Time of My Life (Oceanic Dreams #2)

by Laura Heffernan

  “No.” Behind me, I heard him pacing in frustration. “Would you please look at me?”

  Without a word, I released the pole and fell backward, bringing my eyes near his level.

  “Thanks,” he said. “I told the truth earlier. Nellie and I aren’t getting married. We’re not even dating. She has reasons for wanting her parents to think we’re a couple. Our charade makes an old man happy. Until today, it never hurt anyone.”

  “Whatever,” I said. “It’s none of my business. It’s fine.”

  “No, it’s not fine.” He approached the pole, earnestness written all over his face. “Because I met you. I don’t want to let Nellie down, she’s a good friend. But I can’t imagine stepping off this ship on Saturday morning and walking away, never again meeting anyone who makes me feel like you do.”

  A tiny voice in my head whispered not to get my hopes up. “You’re not just saying this?”

  “Please trust me.” He stepped forward, bringing his face inches from mine. “No one has ever consumed my thoughts the way you do. No one makes my body tingle at the thought of touching them. And no one has ever filled me with despair at the thought of never seeing them again.”

  With all my heart, I wanted to believe him. Life without risks might mean safety, but it was also boring. I didn’t get into pole to be boring. I did it to fly. Frank made my heart soar.

  We shouldn’t be doing this. I’d thrown caution to the wind the past couple of days, even though I could get into a lot of trouble. The way he was looking at me made it difficult to care.

  Reaching out, I gripped his hand. “I don’t want us to end on Saturday morning, either.”

  We’d been in this position before. Frank the Mary Jane to my upside-down Spiderman. Unlike our first lesson, no one was here to interrupt us. I couldn’t bring myself to move away. My lips parted, and my breath came in pants that had nothing to do with the energy required to hold myself aloft.

  All of the air left the room as we gazed at each other for an eternity. Refusing to break eye contact, I waited patiently. Finally, Frank cupped my face in his hands. Even though it was a simple touch, after the anticipation, I moaned with pleasure.

  He moved his hands up and down my cheeks, and I closed my eyes, savoring the sensation. A moment later, his lips touched mine softly, as if seeking permission. I kissed him back, then opened my mouth with a soft sigh. My arms came around to bury themselves in his hair, no easy feat while hanging upside-down. We stayed that way, exploring each other, until my legs began to shake.

  Frank pulled back, ending the kiss. “You okay?”

  “Never better.” I slid down the pole in a basic dismount, not trusting my muscles to get back upright. When I neared the floor, my arms went up and my head tucked, allowing me to roll down slowly. Then I pulled myself to my feet before turning to face him as if Frank were a beacon calling me to the shore. I needed to turn and walk away, end things now before my weakness for Frank swept me away in an undertow.

  I shouldn’t be doing this. Each time would make it harder to say good-bye at the end of the week. We were too different. I’d get fired. And yet, it didn’t matter. I was floating in a sea of Frank, and I’d rather drown than swim for the shore. Only that moment mattered, the feel of his lips on mine. The touch of his skin on mine, the whisper of zippers opening and clothes hitting the floor.

  Chapter Twelve

  Day Six: At Sea

  Finally, the day arrived. After a grueling week of secret practices and extra stretching and squeezing dance moves into every second I wasn’t teaching or working a show, we made it to Friday. I’d barely slept all week. I’d eaten only when my growling stomach reminded me of the dangers of skipping meals while dancing so much. Frank sucked up all my energy–mental physical, and emotional.

  In about fifteen hours, I would know if any of it was worth it. We just needed to get through the final performance. But first, my schedule contained back to back classes all morning, so Frank and I agreed to meet in the pole studio at seven to run through the routine again.

  My alarm woke me at six-fifteen. I showered quickly and dressed in the dark, careful not to wake Penny. Even though she’d started feeling better, she needed all the sleep she could get. After I finished eating, I’d bring her food on my way up to the studio so she didn’t have to leave the room earlier than absolutely necessary.

