The idea didn't sound ideal to Baylee either, but he didn't feel like staying in a pool that had more people than water in it at this point. He spun around and set Mila down on the edge of the pool, gazing up at her electric blue eyes with eyes that seemed to sparkle with happiness. Getting touched in the ass by a toddler sealed the deal for him, however, so he put both of his hands down on the edge of the pool and pulled himself out, salt water dripping from his body like a rivers. A couple of the single women on the boat turned their heads to check out the bartender, but he didn't notice a thing.
Baylee waited for Mila to stand up before padding over to their chair and wiping his body down with one of the free towels the cruise ship had laying underneath each chair. For a moment, he contemplated putting his shirt back on, but the temperature was nice and there wasn't a single breeze blowing over the main deck, so he elected to just ball it up and hold it in his left hand.
"The burger place has cleared out a bit," he said to Mila, pointing over to the open dining area for it, where only seven or eight patrons were sitting around eating.
Out of the water, Mila stretched up to her tiptoes thoroughly enjoying the sun on her skin. The warmth of the region was something that she could definitely get used to.
Baylee tossed a towel at her, which landed on the top of her head with a whump effectively blocking the sun she was just admiring with her entire being. Peeking out from beneath it, Mila stuck her tongue out at him. She didn't bother trying to dry off entirely, knowing that her suit was be soaking wet until the next day. Mila ended up slipping her lovely cactus shirt back on, wet spots almost immediately showing through, and wrapped her arm around Baylee's bare waist as they walked over to the burger joint.
"Mmmm. Some fries are exactly what this girl needs." Mila grinned, flipping through the menu quickly. Putting it down on the page she wanted, she reached up to carefully undo her braid. Each long black strand being brushed out with her fingers as she read through the food.
"Ooooo! Milkshakes! Do you want to share one? Looks like this place does some—really adventurous ones." Her finger landed on the 'Molten Lava Extreme Summer Shake', which just looked like someone stacked fudge, chocolate cake, and ice cream into a blender and them topped it with chocolate covered strawberries.
"I'm pretty sure this is the definition of diabetes." Mila informed Baylee with a look that was a mixture of horror, shock, and genuine interest.
"Sounds wonderful," he responded, scooting the chair closer to Mila and leaning to get a better angle at the menu. She took the opportunity to place a firm kiss on his cheek as he read, bringing a small smile to his lips as he scanned over the entirety of the milkshake section. There were some…outlandish options to order, but Mila seemed really stuck on the Molten Lava whatever-the-fuck shake. The waitress, a Samoan woman with long, curly black hair, made her way over to the their table. Her eyes lingered on Baylee's chest for a moment before flicking up to his eyes.
"Have you two decided what you want to drink?" he asked, slipping her hair behind her ear and pulling out a piece of paper and pencil from the pocket of her uniform.
"Yeah, and to eat, too," Baylee glanced over at his girlfriend for a moment before returning to the waitress. "We'll get the Molten Lava shake…thing as a drink, I'll have a double bacon cheeseburger, and she'll have the bacon avocado burger….right?" He turned to Mila, hoping that he got her favorite burger correct.
Mila nodded, finally looking away from the milkshakes. Good thing they were going to be on the boat for awhile because she wanted to try all of them. Especially the one called 'Cheesecake Donut Explosion' that was so wild that you got a picture on the wall of fame if you finished it within the time limit.
"Would you mind bringing some waters too? The milkshake probably does nothing for one's thirst, you know?" Mila gave the waitress a toothy smile, giggling a little at her own lamely obvious statement. Baylee snorted out a laugh at her side.
"Uh huh." Came the blunt reply with zero sign of a smile. Mila's grin died a little. She knew she wasn't that funny, but damn…not even a single crack in the waitresses bland expression. Until she not-so-slyly checked out Baylee and a little smirk appeared on her features as she turned away. "Coming right out."
Mila turned to Baylee, prepared to say something about the woman but she remembered the disastrous encounter at the Olive Garden and immediately shut her trap. Besides, he was already looking at her softly, hand coming up to brush a wayward lock out of her face and tuck it firmly behind her ear. It was the strand he was always moving out of her face, the one that never stayed where he put it. Mila smiled, dropping her chin into her palm. "Please tell me we never have to go home?"
"Sadly, we will," Baylee said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. It was just his resting position at this point, although the backrest of the metal chair felt cold against his bare skin. "but we have about 166 hours to make this very entertaining week." His eyebrows raised slightly to suggest something less than family friendly, something he hardly ever did. Even that small little action brought a fairly aggressive blush to his face and he had to look away from her piercing blue eyes. God, I'm such a fucking dork.
