Lifeboat Lighthouse

Chapter 18

Day 14 of Cruise – Limassol, Cyprus (Freen's POV)

"So, these are the first date nerves," I thought as I stared at the toilet bowl beneath me for the second time in the last hour. I hadn't thrown up but I sure felt like I was about to. I didn't understand; I'd been on lots of dates in the past but they'd never made me feel this way. I didn't even understand what I was anxious about. All the normal reasons someone might be nervous before a date didn't apply to Becky and me. I knew it wouldn't be awkward because we never ran out of things to talk about, and I didn't have to worry about me not liking her. We had both already made our feelings very clear.

Maybe that was the problem. We were having our first date when things were already so serious between us, which made the anticipation for that evening that much higher. I felt like there was a lot more going on than a normal date where you test the waters and get to know someone.

A series of questions raced through my head at the speed of light. Was Becky this nervous? Where does she intend to take me? Would we have to leave the ship? How were we going to make sure we didn't get caught together? What will she be wearing? Come to think of it, what the fuck should I wear? I finally gave in to temptation and pulled my phone out of my back pocket and tried to compose a message that didn't sound like I was completely freaking out.

Freen| 8:26pm "What are we doing tonight? I want to know.... Please!"

Moments after sending the message, three dots appeared on my phone screen, letting me know she was already typing a reply, though they didn't last long.

Becky | 8:26pm "Nope."

I let out a sigh. I should have known she wouldn't give in so easily, but I wasn't ready to give up.

Freen | 8:26pm "Baaabbby ☹"

Becky | 8:27pm "You can say 'baby' to me as many times as you want. I won't say nada to you."

Freen | 8:27pm "How do I know what to wear if you don't tell me what we're going to do?"

Becky | 8:28pm "Wear what you feel good in, you always look beautiful. xXx"

The sick feeling in my stomach suddenly turned into butterflies as the cheesiest smile made its way onto my face. I had never been the best at receiving compliments and, in the past, I usually relied on sarcasm to deal with those types of situations. However, none of my usual sarcastic responses seemed to go over well at that moment, not for Becky. Without really needing to think about it, my fingers typed out a short reply and I hit send.

Freen | 8:28pm "I love you."

There they were. The three words I honestly thought I would never be able to actually say and feel but, in that moment, had come out so naturally on that screen, just as they had off my tongue when I first said them the night before.

I didn't have to wait long to receive a response.

Becky | 8:29pm "I love you too. Wow, writing that feels really good. Get back to work, see you later. xXx."

Becky | 8:29pm "PS, don't eat at work. The date may or may not involve food at some point... but that's all you'll get from me."

I walked out of the bathroom smiling into the phone.

"Who are you texting? Or is that a stupid question?" An unexpected voice made me jump out of fear.

I placed my hand on my chest as I tried to steady my heart rate. "Shit, Faye, don't do that to me."

"Sorry!" Faye giggled. "The boss sent me to check on you. You were gone a while..."

"Yeah, I'm sorry." I let out a sigh. I wasn't sure if she was the best person to talk to about this, but I had to talk to someone. "Becky is taking me on a date tonight and it's making me a little nauseous. I've never been so nervous in my life and I don't know why... it's stupid."