Finding Justus Read online

  “Are you okay?”

  Justus nodded dumbly and dashed into the restroom on her right. As she walked into the ladies room she heard Krystal’s peppy voice echoing through the large bathroom, and as usual, she had found someone to talk to. It figured.

  Once she was safely ensconced in the ladies room, the magnitude of her actions hit her. Justus struck her forehead with the palm of her right hand. God, she was an idiot!

  Justus walked back outside, and looked around for the handsome stranger. There was no sign of him. It was probably for the better. She was almost certain he was taken by the skinny blonde she’d seen at the pool. On the bright side, odds were in her favor, she reasoned, that she wouldn’t have to embarrass herself further and run into him again. Two times was coincidental, but there was no way she’d run into him a third time, she told herself as Krystal emerged from the bathroom and the two headed towards dance class.

  When they walked into the dance studio, Justus noticed mostly women made up the class. The few men that were there had a bored, I-can’t-believe-you-made-me-come-with-you-look on their faces. As she looked around, she noticed the blonde woman from the pool yesterday. With a gulp, Justus realized maybe running into people was more commonplace than coincidental. She was surprised that she’d ran into two different people two days in a row.

  Krystal nudged her. “Look at him! I hope he’s the teacher, I’d be glad to learn a few things from him.” Justus nodded and raised her left eyebrow at Krystal and began lustily admiring the teacher as well.

  He was about five foot ten, broad shouldered, and black haired. He was wearing a bright red, long-sleeved shirt, and tight, black pants drew her attention to his trim waist, slim hips and taut, rounded bottom. He was speaking quietly with a few women in a corner, demonstrating various dance steps. She strained her ears to hear him. He had a nice voice. It had a sexy hint of a Spanish accent.

  As though sensing their stares, he turned around and started walking toward the center of the room. Justus gasped softly. Out of all of the thousands of people on this damned boat, why in God’s name did she have to keep running into him?

  Krystal misinterpreted her gasp, “I know Jus, I feel the same way. He’s completely gorgeous,” she whispered. Justus said nothing, and continued to stare at their instructor.

  “Good afternoon, ladies, and gentlemen,” he nodded in the vicinity of the handful of tortured men in the class. “My name is Miguel Amores.”

  “Such a sexy name, don’t you think?” Krystal whispered in Justus’ ear, who chose to ignore her friend and pretended she was concentrating on what Miguel was saying.

  “…And we’ll also be learning the tango, meringue, and the samba.” Justus felt betrayed by her stomach and the way it fluttered when he pronounced each dance with his Spanish accent.

  “So what I’d like us to do is pair up into partners, let’s see, how many people we have here?” Miguel said taking a quick head count. “Fifty-three. Somebody will have to dance with me.” Hands shot up all around the room, all but one. “How about you? Come on, come on, don’t be shy.” Justus stared at him blankly when he pointed at her. She couldn’t believe her rotten luck today. She was a terrible dancer. Hadn’t she already embarrassed herself enough for one day?

  “Oh, but I’ve got a friend. I mean, we came together, maybe you should pick someone else who is here alone.” Justus prayed he would leave her alone and pick one of the other girls in the room, who were gesturing frantically and calling to Miguel.

  “Oh don’t be silly, Justus,” Krystal said looking at Justus as though she had suddenly sprouted another head. “I wouldn’t dream of denying you this…opportunity to get an in-depth lesson.” Krystal nudged her toward Miguel. He took that as her way of accepting his proposal and took her hand.

  “Justus, is it? Very pretty name, different.”

  “Thanks,” she said as she let him lead her to the center of the room. Damn Krystal and her big mouth, she wouldn’t know what tact was if it bit her on the butt! Justus turned her head to give Krystal a dirty look, which she in turn, pretended not to notice.

  “Okay, everyone, pair up,” Miguel said as he turned to face the class. “We’re going to start with the tango. It’s just a series of steps, let’s go ahead and get it down before we start any of the other dances. You’ll start in this position,” he demonstrated by taking Justus into his arms, one hand at the small of her back, the other hand clasped hers. It seemed to Justus as though it was taking an extremely long time for everyone in class to get into position.

