LeeAnn reached over and patted Jonathan’s back, trying to help him stop choking.
Kevin came back as Jonathan was pulling out his cell phone and saying, “Give me your number, and I’ll text you the details. It’s not that far away, you know.”
“What’s not that far?” asked Kevin.
“Comic-Con. A convention we both go to.”
After Jonathan put her number in his phone, he sat there looking awkward. It seemed like they’d run out of things to talk about.
“Oh, no!” LeeAnn said with dismay, looking alarmingly at the door to the bar.
Jonathan started to turn towards the door to see what was bothering her so suddenly.
“No! Don’t look! I don’t want him to notice me!”
Kevin caught sight of two guys walking into the bar, one with blondish hair and one with really dark hair.
“Why, what’s wrong with them?”
“Well, one of them, Jack, is a real jerk. He was harassing me earlier, and he kind of creeps me out. One of the waitresses told me he’s bad news. Oh, crap, they’re coming over here.” She was wringing her hands in her lap. “I hate confrontation like this. Quick! Kiss me!”
“Wha ... ?” was all Jonathan could get out before he found himself crushed into a major lip lock.
“Mmm ... fmmm ... dmmm,” he tried to speak, but she wasn’t letting him go.
While LeeAnn was kissing him, she kept one eye out for the duo that had walked in. Once she saw that they had turned and left the bar, she let Jonathan go.
Kevin sat there speechless, watching the whole thing unfold as if in slow motion. It was like a bad movie.
“Phew, that was close. Um, thanks for the rescue.”
Jonathan sat staring at her, stunned into silence. His mouth hung partway open, as if he was still in the middle of the kiss.
Kevin laughed. I’ve been shown up by Jonathan Buckley. Awesome. He wasn’t mad. In fact, he was proud of the kid. He didn’t think Jonathan had it in him, but obviously he was wrong. Wait until Sarah heard about this. She was gonna be more surprised than he was.
Thinking of Sarah, he wondered what the girls were doing right then. This bar was getting boring. There was hardly anyone there. There had to be another place where people their age were hanging out. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
He went over to talk to the bartender. “So where’s the happening place to be tonight, anyway?”
“That would be Club Neptune.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Kevin went back over to the lovebirds. “Hey, are you guys up for some dancing at Club Neptune?”
They nodded their heads yes, so the three of them finished off the shots on the table and left. They followed Jonathan’s perfect directions, finding themselves standing in front of Club Neptune within minutes.
“Well, here goes nothin’,” said Kevin, pulling open the heavy wooden door.
The room was dark except for the flashing disco lights that lit up the ceiling and walls with flashing colors in pink, green, and blue. The bass was really pumping, and the crowd on the dance floor seemed to be moving as one big mass of arms, legs, and asses. They could feel the beat coming up through the floor and filling up the air all around them.
“I’m going to get a drink!” yelled Kevin, trying to be heard above the noise.
“We’re going to go find a place to sit down!” yelled Jonathan, moving away, holding LeeAnn’s hand.
Kevin worked his way slowly through the crowd standing at the bar and ordered another shot. All this alcohol was going to mess up his training regimen. He was going to have to work out extra hard and long tomorrow. The thought cheered him up; surely there would be some hot girls at the ship’s gym.
He scanned the crowd while he waited for his drink. As his eyes reached the dance floor, he caught a glimpse of leopard print and flashes of green. Is that ... ?
He watched as his sister did some sort of dirty dancing hip gyration thing with some big blond-headed guy. Then just to the right of her was Candi, dancing with a tall, dark-haired guy who was making sure everyone knew she was there with him. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her. She didn’t seem to mind too much; she had a big smile on her face.
Kevin muttered to himself in annoyance. Shit. Even little Gumdrop was getting action on this cruise.
He couldn’t stop looking at her. She wasn’t dancing like his sister, but her more reserved moves were sexy anyway. It’s like she was holding back, like she had some sort of inside secret she wasn’t sharing; and that tight black skirt she had on was really doing a good job of emphasizing her curvaceous hips. He’d never paid much attention to a girl’s hips before, but he found hers to be mesmerizing for some reason.
