Yasmin Sullivan - Love on the High Seas

“No,” he answered, “but definitely wanting to see you again.”

“I wasn’t sure I’d make it on time, but I’m actually ready. Hey, since I was heading out anyway, why don’t I just meet you at an elevator or in front of the restaurant? Where is it?”

Jeremy laughed for a moment. “See, I’ve actually figured that out. That’s why I thought I would meet you, so you wouldn’t have to. And I’m about five doors down from you at this point.”

Angelina poked her head out of the door and found Jeremy’s tall, broad-shouldered figure striding toward her down the hall. He had a cell phone to his ear.

They both laughed.

Angelina smiled and waved. Something had gotten into her mood tonight. She was smiling and being a bit silly, but she liked it.

When he got to her door, she took the phone from her ear and greeted him.

“Hello. Let me just put the phone down and get my pocketbook.”

He stood just inside the doorway and waited, a crooked smile on his face and a glint in his eye, watching her all the while.

When she came back to the door, ready, he held his arm out for her.

She gave him a skeptical look. “So chivalry isn’t dead, after all.” She chuckled and took his arm, unable to conquer her giddiness. They headed past the nearby elevators to the far ones.

“These are closer to the Starlight,” Jeremy said.

“Where is your stateroom? Are you on this floor?”

“No, I’m two floors up. I’ll show you sometime.”

He smiled at her. She couldn’t tell whether or not he was being saucy, but just in case, she said, “Don’t they all look the same, anyway?”

“More or less.”

“I actually did think I would be late. I should have gotten your number, just in case.”

With his free hand, he fished in this pocket. “Here, take one of my cards. This one has my cell phone number on it, and that’s the phone I carry.”

“Thank you.”

By the time they got to the eleventh floor, only one other couple was on the elevator. Jeremy took her chin and brought her lips to his, kissing her lightly.

“Hello again.”

His gesture was so sweet and so gentle that it stopped Angelina in her tracks. She couldn’t help smiling back.

“Hi.”

She waited for him to do something else, but he just smiled at her.

“You’re in a strange mood tonight, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Only because I’m with you again.”

“I’m in a strange mood, too. I don’t know if it was kissing a dolphin—”

“You kissed a dolphin?”

“Yes, the tour let us play with them, feed them. I got my picture taken kissing one. I snorkeled. I swam. It was all wonderful.”

“You look like you’re glowing. You look beautiful, Safire.”

“Thank you, Jeremy.”

He slipped his hand into hers as they exited the elevator on the fourteenth floor. The familiarity between them made it seem as though they had been seeing each other for a while, but the actual newness of his hand in hers sent a thrill through Angelina’s body.

In the atrium of the Starlight, she was introduced to Jeremy’s friend Myron and Verniece, Myron’s date. The four of them would be dining together at a table of eight, so they would be meeting four new people. These turned out to be a newlywed couple from Idaho and an older couple from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Over drinks, they met one another and talked about the New Year’s Eve events they’d attended. Angelina blushed when she remembered her kiss with Jeremy and was even more embarrassed when he noticed this. He put a consoling arm over the back of her chair and rubbed her shoulder with his thumb. It sent a shiver through her body that she tried to hide.

They also talked about what they had seen of the Bahamas that day.

“We went out with the dolphins, did the powerboat ride and spent the afternoon on the beach,” Drake, the newlywed, said.

“Did you kiss a dolphin?” Jeremy asked Drake’s wife. Angelina saw the humor in his eyes and swatted him playfully.

“I sure did,” Rosalie answered. “It was better than kissing a frog.”

“Or a man,” Angelina added, and the two women laughed.

Jeremy looked at her with surprise and with a challenge in his eyes that said he would be proving her wrong very soon.

“I went on the daylong tour, and it was glorious,” Angelina said. “I think we did everything there was to do in Nassau. I was gone all day. I loved it.”

Angelina stopped when she realized she was gushing. She really did need to get out more. She laughed at herself, and Jeremy turned to her.

She waved away the inquiry and went on chatting.

“What did you guys do, Verniece?”

The woman was hanging on Myron’s shoulder and looked at him. Angelina could tell that she shouldn’t have asked.

“No, no. You don’t have to tell us if it’s too scandalous,” Angelina said.

The table laughed.

“We did get to the pool for a while,” Verniece offered. “And we had lunch in the Coco Lounge. But other than that, we stayed in.”

Angelina turned to Myron and Jeremy. “Weren’t you two with other gentlemen?”

“Alistair and Rudy,” Myron said. “They decided to go to one of the singles lounges for dinner and let the couples be by themselves.”

Once dinner arrived, the conversation quieted down a little. It turned out that the older couple was used to cruising, so they gave some advice about when to arrive and how to get discounts.

After dinner, Jeremy, Angelina, Myron and Verniece lingered in the atrium of the Starlight, trying to decide on the next thing they would do.

“I really should be getting back,” said Angelina. “I was gone all day and didn’t do anything I brought with me to get done.”

Jeremy put his palm against her back. It sent another shiver through her body that she tried once again to hide.

“Come dancing with us, Safire. You don’t have to stay long.”

“Dancing sounds great,” Verniece said.

“There’s a place called the Silhouette Lounge,” Jeremy said. “They have desserts, drinks, dancing. Please.”

“For a little while,” Angelina said.

When they got to the Silhouette Lounge, Angelina picked up immediately on the romantic theme; it was a hangout for couples, replete with low lighting, soft seating and slow music.

Myron and Verniece stopped at the bar for drinks, but Jeremy drew her onto the dance floor, slid his hands around her waist and began to sway.

Angelina’s palms came up to his chest. She thought it would keep a polite distance between them; instead, she could feel how hard his body was through his panama shirt, and that made the gesture seem even more intimate.

Angelina let herself rock to the music—something slow and Italian. As he held her closer, she moved her arms to his shoulders, bringing her chest against his. The sensation sent a tingle through her body, and she it hoped wasn’t noticeable.

Angelina was five-eleven, and in her two-inch heels, she was almost Jeremy’s height. When he lowered his head just a bit, it brought their cheeks together. She rested her head against his, closed her eyes and finally just let herself enjoy their dance.

The next song was in Spanish and just as intoxicating. When she opened her eyes briefly, she found that she had slipped her arms around his neck, not remembering when she had done so. When she turned to him, he was smiling at her.

“I love dancing with you this way,” he said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve danced like this.”

“You’re not rusty at all. I love the way your body feels against mine.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say. His low bass voice in her ear sent goose bumps down her back and made her body twitch. She couldn’t tell whether this was apparent or not.