Gaming Grace

by Piper J. Drake

  Her lashes swept down as she glanced down. “Yes.”

  Careful. He needed to be clear here. There was no way he was going to risk hurting her by making assumptions. An amazing time today didn’t mean he had a right to tomorrow. “Words, Grace. I need a little more clarity to be sure I’m not crossing any lines.”

  She smiled then and looked up, mischief in her eyes. “I’d like to hook up again.”

  Yes! He literally laughed out loud in relief. Taking her hand, he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss against her silken skin. “Until tomorrow then. I’ll dream of you.”

  Truth. He took himself out of her cabin before he lost his mind and jumped her right there.

  7

  Grace stumbled out of the escape room laughing so hard tears came to her eyes.

  “Seriously?” Bryan’s voice was filled with incredulous surprise. “You just happened to know Tesla’s formula for Helical Coil Inductance off the top of your head?”

  She turned to face him, balanced on the balls of her toes. Everything about this morning felt light and airy and fun. “I told you I’m a font of random information.”

  He put his hands on her hips, coaxing her into leaning against him. He leaned forward until his forehead touched hers. “That’s ridiculously random. Were you a math genius in school?”

  “Noooo.” She almost sang her denial. The idea made her giggle. “I was stronger in writing and reading comprehension. To be honest, I did an escape room in Pennsylvania at this old NASA facility as a team building exercise with a client group. One of the escape room themes was about Tesla, like this one. I guess Tesla is a popular theme. Part of the puzzle was to assemble clues to piece together the formula. Since it had to do with a helical coil, I guessed they were using the same formula.

  Bryan lifted his head and looked toward the sky. “Your memory is amazing.”

  “I don’t always remember the right things.” She wrinkled her nose. “Sure, it’s cool I remembered this random formula that I don’t need for anything but escape rooms. What I really wish for is the ability to remember names and faces, and be able to match the right name to the right face after just one meeting. That would be so incredibly helpful. There’s almost nothing worse than running into someone at a conference where they remember me and I don’t remember them. I’m not senior enough in my career for it not to be something to worry about.”

  The networking part of building a career was something she constantly poured effort into. Making connections and building relationships in business was incredibly challenging. It was even more difficult when one tried to keep it organic and sincere, rather than initiating calculated interactions. She only had a limited capacity for that aspect of forwarding her career.

  “In a thinly veiled attempt to change the subject, have you still not retrieved your pants from your friend?” Bryan’s eyebrows were lifted and his hands tightened on her hips. “I like these shorts a lot, but I’m guessing they’re a recent acquisition.”

  “We’re going to mention the pants thing every day, aren’t we?” She huffed out a laugh. “I bought these in the ship store yesterday with my friend, Kendall. The blouse, I actually did own before this vacation.”

  The cream colored blouse was a favorite, actually. The silky soft fabric was easy to wash on the go and quick to dry, didn’t require ironing or steaming, and the sleeves were long and full, gathering at the wrists. It could be worn as a top with either a skirt or pants, or it could go easily under a blazer.

  “It’s a key piece of my capsule wardrobe, actually.” She glanced down at her chest. The neckline was modest but the thin fabric flowed over her curves in a nice way, enough for her to still feel pretty with Bryan. “The shorts aren’t and I’m not sure when I’ll wear them after this vacation, but they were on sale so I guess it was okay to get them.”

  “Capsule?”

  He didn’t seem to mind the two of them standing there, in the middle of the entryway to the escape room area. If anyone came along, those people were going to have to go around them. Grace couldn’t help it, she looked around, but no one was coming at the moment.

  “I’ve been trying to limit myself to a capsule wardrobe, a collection of essential items of clothing that are classic and never go out of style.” She played with the collar of his shirt. “The idea was to live a minimalist, focused on career, sort of life. It’s easier to stay on task when I don’t have to expend energy worrying about what to pack for each business trip or what to wear in each meeting. The capsule wardrobe concept gives me a few pieces to mix and match in a bunch of combinations so I’m not wearing the exact same thing all the time, but I’m also not buried in clothing I only wear once in a blue moon. It also means I only have clothing I absolutely feel confident in, and I save money too.”

  Not that she had to. Her finances had stabilized in the years since college and she had enough buffer in her budget to expand beyond a wardrobe of only work clothes. She’d just been in the habit of choosing clothes for the main focus of her life. And honestly, she simply didn’t enjoy shopping by herself. At least here, on the ship, it’d been fun to shop with Kendall urging her outside her usual MO even if Kendall had still been distracted by her own problems.

  They all had their issues to work through. There was a whole lot of life going on for each of them, part of the reason each of them needed the relief of a vacation, and Grace struggled to find the balance between being an attentive friend and giving her friends the space they needed to decide what they wanted for themselves.

  Either way, after this cruise, she’d need to get back to life. There really wasn’t any reason she’d ever wear these shorts in real life, especially not for any event having to do with her career. It was a reminder that she had a real life to get back to and whatever this was with Bryan would just be a set of wild memories.

