Sailing with My Sister’s Best Friend (Cruisin With Curves)

Chapter 8

Aurora

D arby and I grabbed breakfast on the pool deck while Wade finished up some work on an upcoming game and Aunt Kelly slept in. She said she wanted to be well rested for our first port, but I think she just wanted to give Darby and me some time alone. I had no idea where Seeley was, and after last night’s dream, I wasn’t in a rush to see him.

“Earth to Aurora.” I looked over to see Darby waving her hands.

“What?”

“I asked if you and Lee are really going to do it.”

I almost coughed up my entire breakfast. “Excuse me?” My voice rivaled the sound of the ship’s horn.

“The dance competition.” She clarified. “Are you both going to do it?”

“Oh.” I took a long breath and tried to clear my mind. My heart pounded in my chest at the idea that she could read my mind.

That fucking dream had me all mixed up. In my dream, Seeley came to my room, but this time I didn’t stop him when he started running his hands over me. I lifted his shirt as he removed mine. His mouth latched onto my breast and his fingers found me wet and waiting. With no warning, he pushed in and fingered me until I came so hard my body was shaking. Then he placed both my legs on his shoulders and filled me. Both of us cried out as he thrust repeatedly into me. His mouth rotated between mine and my breast. His fingers rubbed at my clit. I was seconds from exploding when my alarm went off and I woke with a start. I tried to forget the memory of his touch, but the problem was that I knew it all too well.

I knew what it was like to have him inside me. To feel his mouth around my breast. His teeth grazed my nipple. I could easily remember the way his tongue felt between my legs. The taste of his cock on my lips. What it was like to fall apart around him.

More so, I remembered what it was like to fall asleep in his arms. To feel his fingers comb through my hair while we laughed at some silly thing that made no sense. To have his hand cover mine and his eyes on me as if there was no one else in the room. That was how he had made me feel last night. That’s why I had agreed to dance with him.

“So are you?” Darby’s frustrated voice pulled me back to the present.

“I said yes.” My own frustration rose in my tone.

She blew out a breath. “What happened between you and my brother?”

“I don’t know what you mean?” I picked up my coffee and took a sip.

Seeley and I had tried our best to keep the past from Darby. Neither of us knew how she would react, and I didn’t want to lose my best friend because her brother could be an ass.

“When I went away to college everything was fine.” She leaned forward on the table. “When you got hurt, Seeley was rushing me to get to the hospital to check on you. I hated that I had to go back before you got out of the hospital, but he promised he would look after you. Then I came back for winter break and you wouldn’t talk about him at all. It was the first and only time he stayed away for Christmas.”

“I’m not stupid.” She shook her head. “I know my brother has always had a crush on you, and I thought the feelings were mutual. But now it’s like the two of you can’t be in the same room together. I don’t get it.”

I shrugged. “Things change.”

“Do they? Or is it possible you two got together, it didn’t work, and now both of you are still holding onto past hurt and unable to see what’s right in front of you?”

My breath lodged in my chest and my eyes widened. Without saying a word I basically confirmed every words she just said.

“I thought so.” She leaned back. “That's why I’ve been pushing you guys together so hard.”

“What?” I placed my mug down a little harder than needed.

She rolled her eyes. “Did you really think there was something wrong with your ticket, and the only flight we just happened to be able to find was the one Lee was taking?” She tilted her head. “Not to mention, we miraculously were able to get you the seat right next to him? Come on Aurora. We planned this months ago.”

“So I was never flying down with Aunt Kelly?”

“Aunt Kelly had already been in Louisiana for a week.” She admitted.

“I don’t know what to say.” Mostly because I was both pissed she would do this, and that I didn’t figure it out.

“Sorry, but it was the only way I could think of to get you two together.” She leaned forward again. “I don’t care what happened in the past. All I care about is that two of the most important people to me are hurting all because they won’t let it go.”

“It isn’t that simple.”

“Nothing worth having ever is.” She reached over and held my hand. “Do you think it was easy letting Wade in when we first met? There was no way that I could believe I would meet someone like him. Let alone fall in love in seven days, but if I had held onto my fears or the pain of my past I wouldn’t have him now. Trust me, letting go is so worth it.”

Her lips thinned into a line. “I know my brother, and he cares about you. Maybe more than either of us knows. Possibly more than he knows.”

“I don’t know what went wrong before, but if you still have feelings for him then you owe it to both of you to give it another try.” She squeezed my hand.

“What if I can’t?” I blinked rapidly hoping tears weren’t falling down my face.

She lifted her shoulders. “Only the two of you can answer that, but I would hate to see either of you throw away something that could be amazing because of fear.”

I nodded unsure if I was agreeing with her or simply acknowledging her words. We spent the rest of our meal talking about the islands, but I couldn’t help wondering if she was right. Was it worth giving Seeley another chance or would I get hurt all over again?

THE KNOCK AT MY DOOR had me jumping in my seat. I was trying to relax on the balcony of my room before my first dance practice with Seeley. So far it wasn’t really working. Between my dream and my talk with Darby, my mind was filled with questions and doubts.

Another knock and I got up. I knew it was Seeley at the door so I took my time closing off the balcony, and putting on my shoes before walking over to turn the knob.

He stood there in a plain t-shirt with the logo of an indie band on the front and a pair of jeans. I felt as if I had seen the name Deaf Wolves before but I didn’t think I had heard any of their music.