  This early, the ship was peaceful. Staff milled around, most of us working twelve-to-eighteen hour days that started early, but not talking much until the sun rose. Early bird guests usually went to the Lido Deck or one of the restaurants for coffee and breakfast. Briefly, I wondered where Frank would be, but I shook the thought away. He also needed to eat before our practice, but I certainly couldn’t waltz into the buffet and plop down into the chair beside him. The only thing more ludicrous would be to invite him to eat with me in the staff kitchen.

  We had a long day ahead, so I loaded my plate with scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns before grabbing two slices of toast and a glass of orange juice. I slipped a banana and a granola bar into my bag to eat between classes and took a seat at one of the empty tables to mentally review the routine.

  We could do this. When performed correctly, our routine was poetry in motion. Frank soared around the pole, reaching heights I barely dared to dream of. Turned out, his ballet training wasn’t so far in the past, after all. Even now, imagining the way he looked while we practiced, my mouth watered. I couldn’t wait to see him again. To touch him and taste him and…no. To dance. Everything else needed to Wait. We had all night together.

  What an amazing night it would be. Now that I’d given in to temptation, it became more difficult to focus on the routine. But I had to. The performance mattered the most right now. After, we could explore each other until the ship docked. I refused to think about what happened once we disembarked in Florida.

  The table shook, jerking me out of my reverie. To my surprise, Max stood on the other side, leaning heavily on the wood with both hands. He never ate in the staff kitchen, preferring to use his status to either get meals delivered to his room or visit the onboard restaurants.

  “Good morning,” I said. “Are you here to talk about tonight’s show?”

  “No,” Max said. “Where were you last night around midnight?”

  In truth, I’d been in Frank’s cabin. Lying naked in his arms, looking out at the sea through the giant windows. It had been so peaceful, I hated having to leave him to sneak back to my room before the sun rose.

  None of which I could tell my boss. Sure, this cruise was nearly over, but I had to think about my future with Oceanic.

  I stalled. “Midnight? Why?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  He stared at me, waiting for an answer. Someone must have told him about Frank. But if he only suspected, he would never get confirmation from me.

  My brain cast about frantically for an acceptable answer. “In my cabin.”

  “Can anyone confirm that?”

  Penny had been working the late show, and he knew it. At least two hundred people saw her pulling bingo numbers until one o’clock in the morning. My heart sank. The one person who could confirm my whereabouts was also the last person I could name. “No, I was alone.”

  “What were you doing?”

  “Reading.”

  “Oh yeah?” Max scoffed at me. “You want to take me to your cabin and show me the book?”

  No, I absolutely did not. For the first time in my life, I wished I had a cell phone that allowed me to read on it. Finally, I said, “There’s a library on the ship.”

  “Okay, then. What were you reading?”

  Now that was a stumper, sadly. Having never visited the on-ship library, I didn’t have the first clue what books it housed. I tried to think of a book likely to be there that I had actually read, in case Max asked more questions. “Little Women.”

  “You were in your cabin reading Little Women?”

  “Yes.”

  Ei
ther Max wasn’t familiar with the book or guessed that I would be, because he dropped it. “We’ve got a report of an expensive ring going missing from a guest’s bag on the deck. A witness says you were spotted nearby.”

  A choking sound escaped me. No way. “On deck at midnight? Near a bag? No way. Check the security cameras.”

  “There’s only one camera covering that area, and it wasn’t functioning. But I’ve got an eyewitness statement, and that’s good enough for me.”

  “Then talk to them again. They’ve gotten me confused with someone else. Max, I’m not a thief.”

  “Didn’t you grow up poor?”

  The question sickened me. My spine straightened as I sneered at him. “Yes. Growing up poor taught me more respect for other people’s belongings than spoiled rich kids like you ever have.”

  His face twisted into a grimace as he stared at me for what felt like forever. My heartbeat eventually slowed, but he didn’t believe me. He knew I was lying, albeit not for the reasons he thought. He just couldn’t prove it.

