1
Naomi
“May I offer you something to drink?”
The lucky bride and groom paused their whispered conversation and looked in my direction with huge smiles on their faces and their eyes glistening with the love that they had for one another.
“The violet-layered drinks are called cosmic Champagne cobblers,” I said, motioning to the flutes with flashing ice cubes that made the alcoholic beverage look like a space battle. “If you’re looking for something non-alcoholic, the pink and orange beverages are called solar burst because they abruptly change from sour watermelon to a sweet pink lemonade flavor and are packed with a caffeinated kick.”
“They both sound good.” The bride laughed, licking her lips as she clutched her groom’s arm. “Why choose between the two when I can have both?”
“Do you think you’ll be able to handle both?” the groom joked, chuckling as he wrapped his arm around her waist, making her squeal. “You’re going to need all of your energy for what I’ve got planned for us tonight.”
“Ohhhh... Really?” She tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned into her new husband’s embrace. The bride squinted her eyes. Her red-stained lips curled into a devious smirk as she gazed inquisitively at the lucky male. “Who said I didn’t have something in store for you?”
“Only time will tell.” He leaned in closer, pressing her body against his while smirking mischievously and bouncing his brows. “They say you can’t hear screams in space.”
“But you can’t breathe either,” I deadpanned and flinched, immediately regretting my snarky remark. “Neither of you need to be concerned about that.”
I needed to stop correcting others, especially when I was on the clock. The last thing I needed was to get reprimanded and forced to work a less dazzling job behind the scenes away from the guests. I had worked too hard to get this lavish bartending position, beating out many others who would have given anything to travel the stars on theStardancer, the first space cruise ship.
“I apologize; I should not have said that.” With a bright smile on my face, I tilted my head and jerked it toward my pre-made mixed drinks sitting neatly on the countertop. “Sometimes my mouth speaks faster than my mind can keep up. Please take whatever you want.”
“Don’t worry, hun,” the bride reassured, reaching for a flute with a violet-layered drink and raising it to her lips. “There is no need to be embarrassed. I do it all the time.”
“You’re downplaying the truth, love,” the groom teased as he kissed the top of her forehead. “You’re forgetting to mention that your mouth tends to get you in trouble, especially when you’re pissed off.”
“Hey!” The bride elbowed her new husband and gave him a glare. “You always said you liked how feisty I am.”
“More along the lines of what you can do with your—”
Gasps suddenly filled the air, drowning out the music.
With the instincts formed from dealing with rowdy guests at my previous bartending jobs, I leapt over the countertop and landed gracefully on my heels, thanking my mother for forcing me to take all those ballerina classes my entire life. Without missing a beat, I stepped in front of the newlyweds, shielding them with my body because I didn’t want their first night to be ruined by some loud and obnoxious guests.
They’d have to go through me before ruining the magic of their wildest dreams, because I was living through the bride, knowing that I might never get the chance to meet someone and marry on a space cruise like this.
My mouth fell open in shock at the source of the problem.
The dancers had come to a halt and looked out the window, revealing a nefarious fleet surrounding us.
Screams of dismay erupted over the loud murmurs of the guests.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” the bride muttered in disbelief. “This had better be some kind of special effect. We’re being pranked, right?”
“Don’t worry, love—”
Bright green missiles erupted from the vessel, striking our cruise ship. Everything shook as I almost fell over in my high heels and came dangerously close to colliding with the newlyweds.
My world suddenly felt like I was on top of a volcano about to erupt, shaking constantly on uneven ground, unsure of what was going on or where to go for safety.
The patrons screamed. Most scattered around the room, looking for a way out, while others were frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights, their gaze fixed on the fleet firing at us in disbelief.
I’d seen enough space movies and shows to know that shit was about to hit the fan.
The floor shook more than a cruise ship in a hurricane. I abandoned my initial efforts to protect the newlyweds, knowing there was nothing I could do to protect them from this unexpected emergency.
We were under attack for some unknown reason, and the happy newlyweds’ wedding day had just taken a turn for the worse.
