“No. No, you are most definitely not interrupting.” Kendall reached around Grace and grabbed Alex’s arm. “Thanks for the help back to my cabin. I’ll just…” His laugh made her face flame hotter. “Bye!” She opened the exterior door and all but shoved him out, and then slammed it behind her. Kendall turned around and pressed herself against it and glared at her friend. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Me? I can’t believe you tried to hide a man in your bathroom!”
She couldn’t believe it, either. Now that Alex was gone, she had the strange thought that it really was all a dream, after all. Surely she hadn’t had a near-stranger bring her to orgasm with his mouth and hands just a little while ago? Surely she hadn’t fully intended on doing the same to him? She shivered. God, she really needed to put some panties on, but she couldn’t figure out how to do it without admitting to Grace that she wasn’t wearing them to begin with.
Kendall cleared her throat. “Where were you this morning?”
Just like that, Grace’s amused expression fled. “Nowhere,” she answered too quickly.
“Nowhere,” she repeated. “That sounds like a story.”
“It’s not. At all.” Grace was…blushing.
Kendall forgot all about her own mortification and focused on her friend’s. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”
For a second, it seemed like Grace wouldn’t spill, but she let out a long exhale. “Yes, there’s a story there, and if we leave right now I’ll tell you about it on the way to dinner. Come on, we’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.”
She had no choice but to follow her friend out the door. Alex was nowhere to be seen, and she told herself the feeling in the pit of her stomach was relief and not disappointment. She hadn’t seen him at dinner last night, so he probably had a different time slot than they did. Or maybe she just hadn’t been paying attention? Kendall wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t help looking for him as they walked to their table.
Right as they reached the table where the rest of her friends sat, her gaze landed on a familiar pair of blue eyes. Alex had found time to change and he sat next to a cute white guy who had athlete written all over him, but all his attention seemed focused on her. She blushed and then cursed herself for blushing.
She and Grace took the two saved seats, but Kendall couldn’t focus on the conversation going on around her because she kept sneaking glances at Alex. Somehow, being in the same room as him made her a thousand times more aware that she had nothing on underneath her dress. She picked at her food and tried to pay attention, but it wasn’t until Liv said her name that she lifted her head. “What?”
Liv gave a pained smile. “Sorry we weren’t there this morning.”
“It’s fine.” She realized how short she sounded when Liz and Aubrey exchanged a look. Kendall forced her tone to brighten. It wasn’t their fault that nothing on this trip had gone according to plan. “Really, it’s totally okay. What’s the point of a cruise if you can’t do all the things without having to worry too hard about schedules? With five people, it’s hard to organize that kind of stuff, so really there’s nothing to apologize for. We didn’t even technically have plans.”
Grace gave her a significant look, but no way was she outing herself to the rest of her friends. Bad enough that one person knew what a cliché Kendall had become. She beamed at the rest of them. “Speaking of plans—are you doing the Orlando day trip tomorrow?”
The conversation turned to that, and she sagged back in her seat. Best if she made her peace that this trip wouldn’t be anything like she’d planned. No one seemed to be having a terrible time, and that was all that mattered. Wasn’t it?
She cast a look in Alex’s direction even as she told herself not to. He pushed out of his seat, gave her a significant look, and headed out the door. What did that look mean? Kendall pressed her thighs together. She didn’t know, but she wanted to find out.
Chapter 7
Alex had every intention of going back to his room and crashing. It was the smartest way to spend the time between now and when he got off this fucking boat. Except… That wasn’t what he did at all. He headed back to the bar where he’d seen Kendall last night. It wasn’t particularly crowded, not yet, so he found a spot in the corner where he could watch the rest of the room. Just one drink and then he’d go back to the cabin. Sure. Right. A devil’s bargain if he’d ever made one.
Fifteen minutes later, Kendall walked through the door. Just like he’d somehow known she would. She looked around the room before her gaze settled on him, and then she squared her shoulders and headed in his direction. It gave him plenty of time to drink in the sight of her. She wore the same thing she’d had on when she kicked him out of her room earlier, another floral sundress thing that kissed the tops of her knees with each step and hugged her breasts in a way that told him she wasn’t wearing a bra. She’d managed to tame her hair, at least a little bit, but she still looked like she’d been thoroughly fucked and enjoyed every minute of it.