The Shippers(66)

“Am I?”

“You really are.”

And then, as if to prove the point, he pushed me out for a spin and then pulled me back in. Which made me laugh a little.

“See?” Cooper said. “That didn’t hurt, did it?”

“Nothing hurts right now,” I said. And it was true.

I wasn’t alone on a stage. That was a win.

And my sunburn was better.

And I wasn’t—I suddenly noticed—miserable. For the first time all evening.

Was it my fault if he had a way of making everything seem like it would be okay?

As we danced, I couldn’t help but contrast everything Cooper was doing now with what Finn had done before. Finn had held me at a distance, but Cooper nestled me close. Finn had swayed stiffly, but Cooper pulled us into the waves of the music. Finn seemed to be concentrating hard to hear the rhythm, but Cooper seemed to just feel it. Finn wanted to win, but Cooper didn’t care about winning.

He just wanted to make me feel better.

As all the other couples swayed around us, Cooper pushed me out and pulled me back in. He spun me and dipped me. He dropped his head to whisper teasing things into my ear. And by the time the song started to wind down, I was having actual fun.

Of all things.

But then, as the music faded, Cooper said, “I still need to talk to you.”

“Sure,” I said. “Talk.”

“Not here. In private.”

“Okay.”

“Outside, okay? After this?”

“Sure.”

As the slow dancers all let go of each other and stepped back to clap, I looked around and realized that the other couples seemed to be clapping for Cooper and me.

Like we’d accidentally become the winners of this contest.

And I didn’t even have time to register that before Finn—suddenly done with his phone business—showed up between us and tapped Cooper’s shoulder, like he was cutting in, even though the song was over.

“I’ll take my partner back now,” Finn said.

Cooper just looked at me, like Are you gonna let that happen?

But that’s when Ashley fired up the mic and started thanking everybody for an epic night of fun and frivolity. “I’m about to announce the winners of the slow-dance contest,” Ashley said, “and the rule is that they have to go find a lovely patch of moonlight somewhere and kiss each other. But let me just remind you that smooching is for everyone. You don’t have to win this dance to go find your own patch of moonlight.”

It seemed pretty clear now that Cooper and I were going to be the winners.

We’d just received a standing ovation. Sort of.

Before I had time to think any of that through, though, Ashley announced the winners. And the names weren’t JoJo and Cooper. They were JoJo and Finn.

“Yes!” Finn shouted, throwing his arms up in a victory V—as if he’d gotten exactly what he deserved.

Cooper and I just frowned at each other, like What the hell?

But only for a second.

Because the next thing I knew, Finn had grabbed my hand and dragged me off the stage—presumably to kiss me. Again. For the second time in my life.





Twenty-Two


ON THE UPPER deck—not far from the noted historical site of Cooper and JoJo’s Epic Hickey—Finn pulled us to a stop beside a section of railing. The ship’s wake stretched out beyond us, lit by the moon. The wind flapped all around. It should have been romantic.

But it wasn’t.

“What the hell was that back there?” I demanded. “You left me all alone on the dance floor!”

Finn frowned like he couldn’t understand the question. “I got a work message.”

“An urgent work message?” I asked, trying to help him answer the question better.

“No,” he said. “Just a regular one.”

“You walked out ten seconds into the song. I had to stand there by myself like a lost puppy!”

Finn couldn’t fathom the melodrama. “Why are you complaining? We won.”

“That’s not a surprise. It was rigged so we’d win.”

“Who cares? Winning is winning.”

“I’m not sure that’s right.”

But now Finn was thinking about it. “Why would it be rigged so we’d win?”

He wanted to know? Fine. He could know. “Because Ashley wants you to kiss me.”

Finn didn’t understand that, but he liked it. “Okay,” he said, stepping closer.

“Aren’t you curious about why?”

Finn frowned, like it hadn’t occurred to him to be curious. Then he said, “Why?”

“Because I had a crush on you for six long years when we were kids. And now you’re single, and so am I. And we’re both on this ship. And apparently I have some unresolved issues about men, and love, and abandonment. And Ashley thinks I might have imprinted on you, so you might be my destiny. Or not. But either way, she thinks I need to find out.”

“Okay,” Finn said, shrugging like none of that made any sense to him but he didn’t care.

“Okay?”

“Okay, sure. Twist my arm. I’ll kiss you. We can do more than kiss, if you want.” He shrugged again.