Til You Come Back to Me Again - A Love Story

Working at Normal

Working at Normal

After showering and readying myself for the day, I knelt and said my prayers. Then I sat on the bed for a moment, psyching myself up for the day. The rest of our vacation would be amazing. I was determined to make it amazing, which meant no more selfish thinking for me.

Having given myself a sufficient pep talk, I grabbed my key and left my room.

As soon as I knocked, the door opened.

"Good morning," Angelo said, drawing me into a hug.

"Good morning." I moved back and gifted him with a genuine smile, letting him know I was back to my normal self. "Are you ready?"

"Just let me grab my key."

* * *

After breakfast and another jaunt around the ship, Angelo and I put on our swimsuits and went up to the pool. There were so many people, we couldn't really swim. After a few minutes of floating in one spot, we got out and went up to sit in the hot tub. It was vacant, so we had it all to ourselves. We stayed in for fifteen minutes or so, then we lay out and dried in the sun.

As we were heading back to our rooms, we ran into Cara and Shaylee. I told Shaylee I would meet her at Club O2 after I changed. Since we were going to be hanging out for a while, Cara invited Angelo to go up and play a game of ping pong and I quickly encouraged him to go. He needed to do something fun while I was out.

When we got to Club 02, there was a group of teens participating in karaoke and another sitting around talking. Since the latter group was mainly guys, Shaylee made a beeline toward their table and I dutifully followed. They anxiously made room for us and each person introduce himself. The two girls said hello then went to join the karaoke group. With their departure, we were immediately made the center of attention. Shaylee reveled in the attention. I didn't. My mind was actually on another part of the ship with Angelo. I wondered if he was having fun with Cara. I wondered what they were talking about. I wondered if she was making him laugh.

I wondered why I cared.

Get a life, Ekaterina! The fact that my mind felt the need to scream this was a sure sign that there was definitely something wrong with me.

* * *

It was the first of two formal dress nights. Angelo had finished dressing before me and was soon knocking on my door. I quickly opened it and rushed back to the sofa to put on my shoes.

"I can't believe you beat me," I said in a playful huff.

"I can't either. But then again, women always need more time when it comes to playing dress up."

"You're right about that," I said, finally standing.

He whistled. "Wow, bella! You look incredible."

My face warmed and I looked down at myself. I was wearing a long-sleeve black gown. The top had a mandarin collar with silver woven through the material. The skirt was flared silk that fell just below my knees. The two-inch-heeled black sandals with rhinestone butterfly accents elevated my petite frame a little. I left my hair down, the black ringlets framing my face and shoulders. Because my lashes were so long and thick, I never used mascara, which shortened my makeup time. I only wore eyeliner, a hint of eye shadow, and lip gloss.

"Maybe I should go and grab my can of mace to fend off the ravenous teenage wolves."

"Angelo!" I laughed. "You're crazy!"

"We shall see."

"Well, you always look great." He was wearing a black suit with a deep blue dress shirt and a gray and blue silk paisley print tie. The blue shirt made the blue of his eyes even more vivid. I reached up and brushed the hair back from his forehead, softly touching the scar. I always did that. I knew Suzanne had always made him feel self-conscious of it and that was probably the reason he grew his hair out, but instead of the scar taking away from his attractiveness, it only added to it. Smiling up at him, I took his hand and we went to dinner.