  She felt her palms start to sweat. She had been avoiding his face up until now, but she wanted to know if he noticed her sweating palms. She stole a peek out of the corner of her eye. He looked completely composed and not at all disgusted by her sweaty hands.

  “The tango is a passionate dance, so everyone please bring your partners in like this,” he said and demonstrated by bringing their bodies together and closing in all the gaps.

  Justus was about to gasp from the feel of his hard body aligned with hers, but then she remembered this was just a part of the lesson, essential to learning the dance correctly. She also reminded herself of the scene by the pool. It had really looked as though he had something going on with the blonde, so she knew she shouldn’t read too much into the dance lesson. Her head was telling her that’s all there was to it, but her hormones were scoffing at her simplistic nature. If she were being honest with herself, she’d admit that the air between her and Miguel was charged with the powerful current of sexual attraction.

  “Music please,” he told his assistant. “And here we go, start by taking slow steps to the opposite side of the room, once there change arm positions and start back toward the direction you came from.” Miguel addressed the instructions to the class while he held his cheek mere inches from hers. Justus had been watching him from the corner of her eye and admired the sense of presence he commanded among his eager pupils. She inhaled deeply as a means of soothing her frayed nerves, but instead her nostrils were greeted with his clean scent and the smell of his woodsy cologne.

  “Very good. I see I’ve got a group of fast learners here. We’re going to go over this a few more times, and then we’ll be moving on to the meringue.”

  Again Justus’ stomach fluttered, because of the way he said the dance with proper Spanish pronunciation. In an attempt to steel her wavering tummy, Justus tried to make an objective assessment of Miguel. What was the big deal with him, anyway? So he was easy on the eyes. She almost scoffed out loud to herself. She knew that was an understatement. He was a feast for every pair of female eyes.

  And why shouldn’t he be?, she asked herself. He was a perfect physical specimen and very sensual. He seemed to positively ooze sex and eroticism with his every move, look, and touch. Justus turned her head toward him to steal a glance at his profile, but he caught her looking at him.

  When their gazes connected she almost gasped. His eyes were so arresting, they were a dark, fierce green, like beautiful shining emeralds. She also noticed flecks of gold laced through them, reminiscent of cat’s eyes. But not any ordinary house cat, these were the eyes of a wild predator.

  Yes, she decided, with his sexy, sleek moves, black hair and green eyes he was more than a man. He was a panther. She sighed to herself, so much for her objectivity.

  “You’re doing so well. Have you ever danced before?”

  The intimate tone he used startled her out of her lusty reverie. It took her several moments to gain enough composure to answer him.

  “Oh, no, I’ve never taken dance lessons before, but I used to go out and dance a lot.”

  “Really? You used to, huh? Well, I knew it when I saw you; something told me you’d be an excellent partner.” She smiled at him and naughtily wondered what type of “partner” he was referring to.

  “I like to dance at nightclubs, too. Did you know there’s one here on the ship? You should go, and come out of retirement for me, and we could show everyone how it’s
done.” He gave her a dazzling smile.

  Shocked, Justus opened her mouth to speak but it was too late, he was addressing the class again. This man had to have balls made of brass. Making eyes at her from across the pool was one thing, but she couldn’t believe he had the nerve to ask her out with his girlfriend in the same room. Justus wondered if they were one of those couples that had an understanding, or if they were into kinky sex. Miguel was smoking hot, and she wanted to explore new sides of herself on the cruise, but she wasn’t interested in being a part of a threesome.

  She wondered though, if his girlfriend knew what type of slime she was dating. Justus looked across the crowded dance class and saw her. The blonde seemed to be enjoying herself as she danced with her partner. She had a nearly flawless body, although, Justus observed critically, it was obvious her boobs had been purchased. Justus looked mournfully at the woman’s outfit and contrasted it with her t-shirt and shorts. She felt dowdy in comparison. She had thought they were cute when she’d bought them a month ago. She looked at the petite, busty woman in her low-cut, stomach bearing hot pink tank top and matching short shorts. Compared to her own purple V-neck shirt and black Bermuda shorts, her outfit seemed like something a grandma would wear.

