Page 22 of Terminal Voyage

I gave him a flat look.

He stared me down, smiled, and poured another glass of wine. He slid it across the counter.

"I'm officially cutting myself off after this one."

I lost count of how many drinks I'd actually had. I was still able to stand, walk, and talk, so I figured I wasn'tthatfar gone. I’d just sip this one. Maybe not even that. Maybe I would just leave it there for looks. He couldn't refill a full glass.

I stayed there for a bit, watching them play poker. I was about to go back to my room when a gorgeous redhead took a seat next to me. I hadn't met her before. She wore a slinky red dress that looked painted on. The plunging neckline was so low, I was sure there would be a wardrobe malfunction. How nothing spilled out defied the laws of physics. Her fiery hair danced just above her shoulders in a stylish cut, and her emerald eyes sparkled.

"I'll take the usual, Jimmy," she said.

"Coming right up." He poured a vodka martini and slid it across the counter to her.

She took it with appreciative eyes and wrapped her full lips around the glass, staining it with gloss.

"We haven’t met. I’m Teagan.”

She gave me a curious look. "I'm Kate," she said, extending her hand.

We shook.

"I didn't see you at dinner.”

"I wasn’t really feeling myself, but I decided I needed to get out of the cabin and get some fresh air.”

"I'm sorry. I hope you’re feeling better.”

She looked at me like I was crazy, then laughed.

"I like your perfume,” I said, trying to be nice. “What is that?"

"Thank you. It'sAmbition. You can borrow it if you want to try it out.”

"I might take you up on that.”

She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her purse, drew one out, then produced a Zippo and struck it up. The flame danced. As an afterthought, she said, "It’s not going to bother you if I smoke, is it?"

I didn't really care for secondhand smoke, but I didn’t want to be rude. "No. Not at all." Then I added, "Is smoking allowed?"

She laughed again. "They're smoking cigars.”

I glanced at the poker table. They chewed on cigars, and a cloud hovered overhead.

"Besides, how can I be expected to drink without a cigarette in hand? I thought about quitting once. I mean, these things will kill you, but I'm not really worried about that at the moment.” She took a drag, filling her lungs, then exhaled toward the ceiling, being courteous. "You know, everybody goes through life worrying about tomorrow. But what if tomorrow never comes? I say live for the moment. The moment is all we have. There is no past. There is no future. There is just the present. Live for today. That’s what I say.”

“I try to do that, but I worry about the future. Probably too much.”

She looked me dead in the eye. “And where does all that worry get you?“

I sucked my lips and shrugged. “It certainly doesn’t change anything, does it?”

She took another drag, then said, “I’m of the mind that we are all just dominoes in a long string. Everything is mapped out from our birth to our death, and we all just fall down like we’re supposed to.”

I frowned. “That sounds pretty bleak.”

“Honey, life can be bleak.”

"Are you friends with Declan or Vanessa?”