chapter ten
I don’t wantNate to see it, but the next morning, it feels like I tumbled out of a dryer. That couch is evil and I’m pretty sure it deserves to go overboard.
Nate can definitely tell, judging by the smirk on his face.
Thankfully, he’s not a fool because he waits until I have coffee in my hands to bring it up. The entire walk to the coffee shop, I limp like an old lady.
Yeah, the couch definitely deserves to sink to the bottom of the ocean.
“Having regrets?” his smooth voice asks.
“Shut it.”
“I was trying to be chivalrous and protect you from this. You just had to be stubborn.”
“There’s no way that you didn’t feel it either. You’re like double my size.”
He laughs. “That could be an insult or a compliment depending on the way I take that, and I’m going to take it as a compliment.”
“Yeah, yeah, you don’t get an award for drinking all of yourmilk. And you definitely don’t get one for trying to avoid the question. Is that why you spend so much time in the pool? Be honest.”
“The hot tub may have helped a little. And I’m not as grumpy as you are whenever your back is messed up. I can tell this is killing you.”
There are many things that are killing me. The deck is bright and the ridiculous sunglasses Nate got me are still sitting in my suitcase. I wanted a smoothie, but the line was so long we had to settle for another place. I’ve also not been on a run ever since the first one that we did on the night we left port. And with how my back feels, I doubt I should even try to.
But the main one is that the lingering thoughts from yesterday are still bothering me. I want them out of my mind so I can try to enjoy whatever hell is waiting for us on land, yet they still pop up.
Nate and I are different than we were when we were kids. And it’s ... fine. Or it should be.
But it hurts and I don’t know why.
I’m hoping that being away from our cabin and out on the town is going to help some of the tension that’s growing within me.
“Once we move around, I’ll be okay.”
“Sure, and I’m also sure that a shitty night of sleep is not going to affect your mood at all.”
At the mention of my mood, I glare. I’m eating an omelet I shouldn’t be having after a terrible night of sleep. I’m on the edge. “Do you want to ever see the mainland again? Because it’s starting to sound like you don’t.”
“Testy,” he says as he eats his own food. “But you don’t scare me, berry. You have to be about six inches taller to do that.”
I take a piece of bacon and throw it at him.
“Hey, don’t waste that!”
“I barely even like bacon,” I mutter as I pick it up.
He eyes me as I sit. “Do you want me to tell them to remake it?”
I deflate a little. I had no idea what I wanted, and simply ordered what Nate did. Now I regret it.
“No,” I reply. “I’m not gonna be happy either way.”
Nate’s gaze moves from me to the table next to us. They have a delicious-looking fruit bowl, one that makes my mouth water. I eyed it as we sat, but I hadn’t seen it on the menu.
“Hey,” Nate says to the two ladies. “Where did you get that?”
“Oh, at the convenience shop one deck up,” she replies.
