Sex, Lies, and Cruising

by Cathryn Chapman

  Cooper didn’t respond, and I felt myself holding my breath. Then he looked me and smiled broadly. “You know what we need? Better company and a cabin party!”

  Jock snorted and moved down to the other end of the bar.

  “A cabin party?” I echoed, my eyes following Jock before snapping back to Cooper’s face. “Sounds good to me. We can have it in mine.”

  As Cooper dragged me away to find some people to party with, I wondered what had happened to set Jock and Cooper at odds. Cooper had clearly made many friends in his short time on board; he was practically vying for Most Adored Man. I’d been so sure that he’d get on with Jock; Jock seemed to get along with everybody anyway—well, almost—and I’d thought they’d be fast friends. Apparently I’d been wrong.

  As I trailed after Cooper, I glanced back at the dance floor and saw that Caitlin and Gabriel had stopped their groping shuffle. They stood in a little huddle with Maria, their foreheads almost touching. Suddenly, they all threw their heads back, and I saw they were doing shots off a little drinks tray Maria was holding. It was weird to see Caitlin drinking with the Brazilian Bitch…although, that being said, Caitlin had never been one to turn down a free beverage, and the drunker she got the less she cared about where the booze was coming from.

  Still, I couldn’t understand why Maria had bought rounds for the couple she had been giving the evil eye only moments before. I’d never understand her.

  Once we’d rounded up about a dozen people, Cooper ambled over to collect the dance floor trio. Caitlin, always up for a party, whooped and hollered, while Maria slunk away into the darkness. As I was carried out amongst the throng of party-goers, I looked back at the bar and met Jock’s gaze; he’d been scowling after us, though his expression lightened when he saw me, and he returned my wave as I disappeared out the door.

  Once in the cabin, the party took on a life of its own. It was so easy to throw a great bash on board a cruise ship. No one minded being crammed together in the close quarters of a cabin; people talked and laughed and drank and tried to dance, and I listened as Cooper told stories about passengers he’d met during his time on the ship. We were wedged between the desk and the wall, our legs touching, and though I’d been convinced that Cooper really wasn’t attractive, I was incredibly aware of my leg against his.

  As he laughed, wrapping up another story, his hand brushed my thigh. A thousand tingles ran down my spine, and the tightening between my thighs I’d felt during Caitlin’s story earlier in the night came rushing back like a thunderbolt. My body arched forward, drawn to him like a lodestone.

  Then Gabriel grabbed my shoulder, disturbing the moment. “Hey, Ellie,” he said, sounding worried, “did you see Caitlin come out of the bathroom? She’s been in there for ages. I knocked, but she’s not answering.” There was fear in his eyes. I ripped myself away from Cooper’s magnetic field and pushed through people to the bathroom door. I pulled on the knob, but it was locked.

  “Caity!” I called, leaning against the door jamb. No answer. I pounded on the door. “Caity! Are you still in there, gorgeous?”

  There was no answer. I banged hard with my open hand and yelled again. Still no answer.

  Cooper disappeared for a minute, then reappeared with a Swiss Army Knife. “Here’s a little trick I learned on my last ship,” he said. He pushed the knife underneath the handle’s base, and with a quick flick of the blades, slipped a file into the door crack. The door popped open.

  I swung the door open and there she was—slumped down between the toilet and the wall. Her head was hanging forward, eyes closed, and her feet were splayed far apart on the bathroom floor.

  “Caity!” I squished into the small bathroom and grabbed her shoulders. I shook hard and tried again. “Caitlin! Wake up, darling. Come on, wake up!” I could see the rise and fall of her chest, but she didn’t open her eyes. My high of moments ago was replaced by sheer panic. I breathed in sharply and slapped her cheek. “Caitlin!” Still no response.

  Gabriel shoved me aside and started shaking her. “Sweetheart! Baby! Wake up, come on, wake up!” His voice was hoarse. “PLEASE wake up,” he begged.

  Cooper put his hands on Gabriel’s shoulders. “Here, man,” he said calmly. “Try this cold towel. Sprinkle some water on her head.” He handed Gabriel a water-soaked hand towel he had grabbed off the rail.

