He nodded across the hallway to another small room with four bunk beds, and then he was kicking his shorts off and was about to get in the shower himself when I reached for him.
His eyebrows furrowed, but when he saw my face, he must have registered my nerves. He chuckled, pulling me into his bare chest and wrapping his arms around me. I sighed in relief at the contact, resting my head just beneath his chin.
“It’s going to be fine,” he promised. “Trust me — this crew will talk enough that you won’t have to say a word. Just enjoy the fancy, free meal.”
I nodded but held him tighter when he tried to pull back. “I’m going to miss you,” I whispered.
Joel squeezed me hard. “Oh, baby, I’m going to miss you, too.” He tilted my chin until he could press his lips to mine — lips I’d known all through college, lips I would kiss the rest of my life.
They brought me comfort and butterflies all at once.
“Now, go get showered and let me do the same. Then we can come back here for a proper goodbye before you get off the boat.” He smacked my ass and waggled his brows with that comment, and I shoved him off playfully as he disappeared into the bathroom.
I took my time across the hall, smiling to myself at the already-chaotic bathroom the girls shared. It was easy to tell the difference between it and the one Joel was sharing with the other deck hands. That one had been practically bare, save for some shaving cream and a couple of razors. In here, makeup, hair product, and styling tools spilled out of every small cabinet and took up nearly every inch of the small counter space.
I was glad now that I hadn’t opted to check my bag at the front desk of the hotel we left this morning. I didn’t want to carry it around with me all day, but Joel insisted that I wouldn’t want to backtrack to the hotel after being on the boat, and if I had my bag with me, I could just get started on my trip as soon as we said goodbye. Thankfully, I’d listened to him.
After a long, hot shower, I ran my fingers through my hair a bit before wrapping it up in a towel on top of my head. Then, I swiped the fog off the mirror with my palm, groaning a little at the reflection that found me.
I looked as tired as I felt.
Unfortunately, I was much less prepared for a nice dinner than the other girls on the boat. When I’d packed for this trip, I’d imagined being with Joel for a week and then on my own. I had five shirts, two tank tops, one pair of jeans and two pairs of shorts to get me through my entire time here. I knew I could do laundry or re-wear a lot of this stuff, and I wanted everything I needed to fit in a carry-on sized backpack. I’d succeeded in that quest.
But there was no room in there for makeup or curling wands, that was for sure.
I chuckled to myself as I pulled out the girliest thing I had — a small bottle of moisturizer — and swathed it over my cheeks. I acted as if I’d really have done more even if I knew there was going to be a nice dinner involved, but the truth of it was I didn’t know how to do a thing with makeup or my hair. That was my sister’s territory, and I let her play with me like one of her dolls whenever she wanted to because I had absolutely zero desire.
I wished she was here now.
With that thought, I pulled my phone out and connected to the yacht WiFi Joel had told me about during the tour. Then, I video-chatted Juniper.
“Hey, big sis! How’s life abroad?”
Juniper’s smile was like a million Broadway lights. She was sitting at the kitchen table at the house we grew up in, hands wrapped around a steaming mug of tea, the tendrils of her black hair falling here and there out of a messy bun on top of her head. It was six o’clock here in Barcelona, which meant it was ten in the morning in Boulder.
We looked so much alike, Juniper and I, except she was extraordinary in every way I was average. We both had long dark hair, but hers had beautiful, natural waves that she could curl into celebrity status, where mine was flat and straight no matter what I did to it. She had flawless, pale skin, where mine was peppered with freckles and sun spots. Her body was every man’s dream, curvy and soft and sexy, where mine resembled a stick of celery. She stood tall and proud and smiled like she had the world in her hands, while I cowered and hid in her shadows whenever I had the chance.
But we both had our father’s eyes, cerulean blue, and seeing those irises I knew so well on the screen filled my heart with warmth.
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “I’m on the boat Joel’s going to work on for the summer.”
Juniper frowned. “In the shower?” Suddenly, her face went pale. “Ew, Aspen, if you just called me after you guys had shower sex, I’m going to throw up.”
I laughed, setting the phone against the mirror as I took my hair out of the towel on top of my head. “No, he’s across the hall getting ready, too.” I swallowed. “The owner of the boat asked me to join them for the crew dinner.”
“Ohhh,” Juniper said, sipping her tea. “You fancy. What’s it like?”
I told her as best I could, trying to remember everything on each deck and all the terms Joel had used. She seemed the most interested in the fact that it was Theo Whitman’s boat, which apparently was big news. When I was finished, she made me promise to fill her in on how the dinner went — and to try to convince Mr. Whitman that she should be his future bride.
“I’m serious,” she said, the background blurring behind her as she made her way upstairs to her bedroom. “That man is fine, with a capital F. I may only be nineteen now but give me a few years and I’ll be Trophy Wife material.”
I barked out a laugh. “How do you even know who he is?”
She scoffed. “How do you not know? Don’t you read Business Insider or Forbes?”
“Wait,” I said, pausing where I was taming my hair. “There’s no way you read either of those.”
“I do so,” she defended. “Well, at least, when they do a write-up of the world’s youngest billionaires, I do.”
I rolled my eyes.
“What are you going to wear?” she asked.
I sighed, looking over at the only pair of jeans I had and my yellow tank top, which was the nicest of the two I’d brought with me. “Nothing you’d be proud of. I wish you were here to do my hair and makeup.”
“Looks like there’s plenty of stuff behind you for you to do it yourself.”
“It’s not mine,” I said. “I’m in the stewardesses’ bathroom.”
“Steal a little mascara, they won’t know.”
I laughed. “I’ll be fine. It’s just dinner and then I’ll say my goodbyes to Joel and be on my way to the hostel I’m staying in for the next few nights.”
Juniper frowned at that. “Be careful, okay? Send me a message as soon as you get settled so I know you’re alive.”
“I will.”
“And don’t tie your hair up. Just let it air dry, you always get such beautiful, natural waves that way.”
I smiled. “Love you, Juni.”
“Love you more.”
We ended the call and I noted that when I messaged her later, I’d ask how summer training was going. My sister was the hottest new volleyball player at the University of Colorado. She’d been a star player ever since I could remember, actually, but she was at the university-level now, and one step closer to her ultimate dream of playing professionally.