  “Hey, hel-lo? Anybody home?” Miguel asked her.

  “Oh, sorry, I guess I was a little distracted watching the others dance.”

  Miguel laughed at her. Justus had never heard a more sexy sound in her life. She felt the low throaty sound vibrate all through her body.

  “You must have been deep in thought. I’ve been trying to get your attention forever. Short of yelling, I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t make a scene in front of my students.” His tone was teasing, but it only fueled her anger even more that he was thick-headed enough to make light of the fact that he was flirting with someone right under his girlfriend’s nose.

  She’d decided Miguel and the blonde had to be a couple. She was certainly attractive enough for him, and why else would they have been talking so intimately with each other yesterday, on the first day of the cruise, at the pool? Miguel suddenly stopped dancing, which snapped her attention back to the dance class.

  “Okay everyone, that’s a day. You’ve all made it, give yourselves a pat on the back, and go have a drink. You should be proud of yourselves. I certainly am.

  “You were incredible, and I hope to see you all again sometime, but if I don’t, please enjoy the rest of your cruise.”

  Justus had given him her back as he was addressing the class and was trying to get to Krystal and get out of there as fast as humanly possible. He, however, was too fast. He caught her moments before she reached Krystal.

  “I meant what I said earlier, I’d really like to see you sometime, out of class. I’m going to be at the nightclub tomorrow night. I hope to see you there.” He smiled at her as he slowly raked his eyes down her physique.

  She felt her body respond to his gaze. Her cheeks grew warm, she felt her nipples tighten and her stomach muscles clench. Frustrated with herself for once again becoming a puddle of desire in his company she turned her back on him and started to leave. Krystal chose that precise moment to come over to Justus. She hadn’t realized she’d been standing behind her and nearly ran into her friend in her hurry to get away from Miguel’s powerful erotic presence. Justus said nothing to either one of them and headed for the door.

  “She’ll be there,” Krystal answered for her. “Later, Miguel.”

  “I’ll see you around,” he said as they left.

  “I was going to ask how he was to dance with, but I guess I have my answer, a date! But, why didn’t you say yes or something to him? Were you too shocked he’d asked you so soon, or stunned by his good looks?”

  “No, it wasn’t any of those reasons. I didn’t give him an answer, because you hadn’t given me the chance yet. I was getting ready to tell him no, actually.”

  “What?” Krystal stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed her arm, bringing Justus to a halt in the process. “Why would you want to turn a hunk like him down?”

  “I have my reasons,” she answered coolly.

  Krystal stood momentarily frozen, staring at Justus with her mouth agape. “Stupid ones, obviously, unless he has horrible breath and B.O., I don’t see what other reasons you could have.”

  “For starters, he’s a prick.”

  “Oh, of course he is, I can see that, I mean he asked you out. He’s a total jerk. Justus, get real, don’t you realize that every woman in class, including myself, would’ve given our right arms to have him ask us out? He actually asked you and you don’t want him? I don’t get it.

  “I’m sorry. I know how hard things have been for you lately, but he’s not Alex. He’s gorgeous, he’s got a sexy accent, he’s funny, he’s charming, he can dance, and he seems really nice. So, excuse me if I don’t see your side of things. I guess I’m biased.”

  Justus looked at her friend like she had suddenly lost her mind. Krystal was wearing the dreamy expression of a love struck teenager. She didn’t know what to say, part of her wanted to scream, ‘He’s got a girlfriend, that makes him exactly like Alex!’ but she lacked the energy to burst Krystal’s bubble, and she doubted Krystal would believe her anyway.

  “Well, if you think he’s so great, then you can show up there tomorrow night and I’ll stay in the cabin and relax.”

