One More Time

“Holy hell,

that was that dance?” I asked.

“I can’t believe you don’t remember that. You got hit with one,” Chanel said with a grin. “It busted all over your head and put glass down your pants.”

“I still don’t understand whose bright idea it was to hang massive blown-glass ornaments from a fucking popcorn ceiling,” I said.

“Uh, that was me,” Ana said. “I was on the committee that year.”

“Why doesn’t that shock me?” Chanel asked. “Ana, you’re the reason Walking On Broken Glass became our class’s anthem that year.”

“That, I don’t remember,” Tommy said.

“You were probably drunk,” Chanel and I said together.

“How could I be drunk through an entire school anthem?” Tommy asked.

“I don’t know. You do some pretty outstanding things,” Ana said.

“Oh, really? And what do you like the best?”

“Well, that’s enough of that,” Chanel said. “Who’s ready for the pool?”

Chanel rose from her seat with a smile on her face. Even though her emotional state was erratic today, I was glad she was still choosing to spend the day with us. An afternoon of laying out underneath the sun would do us all some good. It would be relaxing for this event tonight, and if none of us wanted to go, then it would be a good way to waste time until the shows started instead. There was a magic show as well as a musical number show taking place during the re-prom, so we had our pick of what to do if none of us wanted to go.

I watched as Tommy wrapped his arm around Ana, escorting her to the deck as we followed behind. But even though I tried to wrap my arm around Chanel, she wouldn’t let me.

At least she was here and not off somewhere torturing herself.

CHAPTER 27

CHANEL

Seeing Luke this morning had been terrible. I wasn't sure what possessed me to go, but something inside me pulled me toward the front of the ship. The only conclusion I could come to over breakfast was that I needed to see for myself that he was handcuffed and unable to get away. There were four security guards who escorted him onto the ship. They were hanging onto him tightly as everyone stared and gawked. I stayed in the shadows, taking stock of the bruises Luke had around his eyes, and the way his nose sat slightly off center. Rhett really had given him a beating, and it only served to heighten the feelings I felt when I was around him. I learned that I liked feeling protected and defended.

But every time I passed by someone, I heard them whispering about it, postulating and wondering what it is he could have done. It made me sick to hear, but it made me even sicker to think about what had actually happened. Every time someone mentioned it, like Connie at our fucking breakfast table, my mind rushed back to that moment I spotted him when I was still trying to convince myself this was all innocent and that, if I ignored it, then it would all simply go away.

But it hadn’t, and my desire to keep things peaceful had almost ended in me being raped.

Between that and this stupid do-over prom, I wanted nothing to do with today. Rumors were flying around my head, and I was having a hard time focusing. If my mind wasn't on the fact that Luke was only a few levels below our feet, I was focused on that woman from the elevator a few days ago with Rhett, the same girl that Rhett had fucked on prom night.

That idiotic woman Connie Thomas had invited.

Leave it to Connie to invite someone to come with her who wasn't part of our class. Leave it to Connie to find some way to make this trip stupid and regretful. In high school, she had always been prim-and-proper and ready to throw her family's wealth in our faces while acting like she was doing something good for us. Like the beach house for our senior trip. Or this entire damn cruise. Or the catering halls her family would rent out because Connie wanted to get all of us together for a fucking weekend.

My emotions were bubbling in my chest, and I didn't want anything to do with them.

But after breakfast, where my mind swirled and grabbed onto any reality it could, we were all hanging out by the pool and having fun. The sun felt good on my skin, and the drink in my hand was helping me relax. Rhett’s fingers would brush mine every now and again, causing me to flex my fingers toward him. Ana and Tommy were all over one another, kissing and cuddling. He was rubbing her down with oil and making lewd comments she thoroughly enjoyed as Rhett and I grinned and shook our heads.

They could tell us whatever they wanted, but the two of them were in deep.

“How’s that tan coming?” Ana asked.

“Not focused on a tan,” I said. “How’s that public sex coming?”

“The hell does that mean?” Tommy asked.

“It means the two of you are all over one another, and it’s gross,” Rhett said playfully.