by Mignon Mykel
“What if you meet someone else though?” Myke asked.
My sisters would have a field day if I told them I was in love with a girl I met barely two months prior, so I wasn’t going to admit it to them. “I won’t.”
Dad just watched me during this exchange and finally, nodded slightly. “You’ll do what’s right for you, and if Sydney does mean what I think she means to you, you’ll do what’s right for her.”
I nodded and glanced quickly at the time at the corner of the screen. “I have to get ready soon, guys. I’m going to head out. I’ll see you all in a couple of weeks, ok?”
After a chorus of goodbyes, the call ended.
I stared at the blank screen, wishing they were here now. It was different back home because I lived with Jonny; I always had a sibling with me. And when he wasn’t around the condo and was instead with Jenna, I still played the greatest game on earth with him. My parents and siblings visited throughout the season, just like I was able to return home whenever it fit my schedule.
My family was a close one; I just wished they could be physically closer at this very moment.
I picked up the picture envelope, the disc, and my phone, checking to see if Sydney responded to the text yet.
No such luck.
With that, I made my way to makeup.
Caleb
Day 1 of 21
After hair and makeup, where they cut my hair again, I was whisked off the ship and into a cab.
Destination: Night time luau and dinner.
Apparently the girls would be boarding the ship while I was en route to the night’s activity and the crew didn’t want any run ins. The girls still weren’t aware of my identity, but they did know I was an athlete—they were given that much information when being selected for the show.
I sat on a chair as the wind blew through the palms and the ocean crashed nearby. It was quiet and I welcomed it. I looked around the open space and watched as tiki torches were set up and prepared for the night.
Oh, and the cameras. They were being set up too.
It was amazing how easily the cameras were missed when I was with Sydney; the moment she left the ship though, I not only could see them, but I could feel them. It was Big Brother intensified and I wasn’t a fan.
But thank God the crew weren’t making too much noise right now.
Not long later, the voices began to swirl, intermixing with the wind, the birds, the water. One of the ladies in makeup that I’d met twice now came over to re-powder my nose.
I wanted to sneeze.
And wash my face.
Tony walked nearby, a phone to his ear. The man was always in fast-speaking business mode. I was kind of expecting him to come over and direct me somehow, but he just kept walking until eventually I had no idea where he went. Another crew member came up to me and directed me where to stand, telling me the contestants would be arriving shortly.
I sighed, rolled my shoulders, and cracked my neck.
I was in slacks and a white button down dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up. I didn’t have a preference one way or another, but I was told that showing off my forearms would work in my favor.
Considering I didn’t care what the girls thought, I didn’t really care what rolling my shirt did for my forearms but I would play nicely.
I just had to get through the next three weeks.
Three weeks.
Three weeks, and I could see Sydney.
Three weeks, and I could kiss Sydney.
Three weeks. Just three more weeks.
I stood in my spot, hands in my slack pockets.
“Caleb! You look bored.”
“Look intrigued, Caleb.”
“Stop fidgeting, Caleb!”
The directions wouldn’t stop.
I didn’t know how to look intrigued when, quite frankly, I wasn’t. I looked bored because I was. And because I was bored, I was fidgeting.
Finally, the first town car came into view and I sighed in relief.
The start was here which meant I was that much closer to the end. I knew that looking bored now wouldn’t win me any favors, so I channeled every good manner my parents instilled in me and I smiled when the door opened and the first girl stepped out.
One girl walking out of a car and I knew that Sydney did her job well. She told me she was thinking about staying in the field, but I thought this could definitely be a strong career choice for her.
This woman was exactly someone I would have picked out two, three months ago. She may have been in sky-high heels but it was evident that she was tall without them. In the heels, she was probably only a few inches shorter than me. She had a killer bod, a great rack, and long legs that once upon a time, I would have envisioned wrapping around my hips. Now, Sydney’s shorter, toned legs were the only ones I wanted pulling my hips close.
Fuck, there I was, thinking about Sydney again. I had to fight the twitch down below; there wasn’t any way in hell I wanted any of these girls thinking that my body’s reactions were due to them.
I heard Tony clear his throat; my thoughts were probably evident. I smiled again and held out my hand.
“Caleb.”
She smiled, showing off pretty, straight, white teeth between deep red lips. Her brown hair was curled and swept over a shoulder, and her eyes were a deep brown.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Noah! I’m a fan.” She took my hand. “I’m Rachel.”
Girl knew of me.
Great.
I forced a chuckle, hoping it didn’t sound as strained as it felt. “I go by Caleb. My father’s Noah.”
She just giggled before leaning in to kiss my cheek.
Too close to my lips, but I let it roll. What else was I going to do?
When she pulled back, I flashed my dimple and winked at her. “I’ll see you in a bit, Rachel.”
“Absolutely…Noah,” she said with a wink of her own, as if she and I shared a secret.
It wasn’t a secret that my first name was Noah, just like it wasn’t a secret that I went by Caleb. If she kept that up, my first impression of her was going to go down the drain…
Fast.
