Love's Call (2 page)

Liana stood behind Alyssa in the buffet line, inspecting the rows and rows of endless food. She had always been a person who enjoyed eating, and was never a woman who picked over her food.  
That’s at least one good thing that will come out of this trip
, she told herself,
a huge selection of good food.
 A smile slowly formed on her face when she saw the creamy mashed potatoes, which as a southern girl, was one of her favorite dishes.

The voice behind her shook her out of her thoughts. “Like being in heaven isn’t it?”

She turned to see a pair of the sexiest eyes that she’d ever seen on a man, looking back at her. The slight slant in the corners of his heavy eyelids and the deep brown hue of his eyes gave him that bedroom eyes appearance that she knew was one of her weaknesses. She then noticed that the rest of his handsome, chiseled face was just as striking as those eyes of his, and she found herself stammering over her words. “Uh...you...you mean the food?”

Kyle laughed. “Yea, the food.  A man could hurt himself in here.”

She wanted to kick herself for letting this man catch her off guard, and she quickly pulled herself together. “True. This might be the best thing on this entire trip.” She grabbed a plate and began to scoop a healthy serving of the mashed potatoes she’d been eyeing.

Kyle followed behind her, now interested in the meaning behind her statement. “You mean to tell me you’re looking forward to the food more than the exotic locales and scores of single men to choose from?”

She scoffed, and said, “I’ll take food over a man, any day,” as she piled green vegetables on her plate.

“Surely, you don’t mean that.”

Liana looked back at him with a look that indicated just how much she really did mean what she’d said. He raised his hands in a defensive gesture. “Okay, okay, I believe you,” he said, and walked off to check out the seafood selections on the other side of the room. Kyle knew when to take a hint, and it was clear that she was a woman who didn’t welcome advances.  But he couldn’t understand why she was on a singles cruise, since it seemed like the last place she wanted to be at that moment.

When he’d come down to the dining area, the first thing he had done was scan the room, looking for the most appealing and attractive women there. It wasn’t long before he’d seen Liana and had zeroed in on her. He’d remembered her and her ordeal with her luggage as she’d boarded the ship.

But, he realized, he hadn’t noticed her curvy, hourglass frame, when he’d first seen her earlier that day. Now, however, he could clearly see her figure from across the room, and when he’d approached her and saw the smile light up her face as she looked down at the buffet spread, he was sold on her being his first conquest on the cruise ship.

But after the way that she’d rebuffed him, he was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to be worth the extra effort, especially considering there were plenty of other women who were much more eager to actually enjoy themselves on this cruise, and do what it was designed for--meeting other singles.

Liana was grateful that he’d left her alone so quickly, and hadn’t tried to keep up the small talk.  Or worse, tried to flirt and latch onto her. She was trying to keep a low profile on this cruise and the last thing she needed was a tag-along. She was hoping that she could at least get a chance to do some shopping, check out the activities at the ports of call and enjoy some relaxing poolside and beach lounging.
And nowhere in there, is there time for running behind some man,
she thought.

Liana finished heaping her plate with food, and moved toward the dining tables.  A member of the wait staff, a smiling man with a kind face, approached her. “If you tell me your name, I can assist you with your seating assignment.”

“Liana Harris,” she replied and watched him turn to a laptop on a raised counter behind him.  He scrolled down the screen, found her name and said, “Right this way.” Liana followed him to a table on the far end of the room, and noticed that Alyssa had already been seated.  She was surrounded by four men, who undoubtedly had been assigned as their tablemates for the duration of the trip.  

But when Liana recognized the face of one of her new dinner companions, she cursed quietly to herself. It was the guy from the buffet line.
Boy, this just keeps getting better
, she thought and thanked the attendant after he’d shown her to her table.  She reluctantly took the only seat available--next to Alyssa but directly across from “Bedroom Eyes.”

When she glanced up at him before taking a seat, he flashed her a silly half grin.  She quickly directed her attention downward and opened the folded napkin which held her silverware.

Kyle snickered at her dismissal of him.  He was starting to find her difficult nature amusing.  
Damn, she’s a tough one
, he thought as he watched her shovel food in her mouth.

Alyssa, evidently already acquainted with their tablemates, took it upon herself to do the introductions.  She pointed to them as she spoke, “So Liana, this is John, that’s Lloyd, this is Duane and that’s Kyle. Guys, this is my friend, Liana.”

They all muttered their greetings and Kyle waited until everyone had spoken before he addressed her. “Hello, Liana. Pleased to be able to make your acquaintance.”

Liana nodded. She kept her eyes down and stabbed at the food on her plate, taking a bite.  With her mouth full of food she could only mumble in response, “Mmm…”

He shook his head at her stubborn refusal to even look at him.

