"Bransen?" The other woman said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Mila a disbelieving look. "Like Bransen Tech?"
"Oh!" Avi took a couple of steps back and slipped underneath the arm of the woman. "This is Jin, my wonderful wife-to-be. This is my brother, Baylee, and his girlfriend, Mila."
Jin didn't offer her hand to shake. All she gave out was a judgmental stare at the both of them. Mila, in her big ass shirt with a cactus flipping everyone off and a pair of shorts that didn't go past the hem of the shirt, and Baylee, wearing a tank top, swim trunks, and flip flops. They both looked like bums, to be honest, but they didn't expect someone like Jin to be waiting for them when they got on the boat.
Normally, Mila would shrug it off. No way was she Mila Bransen, niece and only heir of Antonia Bransen the world class technological genius who's company rivaled Apple and Microsoft. Nope. Never heard of her. She was just a bar vixen from Charleston who happened to have a good singing voice.
But today? Under the light of Jin's condescending words and already feeling like the world was ending because of her anxiety? Oh hell no was Mila going to put up with that. Not to mention Baylee had shot her a curious look and Avi was blinking between the two women that were positively staring each other down.
"Actually! Yeah, one and the same. Bransen Tech is my Aunt's company." Was that pride she heard in her voice? Mila kept her surprise to herself. It had been a long, long time that she felt genuine pride over who she was. It kind of–scared her. Mila blinked furiously, battling this new wave of emotion and had to look away after giving Jin a wide smile that didn't reach her eyes. She could just tell that this woman was a real peach.
No wonder she could afford all of those presents, Baylee thought, as Jin's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline.
"I wonder what the ship looks like on the inside," Baylee said, making a mental note to bring up the topic with Mila when they were alone.
"Well, what are we doing standing around on the bridge when we can go see it?" Avi asked, waving them along. "C'mon, you have your room keys, right?"
Baylee and Mila made eye contact for a moment, passing a message between the two. Let's get away from them for a bit.
"Well, we were planning on going to the pool once we get on," Baylee explained, glancing down at his hand when Mila laced her fingers through his. "Y'all are welcome to join us, if you want."
"Um…." Avi pretended to think about it for a moment, but everyone knew the answer to the question. "I think we'll just get settled into our room before the ship pulls out of port."
A mental fistpump passed through Baylee's head as they reached the interior of the ship. Avi and Jin turned left at the first junction and Baylee and Mila kept heading straight, eventually leading to the main salt-water pool on the ship.
As soon as Avi and Jin disappeared, Mila's smile went from politely reserved to fully genuine and bright. She still had a death grip on Baylee's hand, but her anxiety was slowly diminishing as she got more and more distracted by everything that was surrounding them.
Was that a stand for free ice cream cones?
Mila made a mental note to find the stand again later on, but the thought was wiped from her mind as they stepped out onto the pool desk. "Is that a fucking water slide?" She asked, voice going up an octave in her shock.
Baylee only laughed a bit, green eyes bright with the excitement that Mila was giving off. He pulled them to a set of empty chairs and immediately shucked his shoes. The shirt he was wearing followed shortly after that and Mila had to look away, cheeks tinting. After ogling for a full minute or so of course. Baylee was strong and toned–which she knew from the amount of time that she spent cuddling him–but it was different seeing it. His skin was clear and smooth as it stretched over the plains of his muscles and the urge to trace each line of said muscles was a little much for Mila to handle. She kept her eyes pointedly towards the blue water of the pool.
Pulling off her own shirt and shorts combo to reveal a simple yet elegant black bikini, Mila took her long locks into her hands. Within moments, here usual thick messy braid was being tied off by the band she always kept on her wrist. Turning back to Baylee, the singer stretched out a hand with a soft smile. "Shall we?"
Baylee froze up whenever Mila pulled off her shirt, a vicious blush attacking his face like a Blitzkrieg charge. Mila was always covered up by a huge ass shirt, never leaving much to look at when it comes to skin, so anytime she exposed herself at all it was always shocking. Of course they cuddle all the time, but….where the hell are these curves coming from?
"Uh….yeah, sure," the bartender mumbled, giving her a small but happy smile as he tried to force the blush from his face. He gently grabbed her hand and allowed himself to be led to the pool's edge. She stood on the edge of it for a moment, studying the water like there was a great white shark waiting in their for them. The temptation to push her in was strong, but he figured she wouldn't appreciate it all that much.
"C'mon," he said, sitting down on the edge and slipping into the cold salt water. The temperature brought goosebumps all over his body, but the feeling went away after a few moments. Baylee turned to Mila and put his arms out, slightly bent at the elbow. She still seemed uncertain. "The water's fine, búp bê." His eyes flicked down to her chest for half a moment when his self control had a small slip up, leaving a strong blush on his face again.
