One More Time

“Room 602. Yes, I want two steak dinners, cooked medium rare, with loaded fries and Caesar salads, two creme brulees, and send a snack tray with carrots, pretzels, and cherry tomatoes with a couple of dipping sauces. Oh! And two pitchers of margaritas, please. Thank you.”

“Two pitchers?” I asked.

“If we’re gonna be in this room all fucking night, it’s gonna be a party. This ship has all the Fast and Furious movies and I’m ready for some Vin Diesel. How about you?” Ana asked.

“We’ll always have our love for that man’s muscles in common,” I said.

“‘Atta girl. Now, are we watching them in order, or are we starting with our favorite?” she asked.

“In order. If we’re gonna do this, then we’re gonna do it right.”

“The first Fast and Furious it is, then.”

CHAPTER 16

RHETT

I set my alarm to make sure my ass was up for breakfast. I had gone to the casino after my dinner with Marcie. It had been pleasant, other than the fact that listening to her talk incessantly for two hours was enough to make me want to shoot myself. I had tried to see what Chanel and Luke had been up to, but by the time I’d spotted where they were sitting, they were leaving. I had wanted to follow, but I couldn’t be a dick and just leave Marcie sitting there by herself.

I got dressed and headed for the dining hall, leaving Tommy to sleep off whatever it was he’d been drinking last night. I was ready to see Chanel. I was ready to sit down and talk to her. We had to clear the air between us, now more than ever. If I hadn’t been sure about dredging up the past before, I was now, especially with Evelyn on board. As much as I tried to convince myself to leave what Chanel and I had had in the past, I just couldn’t. I knew that I still loved her and I probably always would. I didn’t want to be her secret, I didn’t want this to be just a fling. Rather, I wanted it to be the beginning of our next chapter; one where I didn’t fuck everything up for both of us. I needed her to know that I was not, nor had I ever been, interested in anyone but her.

When I walked into the dining hall and spotted Chanel and Ana in the middle of the room. I grabbed a plate of food from the buffet line and carried my breakfast over to where they were sitting.

“Mind if I join you?” I asked.

Chanel looked up at me and I swore I saw relief cross her delicate features.

“Sure,” she said.

“So how was your date with Marcie last night?” Ana asked, a wicked smile on her face.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Well I learned everything there was to know about insurance sales and something called Zumba,” I said.

Chanel laughed, and the sound warmed my soul.

“How about you, Chanel? How was your date?” I asked.

Chanel’s eyes dropped to her plate and a funny look settled on Ana’s face. That protective spark ignited in my gut again as I waited for either one of them to tell me what was going on. In the end, Chanel blew out a breath and shook her head.

“It was fine, I guess.”

I sensed that she wasn’t going to say anything more about the subject, so I chose to let it drop. For now.

“What are you guys up to today?” I asked.

“Stuff,” Ana said.

“I’m not sure yet,” Chanel said, looking around the room like she was trying not to be heard.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Chanel said.

The rational part of me told me to brush it off and listen to her, but I wasn’t having this shit anymore. There was something clearly wrong, and she wasn’t enjoying herself. And even if we didn’t have the past we did, I would still want to make sure a good woman like her was okay.

“I know something’s bothering you. It has been for the past couple of days,” I said.

“And I told you it’s nothing,” Chanel said.