“Kyle, Lloyd and Duane all flew out together from Atlanta, and John here,” she motioned to the man sitting on the other side of her, “is from Tulsa.”

She heard one of the men ask, “Are you from Houston also?”

Liana looked up from her food to see that Bedroom Eyes/Kyle was speaking to her. “Yes, I am.  Born and raised.”

“So it should have been a quick drive here for you both.”

Liana nodded and turned her focus back to her meal.

Alyssa spoke to all of the men at the table, but her eyes were trained on Lloyd, who was seated in front of her. “Have any of you gentlemen ever been on a singles-themed cruise like this before?”

Lloyd returned her intent stare with one of his own and replied, “Duane and I have, a couple of years back.” He reached out to pat Kyle on the back, and said, “But this will be a first for Kyle here.  We’re celebrating his recent divorce.”

Lloyd’s last words caught Liana’s attention and she looked up to see Kyle’s reaction to what his friend had said. She noticed a slight flinch and sudden stiffness in his demeanor.  But just as quickly he reverted back to his previous, relaxed self. He flashed a smile at her when she looked up at him, and once again, she averted her eyes as she picked up the glass of water in front of her and took a sip.

Liana did her best to tune out the conversation and small talk of her excited tablemates.  It was quite obvious that everyone here seemed eager to get the cruise started, while she was ready for it to be over.
Just seven days,
she told herself.
Seven days, and I’m done, and not doing this ever again.

Though she wasn’t looking forward to this trip at all, she was determined to find something to keep her preoccupied while she was there. She’d paid too much money and had taken too much vacation time, not to.

But she knew that whatever she did, it wasn’t going to involve throwing herself at a man. It seemed Alyssa, however, was already in the process of doing just that. She looked over at her friend, giggling away at something Lloyd had said to her. She reached out and patted his hand in a playful gesture. Liana watched Lloyd’s face. She knew that face.  It was the “I’ve got this one in the bag,” face that she’d seen on other men, many times before. She sucked her teeth and looked around the dining room.

As she viewed the elaborate decor--from the crystal chandeliers to the deep red, thick tablecloths, to the brilliant lighting and the numerous windows lining the sides of the room, she couldn’t hide her awe at the luxurious space.

But her eyes ceased their survey of the room when she noticed Kyle’s eyes on her. He seemed to enjoy studying her, she noticed. She frowned, crinkling her brow before resuming her examination of the dining area.  She tried to ignore Kyle’s gaze by distracting herself with the view of the gentle waves outside of the window next to their table. She allowed herself to become swept up in the way that the rhythmic motion of the waves matched the movement of the ship.

Alyssa’s voice broke her trance. “Are you up for that tonight?”

Liana realized that everyone’s eyes were on her, waiting for her answer. She had no clue what they were asking, nor the last topic of conversation.

“What...huh?”

Alyssa asked, “Do you want to go to the meet and greet and karaoke tonight?”

“Oh. Um...I don’t know…”

Alyssa cut her off and turned back to address the table, “We’ll be there.”

Alyssa said goodbye to the men as they rose to return to their rooms to freshen up before the evening’s events. Liana turned to Alyssa. “What are you doing?  You know I don’t want any part of this.”

“You aren’t going to go this whole trip ignoring everyone here, are you?  Come on, Lia.”

“Karaoke night?  Really? What have you gotten me into, Alyssa?”

“No one said you have to go up there and perform.  Just sit back and enjoy watching everyone else make fools of themselves, okay?”

“You’re hopeless, girl,” Liana told her. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t get too attached to that Lloyd character, either. You’re all over him.  But you know most of these dudes here are after one thing, ‘Lyssa.”

“Oh, here we go again,” Alyssa said, raising her hands in the air in exasperation. “Can we please just drop the ‘All men are dogs’” routine, just for this week? Please?”

“But you do this every time, Alyssa. You latch onto the first man who shows you a tiny bit of attention and you run with it.  And they see that, and use it to their advantage.  You know this.”

“Okay, okay,” she relented. “If I promise not to
latch
onto Lloyd, and just enjoy the trip, will you do the same?”

Lia grew quiet.  She didn’t want to make any promises that she couldn’t keep.  But she figured the least she could do was attempt to have a good time.  “Okay, I promise.
But
don’t expect me to go chasing any of these men.  I don’t have to do that to have a good time.”

“Alright, alright,” she rose from her seat, and Liana followed suit. “Just be open, okay?”

They walked out of the dining area to head back to their room to change and prepare for the night’s events.

Kyle sat at the bar in the lounge area, enjoying the mellow music that echoed throughout the room. Duane had already worked the room and settled on spending the evening with a tall, red-headed, green-eyed woman clad in a skintight red dress. Kyle watched him, leaning in close, his hand on her thigh, as he spoke in her ear.
He’s laying it on thick
, Kyle thought and searched the room for Lloyd.