God she wasn't a child anymore; so why was Mila still uneasy about the water? It looked so blue and soft. Tempting. There were no neighborhood bullies ready to push her in or hold her under the water while her mother got high in the bathroom and her father laughed from the chair, to blitzed to realize it was his own daughter in danger.
In fact, Baylee was holding his arms out to her. Ready to scoop her up in a moments notice. No way would he let anything happen to his singer. The poor guy did look a little confused at Mila's hesitation though, mouth parting just enough so he could gently say her name. Mila knew he would get out immediately, if it bothered her that much, but she wanted to have fun. Especially with Baylee.
That was the thought that did it, spurring the young woman into stepping off the ledge and into the water with a less than graceful splash. Baylee's hands immediately found the curve of Mila's waist, settling there with a possessiveness that was comforting. "It's freezing!" She pouted, a shiver crawling up her spine. Mila's hands gripped Baylee's forearms tightly, supporting her light weight in the water. Baylee didn't seem to be listening though as he shook his head like a dog to get the water off his face. Mila had unintentionally splashed him when she lept into the pool.
"Whoops!" A laugh bubbled out of Mila's chest as she reached up to wipe away the remaining drops. "I'm sorry!"
Baylee shook his head once again, unable to hold off a loud chuckle as she gently wiped all of the water droplets from his face. The saltwater stung his eyes slightly when it dripped down from his eyebrows, making his face pull up in a slight cringe. He always liked the water; the way he could just float in it, never having to actually put any work in to stay upright. But the downside was that most pools were either salt-water or full of chlorine, stinging his eyes like a motherfucker.
"Don't worry about it, búp bê," he said with a grin, pulling her closer to him. It seemed like it was just a hug for a few moments until he slowly began to creep backwards into deeper water. They were standing in three feet and by the time they made it to four feet, Mila realized what he was doing. But instead of pulling away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped into his arms, his legs coming around his waist to make sure she wasn't going to be dropped. The last time they were in this position, they had been making out, but this was different. A lot less R-Rated and more….cute.
"Just don't get any funny ideas." Mila warned, a playful smile relaxing her features. She doubted Baylee would drop her–or dunk them both when she wasn't paying attention–but since their affirmation of feelings for one another, he had relaxed enough around her to show a little bit of a playful side. It wasn't a daily occurrence, but every once in awhile he got her good. Now would be one of those times and Mila could see the glimmer flickering in his gaze. "Hey-hey!" She laughed. "I mean it!"
Baylee made a soft "mmm" noise, leaning forward to kiss Mila on the nose as he spun them around the water. It was so relaxing that the singer could feel her anxieties drifting away.
"So…Avi seems–" Mila searched for the right word, blue eyes squinting a bit as she thought. Her fingers played with the locks of Baylee's hair that curled around his neck. He had let it grow out since meeting her and Mila had to say she loved it, frequently playing with it absentmindedly whenever she had the chance. "–Lovely."
When Baylee pulled a face, Mila explained further. "I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome…from what you've told me about your relationship. Maybe you guys can really reconnect?"
Baylee's cringe stayed on his face even after she explained what she meant, simply because he didn't like the idea at all. The warm welcome was unexpected and seemed nice, but he could tell by the tightness around Avi's green eyes that it wasn't genuine. Why his sister decided to act like that was something that he didn't have the answer for.
"I don't wanna talk about her right now," the bartender ultimately decided to answer with. He gave her a large, genuine smile despite the conflicting feelings in his chest. At this moment, the only thing he wanted to talk about was the woman currently in his arms. He leaned in and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on her lips, the salt on her skin almost intoxicating.
By then, more of the passengers began to trickle onto the ship and invade the pool, forcing Baylee and Mila into their own little corner in the deep end. Now Mila really had to hold onto him, since she wouldn't be bale to reach the surface in five feet. Even Baylee hand to stand on his toes too make sure his head would stay above water.
"This is….a lot of people," he mumbled into her ear, eyeing everyone else in the pool with distrustful eyes.
"Hmm–agreed. Maybe we should get out?" Mila asked, although she cast a longing look at the water slide that has turned on after they had pulled out of port. She was very pointedly not thinking about how they were heading out to open water at the moment, and that slide seemed like the perfect way to distract her. Oh well, maybe another day. God knew they had plenty of time to do a whole lot of nothing while on the ship.
Although, getting out meant Baylee letting go of his hold on her, which sounded less than pleasant to Mila. She wasn't used to being face to face with him–since he was a giant–and the effect was dizzying. Having Baylee's intense green eyes locked on her face had kept a pink tint firmly across her nose. Mila felt like the center of the universe and she couldn't help but love it.
Mila pulled Baylee into a tight hug, just to show her appreciation. She caught a glimpse of her hands–well the parts not knotted in Baylee's hair and chuckled. "Well I guess it's time anyway–Look I'm all pruney!"
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.