“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know – I thought you’d be afraid to kiss a girl in public like that. You don’t strike me as the make-out type.”
“Well, you were wrong about me then, I guess, weren’t you?” He smiled to himself.
Sarah could tell that it was alcohol that had emboldened him. His speech was a little bit slurred and he wasn’t walking a very straight line. She was frustrated, but she didn’t know why. Even with the courage from a bottle, he still should have been acting shy and embarrassed; but he seemed perfectly at ease with himself. She hated it when people surprised her.
“I wonder what else I’ve been wrong about where you’re concerned.” She looked at him with her eyebrows raised, sure this suggestive statement would get him all flustered. This would put her back on solid ground with him and stop this silly game he was trying to play.
Jonathan stopped walking and took her by the upper arm. He pushed her gently towards the wall of the hallway they had been walking down. They were well ahead of Kevin and Candi who were still around the corner, now totally alone.
“Sarah, you know what your problem is? It’s that you judged me before you took the time to get to know me. I’m pretty sure you think you have me all figured out, but trust me, you don’t.” He paused to consider his next words. “You can’t get the right answer if you don’t have the correct formula. You should remember that from eighth grade math.”
He leaned in towards her face, breaking eye contact, staring at her lips as he moved closer.
Sarah’s heart stopped beating for a second, then raced to catch up. She was breathing faster, frozen in place against the wall as Jonathan’s face got nearer and nearer to hers. She couldn’t pull away and didn’t want to. It was complete madness.
She wondered what he was going to do.
Is he going to kiss me? Am I okay with that? Yes, I think I am. Why? He’s a total dork!
She closed her eyes and waited expectantly anyway, her lips just slightly parted, her sweet breath passing gently between them.
She felt his cheek next to hers, his lips near her neck. She heard him inhale deeply, the air rushing by and tickling her ear.
What the … ?
He whispered, “You smell nice.” Then he stood up straight, released her, and started walking down the hall again.
Sarah opened her eyes, remaining against the wall for another second, her brain trying to compute what had just happened. She had thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he’d smelled her.
What in the hell was that all about?
“Did you just
smell
me?” she demanded of his back as he walked away. She hurried to catch up to him.
“Yes, I did, and like I said, you smell nice. Really nice, actually.”
“What kind of a weirdo traps a girl in a hallway and then sniffs her neck?”
“I don’t know. A kind of weirdo who likes the way you smell, I guess. And for the record, I didn’t trap you anywhere, you went willingly.”
“I did
not
go willingly, as you put it. You forced me against the wall.”
“Sarah, please, don’t delude yourself. I didn’t force you to do anything you didn’t want to. You liked it when I smelled you; admit it.”
“God, you are so
weird
. Normal people don’t admit to purposely smelling other people, Jonathan.” She shook her head in annoyance. Didn’t he know anything about how to act around girls? How did he get that pretty blond to hook up with him like that when he acted so strange all the time?
“Maybe they don’t admit it, but they do. I’ll bet you notice when a guy smells good.”
“I do not.”
“Do toooo.”
“Do NOT!”
“Do too!”
“Fine! Come here!” Sarah grabbed Jonathan by the shirtsleeve and pulled him against her hard. Their bodies slammed together in the hallway, knocking them both off balance. Sarah fell against the wall, but her contact was only light, since Jonathan for once in his life didn’t fall but managed to grab her by the waist and hold her steady. He did lean over in his efforts to break their fall, and she found her face buried in his neck.
She inhaled deeply.
Holy shit. He does smell good.
“So?” Jonathan waited, tipping his head back and starting at her with totally guileless eyes.
“Like I said,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing.”
Jonathan’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”
Sarah pushed him away and brushed off the front of her dress, removing non-existent dust particles.
“Believe what you want; I smell nothing. Like I said – normal people, Jonathan. That would be me. Abnormal people, that would be
you.”
