Everyone clapped and sang along to Elton John's song "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" while Amara and Roman performed it in the karaoke bar. They were two weeks into the cruise, and karaoke had become their thing every evening.
They finished the song and took a bow. They left the stage while someone else stepped up to perform. They walked back to their table and sat down. She grabbed her drink and finished it while he grabbed his beer. A woman from the table next to them leaned over.
"You two are such a cute couple," she said.
"We're not a couple," Amara said.
"Really?" The woman smirked. "You could have fooled me. Don't let this one get away, honey. You clearly both have eyes for each other."
Roman chuckled and emptied his beer. He stood up and walked up to the bar to buy another round for them. He returned a couple of minutes later and placed a drink in front of Amara. She was clearly lost in her own thoughts. He snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention.
"Where did you go?" He asked. "It looked like you were miles away."
"I was just thinking about what that woman said," she said.
"What?" He smirked. "You want a piece of me?"
"Would it be so bad to hook up with me?" She asked.
She mirrored his smirk but he could see in her eyes that she wanted an honest answer.
"Not at all. I got eyes. You're hot. And you come with a great personality," he said.
"But?" She asked.
"We've been drinking. It's one thing for a normal couple to get drunk and have sex but I would never do that with someone the first time," he said. "There's also the fact that we're on a freaking cruise. We're forced to be stuck here together for another 10 weeks. What if the sex is bad? What if one of us thinks it's bad while the other wants more? I'm not sure that's gonna be fun to deal with."
"You're right," she said. "Cheers."
She lifted her drink and he lifted his beer. They remained there for another hour while finishing their drinks. It was getting late and they both had had enough to drink so they made their way back to their cabins. As every other night they stopped outside to say goodnight.
"I had fun tonight," he said.
"Me too," she said.
He opened his arms and pulled her in for a hug. She relaxed in his arms and enjoyed being this close to a man who wasn't out to hurt her somehow. He broke the hug, placed his hand on her cheek, and lightly stroked the spot that had a red mark two weeks ago when they first met.
"The mark is long gone but I don't like this was the last way someone touched your beautiful face," he said.
He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the spot. She couldn't help but smile. He had no idea how much it meant that he kissed the spot Ivory had hit. He leaned out and looked at her. There was something in his eyes she couldn't figure out.
"I wish I could..." He mumbled.
"Could what?" She asked.
"Nothing," he took a step back. "I'm tired. I need to sleep. We need to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Amara."
He unlocked his cabin and was gone a second later. She stared at his closed door, not sure what had just happened.
"Goodnight, Roman," she said out in the air. "I wish you could too. I don't know what it was but I'm right there with you. And you're talking to yourself again, girl. He's right. You need to sleep."