“It’s one of the smaller rooms, but hey — compared to bunk beds, I’d say it’s an upgrade.” Emma smiled, and it wasn’t in a way that showed envy or an opinion of any kind. When she turned to look at me, her green eyes were kind and gentle. “I’m excited for you to join us on the voyage, Aspen. And I look forward to getting to know you better.”
I blushed, tucking my hair behind one ear. “That’s so kind. Thank you, Emma.”
“By the way, I’m from Austria. I heard you mention you’d like to visit there. I can tell you all the best places to go — the non-touristy places.”
“I would love that,” I said, and then we were both laughing as Joel flopped belly first onto the full-size bed.
“This is heaven,” he mumbled against the pillows.
“You’re washing your own bedding, Joel, just so you know,” Emma warned, but it was with a smile. “I’ll let you two get settled. See you in the morning,” she said to me next, and then she closed the door and left us alone.
Joel and I were both exhausted by the time we brushed our teeth and changed for bed, but the excitement of the day filled us, and Joel pressed me into the sheets and kissed down my neck until I came to life again under his touch.
It didn’t last long once he was inside me, but I didn’t mind — just being connected to him had me overflowing with happy hormones. When we finished, he kissed my cheek and pulled my back to his chest, curling around me like the Cheshire cat, and we fell asleep.
He was already gone the next morning when I woke.
It was just past seven, but when I got dressed and made my way up to the main deck, I wondered how I’d slept in so long with all the commotion. The crew was busy rushing this way and that, the deck hands working together and calling out terms that made no sense to me — like stern spring and bow spring. Each member of the crew had earpieces in and walkie-talkies on their hips that they used to communicate with each other, and there was never a moment of silence as they got the boat ready to pull away from the marina.
I grabbed a muffin from the galley where a small continental breakfast was set up for the crew, and then I walked around, listening and watching, taking pictures of the crew as they did their various jobs. I felt that same unease niggling in my belly as I watched everyone work so hard. It didn’t feel right that I was there, that I didn’t have a role to play that morning. I took pictures like they mattered, like I was there for a reason, but I couldn’t shake the reality that I had no place being there at all.
“Hey,” Emma said when I passed where she was arranging flowers as a centerpiece in the main deck salon. “Got a second to help me?”
I dropped my camera, letting it hang from the strap on my neck. “Oh God, please give me something to do so I feel a little less useless.”
She chuckled at that, finishing where she was arranging the flowers before she waved for me to follow her. I had a little more time to study her in the light, and what struck me was she had such feminine curves, but such a strong, square-set jaw and severe green eyes. She could have been a movie star, but at the same time, felt as comfortable as a relative.
We gathered behind the bar, and then she handed me a clipboard with a long list of liquor, wine, and beer names.
“I need to make the rounds and check on the staterooms, make sure everything is looking the way it should. Can you go through this list and take inventory of how much we have of each, and highlight any that are under the minimum amount listed beside it?” She tapped the paper to show me where I’d find that amount.
I nodded. “I’m on it.”
Emma winked at me, and when she left, I instantly felt better having something to do — even though I was fairly certain Emma already went through this list and had an idea of what she was working with before we left shore. Still, she saw me wandering like a lost puppy and gave me a task.
I liked Emma.
I took my time doing the inventory, but then I was back to making my rounds, camera in my hands as I tried to be as out of the way as possible while still capturing some shots of the crew, the yacht, and the shoreline as we cruised alongside it. I didn’t miss the looks I got from most of the crew — a mixture between curiosity and annoyance. They wondered why I was here just as much as I did, and I tried my best to stay out of their way and appear like I was working just as they were.
Emma had given me a copy of the cruise itinerary after I finished up at the bar, and I learned we were cruising toward Saint-Tropez first. We would take it slow and easy, and likely make landfall there around sunset the next evening. Just the casual way she’d said it to me made me laugh. How absurd that I should be on a boat this size on my way to a place I’d only ever dreamed of going before now.
I wandered up the stairs that led from the main deck to the owner’s deck, bypassing that level completely and continuing on to the sun deck. It was the highest of the four, and had one of the two pools onboard, as well as the hot tub. When I made the final ascent and rounded