Kevin and Candi came around the corner, immediately breaking the spell that Jonathan had somehow woven between them. Sarah caught sight of Kevin’s eye. “Oh boy, that’s one hell of a shiner you’re going to have there, Kev.”
“Yeah, thanks for noticing.”
“I’m going to go grab some ice,” said Jonathan, racing down the hall to the cabin to open the door and get the ice bucket.
Candi and Sarah helped Kevin get into the room and lie down on the bed.
“You guys can go now. I’ll be fine.”
“No. This is my fault. I’ll stay and at least help clean you up.”
“Ew, not me. I’m going to bed.” Sarah left, saying, “Feel better, bro,” as she walked out the door.
***
Candi and Kevin heard Sarah settling in next door. They heard one bang against the wall, followed shortly by another.
“That would be her shoes that she’s kicking off her feet and into the wall,” predicted Kevin.
Candi sighed. “She’s not the neatest roommate in the world.” She stood up to get a washcloth out of the bathroom and wet it at the sink, coming back to sit next to Kevin on the bed.
Kevin had laughed and now was grimacing with the pain it had caused in his swollen eye. “You got that right. You should see her bedroom at home right now; it looks like a bomb went off in it.”
Candi started cleaning the cut on Kevin’s hand. “Oh, is she messy like that all the time?”
“Ouch, careful there … No, actually, she’s not messy at all, normally, but she caught her boyfriend Barry cheating on her the day we left to come on the cruise, so she cut up all the things he had given her, their pictures and stuff, and then threw it all over her room.”
“Wow,” was all Candi could think to say.
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.”
“Well, that might explain her attitude on the cruise, I guess.”
“Yeah. She took it kind of hard. I mean, I don’t blame her. He was in bed with my girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend. Sarah literally caught them in the act.”
Candi put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my god, that’s terrible! I’m so sorry, Kevin, I had no idea. No wonder you were alone tonight, you must be devastated.”
“Hardly. I was alone because I struck out. No chicks wanted the Kevster tonight.” He smiled bitterly and closed his eyes.
Candi suddenly felt shy again. “I don’t believe that for a second. Any girl would have been psyched to be with you tonight. You obviously didn’t try very hard.”
“No, I did, seriously. Jonathan got the girl in the club. Jack obviously thought he had you all sewn up in his web. I tried to dance with you and got my ass kicked. I struck out big time.” The side of his mouth lifted in a self-deprecating grin.
Candi took a second to think about what Kevin had said. Had he purposely included her in his list of potential conquests?
He’s just messing with me.
Jonathan came through the door with the bucket of ice. He put some into a washcloth and handed it over to Candi. She gently placed it on Kevin’s face.
“I’m afraid this is going to swell a lot more.”
“Yep,” Jonathan agreed, “you’re going to have a pretty significant hematoma there by your orbital bone. I should probably check it for you to see if it’s cracked.” He made a move towards the bed. Kevin opened his good eye, lifting his uninjured hand and holding it out.
“Hold it right there, Dr. Jon. You’re not touching this orbital bone or the hemawhatever you just said. Just stay back.”
“But … ”
“Jonathan, he said no,” said Candi, firmly. “Just go over to my room with Sarah and go to sleep. I’m going to stay here with Kevin for a little while to make sure he’s okay and finish cleaning his hand.”
“What?! No way am I going over there with that she-devil. She’ll eat me alive. I’m staying right here. You go over there and
I’ll
take care of Kevin.”
“Hey, stop talking about me like I’m an invalid. I play rugby, remember?”
Candi and Jonathan looked at each other and shrugged. Apparently Kevin’s sports status was supposed to mean something to them, but they weren’t making the connection.
Kevin sighed. “Rugby players get injured all the time. This will be my fifth black eye in two years. I broke my shinbone in a game last year. This is no big deal.”
He looked at Candi and took her hand. “Seriously, thank you; but go ahead and go to bed, I’ll be fine.”
He let go of her hand and looked over at Jonathan. “You don’t have to go over with my sister, but you seriously do have to stay the hell away from my face. Touch me, and I’ll kick your ass.”