  “Ha-ha. That’s a tempting offer. If I didn’t care about you, and if I thought I’d have any chance with him, I’d do it, but he wants you, not me. Look, I’m not going to fight with you, this is our vacation and I want us to enjoy it. I’m sorry if I have been mean, it’s only because I really want you to be happy and to at least try to start dating again. You know, move on a little bit. Plus, since we had talked about you having a fling earlier today, and since he asked you out, this seemed like fate, or something. But it’s okay now that I know you’re too scared to go out with him…”

  “Huh?” Justus said. She stopped dead in her tracks and gave Krystal an incredulous look.

  “You think I’m scared of him? You think I’m afraid to date a hot guy? This sounds like a dare to me, you better not be baiting me, you know I can’t resist a dare. I’ve suddenly changed my mind. I’m definitely going to be at the club tomorrow night. Now come on, let’s get back to our cabin, I need a shower before we do anything else, I’m all sweaty.”

  “I’ll bet you are,” Krystal said.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Are you almost ready Krystal?” Justus called from outside the bathroom in their cabin.

  “Five minutes, and then we’ll be ready to go.”

  After dance class they returned to their room and lazed around for a while before showering and getting ready for dinner. Justus hadn’t been able to get Miguel out of her mind. The absolute nerve he had, looking at her as though he was starving and she was something to eat, and then asking her out, right in front of Krystal.

  Ugh! Krystal, she thought. She knew her fight wasn’t really over. Krystal would inevitably bring up Miguel again.

  When Krystal got an idea in her mind, she just didn’t let it go. Justus only hoped she wouldn’t pick dinner to resume their conversation. She wanted their first formal dinner on the cruise to be a relaxing experience.

  “Let me get my shoes and my earrings, and then I’m ready. You look cute, Justus.”

  Justus smiled at Krystal and said, “Thanks, so do you. We’ll be turning some heads tonight don’t you think?”

  “Well, yes of course. But you’ve already gotten a head start on me, no pun intended. You’ve already turned a very hot head.”

  Justus frowned and said, “Please, I don’t consider him a very quality find.”

  Krystal looked at her with unabashed surprise, “Oh, really? Then you’ve gone blind my dear friend. He’s gorgeous.”

  Justus shook her head and shoved her friend toward the door. “Let’s go, you hussy, I think you’re the one who needs a fling, not me.”

  ***


  “Mmm, I’ve never had a steak this delicious or juicy in my entire life.”

  “The food is great, but I think the sunshine and salty air does something to your taste buds,” Krystal said, then looked down at her nearly empty plate then added, “And your appetite.”

  “Hey Jus, do you want to take a walk around the boat? We could look in some of the shops, explore a little bit and hey, we might even find the nightclub.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You never give up, do you? You’re all fired up to watch me dismiss Miguel tomorrow.”

  “Ha! I knew you’d come around and see my side of things. Now I’ve got twenty-four hours to change your mind about Miguel. Which shouldn’t be too hard, I know you really want him.”

  “Krystal, I don’t want him. I’m only going out with him to prove how much I don’t want him.”

  “Sure. That makes sense. Why are you so set against him? I don’t get it.”

  “It’s nothing really, just well… I don’t feel any chemistry with him. He isn’t my type,” she lied.

  “Oh, please! I think every woman in the world would agree with me that drop-dead gorgeous is a general type. Plus, he’s cool, you know. Despite being so damned sexy, he doesn’t seem like he’s stuck on himself.”

  “Will you please stop? You only met him one time, what do you know about him? Nothing.”

  “I could say the same thing to you, Justus.”

  Justus got quiet suddenly and she hoped Krystal would take her silence to mean she was considering her words. Justus knew she should tell her why she despised Miguel so much. She knew it was childish to keep this secret from Krystal, so why was she? But she knew why.

  Because she liked talking about him, she liked hearing Krystal bring up his name. As much as she wanted to pretend their dances hadn’t mattered to her, she couldn’t do it. Not after dance class earlier. Something had happened to her. It had been a terrific thirty minutes, being so close to him, smelling his cologne, hearing his voice, feeling his hands on her body. Justus briefly closed her eyes to stop herself from thinking anymore about Miguel. She couldn’t do this to herself, and she wouldn’t.