“What’s wrong?” He reached for me the second he saw my face.

“Nothing.” I put on a small smile. “Let’s go.”

“Rory, what’s going on?” He didn’t back away. If anything he stepped closer. “Is it your leg?”

I shook my head. “No, my leg is fine.”

He kept his eyes locked with mine until he let out a slow breath. “If you really don’t want to do this competition, then we don’t have to. I just want to spend time with you.”

My heart stuttered in my chest. “Why?”

“Because...” He stopped and for a second I saw a flash of anger in his dark eyes. “You were right.” That wasn’t what I expected him to say. “I should have called. I should have come by your house before I left. I should have done so many things differently. The biggest one being I never should have let you go.”

“Seeley.”

“I’ve missed you everyday since then. Everyday.” He punctuated each syllable. “I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

It was all too much. The talk with Darby, Seeley standing here saying what I would have given anything for him to say years ago. Now it just felt overwhelming.

“I can’t do this right now.” I knew there were tears in my eyes, but I couldn’t stop them. Not this time.

“Okay.” He pulled me into his arms. My eyes closed as I breathed him in. He was still wearing the cologne I got him. The scent brought back the comfort I used to love. “It’s okay, baby. You don’t have to say anything right now. Why don’t we just go to the practice they have set up? We can talk about all this later.”

I nodded, unable to say anything. I felt his lips brush the side of my face before he pulled back and gave me the distance I needed.

I closed my cabin door and we walked to the elevator to ride up to the dance hall. I noticed him start to reach for my hand several times but stop himself. A part of me wanted to make it easier on both of us and take his, but I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t expected him to admit he had been wrong or say he wanted another chance. He might not have used those exact words, but the sentiment was still there.

“Tell me about the youth center.” He broke the silence while we waited for the elevator.

“What about it?”

“How did you get into working with teens?” He asked.

I shrugged. “After I accepted that my dream of being a prima ballerina was done, I needed something else to do. School loans and medical bills were piling up, and sitting around being depressed wasn’t going to cover them. Mom knew someone who worked at the facility. She suggested I give them a call. It’s hard to focus on your problems when you see these kids that have everything stacked against them and everyday they come in with a smile.”

“That’s amazing.” He held out his hand for me to get on the elevator. “I bet they love you.”

I laughed a little. “I don’t know about that. They are always making fun of me and calling me this name. I had to look it up and found out it was the hard-ass dance teacher on an eighties television show. I surprised them all when I memorized the woman’s monologue and came in for Halloween dressed like her and recited it.”

This time it was his turn to laugh. “I’m sure you looked gorgeous.”

“It was fun to get back into my old leotard and feel like I did growing up.” My smile fell.

“Hey, you’re still a dancer.” He lifted my chin so we were face to face. “No accident could ever take that from you.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

The elevator dinged and we got off and went to the right where we could hear music being played. There were already a few other couples using the floor. Some of them were pretty good too.

“Oh crap.” Seeley leaned into me. “You might have been right. All of a sudden this doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Are you kidding?” I looked at him to see he was actually a little pale.

“You’re incredible, but I’m not.” He shook his head. “You were right. I can’t do this. I’d just embarrass you.”

“Seeley.”

“No, you should find another partner. I’m sure Darby will let you borrow Wade, or there could be someone else on the ship that’s better than me. Anyone on the ship would be better than me.”

He was full-on having some sort of panic attack. His eyes were dancing around the room and his palms were sweating. His skin looked almost ghostly at this point. I was sure any minute he was going to fall into one of the chairs beside us with his head between his knees.

“Lee.” I rarely called him Lee if we weren’t wrapped around each other, but I needed him to focus on me. I put my hands on both sides of his face and brought his eyes to me.

“You can do this.” He shook his head. “You once told me that together we could do anything.”

I had been at the beginning of my rehab. Every step hurt, and I was ready to give up on every being able to get out of the chair they used to wheel me around. He had come to every physical therapy session. When I declared I was done one day, he knelt before me and took my hand. He told me, “together, we could do this.” He helped me out of the chair, and didn’t let go of my hand until I could walk on my own again.

“Lee, trust me. I’ve got you.” This time I was the one holding him together.

“Are you sure?” His eyes still looked a little wild.

I rose on my toes, and pressed my lips to his. My hands went from the side of his face to around his neck. His arms quickly surrounded me, and pulled my body flush against him until I could feel his arousal growing between us.

I pulled back. “Are you with me?”

“Always. I’ve always been with you.” He captured my mouth again. The dance forgotten. His hands slowly slid down to the top of my ass.

“We should stop.” I knew I started this, but it was only to help him calm down.

“Or we could get out of here and practice a different kind of dancing.” He kissed his way down to my shoulder.

I giggled like I was some sort of school girl. “I don’t think so.” I wiggled out of his arms. “Let’s just work on the routine for the competition.”

“Fine, but I’m going to need a minute.” He let his eyes flash downward.

Mine followed. I bit the side of my lip to not laugh. “Oops.”

“Oops?” He reached for me and pulled me back in his arms. “You are dangerous, Ms. Wagner.”

“Is that so Mr. Adler?” I put my arms back around his neck.

“Absolutely.” He kissed me again. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He rested his forehead against mine. “Damn, I missed this.” He rocked us back and forth.

My eyes slid closed and it took everything in me not to admit how much I had missed it too.