  She decided to put a fun spin on that thought. “So what about you? What’s your next destination after this cruise?”

  He released her then, tucking her against his side as he walked them out of the foyer area and out onto the deck. This level was open to the air and passengers could look over the outer railings at the ocean on one side of the boat or the port on the other side. The deck was also open in the middle, looking down on the pools on the deck below. It was a great level for walking around and people watching from any number of angles. Grace was content to walk with him until they reached one of the inner railings overlooking the pools.

  “Bangkok first.” He released her and turned to lean against the railing, facing her. “I’m going to have a few weeks at most to pull together the results of this app testing and create a presentation for potential investors. Then, it’s a dog and pony show, so to speak, to get the backing we’ll need to make the app a reality. Of course, it would be easier to find investors in South East Asia where my family ties give me some advantages, but ideally, I’d like to launch it from the US at the same time or immediately after, where it’d be clearer that I made this a success on the strength of my work with my developer and not who my family is. And business aspirations aside, I’d like to keep seeing you.”

  For a moment, happiness bubbled up inside her and she couldn’t help but beam at him. She liked so many things about him. It wasn’t just how incredibly attractive he was. Even his aspirations and his desire to make a success of this project of his drew her to him, want to be near him. “I’d really like that.”

  Wait. She got a mental hold of herself before she could get too crazy. It was never wise to just let thoughts like those remain standing. She should think through the implications more thoroughly.

  Bryan must’ve seen something in her face because some of the pleasure in his expression dimmed and he reached out, catching a lock of her hair between his thumb and forefinger. “There’s a ‘but’, isn’t there?”

  Wow, he was more perceptive than just about anybody she spent her time with back home. She nodded. “I’m playing devil’s advocate here. It’s true that long dista
nce isn’t the deterrent it used to be years ago. There’s instant messaging and live video now to help with instantaneous communication. I’m pretty sure we’ve both got crazy busy schedules in our real lives, so we’d have to find a balance there and coordinate in order to make time for each other. Doable, if we want.”

  She paused and he didn’t fill in the silence. She liked that about him. He didn’t constantly have to prove he knew where she was going with a thought. Sometimes he gave her a chance to get there on her own.

  “But I…” She considered where she was going with her thought process, because she hadn’t been sure as she’d started talking and now she had a bad feeling it was going to take them someplace less than happy. “I don’t think I want a serious relationship, or at least I wasn’t looking for one before I got on this ship. I don’t know if I want one right now. I had a specific purpose for this cruise.”

  “And what was it?” Bryan didn’t sound mad or even upset. His voice was neutral, though, missing the easy-going fun and amusement she’d been enjoying with him and she regretted making that go away.

  She rolled her shoulders, willing away the tension starting to gather. She always held her tension in her shoulders. “I’m up for a promotion at work. It’s very important to me. But first, I needed to be able to show I could maintain a healthy work-life balance. If I’m going to have people reporting to me, I need to be able to create a positive work environment and not run all my direct reports into the ground. I didn’t want to be a do as I say and not what I do sort of leader. So this cruise was my way of taking time for me and remembering how to encourage others to do the same in leading by example. Once I get back, I’ll be able to demonstrate my productivity levels and the promotion should be a done deal.”

  “Sounds like a thought out plan,” he said quietly.

  She wasn’t sure what he was thinking at this point. His posture was still relaxed and his expression was pleasant. He hadn’t withdrawn in a physical way. It was his voice and the way he looked at her, less intense. She lifted her chin, refusing to feel bad about it. “I try to always have a plan.”

  “I’m a lot more spontaneous.” He made it sound like a confession as he leaned back and looked out over the ship’s deck, watching the revelry still going on around the pools even in the middle of a day at port when a lot of the passengers had gone on excursions off the ship. “That’s why the app appeals to me. Minimal planning required, lots of options. The only decisions the players have to make is what option is most appealing at that moment in time. If one doesn’t work out, no big deal. On to the next idea.”

  “That,” she said as she leaned forward on the rail next to him and bumped him with her shoulder, “is why I think of you as this kind of playboy personality. There’s a certain kind of abandon with which you go about living life. You talk like it’s nothing to go from New York to Bangkok, then hope to come back and launch your app from the United States. You came on board and you didn’t even know who you were going to do these activities with. I bet you figured you could find someone who might be game to give it a go.”

  It didn’t have to have been her. She was lucky, really, that it had been. This was a lot better than the aimless relaxation she’d had planned and she might have driven her friends insane or hidden in her cabin all week reading. She was enjoying herself in so many unexpected ways with Bryan. But if he hadn’t come upon her in the hallway, he’d have found someone else.

  She realized she was frowning and turned to look out over the outer railing at the port. They hadn’t even left the United States yet. She refused to get resentful about him being spoiled for choices on this ship. He was choosing to spend time with her now and she was going to enjoy herself. The other path of thought wasn’t going to do anything but bring them both down. “In any case, I’m glad you and I are here. Thank you for letting me help you test your app. As zany vacation flings go, this is way better than anything I imagined might come out of this cruise.”

