Finding Justus (5 page)

He really is more handsome than should be allowed
, she thought. Justus tried to relax, but it was hard when she was staring into one of the best looking faces she had ever seen. When she thought about the total sexy package that was Miguel a shiver of excitement coursed down her back. As she stared into his beautiful, sparkling green eyes she remembered the way his pants hugged his firm backside when they were in dance class together the day beforehand. Before long she was caught in a lusty daydream about what he looked like under those clothes. She snapped herself out of the lascivious folly. What was it about the man that made her fantasize like a horny teenager?

A tingle ran down her spine when
Miguel put his hand on the small of her back and moved closer to her. He started doing some kind of combination of hip roll and short quick steps. Justus did her best to imitate, but she felt lost. She knew she didn’t have any of his Latin dance moves down and she’d never even done them until the day before, under his tutelage. The thought made her feel a little inferior.

As she was studying his footwork, her eyes landed on his crotch. She was sure looking in that vicinity would only create a problem for her. She forced herself to bring her gaze back up to his eyes, but as she looked into his handsome smiling face, she felt herself getting a dose of alcohol-induced courage. She leaned into him.

“So,” she said into his ear, “do you--I mean--are you single?” Justus stammered.

“Yes.” He paused for a m
oment and looked at her with squinted eyes. “You didn’t think the blonde from the pool was my girlfriend?”

“Oh my God! You remember me? Yeah, that was me at the pool, and I stepped on you before dance class, although I’d love you to forget that,” she paused to give him a mortified grin. “When you didn’t say anything to me about it yesterday, I kept hoping you didn’t recognize me.”

“No, I didn’t forget you. I was trying to be a gentleman by not bringing up the fact you stepped on me,” he told her with a sheepish grin. “And yes, I wanted to talk to you at the pool, but Tammy, the blonde, wouldn’t stop talking my leg off, asking me how to do this dance or that dance. If I would have been rude to her though, she could complain and then I could lose my job. She’s a very spoiled woman, I’ve seen her before. I mean, she’s been on this ship before.”

“Oh,” was all Justus could think to say. She felt very relieved and somewhat embarrassed at the same time. “I’d like a drink now,” she said.

Over drinks, Miguel told her he was hoping to open up a nightclub, restaurant and dance studio, in Miami’s very trendy South Beach. She’d also learned he was native to Cuba, and had moved to the United States as an adolescent. He informed her he was an instructor at a dance academy in Miami during the winter months, and he moonlighted as a waiter, as well as teaching on cruise ships as he’d been doing for the past three summers.

Once they’d gotten their drinks at the crowded bar, she and Miguel sat at a table, and took a much-deserved breather. Justus felt it was a pleasant conversation, despite shouting over the loud music. She learned Miguel was twenty-eight, and he lived in Miami.

“Wow! Talk about ambition,” she said of his multiple jobs.

“Well, any sacrifice is worth it to me, if it helps me attain my dream faster. I’m so close now; I can almost taste the food and see the people dancing at my club. Hey, I’ll be right back. Will you excuse me a minute, Justus?”

“Sure.”

She watched his form walking away and moaned to herself. She dropped her gaze to her now empty glass and scolded herself for feeling attracted to him so soon. That wasn’t like her at all.
She wanted to blame it on the alcohol, but knew that wasn’t completely accurate. He was so good looking, but there was something else there, drawing her in. Something she couldn’t quite place her finger on.

“Oh well, I might as well just go with this, whatever it is,” she muttered to herself. A male body materialized beside her, but she knew without looking it wasn’t Miguel.
Not the Weasel again
, she thought. She glanced around frantically looking for Krystal or Miguel, but she couldn’t find them anywhere. Instead, she looked up at the disgustingly greasy-haired, big-nosed Weasel.

“Hey, baby you’ve been dancin’ wit that joker long ‘nough, come and dance wit me now,” he slurred as he teetered dangerously and drunkenly over her. “Where is he anyway? The man’s a damn fool to leave some hot lil’ piece like you all alone, come on.”

“Miguel will be right back, uh…” she tried to remember his name, but all she could think of was Weasel. “Besides that, my feet hurt and I’m about to leave. Actually, would you mind telling Krystal I’m ready?” She asked, giving him what she hoped was a charming smile.

“What, leave? Leave?” He asked belligerently. “You’re not leaving here until you dance wit’ me like you did that loser. Now come on,” he said grabbing her arm.

“No! I said my
feet hurt
,” she said between clenched teeth. “Now, if you don’t want to pass the message along to Krystal, then get the hell on.”

“Hey, now,” he said in a low voice he obviously thought was sexy, “it’s all right. You don’t gotta get mad, I just wanna dance, baby.”

He began rubbing her shoulder and trying to get closer to her face. Justus edged away, while he stared into her face with glassy eyes. She watched, as though in slow motion, as a hand gripped the top of his arm. The Weasel looked up angrily, then when he realized the hand belonged to Miguel, his face softened into a mixture of fear and surprise.

“I don’t think she’s interested,” Miguel said in a tight, controlled voice.

“I uh, was, I was just askin’ her if she knew where our friends went off to.”

Miguel didn’t appear to believe him.
He reached for her hand and pulled Justus to a standing position. “Look,” Miguel said a touch too loudly. It was obvious to most passerby that his patience had worn thin. “I saw her face, and she looked terrified. I know whatever it was you were saying to her, you weren’t saying with respect. I think you’ve drank enough, so why don’t you leave her alone, put down your drink and find your way back to your room. Have a good night.”

Miguel, still holding her hand, turned to walk away, expecting Justus to follow, and she did only because it was better than being left alone with the Weasel. As she turned, she saw Krystal on the dance floor and moti
oned for her to come over to Justus and Miguel. Krystal murmured something to her partner, and joined the two of them.