As Mila laughed as his self-induced awkwardness, the waiter came back with their waters. Her smile was much more suggestive as she leaned over to place each cup of water, eyes never once leaving Baylee. It suddenly made him feel…self conscious. Was everyone looking at him like this? And the scars on his arm were on full display. Fucking-
"Just tell me if you need anything more," the waitress said, giving Baylee a long smile before turning and starting to walk away.
"Uh, actually," Baylee said, prompting her to turn around. Mila's face looked dire. "Two things. One, my eyes are up here, not.." he gestured to his chest with circular motions before putting the arm around Mila's shoulder. "And two, my girlfriend is literally right here. You wouldn't be the first waitress she's flipped out on either, so I'd watch your step." It was the first time Baylee called Mila his girlfriend. Before, he just said "friend" or "partner," But….he liked the way girlfriend sounded. Made things seem completely official.
Mila and the waitress exchanged a bewildered glance. The waitress because–well–Mila hardly looked like she would, or could, fight anyone and for the fact that she got told off so bluntly. Mila because Baylee had just called her his girlfriend. He'd never done that before. Never expressed wanting to do that before and yet here he was, blasting the information out for the world to know. Holy shit–she loved it.
To her credit, Mila recovered as fast as lightning. Despite the red hot blush that patterned Mila's cheekbones, she settled back into Baylee's embrace with a wildly wicked smirk that would have rivaled any queen.
The waitress's eyes bounced between the couple, who actually were pretty terrifying together in this moment. She nodded numbly and moved away from their table with a mumbled apology.
After she had vanished from sight, Mila turned to Baylee, that wicked grin still on her face. Her eyes danced in the afternoon light. "I guess we can check 'terrorizing the local wait staff' off the list of things to-do." Laughing, she laid her head on Baylee's shoulder, keeping him in her sight. Should she mention the 'girlfriend' bit? It as right there on her lips but Mila just wasn't sure.
"I mean, the girl had balls," he said, gently rubbing circles on the side of her shoulder with his thumb. "She had to've seen us in the pool, right? And it's not like she could mistake us for siblings. You're way too short to be related to me." He laughed through the elbow that Mila jabbed into his side, pulling her even closer to him and settling into his seat.
Their food was brought out by a different waiter this time: a burly, stout man in his mid to late thirties. He gave the two an apologetic smile as he set the food in front of them, obviously getting a run down of the situation from the waitress.
"Sorry 'bout Ella," he said, scratching the back of his neck in second-hand embarrassment. He had a thick Australian accent that tugged on the end of his words. "She likes to have 'er fun with the passengers from time t' time, but kinda forgets that some of 'em are in relationships already. I'll be servin' you for the rest of the time you're here. And your milkshakes will be out soon.
"It's no worry." Mila said casually waving off the encounter with a fry. She had already dug in, no situation with a flirtatious waitress getting in the way of her love affair with french fries. "Besides–my boyfriend handled it a lot more gracefully than I would have. So she should feel at least a little bit thankful." Mila laughed, peeking at Baylee from the corner of her eye to see if he reacted to her dropping the boyfriend bomb. There was no change to his face as he chewed and kept his gaze on the waiter before them–or–wait… Was that a tiny little smile? Or just a shadow? Mila couldn't be sure.
The waiter looked dubious, taking in Mila's tiny stature in a single sweeping glace, eyes getting momentarily stuck on the fact that she was still in just her bikini bottoms. He cleared his throat and looked away. "I'm sure. Ah–great. enjoy y'food. I took off t' shake as an apology." And with that he was gone.
Mila shrugged off the encounter gracefully, choosing instead to dive into her burger face first. To make sure Baylee kept laughing–because that smile was everything good in the world–she made an exaggerated 'yum' face as she bit into her burger. She was being a giant dweeb and she knew it, but Mila really couldn't help it. She was that happy.
"You are such a fuckin' mess," Baylee said as he picked up his own burger and took a large bite out of it. It was…..lackluster. The bacon was much softer than he would've liked it and the meat seemed to be a bit overcooked, but he was hungry enough to ignore it. He made a mental note to not come back to this place, however. It was a guarantee that there were better restaurants on the boat.
