The Summer Deal

Twenty seven - Too many bottles of happy hormones

Noah Jordan's POV:

Four more minutes, and I'm calling it quits. Four more minutes, and it's over between me and Sarah. Three minutes and fifty seconds more, and I'm ready to jump off this ship and die in the sea of embarrassment.

I casually leaned against the metal bars at the edge of the cruise ship, my gaze fixed on the dock as I took small sips of water. It was almost 7 in the morning, and I had given her clear instructions to reach before 7. The ship leaves in two minutes.

"So..." Dennis stood beside me, dressed in casual yellow khaki shorts and a green shirt. "Is she coming?"

"I don't know, man," I answered honestly. "She was extremely upset with me last night. I think it's over. I texted her if she wanted to leave the hotel with me, she replied no."

The second part was a lie, but Dennis didn't need to know that. It was just an excuse if Sarah truly decided to ditch me again. Sarah had already left my room before I even woke up yesterday. We met over breakfast, and I explained to her the entire itinerary for this weekend while she listened to me with zero interest. That was the last time I had seen her since then. I caught a glimpse of black hair with brown highlights last evening near the elevator when I was coming back from the garage I was working at as a part-time job, but then I saw the woman was holding a few shopping bags and simply deduced that she wasn't Sarah because Sarah hates shopping. I did try to call her last night regarding today's departure, but she didn't pick up. I texted her if I could book a cab for us, or rent out a car from the hotel's rental service and leave together, but she gave me a very dry response instead.

I swear this woman changes her mood faster than a chameleon's skin.

"We can wait ten more minutes for her if you want."

"No," I said firmly. "Your best man has done a spectacular thing by planning this weekend for you and Sasha, I don't want to ruin it. If Sarah's not coming... then she's not."

"You might want to take your words back," Dennis pointed at something. "Is that her?"

No way.

A sleek black car stopped a few meters away from where we were docked, and a man in the hotel's uniform came rushing out of the driver's seat and opened the door of the passenger seat then quickly unlocked the car's trunk and took out two small suitcases.

"I'll be right back," I informed Dennis and unboarded the ship to help Sarah with her bags. The man gave me a weak smile when he noticed me jogging towards them. Sarah emerged outside, dressed in all black. Just like that day at the airport. Black dress, black scarf, black sunglasses, and black shoes. "Sarah, you actually came," I said in surprise.

"Don't. Just don't."

There was something different about her accent as she pulled out the drawbar of her bags and dragged them towards where the ship was located. She walked right past me with her head straight, and I accidentally got a whiff of her scent. Nicotine and vodka. I slapped my forehead and cursed out loud. It was only 7 fucking am in the morning. How was she not dead of alcohol poisoning yet?

"How much did she have?" I asked the man as we both watched her struggle a bit with climbing the steep wooded plank to board the ship.

"Two rounds of shots before we left, sir. Half bottle on the way. It's still inside her bag and two cigarettes. She even gave me one as a tip, sir."

I removed my wallet and handed a 10 dollar bill to the poor man. "Here. For staying in one piece, and thank you for bringing her safely here." On time, I wanted to add.