She squeezed my hand before letting it go slowly, allowing her fingertips to graze the top of my thigh. I fought to keep from clenching my jaw, instead forcing a smile at her.
I watched her walk away, hoping it looked like my “gaze was lingering”, as Tony directed me to do after the girls walked away.
One woman down, nineteen more to go.
Thankfully, not all of the women were as forward as Rachel had been. There’d been a super sweet girl named Grace; perhaps too sweet, but she was cute and just a bit taller than Sydney. There was also a woman who was a little more exotic than I’d have gone for before, but not only was she gorgeous with her light cocoa skin and amazing green eyes, she had a great personality. I was glad that not all the girls were carbon copies of one another and that when she did her prospect hunting, Sydney took what I said and she expanded upon it.
Like I thought earlier, she could do good things in this field.
I would have to talk to her about it. Not force the career on her, no, but just tell her she had a niche in it.
Some of the women had inappropriate touches to hand out, kisses that were too friendly, and laughs that were too forced, but the time went by fast enough.
When it came time for dinner, everyone was cordial and seemed to be having a decent time. The women conversed among themselves and I made my rounds, talking to everyone. Tonight was just a getting-to-know one another night. There would be no eliminations, no one sent home.
I was afraid the show would have me do something corny and tie in a hockey phrase, or give a stick or some shit like that, when sending the girls home, but it was going to be pretty straight forward. I wouldn’t be in the room and the light above their picture would be dimmed out.
Easy enough.
Already I had an idea of who would be sent home first.
Hell, they’d a
ll be sent home eventually, every last one of them, but I had to at least keep around the ones that the public would buy my feelings for. I was going to play this game, and I was going to play it hard. I didn’t get to be a number one forward in the National Hockey League by just playing the game as it was written. I took the rules and I found ways to magnify the plays, make the team look good, and score.
I knew how to score, and I was going to make it all work in this game I was playing now.
I couldn’t fake the kissing, like I told Ace. I was going to have to either grin and just kiss the women, or I’d have to come up with a good excuse as to why I wouldn’t.
I didn’t think the women, the producers, or the public would buy that I was saving myself.
Hell, that even made me chuckle. I liked kissing and touching and filling up holes between legs just fine, thank you.
The best part of the night definitely had to be the luau. I had enjoyed the one Sydney and I went to, so it was fun to go again. During the show, I sat with a woman named Caty, who was eventually ousted by Faith, who was replaced by a woman named Juniper, and so on and so forth. These women were relentless in spending time with me.
Eventually Rachel came back and she was a fucking talker. I pretended to be interested in what she had to say when really I just wanted to watch the flame throwing and dancers. She insisted on calling me Noah three more times before I turned to her and explained gently that I would not respond to Noah.
Shit, the only time my first name was mentioned was when my mom, not my dad, but my mom, was pissed at me. Or crying because I did something that made her proud.
I just didn’t respond to Noah.
Finally, as Rachel was replaced by a Michaela – because that wasn’t going to be confusing with a sister of the same name – she said goodbye to me by using Caleb. The smile I gave her then was a true and genuine one.
Unlike my sister, this Michaela went by Kayla. She was pretty with her brown hair and light green eyes, and was fairly quiet when compared to the other girls. She watched the show with me in comfortable silence, only pointing out things that amazed her. I liked her company; I was actually a little sad when she was replaced by Brandy, another brash woman who was very much like Rachel, but louder, if that was possible.
I really wished the women would just sit the fuck down and watch the show, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t be enjoying much of the sights and sounds now that the contestants were around. Sydney and I would have to find time to do some of these activities so I could truly enjoy them.
When the show ended, fucking finally, the girls got back into their town cars and I entered my own. To keep my suite private, not only were the girls going to be on a different deck than I, but anytime there was movement of all of us, I would be sent separately. The woman would take long detours to the ship and would arrive at least ten minutes after me.
It meant I was going to be stuck in my suite when on the cruise, but that was a small price to pay for privacy.
I sat in the back of the car, my head rolling against the headrest. It had been a long fucking day and I was glad to be getting back. I closed my eyes for the remainder of the trip and instead of thinking about the twenty girls I would have to spend time with, instead of trying to figure out which women I’d send home first, I thought about the redhead I had in bed just that morning.
My heart actually fucking ached thinking about her.
I rubbed at my chest and took a deep breath. Finally, the car slowed and I got out, heading toward the ship. As soon as I boarded, a crew member handed me my new room card, which turned out not to be a card but instructions on how to access a limited section of the ship.
They were taking the privacy to a whole new level, it appeared.
To get to my new room, I would have to enter a series of numbers into the keypad of a designated elevator, and I would be delivered to my room. Unless you had the code, you couldn’t come to my room.
Which meant I was free from the women.
Thank you for small favors.
I found the elevator and did as the card prompted, then watched as the floor numbers lit up, delivering me to the new place. It was a different floor, but the same room number as my previous one so I thought I knew what the room would look like.
