Unsportsmanlike Conduct

by Sophia Henry

  I shouldn’t have stared, but I couldn’t believe it was Sia, the girl who’d said she was waiting for marriage to have sex, bent over taking it like a champ. And I never would have guessed that Snooze-Fest Spiros had such an exciting sex life.

  I spun around. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, you guys!” I yelled on my way out.

  Out in the hallway, I closed my eyes and bit my lip to keep from laughing. If I’d cared at all about Spiros, I might have been pissed. But I didn’t, and I was happy he’d found someone.

  “What are you doing?” Lena asked, walking toward me.

  “You don’t want to go in there right now.” I shook my head and pointed my thumb at the door to her room.

  “Well, I have to, because I need to finish packing.” My cousin edged by me and put her hand on the knob.

  “Trust me, you—”

  Suddenly the door swung open and Spiros stood there with his shirt in his hands. Thankfully he’d put his trousers on.

  I stole a glance at Lena, who didn’t look surprised to see Spiros standing there half naked. She should’ve shown up a minute earlier.

  “Excuse me,” he mumbled with his eyes at our feet. He inched between us and hurried down the hall.

  “Hold your head up, Spiros!” I called after him. “That was some nice work!”

  “Stop that!” Lena smacked my hand.

  “Did you know?” I asked. The only time I’d seen Spiros and Sia together on the cruise was that first day at the pool, when Spiros took Pasha’s seat next to my friends. Then again, I hadn’t seen much of anyone except Pasha.

  “Of course I knew,” Lena said before entering. “Well, I mean, I didn’t know he was in there just now, but I knew they’d been hanging out.”

  She paused and called into the room, “Sia, are you decent?”

  Guess this singles cruise worked. “I’m not going to go back in there right now. I just wanted to let you know—”

  “You’re staying with him tonight, aren’t you?” Lena asked.

  “You’re good! You should look into being one of those phone psychics,” I teased her for reading my mind. It wasn’t like my choosing to stay with Pasha was a surprise to anyone.

  Chapter 21

  After we docked, Pasha and I gave Lena, Sia, and Blake hugs before we flagged down a cab to take us to Hotel El Convento, the place Pasha had booked for himself. We probably could’ve walked, but we had a lot of luggage—well, I did, with everything I had to bring with me.

  The warm, bright yellow building beckoned us inside, where we were met with gorgeous black-and-white-checkered floors that spanned the entire lobby.

  As Pasha checked in, I wandered around the lobby, taking in everything from the grand piano to the marble stairs and golden gate at the entrance to one of the hotel’s event spaces. All of the decor was gorgeous, Old World, and grandiose.

  We went straight to our room, exhausted from everything we’d done today.

  “I’m so tired,” I moaned, and fell back onto the huge bed.

  “It was a rough day of massages and sex.” Pasha winked at me. “It’s about to get even longer.”

  “Are we talking about the day or…?” I glanced at his pants.

  “Both.” He lifted his T-shirt over his head, discarded it, and tackled me.

  —

  Later that night, after we’d made it into bed, I lay content in Pasha’s arms. Before I could stop it, a tear trickled down my cheek and onto his chest. Then another.

  “What is this?” Pasha asked, wiping the wetness off my cheek.

  “I’ll miss you.” As soon as I let the words slip, I felt stupid.

  Missing someone after knowing him only a week sounded so lame. And crying in his bed was just plain pathetic. But I wasn’t ashamed, because I would miss him.

  I’d miss the closeness. I’d miss his smile and his kiss. I’d miss his unquestioning understanding of my illness. I’d miss being the person he talked to about his conflicts with grief.

  Pasha hugged me into his body. “When is your flight?”

  “Um…” I lifted my head to look at his face. “I think it’s at noon.”

  “Can you change it?”

  “Why?”

  “I planned on spending the day in San Juan. There is this thing I read about, uh, I don’t know how to say it. Glowing water.”

  “Glowing water?” I asked.

