on a slightly high-pitched edge.
She looks at me for a second before snickering and rolling her eyes fondly. “Hunter, I know you haven’t been on a cruise before, but do you actually think you’re going to be staying in a tiny, windowless room like you’re traveling in steerage on theTitanicor something?”
I stare at her. “Well, I don’t know!”
“Okay, honey, here.” She grabs her phone and pulls up a YouTube video labeled “tour of the largest cruise ship in the world.” I watch for a couple of minutes as people ride waterslides, drive go-carts, and zip-line from one side of the ship to the other. There are also photos of several restaurants, bars, and several different swimming pools surrounded by luxurious deck chairs.
I hand the phone back to her with a huff, feeling like an idiot. “Okay, well, I didn’t think we were going to be trapped in our cabin or anything. I know there’ll be lots of stuff to do on board, but you know how I am, Serah. I need my downtime. How’s that gonna happen if we’re constantly in each other’s faces? I mean, I’m not much of a partier, and you know Penn. That’s like his entirething.”
She cocks her head and looks at me curiously. “You really are wound up about this, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes, dammit! That’s why I asked you here! I’m not sure this whole thing is a good idea, honestly. What if we get onto the boat and we can’t fucking stand each other? I mean, I know I can be a little…” I hesitate.
“Rigid? Controlling? Fussy and uptight?” she fills in helpfully, shooting me a shit-eating grin.
“Ha-ha. Funny.” I flip her the bird after first making sure no one’s paying attention to us. “But yeah, you know I can be…that waysometimes. I don’t want to ruin Penn’s vacation by making him feel like he’s irritating me the whole time, especially since he’s the one paying for the entire thing, which, by the way, is also weird. But I also don’t want to feel like I have to walk on eggshells around him because I don’t want to party every night of the week.” I let out a frustrated huff. “I mean, shit, it’s not like I’m even going to fit in at any of the fancy bars or places he’ll want to go. I’m not exactly known for my fashion sense.” I gesture to my regular, tech-industry-standard uniform of ratty jeans and a graphic T-shirt with a random, ironic slogan on it. Today’s T-shirt features a chicken with an arrow pointing to its backside with “Guess What?” above the graphic and “Chicken Butt” below it.
She checks out my shirt and snorts. “Okay, so maybe your wardrobe could use a little glow up before you go on vacation, but I don’t think you need to worry about the other stuff, Hunt.” She takes another sip of her drink. “Look, honey. I know you get anxious when you can’t control things. I get that. And yeah, the dynamics are a little unusual in that he’s picking up the tab for the whole thing, but I know Penn better than you do, and I want you to trust me when I tell you there’s more to him than meets the eye. He wants all of us to believe he’s nothing more than a fuckboy, but I’m convinced that’s not his whole story." She pauses. "The thing is Hunt, even if there’s nothing more to Penn Thompson than the shallow partier we’ve known for years, weknow for sure he’s not an asshole. If you feel like you need some time to yourself, just talk to him. You’re both adults; he won’t mind giving you space to recharge."
“Yeah, you think?” I say, not quite believing her, although I’m surprised at how much I want to.
She grabs my hand from across the table. “Yeah, I know it. And, Hunter, I also know this kind of vacation is something that you would never splurge on for yourself. This is an opportunity for you to slow down for a second. Focus on yourself. Remember what it feels like to have fun. You’ve been laser-focused on work for such a long time. I understand why you do it, but you’ve earned some playtime. Find out what bubbles up when you don’t have an agenda for a while. Maybe you’ll be surprised at what you’ll discover about yourself when you slow down.”
I look at her, surprised. I hadn’t thought of it that way. She’s right when she says I’ve been laser-focused on work since we got out of school. My grandparents raised me to always be productive. I was never allowed to just sit around doing nothing, and those habits have stuck with me. I rarely allow myself to just…be. Maybe Serah’s right. Maybe I’ll discover something new about myself when I slow down for a few minutes.
Chapter five
Penn
“Good afternoon from the flight deck, ladies and gentlemen; this is your captain. We’re gonna have you on the ground in Fort Lauderdale soon, so if you need to get up one last time, please...” The crackling sound of the plane’s PA system fades into the background as, below us, the sparkling turquoise water snuggles up to the pristine white sand on the stunning Florida beaches. My stomach rolls as the plane does a slow turn over the ocean, and perfect rows of blue umbrellas providing shade to cushy lounge chairs lined up on the beach seem to call my name, making me wish I had booked a few extra days in Florida.
Hunter hasn’t actually said it, but it’s obvious that he’s a nervous flier. The poor guy’s been white-knuckling the armrests for the entire trip. We haven’t chatted much, and when I have tried to start conversation, he’s only given me short answers. He’s definitely more tightly wound than usual today. Deciding this isn’t the right way to start our week together, I take charge of the situation.
“So, you said you’ve never been on a cruise before, but have you been to Florida?” I ask.
He forces a smile. “Nah. I haven’t traveled all that much. Just for work, mostly. Never been to anywhere tropical before.”
“Okay, well, we need to switch seats, then,” I say, unbuckling my seat belt and reaching into his lap to undo his.
His eyes grow so wide I can see the whites around his dark irises, and he sits up straight as a board. “What? Why? What are you doing?” He stammers, his chest rising and falling quickly.
“You need to sit beside the window so you can see! It’s so beautiful,” I say, pulling on his arm as I bite my cheek to suppress my smile. He's so cute, which is something I never thought I'd say about Hunter. Reluctantly, he gets up, and we quickly switch seats.
“Oh, wow, you were right. It’s gorgeous,” he says a few minutes later, his nose nearly pressed to the window. He keeps his focus on the view for the last half hour of the flight, and I mentally pat myself on the back for finding a way to distract him from his nerves.
After grabbing our luggage, we snag an Uber to the hotel, and I can’t help but notice Hunter’s wide-eyed appraisal of our surroundings. When I booked this trip, I was pretty sure Jeremy was “the one,” or at least I was trying to convince myself he was, so I spared no expense. The high-end hotel is only the first taste of luxury on the menu this week.
Once we’ve checked in, the concierge walks us to our room, which is one of the villas located across from the main hotel building. They’re connected by a sky bridge over the busy street, which is open on the sides but covered on top, so the soft ocean breeze reaches us as we cross over several lanes of traffic below.
Once Marcel, the concierge, opens our suite, Hunter heads straight for the huge wall of floor-to-ceiling windows leading toa roomy balcony facing the miles of white-sand beach and bright blue ocean beneath us.
“Whoa,” he murmurs as he steps onto the balcony. I smile, and after thanking Marcel, I get the bellhop to put my bags in one bedroom and Hunter’s in the other. A vision of what it would be like if we were sharing a room flickers across my mind. Falling asleep tangled together in the huge expanse of bed to the soundtrack of the waves crashing against the shore.
Jesus Christ, where did that come from?Fantasizing about Hunter Davies isn’t on the agenda this week, even if he does have that adorable, frumpy nerd vibe going on. Nope. This week is about me and trying to figure out some of my shit. I’m not going to let myself get distracted.