He’d never noticed her body before because she always wore big shirts or baggie pants. Why would a girl who looked like this go to such lengths to hide herself? It’s stupid.
He got his drink and finished it in one gulp. Enough of this crap, he was going to ask her to dance. He walked over to the dance floor, just as the song ended and a new song started – a slow one. It was too late to turn back since Candi had already seen him approaching. Shit again. Tonight is just not my night.
“Um, hey there, Gumdrop, got a dance for me?” He looked at the dark-haired guy standing opposite her and realized for the first time that it was the guy who had scared LeeAnn. Kevin watched as he put his hand on Candi’s back, up near her neck, his eyes never leaving Kevin’s. This guy was being unapologetically possessive, and Kevin didn’t like it one bit.
Kevin lifted his head in a subdued gesture of greeting. “What’s up, man? I’m Kevin.”
“Jack.” He nodded back, but his body language made it clear he wasn’t interested in releasing Candi into Kevin’s hands.
Candi smiled, a little flustered. “Sure, Kevin. You don’t mind, do you, Jack?”
“Well, actually I do, but if it’s what you want ... ”
Candi lost her smile for a second. “Yes, it’s what I want. I’ll see you after the dance is over, if you want.”
Jack made room for Kevin on the dance floor. “I’ll see you in a few minutes then.” He bent to kiss her on the cheek. Then he stood and looked Kevin in the eye. “Keep her warm for me.”
Kevin didn’t respond. Instead, he stepped up to Candi and gently took her in his arms. Jack walked off the dance floor to the bar where he could keep an eye on them while he drank.
***
Candi was immediately overwhelmed by the totally male scent of Kevin, filling her nostrils. Oh my god, he smells so amazing. She inhaled deeply. It was kind of woodsy and spicy and, well, manly. She’d never smelled anything quite like that in her whole life. Her dad used Aqua Velva aftershave, which had its own distinct smell that was totally unlike what she was experiencing right now.
Her heart started racing, and she felt herself starting to sweat; but her hands were ice cold. Her body was in full freak-out mode. She felt Kevin lean down and put his nose in her hair. She hoped he didn’t notice how full of sticky stuff it was.
“You smell so good,” said Kevin, softly by her ear. It sent tickles down her spine.
“I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
He pulled away just a bit to look in her eyes. “You were?” He smiled at her.
She smiled back. “Yes. Like the woods or like something spicy ... like a man.”
He put his head back and laughed. “Well I guess that’s a good thing.”
Her faced turned pink with embarrassment. She was glad it was too dark for him to see it. “Sorry, I know that sounded stupid.”
He took his hand off her back and gently took her chin between his thumb and first finger. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t stupid, it was nice.” Then he put his hand back around her and pulled her to him a little closer.
Candi could feel her ears ringing. She didn’t really hear the music anymore. She was completely enveloped in the smell and feeling
of Kevin Peterson. Kevin Peterson! I’m actually slow dancing with Kevin Peterson right now. Holy crap!
Why wasn’t he dancing with one of the ten supermodels who were here right now? And why didn’t she feel this overwhelmed when she was dancing with Jack? Certainly he’d tried to hold her like this, a few times at least, even in just the short time he’d been in the bar; but each time she had pulled away. He didn’t smell like Kevin, he wasn’t as solid as Kevin; he just wasn’t Kevin, period.
Sooner than she wanted, the song ended, and Jack came back immediately to claim the next dance. It was a fast one, so Candi didn’t think she’d have to worry about not getting too close to Jack and feeling uncomfortable, but Jack had different ideas. As soon as Kevin started walking away, he grabbed her and pulled her in close.
“What are you doing? Stop that.” Candi put her hands up on his chest and pushed a little bit, but he wasn’t letting her go.
“I want to dance closer with you, come here.” He kept pulling her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her, imprisoning her there.