  Zany vacation fling.

  Bryan kept his lips curved in a smile despite the frustration beginning to tighten in his gut. Based on everything he was learning about Grace, this was one of her defense mechanisms. It was like she kept expectations low when it came to the people around her. That way, she couldn’t be too hurt by disappointment.

  Thing was, from the moment he’d met her, he’d spent the time with her savoring every second. While he was away from her, he looked forward to being with her again. This week at sea wasn’t going to be enough for him. He wanted more.

  “So how does your personal life fit into this plan of yours?”

  She blinked. “I’ll be focused on my career.”

  “Meaning you don’t have a personal life outside of carefully scheduled vacations?” Well, that would mean no room for him either. He didn’t want to force it, but he wondered whether there was a little leeway there.

  “I block out time to work out and to get enough sleep. I make sure I get at least six hours of sleep a night.” She brought her attention back from the view of the port and looked down at the party people down by the pool, then brought her gaze back up quickly.

  He grinned. There was a lot of hooking up going on down there. Her blithe run down of her routine seemed to be missing a few basic survival elements. “So you sleep, exercise, and put the rest of your energy into your career. Don’t tell me you work through your meals?”

  And sex. When did she make time for her physical needs? Okay. He was being a horny bastard thinking in terms of sex but everyone had a right to see to their personal needs. He didn’t particularly want to think of her with anyone else, but the idea of Grace pleasing herself was very appealing. He was also not going to tease her into talking about it. Not unless she broached that particular topic.

  Okay maybe he’d tease her into talking about it, if they were in a position to tease each other in much more intimate ways.

  She apparently had no idea that his mind had taken a swan dive into naughty places. “Well, I work through a lot of my lunches and there are a lot of business dinners when I’m traveling for my job.”

  He gave her a mock scowl. “There’s more to life than that. Do you take a minute to enjoy simple pleasures?”

  She glanced at him, her cheeks flushing just a little bit. “Like seeing a sunset? Sure.”

  Oh she might be innocent in a lot of ways but he was sure they were indulging in some light teasing now.

  “I mean doing little things to make life worth living each day.” He turned toward her and lifted her hand, twining his fingers with hers. “When you lie down to sleep, do you ever reflect on your day and think about how great the day was? Remember what your favorite part of the day was? Or are you just grateful you managed to stay just ahead of all the stuff you had to do?”

  She watched their hands. “I…I review the tasks I have to do for the next day.”

  He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Living is more than just keeping up with your task list, Grace.”

  She didn’t pull away, but her shoulders stiffened a little. “There’ll be time for more personal life stuff after I get this promotion.”

  He nipped at the shell of her ear. “Really?”

  “Yes.” The one word was a whisper but she took a breath and steadied. “It’ll take time to establish myself in that position. Then things should level out and I could look into what things would make me happier too.”

  She leaned back enough to look him in the face. “This is a lot of scrutiny on how I live my life. How about you?”

  Fair. He could give her answers too. “There’s room for improvement. I’m not going to pretend there’s not. But I go to sleep every night thinking damn, that was a lot of fun.”

  “Wow.” She looked at him with wide eyes. “You and I are wired so different. It’s almost completely opposite the way we approach our lives.”

  He shrugged. “Not a bad thing to have different perspectives. I’ve learned a lot being around you, Grace. You give me
good ideas.”

  And he intended to convince her he was something good to fit into her plans, at last for the near future.

  8

  Grace had been thinking back to her conversation with Bryan all afternoon. She was also… antsy. He hadn't initiated anything more serious than light, stolen kisses as they had done the escape room and then tried out the laser tag course on board. Of course, she told him she wasn't into public displays of affection and she hadn't wanted to get hot and heavy at either of those areas of the ship. Too many people.

  What left her off balance was the lack of follow-up. They hadn't found their way to her cabin together and he hadn’t invited her to his afterward. He'd simply dropped her off after they'd finished laser tag.

  Grace had to have done something wrong. Aubrey had found a guy before they’d even left port and Kendall had a man hidden in her bathroom last night. Kendall hadn’t joined them for dinner, but Grace had glimpsed her friend leaving the dining room with the same guy. Of all the people in Grace’s life, Kendall deserved to enjoy herself for once. Liv and Benjamin each had their own things going on too. And Grace was still wearing her blouses buttoned all the way up.

  It wasn’t her intent to compare herself to her friends. She was glad for each of them. It was more that she had always admired each of them for the choices they made in their lives and what she saw as them navigating life without having to hold on so tight to what a person ought to do. As much as she liked to plan and prepare and be detail-oriented about everything in life, she also wanted to experience the excitement of spontaneity. She didn’t want to miss out on experiences just because she hadn’t thought to put them into her carefully detailed schedule.

  Maybe Bryan had other plans for his afternoon. It wasn't as if she needed to know his entire itinerary for the day, and neither of them had implicitly said they were being exclusive on this cruise. She was reasonably certain he wasn't testing his app with anyone else, but that didn't mean he wasn't spending time with anyone else.