Chapter Five
"All right, how was everyone's first day?" Enrique sat down with a flight of tequila shots, delicately balanced on the tray he lowered with care.
Without speaking a word, Lisa grabbed the closest glass and downed it.
"Oh, that well, huh?" Zara gave her a look. "Or are you just thirsty?"
Lisa grumbled and Ahmed pushed his shot toward her. "Here, you need this more than me."
Lisa accepted it with a grateful smile and quickly downed his glass, too. After her run-in with Jennie, she needed to talk to someone. Zara would have been her first choice, but she was leading an exercise class, and Lisa couldn't wait—she had to tell someone. Enrique was a great listener, but a bit of a softie, and she wanted to vent, not be told to forgive and forget. And Ahmed, well, Ahmed was the perfect amount of snarky and sassy behind those mild-mannered spectacles. And he was a stone—you could tell him anything and it never got out. She appreciated that about him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Enrique put his hands around the other two shots, shielding them. "What's going on here? What happened to toasting to the first day of a new cruise? And manners? What happened to manners?"
Zara poked Lisa in the ribs, interrupting the delightful slow burn of the tequila coating her throat. "What's up? You never hit tequila that hard. Ever."
Lisa sighed and looked out at the ocean. She wasn't in the mood to be social. Today had been weird. So. Freaking. Weird.
"Lisa's first love is on the ship, single and vulnerable, and looking amazing." Ahmed blurted the words out before covering his mouth with his hand.
Lisa shot him a glare. So much for him being a stone. "Traitor."
"Who's Lisa's first love?" Enrique looked confused.
"Jennie?" Zara sounded dumbfounded. Lisa kept her eyes trained on the dark clouds over the moonlit sky in the distance.
"One and the same," Ahmed replied and Lisa kicked him under the table. "Ouch."
"The Jennie Kim, breaker of hearts, ruiner of love and all things love-related for our dear Lisa? That Jennie?" Zara asked, disbelief in her voice. "We're going to need more tequila."
"Well, since Lisa already got a head start"—Enrique handed Zara one of the remaining shots and clinked his shot glass to hers—"anyone want to fill me in here? I'm feeling a little left out."
"I'd rather not." Lisa huffed and looked up at the ceiling, not believing how today had unfolded. Her run-in with Jennie had left her feeling all sorts of things: anger, confusion, annoyance, pity, affection. But she was most bothered by that last emotion. She'd felt an affection toward Jennie—hell, she'd nearly touched her arm in an effort to console her. Console her. As if Jennie needed to be consoled. As if Jennie hadn't ripped her heart out of her chest all those years ago and stomped on it.
"You're doing that brooding thing." Zara poked her in the ribs again, this time harder.
She swatted her hand away but caved when Zara took her hand between hers.
"We should talk about it." Zara's amber eyes were a mix of affection and concern, and Lisa wanted to curl up in her lap and sob about all the memories seeing Jennie had evoked in her. So many memories. Not all of them good.
"Well, from what I hear, Jennie was the love of Lisa's life and one day just up and left her. I'd say she broke her, if you ask me." Ahmed cleared his throat and slid his seat back before Lisa could kick him again.
"No one asked you," Lisa pouted, her desire to maim him fading with each squeeze of Zara's hand.
Enrique shook his head. "Okay, so, you used to date someone—"
