Gaming Grace

by Piper J. Drake

  “You travel a lot?” A pang of guilt hit him. Standing there in the center of her cabin, she had a somewhat lost look. This cruise was definitely not the scene she’d have chosen on her own.

  “For work, yes.” She selected an article of clothing from her suitcase and turned to him, placing one hand on the door handle. “Wait for a minute and I’ll give you your shirt back.”

  Nope. “You want me to wait in the hallway? I thought we were friends, at least.”

  Hopefully, more soon.

  She gave him an exasperated glare. “I need to pull on this skirt so I can take off your shirt.”

  He grinned. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for modesty? At least with me, anyway.”

  The pink spread across her cheeks again as she blushed and he decided he really liked the effect. She was very attractive when flustered. But he straightened and stepped back, out of the doorway and into the hallway. It was one thing to tease, but he didn’t want to make her seriously uncomfortable.

  “Take your time. I’ll be out here. No worries,” he paused. Just before she shut the door, he called out. “Unless you’re expecting a boyfriend to drop by.”

  She shut the door with a decisive click.

  He chuckled, his mood lighter than it’d been in months. It was refreshing to be around someone who very obviously didn’t want anything from him. She was also very obviously a meticulous, conservative, buttoned up type of personality and he had the urge to see what lay below her carefully pressed exterior. She obviously had a brain, and that alone was a step up from anyone he’d expected to meet on this cruise.

  Another minute passed and the door opened. There she was, holding his shirt out to him, neatly folded. He didn’t know he could grin any wider.

  She lifted her chin and cleared her throat. “I’m here with friends.”

  “So you’ve said.” He took the shirt. “Thanks.”

  She cleared her throat. “To clarify, I’m not expecting a boyfriend to stop by.”

  “A boyfriend.” He considered if he should tease her more or go for even more clarity. He decided he wanted to be crystal clear. “As in, you’re not expecting a boyfriend to stop by because he’s not on the ship or because you don’t have one.”

  Her gaze was steady despite the deep flush over her cheeks. “I don’t have one.”

  Good. And he was definitely happy she’d decided to make the effort to clarify to him, in particular. “I can tell.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “How so? You think I couldn’t be here with someone along with my friends?”

  He leaned in, still careful not to actually enter her room. “One, this is a singles cruise. It defeats the purpose to be here if you are already happily attached.”

  She pressed her lips together then blurted out, “We ended up on this cruise by accident. We were definitely supposed to be on a sophisticated, relaxing cruise. Next assumption?”

  Ooh. Honestly, he was enjoying her prickly personality. “Two. There’s only one bag, open, in your room and there’s only ladies’ clothes visible. Maybe you can excuse the clothes by saying a guy packed his clothes underneath the ones on top but there’s no way to miss a man’s shoes. They’d be significantly bigger and bulkier than those tiny shoes you’ve got oh so neatly placed and there’s no sign of another bag.”

  She glanced back and tilted her head. Suddenly, she laughed. The sound was quiet and tired. He experienced another pang of guilt. Maybe he was messing with her too much. But she looked back at him with a small smile on her face. “You’re not wrong. Good observations. And honestly, I’m not sure where I’d be hiding a man if one were in here. Maybe the balcony.”

  He glanced across the cabin to the sliding door leading onto the small private balcony. “It’d work for maybe a second or two. You can see the whole space. It wouldn’t work unless you pulled the curtain. The other quick choice is the bathroom.”

  Her smile widened. “Yeah? Well, you can’t open the bathroom door unless you close this door to the cabin, so it’s not like you can check.”

  “True.” He was glad she was beginning to play along with him. Maybe she wanted to be teased as much as he was tempted to tease her. “I could come in and check, but since you already told me you don’t have one, I’ll trust you.”

  “Good, because I didn’t say you could come in,” she responded lightly.

  “I noticed.” He waited until she met his gaze again and gave her a wink. “I’ll wait until you do.”

  He stepped back before she could respond. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Grace. I’ll see you tomorrow after breakfast, say around nine? If you want to see me sooner, I’m in room fifteen-two-three-four. Give a call.”

  3

  First night out-of-port and the entire interior of the ship was a party in full swing. Grace stared through the window of the glass elevator, looking out over the full length of deck five and had to admit it was kind of amazing as spectacles went.

  And somewhere down there, Kendall was all by herself.

  Yeah. Sure they were all adults, but Kendall had looked right on the edge of snapping or teetering at the brink of some kind of panic. She hadn't come back, and while all of them were concerned, they had all agreed to give Kendall her space. She knew where each of their cabins were and could call when she was ready to talk. Every one of them would drop everything if any of the others called. That was one reason why Grace had kept in touch with this group of friends even when she let just about every other friendship fade away.

  But everyone seemed to be calling it a night, or at least heading back to their cabins before entertaining themselves for the evening. Grace didn't really feel like going back to her cabin just yet. The elevator came to a stop and impulsively she moved towards the doors.

  A tall, very tall, man stepped on and Grace looked up at him in surprise. "Whoop. Hi Miles! Bye, Miles."