  While the boys tried to wake Caitlin up, I went back out into the cabin. Everyone else had quietly filtered out once they’d realised something was wrong. “I’m calling the doctor,” I said, reaching for the telephone.

  “No!” Gabriel cried out. “She’ll get fired for being so drunk.”

  I knew what I had to do. “I don’t give a shit, Gabriel,” I said sharply. “I’d rather she was alive!”

  Cooper put his arm out to hold Gabriel back and shook his head. “She has to call them, man. You know it.”

  Gabriel buried his head in his hands. Cooper reached down and scooped Caitlin up into his arms and carried her out of the bathroom. He laid her on her side on our floor of the cabin and checked her mouth for vomit. The doctor arrived with a nurse in tow minutes later. They whisked Caitlin away in a wheelchair; her body slumped over as though she were dead. I ran after them. Cooper and Gabriel ran after me. As we rounded the first corner, we almost slammed into Maria. She stepped back, blocking our path.

  “I just saw Caitlin with the doctor,” she said, sounding concerned. “She had a lot to drink tonight. I hope she is okay.”

  I shoved her aside; we didn’t need to stand and listen to any more of her bitchiness.

  “I hope she does not lose her job for drunkenness,” she called after us.

  Fucking bitch. She’d been practically pouring shots down Caitlin’s throat back in the crew bar. I wanted to say something, but Caitlin came first. I would have to worry about Maria later.

  As we caught up with the doctor again, he began to ask questions as we ran through the halls, asking what she’d had to drink, and how much, and if she’d taken any drugs… Gabriel and I answered as best we could. She’d drunk a lot throughout the day, but not really more than she had done on previous occasions. Neither of us thought she’d done any drugs.

  Then I remembered the bulimia.

  I hesitated at first, unsure if Gabriel knew, and then decided it didn’t matter. “Doctor,” I said, “she has a history of bulimia…so she may have been throwing up today, and drinking on an empty stomach.” I hated being a snitch, but he needed to know what he was dealing with.

  The brightly lit medical centre was a stark contrast to the hot, sweaty party we’d so recently been enjoying back in the cabin. The doctor and nurse lifted Caitlin up and swung her onto a bed. As the nurse gathered instruments and equipment to check Caitlin’s vitals, the doctor spoke in hushed tones.

  He used his thumb to pull her eyelid back and flashed a light into them. “She’s not responding,” he said. “Pupils aren’t contracting.” He checked her pulse, and her blood pressure, and recorded her BAC, measured her oxygen…

  I could see the worry on his face and felt like I was going to pass out. I felt horrendously guilty; my tendency to blame myself for everything surged to the fore. How could I have let her drink so much? How had I not noticed she’d had more than enough? Why hadn’t I followed her into the bathroom? I felt like the worst friend in the world, even though rationally I knew it wasn’t my fault, and said a little prayer for Caitlin.

  “Please let her be okay,” I whispered, and then added, since I didn’t make a habit of praying, “I’ll do anything. Just let her be okay.”

  I stared hard at Caitlin, silently pleading for her to wake up. Her eyes stayed shut and her tiny, delicate body lay limp on the hospital bed. She looked like a child. And at that moment, I knew it might not be okay, my prayers might not do her any good. Maybe this was one of those turning points in life, the kind of thing that changed you forever. I wasn’t ready for that. I just wanted my roomie back.

  Chapter Twelve

 
Watching my new best friend lying unconscious was torture.

  I closed my eyes, tears threatening to spill out and over. A warm, comforting arm slipped around my shoulders, and I opened my eyes to see Cooper right next to me, tipping his head towards mine. “She’ll be right, Ellie. She’s in good hands here.”

  A small whimper escaped my lips.

  The doctor picked up a little, metal stick-type thing and pushed it hard under Caitlin’s thumbnail, his expression suggesting it was his last chance to get a response.

  “FUUCK OFF!” Caitlin screamed, sitting bolt upright and opening her eyes. Then she slumped back down and closed them again.

  The corner of the doctor’s mouth twitched upwards. “She’ll be okay,” he said. “She just needs to sleep it off. But just to be safe and ensure she doesn’t have any complications, we’ll keep an eye on her in here overnight.”