“Okaaay, fine. Whatever, I won’t touch you.”
Jonathan turned to his sister. “‘Night, Candi, see you tomorrow. Good luck over there with you-know-who.” He rolled his eyes in the general direction of her room and the ‘she-devil’ that was now sleeping in it.
“Thanks. G’nite guys, see you tomorrow.” Candi stood up, yawning. She took one last look at Kevin and walked out the door, stepping into the hallway and stumbling as she neared her room. The ship was really moving a lot. Either that or she was still drunk. She put her hand on her stomach and didn’t like the feeling she was having. She hoped she wasn’t getting seasick.
Candi entered the cabin and saw that Sarah was in bed, sound asleep, still wearing her dress. She was laying spread eagle over the top of the covers, which meant Candi was going to have to move her. She took her time getting dressed into her pajamas, since she didn’t relish the idea of arguing with Sarah over personal space.
As she put on her pajama bottoms, she fell to the floor. The ship was rolling back and forth so much, it was impossible to keep her balance. She wished they had a window so she could see what was going on with the waves. They must be going through some seriously bad weather for her to be able to feel the rocking of the boat this much.
She crawled over to the bed and climbed in, shoving Sarah over as far as she could, and closing her eyes. Sarah didn’t offer any resistance.
Man, she sleeps like the dead.
Within seconds, Candi drifted off into a dream-filled, turbulent sleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
All Hands on Deck
Jonathan stood in the bathroom washing his face and brushing his teeth with his legs spaced far apart to counteract the movement of the ship. He’d never been on a boat this big before, but he was pretty sure this much movement wasn’t normal. Not a lot of people would do cruises if that were the case – seasickness would be a major issue. He didn’t feel sick now, but thinking about it started making him feel funny.
He checked his watch; it was just after one in the morning. He wondered if he’d be able to see anything if he went up on deck. He decided to just give it a try. There were no parents here to tell him it was too late to be wandering around; might as well take advantage of it. He put his shoes on very quietly and checked on Kevin. He seemed to be asleep, breathing even and slow.
Jonathan opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. He closed the door as quietly as possible before continuing down the hall, grabbing the walls on either side to steady himself as the boat rocked back and forth, up and down. He didn’t see anyone on his way to the upper deck.
He reached the foyer area that had doors leading out onto the main deck. Outside it was pitch-black; rain was slashing against the glass of the doors and windows. Jonathan hesitated, wishing he had thought to put on his poncho.
Oh well, I can always take a shower and dry off if I have to.
He pulled on the doors, trying to wrestle them open. The wind began whipping through the foyer once it was given access through the open door.
Jonathan stepped outside onto the deck, and after another wrestling match, succeeded in getting the door closed. He turned, immediately going into shock at what he saw. The boat was leaning to one side – the side he was standing on. The waves were incredibly high, hitting the side of the ship and blowing up several feet into the air, washing the decks with their salty spray. There was a wall of blackness surrounding the ship, like a blanket of gloom.
Just then, the boat tipped even more on its side. A huge wave that had been rolling out in the distance started moving towards the ship. It seemed to be sucking the water away from the boat to build itself into a wave from hell.
Jonathan stared at it wide-eyed, not believing what he was seeing. It was like that
Perfect Storm
movie, where the wave was as big as a building. It was going to hit the boat, right where Jonathan was standing.
He felt like his feet were mired in quicksand. He turned to go back inside, but when he grabbed the door handles, he couldn’t get the doors to open. The difference in pressure between the inside and outside was sealing them closed.
His scientific mind jumped into overdrive. He turned to look over his shoulder at the approaching rogue wave. It was less than fifty yards away and even bigger than it had been three seconds ago. He struggled to cram his hand in his pocket, searching for the pocketknife he always carried there.
His hands made contact with the metal; he struggled with his wet fingers to get it out and then open.
“Come on! Come on!
Come on!!”
he yelled out into the night. “Open you mother effer!”