Defend

by Lindsay Paige

  “Do you know where Kayla and Logan are?” I ask Gregory, mostly out of curiosity.

  He shrugs. “Haven’t seen them since this morning and they didn’t tell me their plans. She just told me to make sure I’m back in time to get ready for tonight, which I already knew to do.” He rolls his eyes.

  “Are there a lot of teens at the teen center?” Jamie asks.

  “Um, there’s a decent number, I guess. There’s a really hot girl from Texas there; I’ve been hanging out with her.”

  With a sigh, I shake my head. “You be on your best behavior, son.”

  “I will, Dad. She’s the friendliest person there. It’s not like I’m going to hit on her; I have a girlfriend.”

  “You do?” Jamie asks with excitement while with hurt, I ask, “You do?” He hasn’t told me about a girlfriend. Why wouldn’t he tell his dad about that?

  “She’s just a girl in my science class. We’ve been on two dates.” Gregory grins. “She’s probably going nuts not being able to talk to me. I know I am.”

  Jamie laughs. “You’re your father’s son, that’s for sure.”

  He smiles and looks at me. “I told her I’d bring her back a souvenir; will you help me pick something out? We might find something tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I’ll help you find something.”

  We’ve finished eating, so we head to the theater where the lumberjack will be hosting his show or lecture, whatever it said he was doing. Gregory walks in front of us and he stops short, causing me to run into him.

  “Well, I found Kayla and Logan. Do we want to sit with them?”

  Jamie smiles, leaves me, and links her arm with his. “You know, I think you’re sweeter than your father.” I roll my eyes, but that causes Gregory to beam and puff his chest out a bit. “We can sit with them; it would be rude not to.”

  I grumble under my breath and follow after the two of them before they can leave me behind. Gregory walks past Kayla and then Logan to sit next to Logan, which puts Jamie next to Gregory and then I’m finally able to sit next to my girlfriend. I lean over and whisper in her ear, “Where do you think he learned how to be sweet?”

  She takes my hand in both of hers and rests them in her lap. She turns her head to whisper back, “Don’t worry, Brent; I know he learned from you. All I meant is that the student might’ve become the master.” She giggles and kisses my cheek.

  “Don’t be mean to me on my birthday.”

  “I promise to be really good to you tonight.” Her smile is wicked, but promises such good things.

  “You guys are terrible at whispering,” Gregory announces, making Jamie laugh and apologize.

  Kayla tilts her head forward, but I shake my head. Now is not that time to talk to Jamie. The talk needs to be private and not right before a show.

  The theater fills up pretty quickly and it doesn’t take long before the show starts. The lumberjack seems nice. He’s entertaining. He shows the crowd how to throw an ax and even hosts an ax-throwing contest with a few people from the audience. The funniest part to me is that Jamie squeezes the life out of my hand when someone is really bad. Like somehow the ax will boomerang its way back toward us.

  “He was pretty cute. Maybe he’s single,” Jamie quietly says to me as we follow the crowd out of the room.

  “Do you want to move to Alaska if he is?” I ask.

  She hums. “Good point. I think I’ll keep the guy I have. No need to get rid of the best thing you’ve ever had to gamble on something else, right?”

  I look down at her to find a cheeky grin. There’s no way to resist kissing her, so I do, but I do it quickly since we’re walking and it’s so crowded. Gregory puts an arm around Jamie’s shoulder all of a sudden, surprising her again and making me frown.

  But then he says, “Do you need something, Kayla?”

  Would it be in poor taste to smile because he’s become protective over Jamie? Even though it’s because of his sister? It probably would, so I keep my smile to myself. Kayla has turned around to walk backward while holding on to Logan’s hand who is walking ahead still, keeping her from running into anyone or anything.

  “Can we talk, Jamie?” she asks.

  “Maybe after dinner or before bed?” Jamie briefly glances up at me. “I think we have somewhere else to be right now and I’d rather wait.”