  We breathed a collective sigh of relief.

  “Oh, thank God!” I exclaimed. She was going to be okay! Relief rushed through my body and I felt a moment of weakness. I leaned against Cooper for support.

  “Thank you so much, Doctor. We’ll leave you in peace now,” Gabriel said. “Please let us know when Caitlin wakes up. Thank you again for everything.”

  I echoed my thanks and reluctantly left Caitlin in that cold, uncomfortable room.

  My dad always said you could see people’s true colours in an emergency. Cooper had been amazing—calm and cool, knowledgeable, and reassuring to have around. He put his arm around me as we walked back up to the cabins and I leant into him, feeling completely drained by the evening’s drama. Gabriel thanked Cooper with a silent handshake, kissed me on the cheek, and disappeared, no doubt back to a sleepless night in his cabin. His reaction in the medical centre had surprised me, and I wondered if the situation would make him rethink his feelings towards his relationship with Caitlin. As for me…I knew Caitlin drank a lot, but it had never seemed like it was enough that it might be a problem. And now, even though I knew she’d be okay, I was desperately worried about her.

  As we neared the photographer’s corridor, I began to dread going back into my cabin. I could still see Caitlin sprawled on the bathroom floor and I knew that I’d just sit there and stare and overthink and blame myself.

  Cooper seemed to pick up on my tangled emotions and stopped me before I got to my door. “Ellie,” he said gently, “just come into my cabin for a while. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he’d realised I didn’t want to go back into the cabin I shared with Caitlin after what we’d just witnessed.

  We stepped into the stillness of his cabin. For a moment I felt disoriented; the last time I’d been in this particular room had been when it was Seth living here. I’d been rather drunk then, though, so happily for me my recollection was somewhat fuzzy. I pushed the hazy memory to the back of my mind and turned my attention to the cabin’s current occupant.

  “Take a load off,” Cooper said, motioning to the bed. “Want something to eat? I’ve got plenty of snacks.” He opened the fridge to reveal a couple of containers of what looked like home-baked goodies, which was definitely weird. “Oh,” he added, seeing my reaction, “I’ve got a buddy in the kitchen who makes these for me.”

  Of course he did. I wished I had a buddy in the kitchen who’d make me chocolate chip cookies. I eyed Cooper with renewed interest, wondering if I could convince him to share…

  He fished around on his desk and then popped a DVD into the widescreen laptop. I was surprised to see the main menu for Serendipity. “I love this movie,” he whispered, settling down beside me and taking a bite out of a delicious-looking brownie. “I really believe in fate and destiny.”

  The sarcastic part of me really wanted to pounce on his girly comment — fate and destiny? Really? — but the romantic part of me appreciated a guy in touch with his feminine emotions. Though I’d probably appreciate it more if he’d offer me some of that brownie…

  “I guess I do too,” I said, although given my current shite track record with men, I thought maybe it was time to rethink the whole fate thing.

  “Hope you’re okay after what happened tonight,” he asked moments later, looking at me square in the eyes. “It was a really scary experience.” He patted my arm reassuringly. My father would have patted my arm in exactly the same manner. Somewhat surprisingly, I found myself thinking that I’d rather not have Cooper treat me quite so platonically…

  I answered him truthfully. “I’m fine now that I know Caitlin will be okay. Thanks ever so much for being there. I was a mess. I really appreciated your support.”

  He just nodded and went back to watching the film. It was quite strange, being there with him in the dark, watching John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale fight over a pair of gloves. I’d felt such electricity between us at the room party before everything got shot to hell, and now I felt nothing coming from him at all. I sneaked a peek at him out of the corner of my eyes, loving how the flickering lights of the screen reflected on his glasses. A lock of hair had fallen down across his forehead, over his eye; I reached out and swept it back, my fingers tingling at the brief contact with his skin. He just smiled at me and kept watching the screen.

  It must have been about twenty minutes later that it finally dawned on me he actually wanted to watch the film. In my experience, men invited you to watch a movie and then pounced before the opening credits finished. Cooper apparently wasn’t like most men. He was on his third brownie and as far as I could tell was completely engrossed in the story. He showed absolutely no interest in anything else, and to be perfectly honest I was starting to get a little frustrated.