  When he found out the truth, I was a goner. I couldn’t prove I hadn’t stolen anything. They didn’t need to prove I did, not on a Panama-registered cruise ship where U.S. labor laws didn’t apply. The terms of my employment could change at any time without notice.

  I should resign. Tell him I’d leave the company at the end of the cruise, and let the investigation drop. But I couldn’t stand the thought of people thinking I was a thief, when my only crime was losing my heart.

  Instead, I leveled my shoulders and stared him down, summoning every ounce of confidence I preached about in my classes. “Is that all you wanted to ask me?”

  “No,” he said. “What is your relationship with a passenger named Francis Hanson?”

  His question sucked all of the air out of the room. Max wasn’t investigating a theft at all. I opted for a partial truth. “I ran into him, literally, on Sunday before boarding. My ankle got twisted in the fall. He’s a doctor, so he stopped by the studio to see if I was okay. He also took a beginner’s pole class.”

  “That’s it?” Max stared at me as a pulse fluttered frantically in my throat. I wondered if he could see it. “There’s nothing else you want to tell me?”

  At least that was an easy question. I absolutely didn’t want to tell him anything else. “No.”

  “Entertainment staff are forbidden from consorting with cruise guests.” He met my gaze and held it. This was it. He knew. He probably didn’t know why, almost certainly didn’t know about Penny’s involvement. I needed to keep it that way.

  Time to accept my punishment, if it meant keeping my friend’s secret safe. “Okay.”

  “Is that all you have to say for yourself?”

  Groveling wasn’t my style. Neither was apologizing for following my heart. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I nodded.

  “Well, okay then.” Max stood, brushing his hands off as if the staff table might hold a host of germs. “You’re fired. You’ve got one hour to gather your belongings. If you leave quietly, we’ll still give you half of this week’s bonus.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. I’d expected to be fired, but not removed from the ship. They couldn’t let me hang out for the rest of the day, then disembark at dawn? “Leave quietly? Max, we’re in the middle of the ocean. Where am I supposed to go?”

  “We’re not that far from land. Meet me in an hour in front of your cabin.”

  My cabin sat in the middle of the ship. For a horrifying second, I wondered if Max planned to put me in a lifeboat, then set me adrift. That would be horrible publicity, though, once someone posted pictures on the internet.

  “We’ll take you to shore,” he said, as if reading my mind. “And Janey? One hour. Don’t make me come find you.”

  Frozen in place, I watched him go. He wouldn’t let me stay, even if I begged. Making a scene wouldn’t solve anything. All I could do was go back to my cabin to gather my belongings.

  But first, I needed to find Frank and say good-bye.

  It didn’t take long to locate my partner eating breakfast in the dining room with his friends. The four of them sat at a private table near the window, one of the nicer spots usually reserved for VIPs. Of course, Frank was a VIP, and I should never have let myself forget it.

  “Excuse me,” I said, approaching the table as formally as I could manage. “But may I speak with you privately for a moment?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Everyone, this is Janey. We’ve been spending a lot of time together during the cruise, which is why you haven’t seen me around much.”

  Jake looked from me to Frank and watched as the tips of his ears grew red. “Are you taking dance lessons again, Frank?”

  He stood abruptly, so fast the chair fell over backwards. “As a matter of fact, I am. Janey has been teaching me pole dancing. It’s even more beautiful than ballet in some ways. I didn’t tell you because part of me was ashamed, but that’s ridiculous. The sport is a lot of fun, and it’s incredibly difficult. You need both inner and outer strength to do it.”

  Lisa snorted. “Sport? Come on, Frank. You don’t have to drink the Kool-Aid to get into her pants.”

  Her words made me want to spit nails, but there was no time. As it turned out, no need. Frank turned on his sister. “Yes, sport. Pole is much harder than anything you’ve ever done, and it requires ten times the discipline. Something you’d know if you’d paid attention in class.”