  Pasha laughed. “I need a translator.”

  “You speak English really well.” I rubbed his back, sliding my hand up to his shoulders and giving the back of his neck a squeeze.

  His muscles tensed and relaxed under my touch. “Yeah, until I need to tell you about this beautiful glowing water.”

  “Well, it sounds cool, if that makes you feel better.”

  And glowing water did sound cool, even though he could be talking about the effects of nuclear waste for all I knew.

  “Change your flight to the last one out. We can spend the whole day together in San Juan and I’ll take you to see the glowing water.”

  I sat up. “Wait. Are you serious?”

  “Yes.” He caught my eyes. “Did you think I was joking?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I’d love to, but I don’t have that kind of money.” Sure, I had a job, but it basically paid my bills, allowed me to have something of a social life, and that was it. I had a feeling switching my flight at the last minute would be a major dent to my bank account.

  “If you say yes, you don’t have to worry.”

  Lena and Sia would have a conniption. I could totally envision my cousin hopping on my back and taking me down before she let me go on an extra day trip with Pasha. Being on a cruise around thousands of people was one thing, but staying in a foreign city alone with a guy I’d just met sounded like a front-page headline waiting to be written.

  What part of the brain is it that loves adrenaline? The part that craves crazy, life-threatening situations? What did it matter? I wanted to live life to the fullest while I was still alive.

  “Yes. I mean, we can check at the airport tomorrow to see if it will work out. If it does, I’ll stay,” I said, despite knowing the backlash I’d receive from Lena and Sia.

  And my mom. Oh, shit. Mom is gonna have a fit. She was supposed to be picking me up at the airport and I didn’t have my phone to call her with flight change information.

  “We should check with your friends first, yes?”

  “It’s my decision,” I said, my tone sharper than I’d intended, since I’d been thinking the same thing.

  Pasha weaved his fingers into my hair, pulling it back from my face. “You have friends who care about you. They worry about you. I do not want anyone to worry when you are with me.”

  “I’m not worried. You’re my safe zone.” I knew I was going to sound like the biggest dork, but I couldn’t pass up my opportunity to tell him how much he’d impacted me in such a short period of time.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It’s never been easy for me to open up to people about my health. Except you. You have this air about you that you don’t give a fuck about anything or anyone, but you’re easy to talk to.”

  “Only for you. I like to talk to you. You bring out a different side of me. I like who I am with you.”

  I lowered myself to his side, set my elbow on the bed, and held my head up with my palm. My fingers slid across the ink on his forearm, drawing invisible swirls. “Why are you different with me?”

  “You challenge me. You see me. You’re not…um…what is the word?” He paused. “Like, you don’t know about me and my life. I had a fresh start with you.”

  “Should I be worried about that?”

  “No,” he said, “but like I told you before, I’m kind of a dick.” Pasha laughed. “You haven’t seen that side of me here, so you have nothing to hold against me.”

  “Why have two faces? Why show me one side and other people another?”

  “Because I don’t want people to get close. It hurts too much wh
en they leave.”

  “Why do you assume they’ll leave?”

  “You know the answer, Kristen,” he said. “You have the same fears. I don’t want to get close because I don’t want the pain when someone leaves me. You don’t want to get close because you don’t want to inflict that pain. You are a million times more selfless.”

  “It’s selfless to get involved with someone like me, knowing from the beginning that I’ll break your heart.”

  Pasha placed his hand on my face and brushed his thumb across my cheek. “Getting involved with you is the most selfish thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

  “How so?”

  “I shouldn’t have fallen for you. I shouldn’t have led you on knowing it will be over after this.”

  I winced. Though I knew the truth, hearing him say the words out loud cut like a razor.

  “Why can’t we continue?” I asked softly. “What if I wanted to keep in touch with you? What if I wanted to make this work after the cruise?”

  “You will not like who I am after this cruise.”

  “Why?”

  “I told you. I’m a dick.” He didn’t laugh this time.

