“What?” I ask.
“It’s rare to see you with your hair down these days,” he says. “You’ve even had it in a bun to sleep. I’m not sure how your scalp can take it.”
“Worried about my hair’s health, are we?”
“It just looks ...” He trails off.
“Frizzy. Or it gets in my face. It’s okay, you can say it.”
“Berry, it looks beautiful. It always has.”
I feel a heat that has nothing to do with the weather rush through my body.
“It’s just in the way.”
“Fair enough. You used to wear it down more when we were younger. Before Rob.”
I close my eyes, hoping that I can keep my face straight. “He made a comment about it once or twice.”
“Asshole,” he mutters. “You know you can do what you want, right?”
“I do. And that’s why it’s down right now.”
“Good,” he replies. “It’s gotten so long.”
This should be casual, but it doesn’t feel like it. I know Nate’s eyes are still on me, and I hope he’s staring right at my hair. I don’t know why I want him to, but it’s satisfying.
I let him watch me and I settle in. Slowly, I relax.
There’s no telling how much time passes, but Nate lets melounge. It might be the first time I’ve truly felt calm on the whole trip. I’m pretty sure that I doze off a few times.
The sun eventually moves and I can feel it burning my exposed leg. That’s when I finally sit up.
“This is nice, but I don’t want a sunburn.”
Nate has laid back too, covering his eyes with his arm. “Ugh. Ten more minutes.”
“What time is it anyway?”
“No idea.”
I hum and pull out my phone. It’s late in the afternoon.
“Hey,” I say. “Do you know when the bus is supposed to leave?”
Nate slowly moves his arm with a frown. “Um, no.”
“Do you know when the ship is supposed to pull away from the dock?”
“Four, I think.”
Slowly, I turn my phone around. Nate and I share a moment of panic before we scramble off the ground.
chapter eleven
Getting backto the ship is chaos. But Nate thrives in chaos, so somehow, we manage it. It’s still at the dock when we both tumble out of the taxi he hired, and we make a run for it.
“Made it,” he says. “Just in time.”
