BLAINE

I can’t believe I got shown up on my first day in class. I took another swig of the non-alcoholic beer in front of me. And I can’t even get a real beer at the stupid mocktail-only bar on this boat. Why did Lexi always have to make me look stupid?

You started things this time, Blaine, I reminded myself. Lexi and I hadn’t exactly gotten off on a good foot on this cruise, given that I’d immediately told everybody her whole “Alexandra” image was fake at the party yesterday. But she’d insulted me when I’d tried to flirt with her! What kind of stone-cold bitch did that?

“It’s five o'clock somewhere!” the guy behind the bar remarked as he set the drink down in front of me.

“You got that right—” I paused to read his nametag. “Christos. Hey. I’m Blaine. Thanks for the drink.”

“Nice to meet you, Blaine.”

“How are things going for you and the rest of the crew on the boat? Off to a good start?”

“So far, so good. It's refreshing having some college kids on board instead of the senior citizens I’m usually tending to on other ships.”

“Quite the change of pace, I’d imagine,” I said with a rueful chuckle, remembering the wild party the previous night. Even though only non-alcoholic drinks were served onboard, clearly some people had snuck in their own booze, supervision was lax, and things had gotten kind of crazy. “This is the ship’s inaugural voyage, right?” I took another swig.

“It is,” Christos confirmed, after giving me a surprised stare. “Not a lot of people are aware of that.” I realized my mistake.

“Ah, yeah, I think I saw it in one of the pre-boarding emails we were sent before we got here,” I said quickly. Not quite the truth, but it would do for now. “People think I don’t read, that I’m just some dumb jock,” I hurried on, before Christos could ask questions, “But I do read. Just not boring textbooks.”

Christos nodded and, thankfully, didn’t press the issue. “Yes, we’re still learning the intricacies of the ship, and there will undoubtedly be some bumps on the way. But so far, it’s smooth sailing. Pun intended.”

Dumb as it was, the lame joke gave me a laugh, which I’d really needed in that moment. “I’m sure you and the crew will have your hands full but no doubt, you’ve got it under control.”

“Nice of you to care about the crew,” Christos said as he watched me down my beer. “Another one?”

“Nah, I’m good.” I slid the empty glass across the bar to him. “Thanks for the drink. And the chat.”

I walked away from the bar feeling better after my chat with Christos. Optimistic, I headed to the pool area. But my newfound good mood dissipated quickly at the sight of Lexi, laid out on one of the chaise lounges, a giant marine biology textbook propped up against her knees. She was wearing shorts and a relatively modest bikini top—nothing flashy but just enough to show her flawlessly tanned skin and petite frame, 5’3” tops. She hadn’t grown an inch since high school, but the rest of her sure had changed…

Maybe now is a good time to make amends. It would be in both of our best interests to declare a ceasefire, I figured. I approached her with a friendly, “Hey, what’s up?” and tried to ignore how my voice cracked slightly on the word up. Was I nervous?!

“Absolutely nothing,” Lexi replied shortly, not even looking up from her book. “And I’m sick and tired of everybody trying to butt into my business.”

Whoa.

“Sorry, I was just trying to be friendly,” I replied. I’d wanted to sound apologetic, but my voice was strained with anger. “Anyway, I guess you got me back for that stunt I pulled at the party last night by showing me up in class. So we’re even now.”

“Good.” Lexi finally looked up and leveled her dark eyes on me. They were crackling with annoyance. “Then you can finally leave me alone. I have a lot of reading to do.” She gestured to the massive textbook in her hand. “Something you can’t relate to, I guess, since you never study. Although maybe you should start, so you don’t get shown up in class again. That was pretty embarrassing this morning. For you.”

What the hell? I’d been hoping to make peace, but she was making it impossible. And I hated it when people criticized me about my academics. Everyone always assumed I was dumb.

“I don’t need advice from you,” I snapped. “How about I worry about my life, and you worry about yours.”

“Fine by me. Just know that if you fall behind with school this time, I’m not going to tutor you.”

I rolled my eyes and stalked off, wondering why I’d even tried to be pleasant to Lexi. She was an uptight, rude person. I’m not going to waste a single second more on her, I resolved. I’m not going to waste even another THOUGHT on her.

I crossed the deck to the other side of the pool, where I spied Delilah, that hot TikTok blonde, taking selfies. She was wearing a tiny string bikini with light blue sequins. It barely covered her essentials, clearly showing her perfectly toned and fake-tanned figure. This girl knew how to make heads turn. This is the type of girl I should be focusing on, I thought to myself, remembering my conversation with the guys the previous night. I watched Delilah drape herself artistically against the railing of the boat as she snapped yet another selfie.

“You should caption that picture perfection,” I said smoothly, stepping up to her.

“Nice of you to notice,” Delilah replied, giving me a simpering smile. “If you play your cards right, you can be in one of my TikTok videos.” She said it like she was offering me a one-in-a-million ticket to Willy Wonka’s freaking chocolate factory.

“Uh, you know, an A-list guy like me has to keep things incognito.” I winked at her as I spoke, striving for a James-Bond style “man of mystery” vibe. It worked.

“Hmm, are you a spy?” Delilah raised her sunglasses so that her searing blue eyes locked with mine. Damn, she was sexy—and she knew it.

“Well, if I were, you know I couldn’t admit it.” I flashed her my best grin and puffed my chest up a little bit. Delilah’s flirtation was exactly what I needed to boost my ego after Lexi had eviscerated me.

“I do enjoy a good mystery,” Delilah purred, carefully adjusting the straps of her barely-there bikini. Was she trying to get me to look? “But you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. My follower count is growing every day. By the end of this semester, I’m going to have sponsors for sure, and then I can finally be a professional influencer.”

“I don’t doubt it.” I meant what I said. Delilah had the look, the attitude, and the drive to become an influencer. “Anyone would enjoy looking at you.”

“Hmm, people might say the same about you.” Her voice was like the purr of a kitten, soft and feminine. “I’m certainly enjoying looking at you.”

She stepped toward me, shoving her boobs against me. As she spoke, her face turned up toward me—practically begging me to kiss her.

“Our lips must be getting jealous of all the fun our eyes are having.” I brought one hand to Delilah’s waist as I spoke, pulling her in more firmly—and then I leaned down and kissed that perfect pout of hers.

Delilah, clearly expecting the kiss, didn’t flinch—and immediately took it to the next level by slipping her tongue into my mouth. It was such a turn on. She wasn’t just sexy; she was confident as hell. I lingered on the kiss, feeling a sense of familiarity in the moment. This was exactly the kind of attention I was used to getting from girls.

Not like Lexi. My brain blasted the thought before I could stop it. I was kissing Delilah. Delilah was hot and confident and popular and cool. Focus on Delilah. I deepened our kiss and pulled her closer, trying to override my brain. But I couldn’t stop it from flitting back to thoughts of Lexi: I bet she hasn’t even had her first kiss yet.