Can't Breathe: A Novella

Can't Breathe: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

    The first week on board drifted slowly by, but it was full of adventures.  Robin stayed away from the casino after that one day, but she discovered the library, the technology lab, the traditional English pub, and the skating rink in the deep center of the ship’s interior.  Everyday brought a new joy, and every day a new anxiety.  Brent’s flirting began to magnify, so that almost every word out of his mouth complimented, flattered, or otherwise praised and charmed her, and she wished he’d just stop.
    He also continued to hold her hand, even when they were alone, and soon, the hand-holding evolved into slight hugs, arms around her shoulders or against her back, and Robin didn’t know whether to say anything to him or not.  
    The problem wasn’t the touching or the honeyed words that bothered her so much.  It was the expressions of pride whenever he looked at her, or the quirky smiles of indulgence, or the protective way he stood between her and those people who were rude enough to stare at her.  
    And it was the way she reacted to him every time he acted this way.  As much as she wished he’d stop, she didn’t want him to stop.  For the first time since Lucy came into her life, Robin felt like a real woman.  She felt like a desired woman, and she liked it, but she also knew that it wouldn’t last.  She was destined to be heartbroken for the rest of her life, so if she allowed Brent into even the smallest crack of her heart, he’d find a way to break it further apart -- because he was a man and she was a woman born with the Brooks Curse.  She refused to let that happen.  Brent wasn’t making it easy on her, though.  
    Because if he wasn’t touching her or smiling at her, or saying those words he claimed were true and accurate...the dancing was almost too much to bear, much less ignore.  Every night, after a day of enduring his attentions, he’d take her dancing.  Once to a bass-pumping nightclub where a mash of bodies got together on the dance floor, once to a lounge where spicy Latin music played and couples danced the samba, the salsa, and the mamba, then again to the Grand Dining room for traditional dancing, and then back to the nightclub.
    Robin loved to dance, and she enjoyed herself so much on those nights that at times she forgot that Brent was there as her companion, her bodyguard, her babysitter to keep her mother and grandmother happy while off on her own away from home.  Sometimes, she forgot all about Scott Nelson and his threats and why she was here with a man she barely knew instead of with her daughter.  But then, she would feel her locket against her skin, and she’d bring herself back to reality, and most likely tell Brent she was tired and ready to go back to the cabin.
    He never commented, he never voiced his opinions on the subject of Lucy, and he never argued with her on anything.  And she honestly didn’t know if she liked that about him or not.  If she were to ever believe there was a man out there for her, then she’d like for him to be a strong man, not a push-over, and she’d like for him to tell her the ugly truths as well as the complimenting ones.  So far, Brent Poole had not met those requirements.
    By the following Friday, Robin was ready to get off the boat.  She announced at breakfast that the ship was anchoring off the coast of Grenada, and she’d like to go ashore.  He opened the folder and flipped a few pages.
    “It’s not highlighted,” he mentioned.  “Are you sure you’d like to go today?  I thought you wanted to get off at Antigua on tomorrow.”
    Robin couldn’t wait until tomorrow.  She needed to get away from him now.  “No, I’ve changed my mind.  I’m getting a little cabin fever and want to stretch my legs on land for a while..”
    He nodded and dug into his pancakes.  “Okay, sure.  I’ll ring Emilio and see what time the ferries leave.  We should be able to do some shopping or sight-seeing before lunch time.”
    Robin picked up her fork and twirled it around on her plate.  “Actually, Brent,” she began and his fork froze half-way to his mouth.  
    “I know that voice,” he sighed, setting his breakfast down.  “You want to go alone, don’t you?”
    She was ever so amazed at his ability to judge her objectives by the sound of her voice or the slight variations to her expressions.  “Yes, Brent,” she confessed, “I’d like to go alone.”
    He shook his head as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.  “That’s not what you’re paying me for.  I’m supposed to keep you safe on this trip, and I can’t do that if you’re off on some strange island all by yourself.”
    Robin frowned at him.  “You know as well as I do that Scott Nelson is not on this boat, hiding in the shadows, waiting to make good on his threats.  And you know as well as I do that he isn’t in Grenada.  I’m paying you to be here because I don’t have it in me to upset my mother and my grandmother, and they didn’t want me here alone.”
    “But,” he started.  However, Robin pierced him with a stern look and said, “No but’s, Brent.  I am going into Grenada today by myself, and I don’t want you following after me.”
    And for just that brief second, she swore she saw a spark of defiance in his brown eyes, but then it was gone, and he wasn’t going to argue with her on this either.  “Fine,” he said, standing and throwing his napkin on his half-eaten pancakes.  He’d never not finished a meal before, so she knew he was upset with her decision.  Robin felt bad about that, but still he didn’t hassle her, and she almost wished he would.  “How about this?” she said softly to his back as he stopped in the doorway to the balcony, “I’ll take Emilio with me, so I don’t wander off into parts of the island I shouldn’t go into.”
    “Whatever you wish to do, Robin,” he responded and disappeared into his bedroom.  Ten minutes later, he emerged in gym shorts and a t-shirt.  “I’ll probably be at the gym all day, if you need me for anything.”  And then he left through the front door.
    Robin sighed, pushed away her breakfast and stared out across the ocean.  All of a sudden, spending the whole day in an unfamiliar place, all alone, didn’t sound so appealing.