  Before he could ask her where she was going she darted out into the elevator lobby and turned sharply to head down the stairs. It was only a couple of flights back down to the fifth deck and the ship’s huge interior promenade. It was crowded and noisy and full of people, but she loved music and she figured she might be able to find an open seat in a corner or some spot where she could people watch. That was her: a contemporary wallflower.

  She picked one of the open bars playing Latin music and squeezed in at the end of the bar. The bartenders, at least, noticed her and one immediately came over to take her order. With her caipirinha in hand, she stepped away from the bar and kept an eye out for an open seat somewhere.

  The dance floor was full of pairs and singles moving along to the Latin beats. Some of them looked like they actually knew what they were doing and others didn’t look like they cared. All of them looked like they were having fun.

  Fun was not Grace's forte. Oh, she could keep a project team's spirits up despite a heavy workload in the middle of a critical part of a project. She took pleasure from accomplishing tasks and also looking back at a project well done. And nothing could make her smile more than knowing she'd come up with a strategy to allow the team to work smarter and not necessarily have to work harder. What she was good at was working efficiently and executing with excellence.

  But having fun, for fun’s sake? She couldn't remember having ever done that, even as a child. Every class, including extracurricular activities in school, were justified by how well they supported her chances of getting into a good college and receiving a scholarship. She was the youngest of three and her older brother had become the doctor, her older sister became the lawyer, so it'd been up to her to go make something new of herself with the opportunities her family had worked hard to make sure she had.

  She’d been lucky, really, because the expectations for her hadn’t resulted in a predetermined path. Only an insistence that she be exceptional, undeniably so, in the eyes of her parents and their friends. It was hard to explain to her friends when they met her family. Those expectations seemed more centered around “what wi
ll people think” than around care for her happiness, but with her parents, it was actually their way of assuring themselves she really was going to have the elements established in her life to support her own happiness. They’d wanted her to build a career she could be proud of, be financially stable, and not have to rely on anyone else. From that perspective, their hopes were very positive. It was just the way they applied the pressure and expectations that made her very, very tired.

  And she probably should’ve listened to the music more and taken in the fun everyone else was having, rather than thinking so hard. The crowd around her was shifting. A conga line had formed and she scrambled to keep from getting corralled as the line of drunken dancers snaked through the onlookers standing inside the bar.

  "Hey now!" The voice was very male and definitely slurred. A heavy weight landed on her shoulder.

  "I'm sorry." Grace shrugged out from under the guy's hand and stepped back, glancing around for a clear path to walk away. The guy wore a flannel and jeans with heavy work boots, like he’d come straight from a day of work before boarding the ship. He also didn’t look like he’d shaved in a week.

  "No worries, babe," the guy said and he leaned forward, squinting as he checked out her cleavage.

  Ugh.

  The end of the conga line finally passed and Grace took a step toward the promenade. She was tired of this bar anyway.

  "Aw, don't leave yet," the guy grabbed her loosely around the waist. "You look like you need some friends to party with."

  As he spoke, two other guys came around to flank him, and her. All of them had the look of the very inebriated, maybe not as aggressively predatory, but they were starting to become very interested in what was going on. She was not staying in the middle of this.

  She placed her hand flat on the guy sternum, showing her teeth as she smiled. "No. I really don't."

  She pushed then, and also stepped quickly to the side, away from his encircling arm, before he could tighten his grip. Free, she slipped between a few dancers and called over her shoulder, "Have a nice night!"

  Walking quickly, she left the bar area and did her best to disappear into what was left of the crowd on the promenade. Most of the shops were closed already and the remaining bars were really at the far ends of the ship's interior. But there was a wine bar and an all-night pizza place where people were still hanging out. She considered whether she wanted a slice.

  "That was well done." The voice at her side sounded familiar, but it wasn't her unwanted company from a minute ago. This voice sent a billion butterflies dancing through her belly. She turned to see Bryan at her shoulder, dressed casually in a short sleeved button up shirt of very fine linen and sand colored shorts. Casual, yes, but he looked so confident, he could’ve walked into a boardroom and still commanded respect. She wondered what the heck Bryan did for a living besides walk through hallways taking videos of hapless passengers sans pants.

  He jerked his head back the way she’d come. "I saw you, but you seemed to be handling the situation well on your own, so I just hung out to be sure you didn’t need backup."

  That was actually pretty cool to hear. She wouldn't have been thrilled if anyone had come in like a misguided knight in shining armor when she really hadn't needed any help. The last thing she’d needed was to be caught up in the middle of a pissing contest.

  She smiled. "Thanks."

  Bryan returned her smile with a lopsided grin of his own. "That being said, your boys followed you out of the bar and they are definitely focused on catching up to you."

  Not so great. She glanced past Bryan and saw the guy and his two friends lurking a few yards away, not even bothering to look like they just happened to be standing there.

  She focused back on Bryan. "Well, I probably shouldn't walk directly back to my cabin then. I'll just..."

  She paused to think about it. She could go outside part of the deck that went all the way around the exterior of the ship or she could go up to one of the higher floors with more public lounges, but getting to either of those places would leave her a little more than just vulnerable. It would probably be best to try to stick to the most heavily populated portions of the ship until she was sure she lost those guys.