  Lisa sputtered in response, but I ignored her. My heart swelled at the way he stood up for me. Too bad it was too late. I grabbed Frank’s hand. “I’m sorry, but we need to talk.”

  “No problem.” He dropped his napkin on the table and followed me out of the room.

  I led him out a side door of the dining room that gave guests access to the restrooms. The hallway continued around the back of the ship to the auditorium, and private doors opened into dressing rooms. After looking up and down the hall, I used my employee ID to open one of those doors. Thankfully, Max hadn’t deactivated it yet.

  As soon as the door closed behind us, I whirled to face Frank. “Out there… your friends. You didn’t have to–.”

  “Yes, I did.” He held out his arms, and I sank into them. His lips found mine, and for a moment, it felt like everything was going to be okay. “I should’ve introduced you to them as soon as I started having feelings for you. I’m not ashamed of our relationship, and I’m a jerk for making you think I was.”

  “Thank you.” I buried my face in his shoulder, not wanting to have to tell him what happened. Someone like Frank never got fired from anything in his entire life. One hand stroked my hair as he murmured into my ear. The words didn’t matter; the tone calmed me. Finally, I pulled back and met his gaze. “That’s not why I’m here, though. This isn’t about your friends.”

  “What happened? Is Penny okay?”

  I shook my head. “No. I mean, yes, she’s fine. It’s…”

  “It’s okay, Janey. You can tell me anything.”

  “I have to go. Max fired me.”

  Confusion filled his eyes. “What are you talking about? I told them you weren’t the one who stole the ring.”

  The words slapped me across the face. “Hold on. What?”

  He ran one hand through his hair. “Lisa reported the theft of some of her jewelry last night and claimed she saw you on the deck of the ship. Turns out, she figured out why she kept seeing us together, and she got pissed.”

  Suddenly, everything clicked into place. This wasn’t about any theft. If the ring even existed, Lisa must have hidden it. She didn’t think I was good enough to be with her brother. To make up a crime, she must hate the idea of him consorting with “the help.” Especially when Frank had a much more appropriate option in the form of Nellie.

  “What kind of person accuses someone of committing a crime because they don’t like them? Theft charges could stop me from getting another job, especially on a cruise ship.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Frank said. �
�There are plenty of jobs out there.”

  A sound escaped me, halfway between a laugh and a sob. Never had our differences stood out so starkly. “Can I please come live in your world? Because where I’m from, good-paying jobs aren’t a dime a dozen and you don’t file false police reports because someone hurt your feelings. In my reality, getting fired could mean not eating for a week and when someone accuses you of a crime, jail is a real possibility.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “None of this is fair to you. I read Lisa the riot act, I insisted that she tell Max she lied, and I told him that I knew with one hundred percent certainty that you didn’t do it.”

  A lump grew in my throat as I realized what happened. “You told Max the truth? To protect me.”

  “Yeah, I did. I let him know that you couldn’t have been on the deck at midnight because you were with me.”

  “Wow.” Words left me entirely. I couldn’t tell this wonderful man that his act resulted in the very thing he wanted to avoid. “I can’t believe you did that. Thank you.”

  “So what’s….?” Realization dawned across his features. “They fired you because of me.”

  I sniffled, struggling to maintain my composure. “‘Entertainers are not permitted to consort with the guests.’ I’ve got an hour to pack my stuff. Well, about fifty minutes now.”

  “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

  “No, it’s mine. I knew the rules, I broke them,” I said. “And every second with you was worth it. I had the time of my life. I’m not sorry for what happened.”

  “Neither am I.” His voice trembled, and he took a deep breath. “Let me talk to Max. Maybe I can get your job back.”

  Maybe in fantasy land. I didn’t say it, because he meant well. But the fact that Frank was so used to getting whatever he wanted illustrated our differences perfectly. His world was champagne and caviar and talking your way out of any situation. My world was getting kicked while you were down.