“Are you sure?” he asks, looking at me with an eyebrow cocked.
“Yes.”
He studies my face while my eyes evade his, hovering over the view.
“Are you okay?” he asks after a moment.
“I’m fine. I’m just not used to being on a ship.”
“Are you sick or something?”
“Not yet,” I joke, although I’m serious about it. “Are we going to sail?”
“Probably not.”
I let out a sigh, feeling relieved.
“Don’t worry. We can leave if you don’t like it.”
“No, no. I do like it… It’s just that I’m not sure I won’t get seasick if we move away from the shore.”
He laughs.
I flick my eyes to him.
“Are you laughing at me?”
He gives me an amused smile.
“No. You are one of the most courageous people I’ve ever known. I just didn’t picture you being afraid of the water.”
“I’m not. I like to swim. I just don’t like to be on shaky ground.”
Our eyes stay locked there for a moment. He seems focused on me more than he was before, collecting thoughts and hints and learning stuff about me.
Strangely, I have a feeling I’m doing the same thing, discovering things about myself.
Things that haven’t been so evident to me before. Sailing? Yeah… That hasn’t been my thing, but thinking about how I want things in my life?
That is new to me.
But this exchange is completely off.
It has nothing to do with the circumstances we are in. It’s not important for our story.
He spends another second studying me before tilting his gaze to the upper deck.
“Let’s go there,” he says. “My friend is probably waiting for us.”
He shows me to the stairs and lets me go first without bothering to wait for his two best friends, who seem engaged in conversations with other people.
The height only heightens my apprehension, although I’ll be the first to admit the sensation is magnificent. First, there’s the urban view––Miami skyline, cars, buildings, glowing avenues––and then there’s the ocean, the breeze bringing in a dash of cold.
And then is the atmosphere. Servers carrying drinks, appetizers, and tiny desserts.
Food is the last thing on my mind when Kai points to a man decked out in a white tuxedo.
He stands out not only by virtue of his sharp clothes but also by his looks. A laser-like, silver bluish gaze finds us in a second. I don’t know if he was waiting for us, but he acts that way.