  Kayla nods and faces forward. I’m counting that little encounter as successful. Gregory drops his arm, but says, “I’ve got your back, Jamie. Don’t worry.”

  “Thanks, Gregory, but I think I’m okay and Brent is good backup.”

  He shakes his head. “Not always where Kayla is concerned. That little girl crap makes him wear rose-colored glasses. Not me.”

  I shake my head. “Don’t you have a hot Texan to meet up with or something?”

  “Right. See y’all later.”

  “Do we want to line dance or learn that merengue dance?” I ask her.

  “Let’s learn something new.”

  We soon find ourselves in a room where Jamie is the youngest person. She doesn’t look as if she’s bothered by this, but then again, she’s never been bothered by our age difference so I shouldn’t think she would be. The instructor waits a few minutes for any stragglers before the lesson starts.

  He speaks of hip movement and an eight-count. I’m greatly disappointed when I discover my hands don’t really go on Jamie’s body; they stay in her hands for the most part. We move together for eight beats, move apart with our arms going up and out in an arch-like motion before we come back together and move left and right of one another.

  “Much better,” I whisper to Jamie when I lead her into a turn that pulls her back against my chest.

  “Brent,” she chastises with a laugh. “You’re supposed to let me go.”

  “We’re behind now. We might as well wait until he gets back to this part.”

  “You’re terrible,” she whispers as we continue to step left and right, our hips moving in sync with one another.

  Unfortunately, I do release her this time. After she faces me and comes to me, I get to do some sort of turn where we lock arms and we’re side by side. I have to let her go from that, too. But on the bright side, I kiss her quickly every time she gets close and I hold her captive every so often. It’s worth it for the smile and laugh she gives me.

  “I think I like this dance,” she whispers after this last kiss.

  Any dance with her is one I like. There’s constant touching, easy ways to make her laugh or smile, plenty of opportunities to kiss her, and a good way to have fun. After the lesson is over, we decide to play bingo. It’ll be the last thing we do before returning to our rooms to get ready for dinner.

  Kayla and Logan spot us and sit at the small round table next to us.

  “What have y’all been doing?” I ask them.

  “Walking around, taking pictures. We’ve walked almost the entire ship, I think,” Kayla answers.

  “I’m tired,” Logan says, leaning back in his chair. “What about y’all?”

  “We learned the merengue. I’m a pretty good dancer, if I say so myself.”

  Jamie laughs. “You’re pretty and you dance. I’m not so sure about the good part.”

  I roll my eyes and lean over to kiss her cheek. “Lying isn’t such a pretty trait, hon.” While we wait for bingo to start, Kayla shows me the pictures she’s taken today. There’s still a slight tension among us and I hope that this mess between Jamie and Kayla will all be settled before tomorrow. Or else I may just leave them both in Ketchikan.

  Brent walks up behind me and kisses my shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me this is what you’d be wearing?” he murmurs as his lips travel toward my neck.

  “I didn’t realize I needed to tell you such a thing.” I lean toward the mirror a bit more to focus on applying my makeup.

  “When you’ll look this hot, you do. I need to be prepared because right about now, I’m thinking we need to skip dinner and order room service.” His hands move up my sto
mach and cup my breasts, his hips press into me, and I’m two seconds away from messing up my mascara.

  “Brent, stop,” I say with a laugh, trying to wiggle away from him. “You’ll ruin my makeup.”

  “You don’t need it anyway. Turn around so I can kiss you.”

  “No. Stop. Go put your socks and shoes on. Check on the people next door. Just get away from me.”

  He grumbles something under his breath as his hands fall away and he leans against the wall next to the mirror. “This is not how a guy should be treated on his birthday, Jamie.”

  A quick glance at him shows how he watches me, mostly with desire but also with slight disappointment. “Is this how you pout?” I tease, failing to stop my grin.

  “Grown men don’t pout.”

  “Sure looks like you are.” I turn to him and pout my lips. “Get your kiss while I’m feeling nice.”