  "I've got a route they can't take to follow you back to your cabin, if you're interested," Bryan offered. "That is, if you feel comfortable with me."

  None of her friends were around and if she didn't like where he was leading her she could always walk away from him too. Funny, though, she didn’t feel particularly rushed to get away from him.

  "All right."

  His grin widened and he offered her his arm. "This way, my lady."

  "I'm not your anything." Even said with a smile, the words come out harsher than she'd intended. She slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow. "But I appreciate your escort."

  It was definitely not the first time a beautiful woman had laid a hand on him, and in the countless times ladies had since, Bryan couldn’t remember ever getting such a zing out of so little contact. He savored the feeling for a second and told himself he could wait for more.

  Not long.

  He led Grace on an easy going stroll across the rest of the promenade, enjoying the way she pointedly looked around her but still snuck glances up at him. She might not want to admit it, but she was curious about him and he most definitely wanted to nurture the seed of interest into a much stronger thing before the night was over.

  He wished he’d caught sight of her sooner. She was easy to spot in her buttoned up blouse and straight pencil skirt with her sensible flats. She was both lovely and out of place, like a gardenia brought in from the garden and carelessly tossed in the middle of a messy room. Despite the care she took in her appearance, he got the distinct impression it wasn’t done to attract interest so much as to present a certain image of competence. She was a woman with priorities completely out of alignment with the current venue.

  He wondered if he could tempt her into rumpling her outfit a little. The question was: how? She’d shut him down if he tried the aggressive approach, as he’d already seen happen back at the bar.

  Come to think of it, Bryan glanced back as they reached the elevators. The three men were following at a distance, scowling, and doing nothing to hide their intent. Idiots. Ship security had noticed and were already keeping an eye on them. Even if Bryan hadn’t been there, Grace had taken care of the situation handily and Bryan was only glad she was allowing him to see her safely away.

  He pressed the call button for the elevator. “Did you ever get your pants back?”

  A few other people were gathering, waiting for the elevator. Grace glanced around, pink tinging her cheeks. “No.”

  “Good thing you packed skirts too, then.” He caught a strand of hair escaping from her bun and lightly wound it around his index finger.

  She blushed more, but didn’t pull away. “One skirt. This was the only one I had. I’ve got one sheath dress I could wear too, but that’s it. I’m going to have to pick up a couple of things from the ship stores if Aubrey doesn’t give me back my damned pants.”

  He couldn’t help grinning. “Any chance you’ll introduce me to your friend?”

  Grace narrowed her eyes at him. “You might have to get in line. Seems she’s already hooked up with someone on this cruise.”

  Not the direction he thought she’d go. “Oh no. I’m not planning to get in line, at least not for her. I just want to buy her a drink for her brilliant intervention. I am in full support of you continuing through the rest of this week with no pants.”

  Grace’s mouth opened, her lips forming an tempting “O” and he had to leash the impulse to swoop in and steal a kiss. She was so damned tempting. But the elevator arrived with a discreet ding at that moment and the people around them surged forward, crashing into the herd of party-goers coming out of the same elevator and the area was suddenly a churning mess of people on the wrong side of tipsy.

  Bryan placed a hand on Grace’s back, just bel
ow her shoulder blades, to steady her and shield her from jostling as she pushed forward into the elevator. She managed to secure a spot against one side, where the glass wall curved to give her a bit more space. He stepped in close to her and braced an arm against the glass as even more people tried to fit in. He reached between a few people and managed to press the button for the fifteenth floor as people shouted and laughed at the ridiculous press. From the looks of the panel, they were going to be stopping on just about every floor. Fortunately, everyone was having a good time.

  “I’m not going to your room.” Grace lifted her chin and gave him a glare full of challenge.

  “I wasn’t going to take you there, but I’m glad you remembered what floor I’m on.” He winked at her, pleased. “I am taking you to that level though and we’ll walk through before heading down to your floor on a different set of elevators.”

  “Hmm.” She still looked suspicious, but he thought he saw the shadow of a smile playing around the corners of her mouth. “As plans go, that seems to make sense as a way to make sure those guys don’t follow.”

  She turned her head to look down to the promenade as the elevator rose.

  “It’s probably good that they didn’t make it onto this elevator.” He grunted as someone’s elbow dug into his back.

  The doors opened and maybe one or two people got off but even more people squeezed their way on. The sheer push of people made him almost flatten Grace.

  “Sorry.” He tried to push back but he couldn’t do much with the number of bodies in the elevator with them. “I don’t mean to crush you.”

  Grace shook her head. She’d lifted her hand as more people came in and she tentatively laid it flat on his chest. The heat of her palm warmed his skin through the linen of his shirt. “I’m fine. Thank you, Bryan.”

  He had any number of witty lines he could’ve said to amuse or maybe seduce a lady but he couldn’t think of a single one. All he could do was stare at Grace, the soft curve of her face and the sweet blush still staining her cheeks. Her lashes were long and dark, but when she lifted them to look up at him, his breath caught as he fell into the golden brown of her eyes.