“Re-prom?” My mind stuck on that idea with more than a little interest.
“Yep. Our fun little activity for tomorrow is a do-over for prom,” Tommy said.
Rhett’s eyebrows rose. “Are you serious?”
I looked down at Rhett, locking eyes playfully with his. “I don’t know. A do-over for prom could be fun.”
Then, Ana and I walked away, leaving Tommy and Rhett staring after our swaying hips as we rounded the corner.
CHAPTER 26
RHETT
I couldn't get Chanel's words out of my head all night. “A do-over could be fun.” That was a blatant response to how terrible our prom night had been before. The cheeky look in her eyes stayed with me all night long, haunting me as questions rolled through my mind. Even though Tommy had dragged me around the ship, looking at women and dipping into other bars to get drunk, I could still hear her voice ringing in m
y head. Did she want a second chance at prom? Was that her way of forgiving me for what happened? Was that really how she felt or was she just trying to find humor in the moment?
I wasn't sure, but I was willing to find out.
When Tommy and I woke up that morning, the girls met us out in the hall for breakfast. Tommy hugged Ana closely, and Ana closed her eyes, breathing Tommy in the way I did with Chanel. A grin crossed my cheeks as I looked down at Chanel, ready for her to make some smart comment about the moment.
But she was gazing off down the hallway, her body in a trance and her eyes clouded over.
The four of us went to get breakfast, and Chanel didn't seem as happy as I thought she would be. She was calm but distant. Her answers were short and clipped whenever I tried to talk to her. I figured it was probably the Luke thing, but I still couldn’t be sure. I knew I was up early enough to feel the boat dock in Curaçao. I knew what was happening. Luke was boarding the ship and being transferred to one of the levels below the deck.
And if I knew Chanel well enough, she had probably been awake early to feel the boat dock as well.
Everything inside of me wanted to ask her how she was doing. As we sat and talked over breakfast about how stupid this do-over prom thing was, I wanted to take her hand. I wanted to bring it to my lips and kiss the softness of her skin. I wanted the warmth of my body to calm her like I knew it would. I wanted her to melt against me like she had in the ocean yesterday. I wanted her to know she was safe and know that even though Luke fucking Thomas was back on the ship, it didn’t mean she was in danger.
She had me, and that meant she was protected.
“I think it’s stupid,” Tommy said.
“Oh, come on. We can go, dance a bit, and then get drunk,” Ana said.
“Sounds like Tommy’s prom anyway,” Chanel said.
“I’d come back with a snarky little comment if I knew what you were talking about,” Tommy said.
“See? He doesn’t even remember. You came to prom drunk, spiked the punch, and got thrown out for it,” Chanel said.
“I remember that. You were a mess that night,” I said.
“I don’t know, sounds like a fun time to me,” Ana said.
“You would think that,” I said, grinning.
“Are you going to go tonight, Chanel?” Ana asked.
“I don’t know. I guess it could be fun, but it’s stupid to re-nominate a prom king and queen. Connie went a bit overboard with that one,” Chanel said.
“Finally. Someone said it. Who were our prom king and queen anyway?” I asked.
“You don’t remember?” Chanel asked.
“I don’t,” I said.
“Doesn’t shock me. That was when the two of you snuck—”