That was not the only kiss that Hudson stole that night. It seemed that the end of the cruise had emboldened him to throw caution to the wind. If he had it his way Ty would be on the dance floor dancing with him the whole night. But, as much as Ty wanted to join him in the caution-free zone, it was her job to remain professional.
But, she couldn't resist all his advances, especially when he started getting smart enough to find little corners where they were out of sight as the night grew later and their time together continued to dwindle. So she let him sneak kisses behind the bar and behind the projection screen.
By the time the party was hitting its last legs, Hudson had managed to find every out-of-sight corner in the lounge. But as the last song played, Ty stopped keeping an eye out for one of Hudson's sneak attacks and turned her attention to the crowd. There were still a few people on the dance floor swaying off-beat to the music, but most people had found seats on the couches and were leaning against each other.
It was almost two in the morning and looking around, she knew she needed to rally the group in order to get them all back to their rooms in a timely fashion. Her crew's night was far from over. They still had to clean up the party. She couldn't afford spending time on getting stragglers back to their rooms.
She signaled for Kenny to get to the doors of the lounge as she walked quickly over to the DJ booth and requested one more song. The second the beat started, she could feel the shift in energy. After witnessing the Hamilton Group's song choices all week, she had guessed this song would pull the last ounces of energy out of the group, and help them rally.
"Everyone!" she called out over the mic, grabbing the whole party's attention. "I want to thank you for letting me coordinate your events this week. It was a pleasure being with you. And now, please stand as we make one final cheer to the lovely couple-to-be."
Thanks to the revived energy from the song, the Hamilton Group all rose. Someone pushed Kate and Grant into the middle and the rest of the group threw their arms around each other and they circled the couple. Ty found Hudson struggling with Hank's arms around his shoulders.
"Let's hear a cheer for Kate and Grant!"
The whole lounge erupted into shouts, and whoops and clapping. "Now, we want to make sure everyone gets back to their rooms safely, so please follow Kenny to the elevators."
This wasn't the crew's first week on the job and, like they had done on so many other late nights, they carried out their jobs perfectly. Kenny opened the doors to the lounge and waved for the crowd to follow him. Someone turned on the lights, killing the party vibe while three of the servers walked slowly along with the group towards Kenny, as if herding them.
If anyone in the Hamilton Group realized what was going on, they might feel insulted, but Ty had had one too many stray passengers cost her an extra hour of work for her not to come up with a system for moving a party out of a space. It helped that the groups were usually tired and full of alcohol.
As she watched the group get herded out of the lounge, she couldn't help but search for Hudson. She finally found him, getting dragged towards the door by Hank. He managed to look back and their eyes met. For a moment, Ty thought about intercepting him. She could make up an excuse to hold him back from the group, but what then?
She was still on the clock. She had to oversee clean-up and get the Hamilton's disembarking paperwork in before the morning. And as much as she liked Hudson, her job came first. So, she let herself hold his gaze for a moment more.
She could see him trying to pull away from Hank's hold, and she shook her head. She smiled, knowing this image would be one of the last ones she had of him, and blew him a kiss. She saw his shoulders slump as Hank pulled him out of the lounge, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she clapped her hands for the crew's attention and got to work.
She moved quickly about the room handing out jobs to the staff then she started pulling table clothes off the tables. She was throwing the final table clothe into the large pile of discarded linens in the center of the lounge when she saw Johnny enter the lounge, followed by Anders, Jules, and Nico. If they were hoping to get in some last-minute bets, they were too late, and if they were hoping to hang out, she didn't have time for that.
She was already shaking her head to discourage any idea they had as she moved towards them.
"You're too late. The group already left," she said.
"We're here to help," Johnny said.
"Sure," she said. She could remember several times he had said he was there to "help" but was really only there for some bet.
"Serious," he said. "Don't you have somewhere else you would rather be?"
"Many, such as my bed sleeping, but unfortunately I haven't found a way to get Louie to pay me for sleeping."
"I meant with Hudson," Johnny said, giving her a playful grin.
"We got you covered," Nico said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "We can clean up the lounge so you can go spend time with your boo, Hudson."
"I know we might not be as smart as you," Johnny said, "but I think the four of us can figure out how to do your job for one night."
"Especially if it means you get to be with Mr. HotStuff," Jules said, grabbing Ty's hand excitedly.
"Just do us a favor," Nico said.
"And don't mess it up," Anders finished for him.
Ty laughed. "Guys, the sentiment is sweet..."
"Don't say that. Seriously Bennett," Johnny said, pointing a stern finger at her. "I'm giving up my free time for you. You better go and make it worth it."
"And tell Hudson you love him!" Jules cheered.
"Or at least give him your number," Nico offered as a more realistic option.
"But..." Ty tried to interrupt them.