  He strikes as quick as a snake, grabbing me around the waist to hold me tight against him and crashing his mouth into mine. My knees weaken. Heat flushes throughout my entire body. Brent’s tongue moves with such hunger that I grab onto him, never wanting to let him go.

  He pulls away, my lips automatically following him and begging for more. “Finish making up your face.”

  What? He wants me to forget about kissing after that?

  Brent, who has been watching me, laughs. “Is this how you pout?”

  “This is the face of a woman who needs more than what you gave her.”

  He grins. “Sorry, hon. We have to finish getting ready.”

  Then he does the most evil thing ever and turns his back on me. I glare at him for a good few seconds before facing the mirror again to reluctantly finish applying my makeup.

  “Are you ready for your talk with Kayla later?”

  I sigh and use some time to put away my makeup before answering him. He’s waiting expectantly, though. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

  “She feels really bad about it.”

  “How would you know?” I snap, immediately regretting it. She does seem to regret what happened and seems eager to talk it over, but I’m wary of trusting her.

  “Because she told me,” Brent answers, getting my attention.

  “When?” He’s been with me all day. When would she have time to talk to him? I sit on the bed next to him.

  “She came over while you were napping.” When I don’t say anything, he sighs and wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. “I want you two to get along and I know you might not trust her, but I think she’s being sincere and genuine now.”

  “I want us to get along, too.” I want that primarily for his sake if for no other reason. The rest? I’m not so sure about that. “I don’t want to talk about this, though.”

  “Okay.” He kisses my temple. “I love you, you know?”

  “I know. I love you too.” I lift my head to look at him and get the soft kiss I was hoping for.

  Brent grins. “Plan on marrying me tonight? You are wearing a white dress.”

  I roll my eyes and shove him away as there’s a knock on our door. At least the mood has been lifted, thanks to him. “You’re a good man, Brent, but not yet.”

  We find the trio from next door out in the hallway, ready to go to dinner. I’m not exactly looking forward to it based on the slight tension so far. What I’d really like to do is go for a run. There is a fitness area on board, but the idea of running on a treadmill is unappealing, especially when that treadmill is on a ship.

  Since it’s formal night, we stop to get our pictures taken first. I’d like to think that I’m not really a nervous person, or that it takes a lot to make me nervous. Maybe uncomfortable is more fitting. Either way, it pisses me off that I’m ready to bolt, to be anywhere but here, when this is exactly where I should be, and it’s all because of Kayla.

  I need to put it all behind me right this very second because I’ll officially do that whenever I have to talk to her. If this will settle everything, then great. Brent can stop worrying and being stuck between us. She’ll be nicer to me. Then, all I’ll have to worry about is the occasional issues with my parents. Well, I need to find a place to live once this trip is over, too.

  The idea that I’ll be working full-time, living in my own space, and free to spend my evenings homework-less with Brent makes my heart so happy and excited. That is the life I’ve been dreaming of for a long, long time. Not much could make it better.

  There’s supposed to be a champagne waterfall, so after dinner, we walk to where that’s being held. There’s already a lot of people here; we end up standing on the next floor up by the stairs, looking down. Music and voices fill the area. There’s a big round table set up with glasses stacked on top of one another until only one rests at the top.

  “Are you okay, hon?”

  I glance at Brent who stands next to me and has one arm slung low across my back. “Yeah, why?”

  “That’s the first time you’ve spoken since we left our room.”

  “Oh. I’ve been thinking, that’s all. I miss running, don’t you?” I ask. “Do you miss working?”

  Brent shakes his head. “As long as we keep busy or,” he leans in to whisper, “I’m lazy with you,” he leans away, “then I’m fine. But I do miss running. I’ve thought about getting up early to run in the gym, but I’d rather stay in bed.”

  “And people say you don’t know how to relax.”

  A few minutes later, champagne is poured into the top cup and continues as it falls further into the remaining cups. Gregory is the first to turn to everyone and speak.