“Are you okay? Do you want to stay
or go?” Miguel asked.

Justus gave him a dirty look and shrugged, “I’m really surprised you’re actually asking me! I figured y
ou would just tell me when I’m supposed to leave,” she said.

“What? Justus is everything okay?” Miguel asked her with a perplexed look on his handsome face.

“Yeah, I want to go, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Stay, if you want to.”

Miguel looked at the dance floor
and gave a dismissive wave toward it. “I don’t care about staying, I dance every day,” he said with a small, tender smile.

Justus felt her resolve slip a little, and then she remembered how angry his scene with the Weasel made her.

“What’s going on?” Krystal asked.

“I’m kind of ready to go, that’s all. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she replied looking at Justus suspiciously.

“I think you should tell the guy you were dancing with his friend needs to go back to his room. He’s had way too much to drink,” Miguel said as he wrapped a possessive arm around Justus.

The reminder of the scene, plus the way Miguel had his arm around her shoulder, made Justus quake with anger all over again. She turned abruptly and started walking toward the exit without as much as a backward glance to Krystal or Miguel. They finally caught up with her right outside of the club. Miguel reached her first and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

“You know, I don’t
need
you to fight for me, or protect me. I can stand up for myself.”

Krystal let out a gasp
and tried to sputter an excuse for Justus, but Miguel cut her off.

“Well, I don’t
need
to fight for you or protect you. I
wanted
to,” he said before turning to walk away and leave both women open-mouthed in surprise.

CHAPTER THREE

“What’s going on? What are you two fighting about?”

“We aren’t fighting, because there is nothing to fight about.”

“Then what the hell just happened?”

“That guy, that ugly, weasel-looking guy, was drunk and decided he wanted to get a little friendly with me while Miguel went to the bathroom. So, when Miguel came
back, he saw it, got all pissed off and jealous, and kindly took the Weasel’s hands off of me, and told him I wasn’t interested.”

“And…?”

“And nothing, I don’t need him to get jealous and try to fight for me. It’s not his place first of all, and secondly, Miguel was being too possessive.”

“Too possessive? Wow,” Krystal closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. “He didn’t do it because he needed to Justus, did you stop and think maybe he did it because like he said, he wanted to. Maybe because he likes you? Justus, I can understand how hard it is for you to relax and be able to trust in someone, especially after what happened with Alex, but I honestly think Miguel likes you and wants you to like him as well.”

Justus stood next to her friend with a rigid spine and her arms crossed over her chest. When she allowed Krystal’s words to sink in she dropped her defensive posture. Finally she let her arms droop to her sides while she thought about her silly and rude behavior toward Miguel.

“Krys, I know you’re right. It’s just my whole life I’ve had a problem trusting people, and the one time I finally let my guard down and did trust someone whole-heartedly, it came back to bite me on the ass
.” Krystal said nothing in return, but merely nodded her head in agreement.

“I know having trust in Miguel isn’t like what I went through before. I know he’s not Alex. I know this Krystal, honestly I do, but I really have my doubts as to whether or not I can convince my emotions otherwise. I’m just trying to protect myself, you know. I guess I came off a little too harsh. Can we not talk about this anymore tonight? We planned on having fun tonight, and I would still like to.

“I have a sudden burst of energy,” Justus said. “I don’t feel a bit tired. How about we go back to the room and order some room service? I’m talking about the really fatty stuff, and stay up all night talking, laughing and getting delirious. Sound good to you? I need to have a good old-fashioned girl’s night in tonight. Well, what’s left of the night.”

“Sure why not. We haven’t done anything like that in a really long time.”

Less than an hour later they were sitting in their room, lounging in their pajamas and eating everything from pizza, to burgers, to cheesecake.

“This is the life,” Justus said around a mouthful of pizza.

“Mm-hm,” Krystal grunted, her own mouth full as well. Krystal swallowed her food and cleared her throat, her expression suddenly serious. “I’m glad you decided to come on this cruise, and I am even happier you brought me along with you. It has really given us a chance to bond with one another again.”

Justus set down her slice of pizza for a moment. “Krys that’s such a sweet thing to say, thank you. I’m really happy you came along with me, too. Oh gosh, listen to the two of us, getting all weepy. This is supposed to be a fun girl’s night. Perhaps I need to lighten the mood a bit,” Justus said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“You know, I never told you this, but Alex was really horrible in bed. I mean he was totally selfish. He always had to take care of himself first, and I kind of got thrown by the wayside. You know the little blonde at the hotel was actually begging him to stay! I don’t know who I have less respect for, him for cheating on me, or her for begging him stay.”

“You’re crazy!” Krystal said as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

“Why, because I’m dishing up personal details about my ex-fiancé at three a.m., on my honeymoon, might I add?”

“No, you’re sane in that respect. I meant you’re crazy for staying with someone like Alex knowing he was a rotten lover as well as an uptight loser.”

“Well, I knew about the rotten lover and the uptight part, but the loser part didn’t come until much later.”

“So, I guess L-O-V-E made his bedroom skills, uh, how can I put this delicately? Bearable?” Krystal asked with a laugh.

Justus laughed herself and said, “I really don’t know, I mean I think it’s just one of those things in hindsight you realize was awful, but at the time it seemed okay. I mean I thought since we were in love it didn’t matter. But, I now realize you can’t really change a bad lover who’s unwilling to change.”

Justus and Krystal both started laughing even harder at this and continued for several minutes, finally Krystal said, “I’m drunk, but I get what you are saying, Jus. You looked past his flaws, and in my opinion he had many, but you loved him anyway. That’s the way you’re supposed to be in a relationship.”