"We like Hudson," Nico said.
"And we know you do too," Anders said. "So go and we will take care of everything here."
Ty stopped trying to talk and looked at her friends. They were offering to give up their free time so she could spend time with Hudson.
"You guys are the best!" she said, pulling them all in for a group hug. The four of them cheered like they had won a battle.
"I'm lucky to have friends like you," she added as they pulled away and Nico gave her a suspicious look.
"She isn't going to accept our help," he said like he had suspected this all along.
"She just said she was lucky to have us as friends," Johnny countered. The four of them looked at Ty questioningly, waiting for her to land the final verdict.
She smiled apologetically. "You guys are the best," she said again and Johnny threw his hands up.
"Seriously!" he said loudly. "We give you the opportunity to skip out on work and spend time with the guy you like and you aren't taking it?"
"No," she said.
She wasn't surprised when Nico held out his hand to Johnny. "Dang it!" Johnny said, slapping Nico's hand away.
"Dude, I told you she wasn't going to leave. This is Ty we are talking about," Nico laughed.
"How much?" Ty asked.
"Forty-dollars!" Nico cheered victoriously.
"You seriously aren't going to go tell Hudson you love him?" Jules asked.
"No," Ty said, giving Jules a sympathetic smile. "Now," she continued, gathering the four of them closer so she could start pushing them toward the door, "this endeavor was very kind of you all, but I still have work to do so I would appreciate it if you showed your love for me by disappearing."
"Happily," Nico said, leading the way. "I have forty dollars to spend. Come on Johnny."
Ty received disappointed looks from Johnny, Anders, and Jules as they passed her, but she left them to wallow in their disappointment at her failed love-life so she could get back to work.
The gesture had been kind, but Nico had been right, she would never leave her job in the hands of someone else. Yes, Hudson was smart and funny, and they got along great, but at the end of the day, she had known Hudson for six days. And those weren't even six days based in reality. Being on a cruise ship had a way of distorting life and making people do crazy things like profess their love to someone they had known for less than a week.
But even as her brain argued one side, the other side came into play. Because, maybe she had only known Hudson for six days, but she worked on a cruise ship, so her whole life was knowing people for the span of a week, and no one had caught her interest like Hudson. It had started with his quick comebacks, but within six days she had learned that he was caring, even though he grumbled through it, smart, hard-working, and friendly.
He even had moments boarding on goofy which seemed like a contrast to the man building an airline from the ground up. She had to admit that he had several attractive qualities, and maybe given more time... She stopped herself there, knowing time was not something anyone working on a cruise ship had.
A glass broke somewhere on the other side of the lounge and Ty tucked Hudson and all his qualities into the back of her mind as she moved across the room to help deal with the broken glass.
Other than the broken glass, Ty's team managed to get through the clean-up without any major incident, and an hour after they had herded the Hamilton Party out of the lounge, they were saying goodnight and heading off to their own destinations.
Ty was the only one who stayed behind. She had paperwork she had to finish and submit. She should have finished the paperwork that afternoon, but Hudson had been in the lounge with her and she had let it slide. It just needed to be submitted before the 5AM morning call, so she had time.
For a few minutes, the large space was only filled with the quiet scratches of her pen as she filled out the paperwork at the bar, but then it was joined by quiet footsteps. She looked up and found Hudson walking into the lounge.
"Hi," she smiled, surprised but happy to see him.
"I got a situation," he said, looking around the lounge as he walked towards her. She smiled as she realized he was trying to see if there was anyone else with them.
"Ok," she said questioningly.
"So I'm here with a big party. The Hamilton Party. I don't know if you heard about us," he started to explain when he reached her. Her smile widened. "Anyways, some of the guys aren't ready for the night to be over and they want more drinks and I, very selflessly, volunteered to be the one to leave the very crowded room and find drinks."
"How very selfless of you," she agreed. "This does sound like a situation."
"There is a catch," he continued, leaning close like he was sharing a secret. "They said I wouldn't be allowed back in the room unless I had alcohol with me."
Ty bit back a smile. The side of her brain that had been arguing in defense of Hudson earlier hadn't done him justice when reminding her how cute he was. Not only had he managed to escape from the group, which was a feat in itself, because she had seen how tight a grip Hank had had on him, but he had come up with this cute sketch.
"Well," she said, looking at the wall behind that bar that was filled floor to ceiling with bottles of alcohol, "I'm fresh out of all alcohol," she said gravely. "I guess you won't be able to return to your room."
He nodded slowly with a deep sigh like he was having a hard time digesting the news, but the act only lasted a moment before a big, goofy grin spread across his face. "I was hoping you would say that," he said. He pulled out the barstool next to her and sat down.
"I should give you the warning that there is not a lot going on here," she said, displaying the paperwork. "I was supposed to get this done earlier, but there was this guy here this afternoon that kept distracting me."