  On the bright side, with the second brownie he’d brought out the whole container and plunked it down between us, so at least I was getting my chocolate fix.

  I hadn’t been sure if I liked him, other than as a generally lovely person, but after the intense events of the evening my emotions were running high. Being alone together, on his bed, watching a romantic movie, was making me more than a little bit frisky. And he seemed oblivious, completely ignoring a perfect opportunity. I reached for a broken piece of brownie, finished it in a few bites, and casually put my hand back down, just touching his. The electricity was back. I smiled to myself and waited for his reaction.

  He also reached for another brownie, and then put his hand back down…several inches away from mine. And kept watching the movie.

  Arg. A part of me was annoyed, even offended, but the part of me that had recently been royally rogered by two sleazy bed hoppers was actually pretty impressed. I’d started to think that the men on this ship only had one goal, and that was to see how quickly they could get into a girl’s pants. Looked like Cooper was one of the good guys…or he wasn’t attracted to me. I dismissed that thought immediately. I was in the best shape of my life. A small smile crept across my face; all the time in the sun had finally turned my pasty skin into a pretty golden tan, and before I’d even realised it, the uniform that had started out too tight not only fit perfectly over my slimmed-down hips, but had just reached the point where it was almost too loose. If Seth and Luciano had found me even reasonably attractive weeks and weeks ago, then there was no way Cooper didn’t find the new and improved me even a little bit attractive.

  While I loved a romantic comedy as much as the next girl, fatigue was starting to set in; my eyes were starting to droop. I grabbed a pillow and got into a more comfortable position, and the movie gradually started to fade away. I struggled to stay awake, because I didn’t really want to be rude and fall asleep in someone else’s cabin, but my self-will wasn’t a match for the sleep dragging me under. I’d just close my eyes for a few minutes.

  When I opened my eyes again, the cabin was illuminated only by the fairy lights, and I was lying properly in bed, with the covers on top of me. Stifling a yawn, I squinted up at the desk, confused. The bright numbers of the digital clock said 06:32. Surely that wasn’t right. I pulled my hand out from unde
r the covers and checked the time on my watch. It was right. I had slept there all night!

  For a moment, I thought Cooper wasn’t even there, until I started to move and realised he was behind me. I twisted around and saw he was fast asleep, too. He’d clearly taken off his glasses to sleep; it was the first time I’d seen him without them, and he had the cutest little boy face. I turned back over and closed my eyes. It was still early; I wanted to get as much sleep as possible before opening the shop.

  Then Cooper mumbled something and put his hand on my hip. He moved his thumb in circles; the friction burned me through my clothes. I moved back slightly until my body was millimetres away from his. The energy between us felt hot and intense.

  He hadn’t shown any interest the night before, but in that moment I knew he was interested. I could feel it. Kind of hard to miss when you’ve got an aroused man directly behind you; it pressed hard against my bottom, and my stomach lurched in anticipation.

  Before I had a chance to second-guess myself, Cooper’s arm slid around my waist and pulled me hard against him. I wriggled playfully against him as he kissed my ear, and was rewarded by a hitch in his breathing. My heart raced as warmth pooled between my thighs; Cooper’s hand drifted upwards, beneath my shirt, his fingers feather-light over my skin. As he kissed along the curve of my neck, down to my shoulder, his hand worked its way higher, until it cupped around my breast. I swallowed as he found his way into my bra and pinched my already-hard nipple between his fingers. He nibbled on my neck as he played with me, and a soft moan escaped my lips. “Make love to me, Ellie-Belly,” he whispered, tugging at me until I rolled over and faced him.

  Nobody had ever called me that. It was so cute and intimate, and when he said it I got little butterflies in my stomach. My shirt took up residence on the floor, swiftly followed by my bra; as Cooper kissed his way from my neck to my navel, his right hand stayed busy at my breast while his left found the zipper to my skirt. I would have been happy to return some of the attention, but he seemed entirely focused on me. I couldn’t say I objected; I’d recently started to almost expect foreplay. And Cooper was definitely not putting himself first. My skirt and pants joined the rest of my clothes on the floor, and I stopped thinking, far too distracted by the magic his tongue was wielding.