Honeymoon for One Read Free Page B

idea. Then he cursed himself for drinking them.
    “Oh, damn it. All right.” He threw the pillows across the small cabin and shuffled through his carry-on. “Hello!” Instantly, he regretted shouting into the phone. Someone had obviously used his head for an anvil. “Hello,” he repeated more quietly.
    “Wanted to see how you were making out flying solo this year,” his friend Dave said.
    “What time is it?” No matter how often he squeezed his eyes closed, then opened them, the numbers on his watch were still a blurry mess.
    “Ten fifteen. I would have waited to call, but Deb sent me to get something from the cafeteria, and I wasn’t sure I’d get another chance.”
    “Yeah, yeah. How’s Deb’s mom?”
    “Not as bad as Deb had feared.”
    Kirk crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over his head. “I told you. It’s just a broken hip. The way Deb carried on, you’d have thought it was a case of life or death.”
    “I know. But I’m not married to you. I can afford to piss you off. Besides, it’s not like there aren’t a flock of babes standing in line to keep you from getting lonesome. So what flavor was it last night? Blonde, redhead? What?”
    Kirk pulled the phone away from his ear. He didn’t remember Dave having such a loud voice. “Brunette.” I think .
    “Is she there now?” Dave whispered.
    “Now?” Moving the covers down from his face and squinting at the light seeping through the partially opened drapes, Kirk glanced at the still made twin bed across the room. “No.”
    “Must be losing your touch.”
    “My touch is fine. We were closing down the place when some character started buying everyone tequila shots. Apparently, the lady doesn’t hold her tequila well.” That’s right. She’d been feeling happy, but after the shots, neither one of them had been all that steady on their feet. “I deposited her safely in her room somewhere around five this morning.”
    “She must have really been sauced for you to go home alone.”
    “We both were. So if you don’t mind, I’m going back to sleep until the sun goes down.”
    “No parasailing? I’m shocked.”
    “Shit!” Kirk sprang from bed, and the floor shifted beneath him.
    “What?”
    He reached for his head, hoping to stop it from rolling off his shoulders. “I told...uh....um...what’s-her-name we’d go parasailing. At least I think we agreed.”
    “You think? How much tequila did you drink?”
    “Enough.”
    “Maybe she won’t remember.”
    “Maybe, but if she does, I don’t want to be a no-show. Tell Deb I’m glad her mom’s okay, and that she owes me for letting you skip out on our annual trip.”
    “I’ll let you tell her the last part. Have fun. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
    “If I do that, I might as well have stayed home.” Kirk laughed, the throbbing in his head eased to a gentler pounding. What he needed was a long shower and a Bloody Mary. Not necessarily in that order. Then he had to figure out where he’d agreed to meet...what’s-her-name. “Talk to you when I get back.”
    “Great, man, and thanks again for understanding.”
    “No problem.” Kirk tossed the phone onto the empty bed and rummaged through his bag for swim trunks. If he remembered correctly, and that was a very big if , he was supposed to meet... “What the hell is her name? Mary, Maddie, Megan, Mmmmiiichelle!” Right. Michelle. She’d seemed unsure about meeting him for breakfast and had finally agreed to meet him on the debarking deck around eleven. If he hurried he might even have time to grab something to eat.
    He hadn’t quite figured her out. One minute she’d be dancing her heart out, hips swaying with moves that would make a pole dancer proud, and then she would turn all shy and demure, blushing like a virgin. Whatever the deal, he’d bet a week’s salary she was a volcano ready to erupt, and he damn sure planned to be there for the fireworks.
     
    ***
     
    Ten fifty-five. Five more minutes