  But I wasn’t buying it. He’d shared too much of himself this week. I stared at him, willing him to continue.

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t let people get close. I had issues with other people being happy when I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t always nice.”

  “We all have a past. Doesn’t mean we can’t change.”

  “Except this experience with you won’t change me.” Pasha took my face in both of his hands. “It’s going to make it worse, because when I get home I’m going to be even more of a bastard because I let you go.”

  I shook out of his hold. “And I just told you it doesn’t have to end. So you don’t have to go back to acting that way.”

  Pasha’s face went blank. He put his hands behind his head and lay back on the pillow. “But I will.”

  I kinda wanted to slap him and knock the nonchalant expression off his smug face. “Why don’t you want it to continue? Are you cheating on someone? Do you have a girlfriend back home?” I bolted up, gathering the sheet across my bare breasts. Goosebumps prickled my skin and my heart thumped.

  “I have no girlfriend.”

  Being a stubborn ass—that’s what he was doing. I could easily follow him down that angry path, but that wasn’t my style. I’d rather attempt to salvage the positive. “I know you have a good heart. I know you can be nice.”

  “What makes you think so?” He kept his eyes on the ceiling.

  “I saw you chatting up the old ladies at the zip line. Jerks don’t flirt with old ladies. They stand behind them and complain about how slow or annoying they are. You’re really sweet when you aren’t acting hard.”

  Pasha’s eyes veered to my chest, and his eyebrows pulled together, seemingly annoyed that I’d covered my breasts. “I do not flirt with old ladies.”

  He reached out, slid his index finger into the gap between my breasts, and tried to tug the sheet. I inhaled sharply and batted his hand away, holding firm, though his touch sent tingles up to my ears and all the way down to my toes. “We’re talking about how soft you can be.”

  “Easier to be hard.” He winked.

  “Should I be freaked out that you’re getting excited talking about old ladies?”

  Pasha reached over and pulled me on top of him with one swift motion. “You get me excited. We could talk about fish and I’d get excited with you.”

  “That’s gross.”

  “Is our first fight over?” he asked.

  “Fight? You think that was a fight? You obviously haven’t spent time with me outside of paradise,” I said.

  “Your feisty side turns me on.”

  “Everything turns you on,” I argued.

  “Everything about you,” he corrected.

  Pasha took my head in his hands and brought my face down to his. He kissed my forehead, then my nose, before covering my mouth with his.

  Chapter 22

  DAY 8

  SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

  “No!” Lena said when I told her I was staying to hang out in San Juan with Pasha. “No. No. No.”

  Lena sure was feisty at eight in the morning after a week of relaxation and fun. We stood nose to nose in the San Juan airport having the conversation I’d known we would have. But I’d already made my decision, and nothing she said would sway me.

  “I’m not asking permission,” I said. “I’m just letting you know.”

  “How stupid are you?” she asked. “You’ll be here with no phone. No friends.”

  I shrugged and ignored her. “If you don’t hurry, you’re not going to make it through security in time to make your flight.”

  “Ugh! You’re so stubborn!” Lena yelled.

  Sia was silent as she rolled her suitcases alongside Lena. When we reached the line for Delta Airlines, Lena spoke again, this time in a hushed tone. “I would jump on your back and push you through the line if I didn’t think I’d be arrested.”

  “Don’t get arrested. Get on the plane and order a drink. I’ll see you soon.” I leaned over and hugged her.

  Despite the daggers and evil looks Lena shot me, she and Sia kept moving, toward the self-check-in kiosks.

  “Have fun calling your mom!” Lena yelled back to me.

  I gave her two thumbs up and a bright smile before turning away. My stomach dropped. Calling Mom would suck. I walked over to the chairs where Pasha was waiting for me.

  “Can I borrow your phone to call my mom?” I asked. He nodded and held his phone out. I took it, gulping as I pressed each number. When the line started ringing, I started sweating.

  “Hello?” Mom asked tentatively.