  “This is boring. I’ll see y’all later.” He waits half a beat for a reply from anyone before turning and walking away, probably heading to the teen center.

  “We were thinking of going up to the club they have and maybe doing a little dancing. Do y’all want to come?” The question seems to slowly force its way out of Kayla’s mouth. Maybe it’s because of me or maybe it’s because she just asked her dad if he wanted to go to a club. It could be both.

  “We’ll go,” Brent answers without even glancing at me to gauge my interest.

  As we follow behind Logan and Kayla, I pinch his side. When he completely ignores me, I pinch him again. He grabs my wrist to stop a third attack.

  “I know what you’re doing,” I whisper. “My answer would’ve been yes, but next time, you should ask me anyway.”

  Brent simply nods and kisses my knuckles before releasing my hand.

  The designated club is about half full. Some people sit at tables while others dance to the thumping music. Kayla finds a table and Brent immediately abandons me by telling Logan that they should get us drinks from the bar. I’m so going to kill him. I don’t need him helping this along.

  “I think Dad wants us to talk,” Kayla states the obvious with a nervous laugh.

  “Seems that way,” I agree. She opens her mouth, but I decide I don’t want her running this conversation. “Look, this morning was a bad mistake that I’d like us to forget. Our real problem is that for whatever reason, you don’t like me and you don’t want me with Brent. Get over it, Kayla. That’s as nice as I can say it. The age difference is weird, and I totally understand that; I would feel the same way if the situation was reversed, but I wouldn’t treat that person like you’ve treated me. He loves me and he’s happy. What more do you want for him? Would you rather he be alone and working more? He works less because he spends his time with me, Kayla. You’re welcome. I don’t know what more you want from me or what it’ll take for you to...to be nice to me and actually mean it. I’m not expecting us to be friends, but damn, at least be more civil.”

  Kayla is quiet for one of my hammering heartbeats. “First, I would like to say I’m sorry about this morning.” I nod in acceptance. “I just realized why I don’t like you.”

  Great. We’re back to square one. “Why?” I demand to know.

  “You’re intimidating.”

  Her words knock me back an inch or so.
“What? How?”

  “Look at how you just talked to me. Look at how you carry yourself. At how you are with boys.”

  “Kayla, you aren’t making any sense.” Not to me at least.

  “You’re so direct and mean no bullshit.” She shakes her head with a little laugh. “You’re a little like Dad that way. But you just came at me like a bulldozer and you always seem to have this relaxed look about you, always seem so at ease and comfortable with who you are and what you want. Even in class you were that girl who even when you looked like your life was falling apart, you just know that you’ll somehow handle it with an annoying grace. And when you were around boys, not that I can’t flirt or that I don’t feel confident, but you know those girls we seem to hate because they seem to draw eyes without even realizing it?” I nod again. “That’s you. Oblivious and at ease and breaking hearts.”

  “I am nothing like that, Kayla. I mean, yeah, I can be direct and mean no bullshit, but handling the hard parts of life with grace?” I shake my head. “Not me at all. I run myself into the ground until I feel better; ask Brent. As for the guys, I don’t turn heads any more than the next girl, but I probably flirt without meaning to sometimes and sure, I’m at ease. I’m also the one getting my heart broken, not the one breaking hearts.”

  Kayla takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry about everything. I sometimes have a hard time giving people a chance. It’s harder when it comes to my dad. He’s my go-to parent, and before Logan, I always went to my dad first whenever I had a problem. Just as much as he wants to make sure I’m with someone who loves me, treats me well, and everything like that, I want the same for him. I don’t want my dad’s heart to get broken.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Dad is happy and you don’t seem to be terrible,” I have to laugh at that, “so if you’re willing to forgive me, I’ll wave the guys back over here. I truly am sorry for my behavior, Jamie.”

  “If you’re ready to move forward, then so am I.”

  She smiles and then waves to Brent and Logan, who have been watching us not-so-subtly from the bar with our drinks. They sit down, distributing drinks, and Brent rests an arm across my shoulders.