Candi struggled to get free. “But it’s a fast song, I don’t want to slow dance. Let me go!”
Still he didn’t listen. “SShhhh, just calm down. I know you like to dance like this, I just saw you do it with that guy, Kevin. We were having fun before he got here, let’s just keep doing that.”
“I told you, I don’t want to. Now let me go!” She stomped on his foot and his sharp intake of breath told her that she’d hit her mark – but still he refused to give in.
He gritted his teeth in determination. “Just relax, I’m not going to hurt you. You just need to ... ”
He wasn’t able to finish his sentence because Kevin showed up at his elbow and started talking.
“She said to let her go, Jack. I suggest you do it.”
Jack stood up straighter, and without releasing Candi, said, “This is none of your business, dude; why don’t you just get the hell out of here?”
“No can do, buddy. Candi says let her go, so you need to let her go. Or I’m going to have to help you.”
Jack immediately dropped her, except that he kept a grip on one of her wrists. He was squeezing pretty hard.
Candi tried to pry his fingers off, but he was obviously determined to keep a hold of her.
“You got a problem with me, Kevin?”
“Only if you continue to man-handle Candi. Let go of her wrist.”
“Fine. Let’s you and me take this outside, then.”
Jack let Candi go, and Sarah wrapped her arm around Candi’s shoulder, leading her away from the dance floor. Once Kevin saw that she was several feet away, he said, “No thanks,” and turned to walk away. Candi held out her hand hoping he would come and take it, but Jack had other plans for Kevin.
Jack grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled back hard, causing Kevin to spin around halfway back towards Jack. Candi watched in horror as Jack let loose a punch that caught Kevin right on the side of his face, near his left eye, snapping his head back about eight inches with the force of its blow, causing him to stumble.
Kevin jumped back up into fighting position so fast, Candi didn’t have time to think about it, before he executed a quick jab right into Jack’s nose. Candi heard a sickening crunch. Jack’s nose had broken and blood started pouring out.
“You bwoke by dose! You fuggin bwoke by dose you azz-ole!” Jack grabbed the bottom of his shirt, trying to use it to staunch the flow of blood.
Everyone on the dance floor who saw what had happened started yelling. Some tried to run away, while others jumped in, ready to either join the fight or keep the two guys apart.
Candi ran back to Kevin, followed closely by Sarah and Jonathan. She was wild-eyed and frightened. “Oh, my god, what happened?! Kevin!! Your face! Oh, my god, and your hand!”
Kevin looked down to see that he had a large bleeding gash on his knuckles.
Mason grabbed Jack by the shoulders and guided him off the dance floor towards the bathrooms. The manager of the bar came over and told Kevin to leave.
Jonathan looked over at the statuesque blond who had been standing off to the side, watching the scene anxiously. “LeeAnn, I have to go. See you tomorrow?”
“Sure. No problem. How about at the pool for breakfast? On the B-deck?”
“Yeah, that would be great. See you then.”
Candi watched in shock as this gorgeous girl leaned in and gave her brother a pretty deep kiss on the mouth. She released him and walked away. Jonathan waved at her retreating form, absent-mindedly reaching up and touching his lips. She had left her lip prints in pale pink lipstick smudged on the edge of his mouth.
“Who the hell was that?” Sarah asked, gesturing over to the place where LeeAnn had been standing.
Candi was equally shocked. “Yeah. Who was that? And what was she doing performing CPR on you, Jonathan?”
Kevin laughed. “Welcome to my world, ladies – where Jonathan bags the one of the hottest babes on the ship, and I get my ass kicked by a womanizer with a sweet tooth.”
Candi frowned at him, looking at him through slitted eyes. Yes, Jack had turned out to be quite the a-hole, but what was this about the sweet tooth?
Kevin winked at her, or at least tried to wink at her, before he grimaced in pain. He had obviously forgotten that he had an injury to his winking eye.
Oh, she thought, the Gumdrop thing again. She sighed and took Kevin by the arm.
“Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up, Galahad.” She looked over at Jonathan. “Come on, Romeo; we have to get Kevin back to the room. Party’s over.”
Sarah just stood by silently, watching Jonathan very closely. She seemed to be wrestling with something in her mind.
Candi didn’t have time to figure out what Sarah’s problem was. She was worried about getting ice on Kevin’s face and hand. After all, he had been defending her honor when he got hurt. She felt somewhat responsible for his current situation.
Jonathan and Sarah led the way, leaving Candi and Kevin to trail behind. Candi could hear Jonathan and Sarah talking, but not what was being said.
She looked out of the corner of her eye a few times, trying to figure out if Kevin was mad. She felt really stupid that he had gotten mixed up in her situation. She had no idea Jack would become so possessive. He seemed so nice all evening; then he kind of turned on her. Probably the drinks they’d had hadn’t helped. She felt pretty dizzy herself, actually. She’d never been drunk before, but she was pretty sure she was now. She didn’t notice it so much in the loud, dark club – but out in the quiet hallways, it became apparent she wasn’t totally sober. She wished she could read Kevin’s mind, but all he did was stare straight ahead as they walked slowly back to their rooms.
***
Sarah kept up a stream of conversation with Jonathan from the moment they had left the club. Now she was getting to the subject she really wanted to talk about.
“So, what’s with the blond chick at the club?”
“Nothing. Her name is LeeAnn, by the way. She’s not just a chick.”
“Well, I could see that. You practically sucked her face off before we left.”
“I did not.”
“Did too. And frankly, Jonathan, I have to tell you that I didn’t really think you had it in you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know – I thought you’d be afraid to kiss a girl in public like that. You don’t strike me as the make-out type.”
“Well, you were wrong about me then, I guess, weren’t you?” He smiled to himself.
Sarah could tell that it was alcohol that had emboldened him. His speech was a little bit slurred and he wasn’t walking a very straight line. She was frustrated, but she didn’t know why. Even with the courage from a bottle, he still should have been acting shy and embarrassed; but he seemed perfectly at ease with himself. She hated it when people surprised her.
“I wonder what else I’ve been wrong about where you’re concerned.?
?? She looked at him with her eyebrows raised, sure this suggestive statement would get him all flustered. This would put her back on solid ground with him and stop this silly game he was trying to play.
Jonathan stopped walking and took her by the upper arm. He pushed her gently towards the wall of the hallway they had been walking down. They were well ahead of Kevin and Candi who were still around the corner, now totally alone.
“Sarah, you know what your problem is? It’s that you judged me before you took the time to get to know me. I’m pretty sure you think you have me all figured out, but trust me, you don’t.” He paused to consider his next words. “You can’t get the right answer if you don’t have the correct formula. You should remember that from eighth grade math.”
He leaned in towards her face, breaking eye contact, staring at her lips as he moved closer.
Sarah’s heart stopped beating for a second, then raced to catch up. She was breathing faster, frozen in place against the wall as Jonathan’s face got nearer and nearer to hers. She couldn’t pull away and didn’t want to. It was complete madness.
She wondered what he was going to do. Is he going to kiss me? Am I okay with that? Yes, I think I am. Why? He’s a total dork! She closed her eyes and waited expectantly anyway, her lips just slightly parted, her sweet breath passing gently between them.
She felt his cheek next to hers, his lips near her neck. She heard him inhale deeply, the air rushing by and tickling her ear. What the ... ?
He whispered, “You smell nice.” Then he stood up straight, released her, and started walking down the hall again.
Sarah opened her eyes, remaining against the wall for another second, her brain trying to compute what had just happened. She had thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he’d smelled her. What in the hell was that all about?
“Did you just smell me?” she demanded of his back as he walked away. She hurried to catch up to him.
“Yes, I did, and like I said, you smell nice. Really nice, actually.”
“What kind of a weirdo traps a girl in a hallway and then sniffs her neck?”
“I don’t know. A kind of weirdo who likes the way you smell, I guess. And for the record, I didn’t trap you anywhere, you went willingly.”