It took them around 15 minutes to finish up their burgers, since they cut back on the conversation somewhat to finish their meals. Just as Mila popped that last fry into her mouth, the short Aussie came out with a large glass chock full of a chocolate milkshake that looked more like ice cream. For that reason, it came with two spoons along with the straws.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Baylee mumbled as it was set down on the table in front of them. He knew it was going to be pretty big, but not that fucking big. The glass was almost as wide as his bicep. "Carnival doesn't hold back much when it comes from food, does it?"
"I don't this this is considered food." Mila muttered, having to lean to the side to be able to see Baylee around the monstrosity that was the milkshake. Her eyes as round as a child's as she took the whole thing in. "This is definitely a statue. I'm pretty sure I could fit into this cup."
With a shrug, Mila lifted her spoon and speared what she thought was a brownie. Covered in fudge and…were those rainbow sprinkles? Baylee didn't move, instead he just watched her with a mildly amused expression as she stuck the spoon into her mouth.
This time she wasn't exaggerating the 'yum' expression. Or the 'mmmmm' that filtered its way through the dessert between her lips. Where the burgers were lackluster, the shake was heavenly. "Oh my god, Bay for real–this is the best shake thing I've ever had. Try it!" She extended a spoonful to him, careful to to spill any.
Baylee leaned forward and met the spoon half-way, shivering at how cold the liquid was against his teeth. There is such thing as too much chocolate, like when you have three bars and suddenly feel sick to your stomach. Well, Baylee could barely get through one bar without his stomach revolting, so the singular bite that he could made him cringe with how sweet it was.
"Uh, yeah, no," he said, grabbing his cup of water and drinking three large gulps, not even bothering to use the straw. "Jesus Christ, that is too fucking sweet."
A family sitting close to them turned their heads at his loud cursing, making a blush land on his face as he sunk into his seat. There was a small child with them that looked up at his mother and asked, "Mommy, what does fuck mean?"
"Oh, god…." Baylee mumbled as the family stood up and moved as far away from the couple as they could. Embarrassment flooded his body and ruined his mood.
It was hard for Mila not to laugh at what had just transpired, but she was able to hide it by gobbling down a few large bits of the milkshake. Only a few nearly silent giggles escaped. She pointedly didn't look at the kid or the family, putting on a completely innocent expression as Baylee turned crimson.
Mila's hand did slide protectively over Baylee's though, when the mother of the child turned to glare at the couple. The singer returned the glare–and then some–making the woman huff and storm away. "He was going to find out sometime." She muttered around another spoonful of dessert, half the thing was gone now. Where did she put it all?
Gently, she patted Baylee's hand with a soft, soft smile. "Don't stress, Bay. Children are little devils. Anything and everything comes out of their mouths." Two quick squeezes of his hand let him know that everything was going to be just fine. "Don't let Karen over there ruin our night, kay?" Mila's eyes went wide, a pseudo-puppydog look, just slightly more mischievous.
"Don't call her that," Baylee said, although he had to smile at the look she was giving him. "I shouldn't have been talking that loud anyways. She didn't do anything except be a parent."
Baylee didn't kiss Mila in public very often. She had kissed him more times than could be counted but Baylee rarely initiated any of it. Right then and there, though, he got the overwhelming urge to kiss her. Maybe it was that look she was giving him. Maybe it was the side affect of being on a cruise ship. A combination of the two? Something completely different? Whatever reason, Baylee didn't hold himself back.
Mila's eyes shot open, the spoonful of chocolate mush dropped in surprise as Baylee brought their lips together. It was a very light kiss by their standards, but the fact that he started it made it feel like he just threw himself at her. Her arms slowly wrapped around his neck as he held the kiss way longer than he usually would, eventually pulling away for air once his lungs ran out of oxygen.
Mila smiled softly, but her eyes danced with mirth completely giving away how she felt about the kiss. The corners of her mouth tilting a bit higher as Baylee rested his hand on her bare thigh. He was more than affectionate in private–cuddling was this man's life–but to have him call her his girlfriend and commit to obvious PDA? Mila was over the moon.
In that moment, she could have told him that she loved him.
Completely shocked at her thought, Mila dropped her fork. Baylee looked at her curiously. "I think I'm done." She laughed, just sounded the slightest bit off. Jesus christ what did they put in this food? What kind of crazy ass, nonsense–completely true–thought was that anyway? Baylee was still looking at her funny.
"Want to go for a walk? The sun is setting and I bet it's gorgeous to watch over the water." The suggestion flowed easily off her tongue. Mila's heart doing a funny little beat in her chest.
