Hunter
All night and into the morning, Vanessa sleeps without any night terrors. Several times she wakes up. Within seconds, she stirs all the blood in my veins, and we're going at it again.
Jerry drops our breakfast off right as Faron comes by to check on her. "You seem to be doing better today."
"I feel a lot better."
"That's good. Things can come and go, so take it easy and don't think anything is abnormal if you have an episode from time to time."
"I think I'm ready to leave the room."
She's pushing it too fast.
I clear my throat. "Do you think that would be okay? I'm worried about all the people."
"I'll be okay," she insists.
"You can try it. The ship is docking shortly in Jamaica. If you wait a few hours, there will be fewer people on board. It might be a little easier."
She nods. "We'll do that, then."
"The adult section is usually pretty empty once everyone is on land. There's a pool, hot tubs, a full bar, and you can order food."
Vanessa's face lights up. "Fruity frozen drinks. I say we spend the day there!"
My pulse increases. "I don't want you to have another panic attack. Let's stick to the walk and not overdo it. I think you need your rest."
"I can rest by the pool."
"I don't—"
"Hunter." Faron has an amused expression on his face.
I turn to him. "Hmmm?"
His eyebrow is arched, and he smiles. "I know you're worried about Vanessa, but if she leaves the room and feels okay, there is no reason to stay cooped up in this room all week. Sun can be good for the soul. Plus, it's a pretty relaxing space. Take advantage of the amenities if she feels healthy."
She grips my thigh. "Let's try it."
"Her fever only broke last night," I remind him.
"And now I'm fine."
"Hunter, try it. It'll be good for both of you to get out of this room," Faron insists.
I scrub my face. "Okay, Flower. Let's start with a walk and go from there."
Faron rises. "Glad you're feeling better. Keep getting rest. I'll check on you tomorrow. If you need me for any reason, call."
"Thank you," Vanessa says.
"You're welcome."
I walk him to the door, and when he's gone, I spin. Vanessa already has her bikini and my bathing suit out of my backpack.
"I thought we agreed to a walk."
She softly laughs. "No. You said a walk. I said, let's go check out the fruity frozen drinks."
I groan. "Flower."
She strips.
"The ship hasn't even docked yet."
"I'm going to shower. I'd let you join me, but I'm surprised you fit in that thing without me."
I chuckle. "It is pretty small."
She slaps my ass as she passes me then goes into the bathroom and turns on the shower.
"You aren't listening to me right now."
She peeks out of the bathroom and smiles. "I hear you. I just don't agree with you."
"It's a good thing I find you amazingly sexy and cute."
She raises her eyebrows. "Oh, why is that?"
"It's helping me deal with my frustration right now."
She smirks. "I can help you get a handle on your frustration."
I snort. "Go shower."
She bats her eyes and blows me a kiss.
I step out on the balcony, and the engines of the ship slow down. The blue of the ocean sparkles and stretches as far as I can see. It's a clear, sunny day, and the weather is hot but not muggy.
I need to make sure she takes it easy and doesn't have another attack.
There are a lot of people on this ship.
What if she freaks out and we aren't near the room?
I'm lost in my thoughts when Vanessa's arms circle my waist.
"What are you thinking?"
I spin. She has a towel around her hair and a robe on. "How was your shower?"
She beams. "Good. All clean. Ready for sun and fruity drinks."
"Flower—"
"I want to get back to normal life."
"You can't push it."
"I'm not. I'm going to lie on a lounge chair, preferably a double one so I can take advantage of your body as my pillow, and soak up some sun."
I stare above her head at the turquoise water.
"What?" she asks.
"It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since you had a fever."
"And now I don't. You heard Faron. It's fine for me to try."
"Maybe we should wait another day. Just to be safe."
"I'm fine. Get in the shower, and let's go."
"You're not fine," I growl.
She jumps back.
"Sorry I didn't mean to—"
"Stop," she shouts.
I freeze.
She steps toward me and places both her hands on my cheeks. "You can't put me in a new prison."
"What? I would never—"
"You are. You're trying to protect me. I know it's coming from a good place, but you can't keep me isolated from life so I don't have another attack."
"It's not been enough time. You were... I thought you weren't coming back to me." I blink hard.
Her voice softens. "But I did. And I'm not going to have you give up living life because I might have another attack."
"That's not what I'm doing."
She arches her eyebrows.
"Yesterday at this time—"
"And right now, I'm fine. We're on a cruise ship. Let's go live."
More silence.
"Kiss me then go shower and put on your trunks."
She does seem healthier today.
"You don't want to kiss me?"
"That's never a question."
"Then what are you waiting for? And make sure it's good," she teases.
I lean down, and we kiss for several minutes.
"How's that?" I murmur.
She smirks. "I give it a nine out of ten. You'll have to keep trying all day to get to a ten."
"Deal."
"Now, go shower. The day isn't getting any younger."
I sigh. "All right. But we aren't leaving until we're docked and people have had time to get off this boat."
"We are docked."
I turn to see the boat isn't moving. "Oh. I didn't notice we stopped moving."
"Shower," she chirps and points to the bathroom. "I'm going to have some coffee and breakfast out here. If you hurry, I'll share my fry jacks with you."
"Well, that's a sacrifice."
She smiles. "Yep. So you better get a move on it."
I hesitantly leave her and get into the shower. When I come out, music plays, and she's sitting on the balcony.
She looks so happy.
I throw on my trunks and head out on the balcony. A loud beep breaks through the music, and she jumps.
That's why we shouldn't go.
"Attention all guests. You may now leave the ship for your onshore excursions. Please return to the boat no later than six p.m."