When they’d first arrived in the lounge, Lloyd had moved around the room, meeting and greeting as many women as he could.  But when their tablemates, Alyssa and Liana had arrived in the lounge, he noticed Lloyd had drifted their way.

Lloyd was now seated next to Alyssa at a table she shared with Liana. They both seemed to be caught up in their conversation, while Liana sat across from them, with a bored expression on her face.

Kyle wasn’t exactly sure why a person would choose to come to something like a singles cruise if they had no interest in meeting other singles. But he wasn’t one to force himself on any woman.  If she wanted to be left alone, so be it. There were plenty more women here, and he looked over and noticed one to his left, a few seats away from him at the bar.

The petite woman gave him a smile when his eyes met hers.  He nodded to her, rose from his stool and walked over to the empty seat next to her.

He motioned to the stool, “This seat belong to anyone?”

“It does now,” she said and turned her body to face his when he took a seat.

“I’m Kyle,” he said and extended a hand to her.

She shook it and said, “Tiffany.”

“Tiffany.  I like that. I’d like to buy you a drink, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

Kyle called the bartender over, “I’d like to get this lovely lady more of what she’s having.”

“So Tiffany, where are you from?”

“Ohio.”

He raised his eyebrows.  “Wow, you came a long way to make this singles cruise.”

She nodded, “Yeah, but when I heard B. Brice mention it on the radio a few months ago, I knew I had to get here for this. Where are
you
from?”

“Atlanta. Why are you over here by yourself, Tiffany? You come alone?”

“No, I’m here with my girls over there.”  She pointed to two women who were in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with a couple of guys. “So, what do you do, Kyle?”

“I’m Vice President of a software company in Atlanta.”

Tiffany’s eyes lit up and she inched in even closer. “Oh?”

He nodded and took a sip of his drink.  He figured that would get her attention. He’d found that most of the women he met perked up when he mentioned his job title. But it had grown tiresome, and he’d learned that attracting women who were interested in his bank account usually didn’t end well.

He continued making small talk, but his interest in her had begun to fizzle.  When he tried to talk to her about his interests outside of work and current events, she was hardly able to keep up her end of the conversation.  

Tiffany had become visibly uninterested as she now sat, facing the dance floor, moving to the music and barely engaging with Kyle. Kyle saw it as his cue to exit. “Well, Tiffany, it was really nice meeting you.  But I’m going to join my people over there.  You enjoy your evening, and maybe we’ll cross paths again later.”

“Ok, sure,” she said, and slid off of the barstool. She hurried over to join her own friends at a table across the room, anxious to tell them about the lame dude she’d just met at the bar.

Kyle approached the table and saw that Alyssa and Lloyd were enthralled in their conversation.  He looked over to see Liana seated, moving her head slightly, to the rhythm of the song.
He noted that she actually seemed to be a little less uptight and finally relaxing a bit.  But not completely, because she still looked as if this was one of the last places she cared to be.

Kyle took a seat beside Liana.  She looked over when she heard the sound of the metal chair legs scraping the floor. When she saw that it was Kyle who was taking the seat next to her, she gave him a forced smile, and turned back to watch the passengers on the dance floor.
As fake as it was, at least it was a smile
, he thought.
We’re making progress.

“How are you tonight, Ms. Liana?”

“I’m just fine,” she said, without looking at him.

“I can see.  You seem to be enjoying yourself now.”

She shrugged, and continued bobbing her head to the song that played over the surround system.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?”

She turned to face him, now curious about what this man she didn’t know could possibly want to ask her. “I guess not.”

“Why are you here?”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s pretty clear that you don’t want to be here.  I just think it’s a bit odd that you would come on a trip where you’d be confined to a boat with hundreds of other singles that you don’t want to have anything to do with.”
 

She was completely caught off guard by his question, but found herself snickering at how well he had been able to read her.
Am I that bad?

“Okay, you figured me out. I don’t really want to be here on this ship.”

Kyle’s face showed his confusion. “So, why would you come then?”

“You know, I’ve been asking myself that same question since I got here.” Liana pointed in Alyssa’s direction.  Her friend, still talking excitedly to Lloyd, was oblivious to the fact that she was the topic of Liana and Kyle’s conversation. “My good friend over there, is why I’m here. We take a girls’ trip every year. But the girls’ trip usually turns into a hook-up trip. And this year, she just dropped all of the pretense and at least owned up to what our trips really are, by dragging me along on her singles cruise.”

“But were you forced here?”

“Not literally, but I might as well have been.  I never feel like I can leave her alone to her own devices.”

“So, you’re Alyssa’s security guard, then.” His statement made her laugh, and Kyle smiled when he saw her genuine amusement.