"I would, actually," Baylee said, giving Mila's thigh a small pat before standing up. He gathered all of their food onto a single tray and tossed it all into the trashcan. Mila finished off the last of the milkshake and called the Australian waiter over so the glass could be removed. His eyes lingered on her legs once again, making Baylee scowl slightly, but he refused to let some asshole with wandering eyes ruin his mood. Especially when Mila sprung up from her seat and grabbed his hand with a huge grin.
The tippity top deck was so high they had to take an elevator to get to it. The elevator was small, which Baylee didn't like to begin with, but when three more people walked in as well it was absolutely cramped. He pressed the inside of his left arm against his side to hide the scars for the entire time, a small frown breaking his happy expression.
The moment they got out of the elevator, the soft smile returned to his face as they walked to the edge and stared out at the horizon. The dark orange sun was just barely hovering over the water, bathing everyone with a loving warmth. Baylee felt calm when the light struck his skin, the last bit of frustration from the waiter checking Mila out floating away in the wind.
Maybe going up to the tip top deck wasn't the best of ideas. Mila could see just how much water they were surrounded by now. Not a land mass in sight. She swayed a little as a wave of dizziness smacked her in the face like a freight train, both of her tiny hands gripping Baylee's bicep as she glued herself to his side. She breathed deeply through her nose as Baylee looked down at her curiously.
The sunset was beautiful though, warming her skin, and lighting up the sky in a mix of colors that could only be describe as fire. Mila wished that she had brought her camera–but there would be more sunsets to catch on the trip. She was here with her Baylee and didn't want to waste a second of it.
Baylee moved them over to the railing, casually leaning a forearm against it and made himself comfortable. Mila transferred one of her death grips to the railing, but remained by his side. It just felt better, especially with the warmth he and the sun were giving off. Mila was a cozy as could be. As a breeze drifted around them, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, sighing. "Beautiful."
Just like you.
He should've said that. It was right on the tip of his tongue, begging to be let loose. Why didn't he? He didn't doubt that she would've loved hearing it. Any compliment he gave her seemed to light up her world. Maybe it was because he didn't say them enough.
"I'm not really one for sunsets, but that was pretty," Baylee said, sliding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. She melted into his embrace, making him smile slightly. The wet patches on her shirt chilled his skin on contact, causing a strange contrast with the sunset that he didn't particularly hate. He sneaked a look down at the woman pressed against his side and felt his heart skip a beat.
The way the orange glow reflected off of her olive skin made his chest do funny things and the broad smile on her face was enough to make him blush. Jesus, how was she able to do this shit to him? How she could just walk into a room and make his heart start beating faster? How just her little smile could make him melt into a puddle? Was he……?
"Tôi mến bạn." The words were spoken at a speed that would rival Eminem's.
Jesus fucking Christ why did I just do that?
Oh. It was in Vietnamese.
But what do I say when she asks what that means?
Looking at Baylee instead of watching the sun slip entirely below the horizon was probably a crime, but the light made his green eyes burn like fire. And the way he was looking at her–like he'd never seen anything more enticing in his entire life. Staring at him, it was like the rest of the world fell away. There was only Baylee and her drifting through the quiet universe, perfectly happy with it just being them. Why did they have such intense moments? Where it felt like if Mila didn't kiss him right now–
She was going to kiss the hell out of him.
"Huh?" Mila asked, her brows quirking as the intense moment broke, but she couldn't look away. She tucked a black lock behind her ear as the breeze surged again, making her waves go wild. "Was does that mean, Bay?"
Vietnamese was not an easy language to learn, god new Mila was trying. The best she could do for the moment was pick out the curse words that Baylee tended to pepper into the other language more than he did for english. This was a statement that she was sure that she'd never heard before.
"You….uh…." his eyes flicked around for an escape from the hole he just dug himself in. Sunset? No, that wouldn't make any sense at all. Shit, why did she have to look at him like that? The two remaining brain cells that weren't fried at the moment were too focused on the way the light reflected in her eyes to come up with a convincing lie. She made him feel like he was the only thing in her world and it made him blush so furiously he was seeing red. Her the corner of her lip tilted downward in confusion and her head tilted slightly. She looked so beautiful…..
He couldn't lie to her.
"I…." He turned to face her fully, one of his hands reaching up and cupping her face. She leaned into his touch for a moment, closing her eyes and smiling gently. She really wasn't making it easy to focus. "I…." I want to spend forever with you. You are my everything. Shit, he wasn't that poetic. Just keep it simple. She liked simple. "I……love you, Mila."
