Stranded Together

Chapter 16

🟣Blake's POV🟣

"Ryker?" Gabe asks with disdain, his voice going up an octave. "What kinda name is that anyway? It sounds like it's some dodgy made up biker name. Did he say that was his birth name, like it's on his birth certificate and shit?" He questions, only worsening my already vile mood.

I've been trying to ignore him, but for some reason he takes my silence as an invitation to continue talking.

I try giving my full attention to the uniformed lady that was giving a small portion of passengers a tour of the ship, but he is making it so hard.

Each word that comes out of his mouth is just pushing me closer to edge of no return.

"I was only trying to help you. The guy was sketchy."

"HE WAS NOT!" I snap, finally exploding like a nuclear bomb. "He was nice and caring; two things you'll never be!" I shoot poking him hard in the chest.

"BLAKE!" Mum shouts, my head snapping to the side to face her. Frozen in place, I watch as she pushes through a few people with an apologetic smile, not liking the unwanted attention. "Stop making a scene." She grits when she is close enough to Gabe and I. She eyes the both of us, clearly embarrassed due to my outburst. I reluctantly remove my finger from Gabe's chest as I mumble a quick apology to Mum as well as the tour guide.

Mum turns back to the guide, obviously not satisfied with my pathetic apology. I internally groan when I feel Gabe smirking beside me, realising that I let him get to me.

Just like the rest of the people part of the tour, I try to focus on the guide and forget about the little incident.

"So as I was saying, to your left is the all-you-can-eat buffet dinning hall." The sharply dressed guide continues, giving me one last glance. "The hall opens at 6am and remains so until 9pm. However if you are looking for a more classy dining experience , the ships 5 star restaurant is down stairs below the buffet hall." She explains pointing to the elegant looking stair case through the glass windows that most likely lead to said restaurant.

"In the buffet hall only there is live music on Monday nights, trivia on Wednesday nights, karaoke on Friday nights, and alcoholic beverages discounted on Saturday nights. Staff understand that attending events such as these are not for everyone, and that is why we make room service available. Further information about room service can be found in a brochure located in your rooms." I sneak a glance at Mum beside me, feeling her gaze still on me, knowing she'll lecture me later. I see Dad behind her, along with Darcy, Alyssa, Liv and George. I can't handle the disappointment in their eyes, so I stiffly turn back to the guide. "Now if you follow me, the on-deck pool is up ahead."

As the group begins to shuffle after the guide, I lean over to Gabe after I make sure mum wasn't still watching me.

"And you weren't trying to help." I scoff only loud enough for him to hear, my face scrunching up in disgust upon seeing his victorious smirk. He knows first hand how scary my mum could be, and he also knows that I'm going to cop it later.

"Ok you're right." He admits, the smirk practically tattooed on his face. "I just felt like scaring the dude." He shrugs. "After the numerous stunts you've pulled on me, I decided to give you a taste of your own medicine."

"Oh, that's so cool!" I exclaim after Ryker explains he is in Miami for a global teen surfing competition.

"Yeah. We were all scouted. This is actually the third round of the competition."