“Maybe in a way, I am,” she shrugged.

Kyle looked down at her nearly empty glass. “Well, since you’re here on duty, I guess you won’t be able to accept if I offer to buy you another drink.”

She nodded.  “On or off duty, I don’t accept drinks from men.  I don’t drink, anyway--at least not alcoholic beverages.”

Kyle raised a curious brow, “Really?”

“Nope. Never have, and don’t plan to start tonight.”

Kyle kept his eyes on Liana as she scanned the room, watching the other passengers.  
This woman,
he thought,
is getting more and more interesting by the minute.

The music stopped abruptly and they heard a man with a silky smooth deep, radio voice say, "Good evening, good evening folks.”  The room erupted into cheers when they recognized Branson Brice at the center of the room, microphone in hand.  He waved at the crowd, acknowledging their applause and then made a gesture encouraging them to quiet down so that he could address the guests.

The noise in the room died down and he continued, “Y’all are looking good tonight. I’m glad to see so many of you here, for our first annual Sexy, Grown Singles Cruise.”

The thunderous applause began again and Branson waited for the noise from the excited guests to quiet down to a low rumble. “Yeah, I like that enthusiasm. Keep that up, and we can make this trip epic. And along the way hopefully you all will get to meet a few friends and maybe even a few of you will leave with something more than a friendship but this time next week.”

Several guests shouted and whistled, but Liana groaned and rolled her eyes.  She wasn’t falling for the hype that Branson Brice was attempting to build up for the cruise ship passengers. An amused grin curved Kyle’s lips when he saw Liana’s reaction.
If nothing else, she’s consistent.

“And to kick this off tonight we want to have karaoke night to break the ice, and maybe find out a bit more about your cruise mates. We might get to showcase some undiscovered talent in here before it’s all over. Any volunteers?”

The previously rowdy guests now hesitated.  Kyle looked around, and noticed no one seemed particularly eager to volunteer, and he stood up to approach Branson at the center of the room.

Liana’s eyes grew wide when Kyle moved toward the dance floor. She couldn’t believe he was really going to do it. But she had to admit that now she was curious to see what he could do, and hoped he didn’t make too much of a fool of himself.

“Alright, looks like we have one taker,” he said, “Anyone else?”

Slowly, more volunteers rose and trickled forward, toward the center of the room. “So, if all of the volunteers can line up there,” he pointed to an area next to the center dance floor, “We can get our first one started.”

Branson motioned for Kyle to come to the floor and Kyle leaned over to speak to him.  Branson nodded his head and went over to the man who was operating the television screen where the karaoke lyrics scrolled. He shook his head, indicating that the lyrics wouldn’t be necessary and the karaoke operator shrugged his shoulders. The operator then began a search for something behind his equipment

Kyle walked over to a piano located in the back of the room and took a seat on the bench.

“So, it looks like our first singer won’t be needing the lyrics. I think we have a pro here,” he joked into the microphone. The operator placed another microphone inside a stand atop the piano.

Kyle ran his fingers along the piano keys, warming up. Random shouts from eager women filled the room.  Liana laughed and shook her head.
Here we go
, she thought.
If he’s too good, these women are going to go crazy in here.
And I’m sure that’s just what he wants.

She leaned forward, put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in one hand.  She was pretty eager to see this show too.  If nothing else, she could get a good laugh at the spectacle.

Kyle stopped playing and paused.  
A dramatic pause
, Liana joked to herself, and waited with the rest of the crowd while Kyle let the tension build.  He then began to play the first few notes of a familiar melody.  She sifted through her mental memory bank in an effort to recall the song he was playing.

It seemed several other people in the room had already guessed the song, as many shouted out, and hollered their recognition of the tune.

Some sang ahead, anticipating the words to the song, while occasional shouts of, “Play that” and “Ooh, that’s my song” could be heard from the spirited audience.

Kyle continued to play the music from the Brian McKnight song,
One Last Cry
, and one quick glance around the room showed Liana that the women there were like putty in his hands.  
And he hasn’t even sung one note yet,
she thought.

Finally, Kyle gave the anxious women what they’d been waiting for, as he sang out the first lyrics of the song. “My shattered dreams, and broken heart, are mending on the shelf…”

And it was all over from there, as the women screamed and shouted like crazed groupies.  
Damn,
Liana thought,
you’d think it was Brian McKnight himself singing in here, with the way these women are behaving.

Alyssa moved her chair over to Liana. “Lia….he can blow can’t he,” she exclaimed.

“He’s not bad,” she said. But in truth, she was mesmerized too, and didn’t want to talk to Alyssa, for fear of missing out on his performance. She just wanted to hear his rich, buttery toned voice sing out the vocals of the song.