(Well I would hope so, ya doofus!)
Mila was shock still, her eyes opening slowly to meet Baylee's, and then some. Staring at him wide-eyed, her mouth dropped open into a little 'o'. For her it was like the world had stopped spinning, or maybe it was spinning too much. Honestly, Mila couldn't tell. All she knew was that all her life she had felt adrift, coasting through the world like an unwilling spectator, pausing ever now and then to try out feeling something. Anything.
But now?
Now, she wasn't drifting. His words–no, Baylee himself–had reached up and snatched her right out of the air and tied her to the same ground he rested on. Tied Mila to him. He'd done it unintentionally, surprising even himself. Now the world had color and grace…now the world had feeling. And not just the good feelings, the ones that made her feel as high as a kite, or made her laugh so hard she might shatter, or safe enough to go home with a bartender on a freezing night. But bad ones too, the ones like a slap to the face, where she felt so heartbroken and lost she wanted to run again, or a disastrous first date…. Mila lived for it all. Every. Single. Second.
She loved it. She loved him.
Mila reached up, smile returning as she did so, and wrapped her arms tightly around Baylee's neck. Looking him dead in the eye, she whispered "I love you too, Baylee." Before bringing their lips together in that wild kiss she had been imagining earlier.
(Well I would hope so, ya doofus!)
(Literally couldn't have picked a worse time to comment.)
(It was an exclamation of enjoyment.)
(Think of it as when you're talking to the TV. And he was a doofus. Just a really sweet charming one.)
(there is a time and place for an exclamation. :P iin the middle of a love confession is not one of those times. XD lol)
(I shall restrain myself in the future Lol.)
God, he wanted to hold this kiss out until it went too far. His heart beat so hard he wondered if it would crack one of his ribs, but who really gave a fuck? All that mattered was the girl in his arms right now. He could drop dead in that moment and be the happiest motherfucker to ever walk the planet. But if that happened, he would have to break the kiss with Mila, something he couldn't be paid to do. He didn't ever want it to stop
"Um…..?" Avi's voice asked from behind Baylee. "Are we interrupting something?"
Em gái chết tiệt.
"To be honest…" Baylee said when they pulled away, the blush on his face so aggressive his forearms felt like they were burning. "…Yeah."
"Well, sorry," Jin said, not seeming very apologetic. She even looked a little pleased.
"We came up here to watch the sunset, but it seems that we were a little late," Avi said, staring out at the fading light coming from underneath the horizon. "Have you guys tried the burger place yet? It was soooo good. And the service was so nice."
Baylee and Mila, who's face was also beet red, shared a look before Baylee answered, "Uh, yeah. Not our scene, our guess. Do y'all have any plans for tonight?"
Well there went Mila's plans for the rest of the evening. Well–not that she had been planning anything in particular. Except some more kissing–maybe. The singer frowned trying as hard as she could to keep her thoughts PG as she stood in front of Baylee's goddamn sister. Why of all times did Avi have to show up right now?
Mila crossed her arms as a little shiver passed through her and her frown deepened. Baylee threw an arm around her shoulder's, his thumb gently caressing her cheek before he tucked her into his side. Her sour mood lightened a bit.
"Oh, we were planning on going to the Grapevine." Avi said nonchalantly, as if she had not just named the most exclusive bar on the ship. Jin cut her a look, which the other woman seemed not to have noticed. "You guys are more than welcome to join! If you—want I mean.We're allowed to bring guests."
Mila's brow arched as Avi spoke, not missing the subtle nudge that Jin had given her a few times to stop talking. Avi's expression showed that she knew she'd put her foot in her mouth. Baylee was tense next to Mila, the hand on her shoulder tightening just slightly.
You could have cut the air between the two siblings with a knife it was so thick–and that wasn't even mentioning the equally tense air between Mila and Jin.
Avi plowed forward voice taking on a bizarre squeak in her embarrassment. "Although–Mila–you could name drop and probably get access to the entire ship and then some!"
It was obvious that Avi was trying to make light of the painful moment they were all experiencing, but Mila's entire form went still, jaw locking and face going a milk white that was almost alarming. Her eyes blazed with an emotion that was undefinable, but Baylee sure recognized it. She wanted out. Away. Anything.
But Mila's lips cracked up into a painfully broken smile. "I'm sure." She murmured, but that was all the air she had in her lungs. No more words, no more air as she leaned into Baylee.