Same room layout but different room wasn’t going to squash the memories of Sydney and I, and for that, I was thankful.
I exited the elevator when the doors slid open and walked into the large foyer area that was home to my new suite, as well as two others. I had a feeling that this room was going to be a bit more spectacular than my previous, if the lack of doors was any indication. I opened the door and lifted my brows in surprise.
I thought my last room was huge?
Fuck, this one was triple the size. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do with a room of this size. It was bigger than Jonny’s and my condo, and that damn place was bigger than the two of us needed.
It had the same glass window wall, but where the size of my previous room was maybe twenty feet wide, this one was easily the width of the ship. My room was right at the bow, allowing me to stand at the wall and watch as we moved forward on the trip. I moved to the windows and turned in to face the room. Same lofted bedroom area, larger kitchen, larger entertaining room. A fucking baby grand piano, because that was important.
I turned back around to look at the balcony. Same hot tub, same lounge chairs.
Just a larger deck.
I wandered aimlessly around the much-too-large-for-one suite, picking up random pieces and putting them back. I went to the fridge and found it stocked with my favorite beer, one of the items they didn’t put in the previous room. Guess they figured I was going to need them.
I pulled a bottle out and twisted off the cap with the help of my shirt, taking a deep drink from the bottle as I walked to the couch.
My cell was sitting on a charging plate on one of the side tables. I picked it up, hoping to see Sydney’s name pop up with a missed call or message.
The longer I went without talking to her, the more I was getting the feeling she was trying to put more distance between us than was necessary. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about that.
I wanted her. I wanted her for more than a week.
More than a month.
But what could I possibly do about it if she wasn’t going to return my messages? Did I sit here like a pussy, begging for her attention? I never had to beg for attention before, and it didn’t sit very well with me now.
But at the same time, I couldn’t fathom just…
Letting her go.
I should have figured I wouldn’t have a message from her, but I pulled up our archive just the same.
Our, as if she ever responded to a damn thing I sent her.
Like the pussy I was being, I debated sending her another text.
Instead I did one better. I called her.
And listened to her phone ring and ring. She didn’t answer but I couldn’t help the smile from spreading on my face when I heard her voice in her message.
“Hey, Syd. Hope your flight home went well.” I paused, thinking about what else I could tell her without being too much. “Hey, you did great with casting. But yeah. Just missing you today, Chief. I guess I’ll talk to you later. Bye, Syd.”
I ended the message before I could try and delete it with a prompt. Then I stared at the screen until it turned black.
I took another drink from my beer and held it between my knees as I turned the screen of my phone back on. I stared at Sydney’s face on my wallpaper before opening up my dial pad again, deciding to call Myke.
Again the phone rang.
And rang.
And rang some more. I pulled the phone away to check the time and did the timezone calculation. Shit, of course neither of them were answering.
It was damn near three in the morning back home, which made it two by Sydney.
Just before I hit end though, I saw that the call was picked up.
“Hey, Cael,” my sister answered sleepily.
“I’m sorry, Myke. I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”
“No, no, don’t worry about it.” I heard her shift in her bed. “What’s up? You meet your girls today?”
I nodded a few times before I realized she couldn’t see the action. “I did. They aren’t bad.”
“But…”
“But what?”
“You sound really down, Caleb. What’s up?”
“Just needed someone to talk to.” I moved my beer to the side table and crouched low into the cushions of the couch, throwing my arm over my eyes.
“And you chose your big sister?” I heard her smile in her voice. “Aw, Cael.”
“I was just…” I couldn’t stop the chuckle. “Whatever, Mykaela. I’m sorry I woke you.”
After a pause in the air, Myke spoke up again. “You miss her, don’t you?”
“Little bit,” I admitted, allowing my arm to drop to my side. I stared up at the tall ceilings above me.
“It’s only been a day. Give it some time, Caleb.”
I sighed, not really sure how to answer her.
“If it’s meant to be, it will all work out. You’re a go-getter, Caleb. I don’t doubt for a minute that if it’s Sydney you want, you will go after her. You just have to get through your commitments, because that’s you too. You don’t skimp out on things you’ve agreed to. It’ll all be fine, Caleb. Trust me.”
“You’re awfully bright for being half-asleep,” I teased, needing the reprieve.
“I’m bright all the time, jackass.”
“Mmhm. Sure.” I grinned again. The call may have been nearly pointless, but it lightened my mood nonetheless. “Thanks, Myke. I’ll let you go back to bed. See you in a couple weeks.”
“Night, Cael. Love you, bud.”
“Love you, too, sis.”
I tossed the phone to my side and sat where I was a few minutes longer before I decided to head to bed.
One day down…
Caleb
Day 2 of 21
“Right there,” Sydney moaned under me.
My mouth was to her breast. I was suckling hard on her nipple as I had two fingers dug deep into her, pumping them in and out. I tightened my arm and began a ruthless drive of my fingers up against her G-spot, fucking loving when her knees drew up and her breath quickened.
