Page 25 of Escape To Paradise
I was hesitant to go, but he seemed very keen on doing it himself.
When I got to the galley, Kathleen and Zofia were already halfway done with cleaning the dining table and loading the dishes in the dishwasher. Zofia was talking about her trip to the island with the guests.
“I’m glad you enjoyed your island excursion,” I commented.
“It was fun. I enjoyed it. How are the guests doing on the upper deck?” Zofia asked.
“They’re busy drinking their cocktails. Julian helped me with serving,” I told them.
“Well, it seems he likes you. He’s really helpful when you’re around.” Zofia smirked.
“No, I think that’s just his personality,” I said.
“I think he’s extra nice whenever you’re around, and that’s good. He’s very cute. You should go out with him if he asks you out,” Zofia added.
“You think he really likes me?” I asked.
“It would seem like it,” Zofia pointed out.
Kathleen agreed. “He’s cute. I’d go out with him if he asked me out, but so far, he hasn’t. Seems to be ignoring me. But it’s all good. I’ll get the next one.” She laughed. “There’s plenty of fish in the sea.”
“True,” Zofia said.
It was after nine when the crew had dinner. Then we chatted and played a board game; Captain played chess with Paul. It was around eleven when we went our separate ways. The girls wanted to go to the upper deck to drink a glass of wine, and I followed them. The guests had already retreated to their rooms. When we got there, there was only Julian. He was sitting by his lonesome in one of the deck chairs, still trying to finish his cocktail.
“You don’t want to go to sleep? There might be another excursion tomorrow,” I said to him.
Julian turned to me and said, “I knew that voice sounded familiar. Yeah, I’m just finishing my drink. I enjoy listening to the waves. It’s calming. And it’s an exquisite, calm night. I enjoy some solitude.”
“I hope you don’t mind that we brought our wine,” I said.
“I might even join you after I finish my cocktail.” Julian stared at his almost empty glass.
“You’re not liking the cocktail?” I asked.
“No, I do. It’s my third one.”
“Oh, okay.”
The girls sat at the far corner and were busy chatting amongst themselves. With a glass of Malbec in my left hand, I sat next to Julian. I sipped my wine as he finished his cocktail.
“I just love the ocean, don’t you?” Julian looked at me.
“To tell you the truth, I’ve never had this much ‘ocean’ in a while. I’ve always been busy with my restaurant.”
“Tell me about that. What happened?” Julian leaned closer, placing the finished cocktail glass on the floor next to him.
“Benoit, my ex, and I owned a restaurant together. We grew it together from the ground up. It was our baby. I just didn’t realize that all my hard work would fall apart.” I sipped on the wine.
Julian eyed my wine. “Can I take a sip?” he asked.
I handed him my wine glass, not minding that we shared the same glass. He took a sip and shook his head. “Malbec. Not my favorite.” He handed it back to me.
“You’re good,” I complimented him.
“Yeah, I know my wine and my alcohol.”
“Well, apparently you do.”