"He sounds awful," he said. "I'll keep my eye on the door to make sure he doesn't come back and bother you."
He smiled at his own joke, but the longer he looked at her, his smile started to soften until his gaze turned intense, like he was using the short time he had left with her to memorize everything about her.
She could see the look leading somewhere emotional like an official goodbye and took a deep breath in to tell him he had to leave so she could finish her work. But he snapped out of the mushy look before she could say anything and shifted his focus to the forms. "What are we working on?" he asked.
She was still preparing to tell him to leave until she realized he was actually reading one of the forms. After a moment he looked at her. "Do you want help?" he asked. "I can at least fill out everyone's name, and some of the other information I know."
"You want to help fill out paperwork?" she questioned.
"Why not?" he asked, as he started looking behind the bar for a pen. "From a very early age, my father taught me that paperwork is very important. At the ports, we had to be meticulous about logging every single item, or else we could hit issues down the road that could cost us thousands of dollars. I'm amazing at paperwork."
"Seriously?" she asked again.
Paperwork might be important but it didn't mean it made it appealing. Anders, Nico, Johnny, and Jules had shown up earlier offering their help, but if she had suggested paperwork, they all would have remembered things they had to do and left her on her own.
"Are you worried about confidentiality?" he asked. "If I'm completely honest, I don't think that's an issue when I've had to sleep in the same room with Hank for a week and witness his 6AM shirtless rendition of 'Don't Stop Believing' every morning."
Ty laughed, knowing he wasn't making up Hank's shirtless morning karaoke. "Confidentiality isn't the issue. I've just never had anyone offer to help me with paperwork."
"Well," he shrugged. "Have you met anyone like me before?" He said it in such a casual way as he pushed up the sleeves of his button-down like he already knew the answer was no. He wasn't wrong.
"Alright," she said with a small laugh as she shook her head, still finding it hard to believe he wanted to help her. She shuffled through the forms until she found a certain one. "Start with this one and see how much you can fill out."
"Okay," he said, accepting the form. Ty watched as he read over it and then started at the top, filling in the blank spaces. It still felt like a joke and she watched him, waiting for him to start laughing and admit he was only joking. But he remained quiet as he methodically moved through the form.
After a minute, he stopped and looked at her. "I said I would help, but I didn't think that meant I would be the ONLY one working."
"You should have read the fine print," she joked, as she pulled her own pile of forms towards her and started to fill them out.
This was the most tedious part of Ty's job but there was something companionable about sitting in silence with Hudson, filling out forms together. Every now and then he would ask her a question about a certain part of the form, and she would help him out but then they would return to silence as they worked.
Ty was finishing her last form when she realized she was the only one writing. She glanced over to find Hudson watching her.
"What?" she asked, continuing to write. She finished and looked at him when he didn't respond right away.
He studied her for a long minute before he finally said, "You are very capable."
Ty was surprised at how much she liked the compliment. People had said similar things to her before but they always sounded surprised, like they couldn't believe how hard she worked and what she could accomplish. But Hudson said it with awe like he had always suspected what she was capable of but was just getting a reminder.
"Are you done?" he asked, nodding to the forms in front of her.
"I am," she said, collecting all the forms into one big pile.
"So, what's next?"
"Next, I have to file them in the main office," she said, mentally walking through the steps.
"And after that?"
"They'll go into the system and close out all the details and tabs for the Hamilton Party."
"And after that?"
"Someone will print disembarking papers and drop them off at the doors of the Hamilton Party while I try to catch a few hours of sleep."
"And after that?"
The question made her stop. After that was goodbye. "After that?" she repeated slowly, trying to tiptoe into the topic she wasn't sure they were ready to discuss. "I'll help direct the disembarking process?"
"And after that?" He was watching her intently, and she knew he was thinking the same thing she was.
"I'll help prepare the boat for the next round of passengers." Without intending to she lowered the volume of her voice as if they were trading secrets.
"And after that?" he said quietly, following her lead.
She paused. What did she want to come after she said goodbye to Hudson? She would be gone less than twelve hours after saying goodbye to him and without any phone service for a week.
Even when they got back to port, it wasn't always guaranteed that she had time to make phone calls. And that wasn't even considering that he would be halfway around the world in a completely different time zone. She wasn't sure what answer she could give to the real question he was asking so she stuck with the facts.
"We'll leave the Miami port by 7PM tomorrow night."
"And after that?" There was a hesitation that slipped into his voice like he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answers to the question he kept asking.
"I'll be gone for a week with no cell service," she said.
"And after that?"
"I'll be back in Miami doing it all over again." When laid out so plainly, any future connection seemed impossible. And that was only her side of things. "What about you?" she asked. "You'll leave the boat tomorrow and then what?"