  Relief washed over me, happy she had even answered an unknown number.

  “Hey, Mom! It’s me.”

  “Kristen?” she asked. “What number is this?”

  “I’m borrowing a friend’s phone. I lost mine on the second day.”

  “What?” Mom asked. “How?”

  “Sia dropped it in the ocean.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mom mumbled. “On purpose?”

  “No. Total accident. We were taking a selfie against the rail.” I shook my head with the mental flashback of my poor phone plunging to its watery death. Better it than me.

  “So you didn’t get any pictures?”

  “No, but the girls will send me theirs.”

  “I’m sure Spiros got some, too.”

  “Well, I’m sure he got pictures, but he better not have any of me,” I said. Then I closed my eyes, waiting for the wrath of my matchmaker mother.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I barely saw him. He did his thing and I did mine.” Before Mom could chastise me for not hanging out with Spiros, I gushed, “But I met an amazing guy.”

  “Really?” Her tone perked up. Then she sighed. “Well, good. I can’t wait to hear about him when I pick you up. Are you at the airport?”

  “Yeah, about that. I, uh, missed my flight.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m at the airport waiting, but the only flight that had any seats left is the eleven o’clock flight out tonight.”

  “Are Lena and Sia with you?”

  “No.” I bit my lip. “They made our original flight.”

  “How did they make the flight and you miss it?”

  Time to talk fast and hope for the best.

  “I—I had a really hard time saying goodbye to Pavlos, the guy I met.” If I was going to lie to Mom anyway, giving her his fake Greek name sounded like the best idea. She’d be on the next plane if I’d told her his name was Pasha. “I didn’t realize what time it was and I spaced. By the time I got to the gate, the doors were already locked. They wouldn’t let me on the flight.”

  Mom sighed. “Who are you with?”

  “Pavlos,” I said, glancing at Pasha on the seat next to me. He reached out and
squeezed my free hand.

  “Are you serious, Kristen?” Mom screeched. I held the phone away from my ear.

  “Mom, it’s fine, I swear. I’m not dumb. He’s a good guy. I promise.”

  “You say you aren’t dumb, but that’s not the impression I’m getting from this conversation.” Her voice rose with every word. “He’s a stranger. You just met him. If I could come through this phone and—”

  “Mom, please. It’s okay. He’s amazing. You’ll meet him soon. I promise.” Then I added, “Have Lena show you pictures.”

  “What does he do? What family is he from? Do they live close?”

  “He’s a pilot.” I lowered my voice, though Pasha could hear everything I said. “His parents passed away.” I bit my lip. “But he’s got family all over.”

  “Greece?” she asked, her tone perking up at the thought.

  “Not sure if any are in Greece. He has a sister in Chicago and an aunt in Canada.” At least I wasn’t lying to her.

  “I can’t wait to talk to him when you get off the flight tonight.”

  “Well, um, he won’t be on my flight, Mom. He lives in Charlotte. But we’re going to meet up next time he’s in town. Or he can jump on a flight just to see me. It’s all so romantic, really.”

  I played up the star-crossed lovers aspect, laying it on thick, because Mom was a romantic at heart. The more I hyped Pasha, the better chance I had of her not freaking out.

  “This is…I can’t believe this is happening! Are you an idiot, Kristen Aurelia Katsaros?”

  “Mom…”

  “I understand that you don’t like Spiros. Point taken. I’ll never talk about him again. But this is just insane, Kristen!”

  “Mom, listen. Just listen.”

  Silence.

  Either she wanted to listen or she’d hung up on me to call the police.

  “I am a smart person. I keep a can of Mace in my purse. I know how to defend myself. You’ve just gotta trust me.”

  More silence.

  “Mom?” I asked.

  “I trust you, Kristen,” Mom said, her voice softer than it had been, but still tense. “But I don’t know where you are. I don’t know this guy you’re with. You don’t have a phone. You realize all of this sounds like an episode of Dateline, right?”