He took a deep breath as he sank back in his seat, studying her with a small crease between his eyes, like he didn't like the question. "I have a 5PM flight back to Germany."
"And then what?" she asked.
Did they just go on with their lives like they had never met? That was probably the smartest option. If they tried to find a way to stay connected, were they just setting themselves up for failure? Probably.
"I'll be back in California in a month for my brother's wedding."
That didn't change anything. California might as well be Germany if Ty was on a boat. And she would be on a boat for the next eight months until her contract was done. They sat in silence as they tried to digest the future that awaited them.
Ty circled through the details, searching for any other options other than just walking away when Hudson spoke up. "Okay. How do we make this work?"
"What do you mean?" she asked. They had just laid out twenty reasons why it would never work.
"This," he said more urgently, motioning between the two of them. "Can you get off the boat when it's docked? What does that schedule look like? Can you make phone calls? I can work around the timing." He paused for a moment and scrunched his face up as he thought. "Hamburg is six hours ahead of you, so that means noon your time is six pm my time, which isn't too bad."
"Hudson, my contract isn't up for another eight months," she said bluntly. "I won't have cell service ninety percent of the time and even when we are at the port I work long days so I usually don't even leave the boat. Maybe once a month." There was no point in letting him down easy. They had no future.
"That's not bad." He shrugged like talking to her once a month wasn't a problem.
She laughed at his optimism, wishing she could steal some for herself. And as she looked at him with his hopeful eyes and gentle smile she could feel some of his optimism invading her thoughts. She had never thought she would ever develop feelings for a passenger but here they were and she was proven wrong. Could she prove herself wrong again? Could she make something work with Hudson?
Her logical thoughts came rushing in, trying their best to squash the small amount of optimism.
"You're insane," she laughed. "You work in Germany. I only get to land every couple of weeks and I never have cell service. I'm not done with my contract for another eight months, but..."
"Who cares," Hudson finished for her. He took both of her hands as he looked at her intently. "It is insane, but I don't usually do anything the easy way. I like you and I have never met anyone as interesting and smart and frustrating and sassy as you. It sounds crazy to try to stay in touch and keep something going," he admitted. "But I think it would be just as crazy for me to walk away from someone like you without at least trying."
Ty felt her face heating up at his compliments.
"Besides," he laughed, "my family thought I was insane to start an airline and that's worked out alright and I care a lot more about you than an airline."
He smiled for a moment but grew serious as he studied her. He had just laid all his cards on the table and was waiting to see how she would respond. Looking at him and knowing how he felt, she knew she didn't want this to be the end of what they had. As insane and impossible as it seemed, it also felt insane to walk away. She had never known anyone like Hudson and she had never felt the way she felt about Hudson before.
An excited feeling started to grow in her gut and she recognized it as the same feeling she had gotten when she had decided to run away from home and work on the cruise ship. That had also felt like an insane idea, but years later she now knew it was the best decision she had ever made.
"This is insane," she started, "but I like you too." Then she quietly added, "And I don't want this to end."
"So we're in agreement?"
"That we're both insane?" she laughed.
He chuckled. "I think we knew that a couple of days ago." He looked at her and his face grew serious. "I'll take whatever time you will give me. However much of you, you are willing to give. I'll be happy with once-a-month phone calls. And when your contract ends...?" He let his words drop off as he looked at her questioningly.
"I've never been to Germany before," she said casually. She had already stepped over the line into the impossible. Why stay near the line when she could jump in completely?
He grinned. "I have actually. I could show you around if you want," he said, leaning in close.
"There is nothing I want more," she said, closing the distance to kiss him.
**********************************************************************
CHEERS!! SAFE SAILING!!
*shakes champagne bottle, pops lid and spays the room* A toast to the couple that will find a way! Is it a sad parting? No, it is a simple 'see you later' until the next time. That means there's no time for tears. ð¥
Instead, drink up (if you are of age, won't have any underage drinking here, even if it's just in emojis. You can have juice) and tell me your final thoughts. ð¯ð¬ðð¥
I feel like I should find some ocean metaphor to close out this story. And when I say close out, I mean until the epilogue chapter.
Okay, here goes. *clears throat* Though we might have been a little tug boat that floated over the waves of happiness and hit storms of despair, we survived. We bounced in the happy times and kept from sinking in the thunderstorms. We came through stronger and happier.
We are the little tug boat that could! The tug boat of love!
Which funny enough was the title that my sisters and I wanted to name this book. But for obvious reasons, we didn't go with it. Clearly the title would make the book too popular, that popularity would go to my head and I wouldn't be the same person afterwards.
So Sail Away was settled on, for the better of all our lives.
Okay before you sail into the sunset, vote, comment, follow!
I feel like that one dolphin is just going to fly away.