Jay's POV
The hum of the private cruiser's engines was a low, rhythmic thrum beneath my feet, a stark contrast to the absolute carnage unfolding in the main cabin. We were finally heading back to the Philippines, the vast expanse of the ocean stretching out around us like a sheet of hammered silver.
The interior of the ship was the height of luxury—white leather, polished mahogany, and a bar stocked with enough liquor to drown a small army. Which was good, because Section E was currently acting like a pack of uncaged primates.
I stood by the railing of the upper deck with the girls, looking down into the open-concept lounge area. Freya was leaning on her elbows, shaking her head, while Rakki and Mica were busy judging the boys' latest attempt at a wrestling match. (Check comment)
It was missing one person—Grace. My heart twinged thinking about her. The doctor had been firm: no travel. She needed rest, and the group chat was already vibrating with her demands for constant video updates.
"Look at them," I whispered, nodding toward the 'man-children'. "It's like we're transporting a high-security zoo."
"A very expensive, very muscular zoo," Freya corrected, grinning. "I give it twenty minutes before Aries tries to throw Keifer overboard."
Aries was currently in a heated debate with Percy and Edrix, while Blaster was trying to explain the mechanics of the ship's radar to a very distracted Cin. And then there was Keifer. He was sitting on the edge of the leather sofa, his long legs stretched out, watching me with that dark, possessive intensity.
He looked like a king watching his kingdom fall into chaos, but his eyes never left mine. He still looked smug from the morning, even with the faint bruise on his jaw where Aries had tagged him.
"Okay, enough! I'm bored, and if I have to hear Percy talk about his silk pillowcases for one more second, I'm jumping," Cin shouted, clapping her hands. "Truth or Dare. Everyone, on the floor. Now."
A collective groan went up, followed by the sound of heavy boots hitting the carpet. We all piled onto the plush floor cushions in a wide circle. A bottle of vintage bourbon was placed in the center.
"I'll go first," Cin smirked, spinning the bottle. It landed squarely on David.
"Truth or Dare, Grandpa?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to go into the galley and eat a spoonful of whatever mystery condiment is in the back of the fridge while wearing Keifer's sunglasses."
David turned pale but did it, gagging on what turned out to be fermented shrimp paste while Keifer watched him with an expression of pure disdain.
The bottle spun again, landing on Aries. Ella leaned forward, a devilish glint in her eyes for her boyfriend. "Truth or Dare, baby?"
"Truth."
"Is it true you have saved Jay name as Monkey 🐒 in your phone."
Aries went stiff, shooting a glare at me. "It's suit her Ella!"
The game escalated quickly. It landed on Cin, who was currently draped over Rakki like a giant, designer-clad cat. He chose Truth and had to admit that he once spent three hours trying to teach a stray dog how to walk a runway.
Then, the bottle pointed at Edrix. The air in the room shifted. Edrix was the quiet one, the observer. He looked at the bottle, then at the group.
"Dare," he said, his voice unusually steady.
Rory grinned. "I dare you to confess your true feelings to the person in this circle you've been pining over since starting .No jokes, Edrix."
The room went silent. I held my breath. Edrix slowly turned his head toward Freya. The playful look on her face faltered. "Freya," he said, his voice low. "I've been an idiot for three years pretending I don't notice you.I do you care about you.Amd I don't give a damn your past.For me it's always been you."
Freya's martini glass nearly slipped from her hand. The group let out a collective "Whoa," but I saw the blush creeping up her neck. She didn't look away. It was a victory for the Edrix, but the tension was only rising.
Percy was dared to give a dramatic monologue about his love for skincare, which he did with tears in his eyes.
Blaster had to reveal the most embarrassing thing in his search history (it was 'how to tell if a girl likes your car or just you').
Then, the bottle slowed, the neck pointing directly at Keifer. My heart did a slow, heavy roll in my chest.
"Truth or Dare, Kwanan?" I challenged, my voice dropping an octave.
"Dare", he replied .
The group 'ooh-ed.' I leaned in, my heart hammering against my ribs. "I dare you to... show everyone the most 'vulnerable' thing you have on you right now."
I expected him to pull out a photo or a secret letter. Instead, Keifer stood up, walked over to me, and before I could blink, he hauled me onto his lap in front of everyone.
He tucked his head into the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply, his hands marking his territory on my waist. He looked up at the group, his eyes softening only for a second.
"This," he said, his voice husky. "She's the only vulnerability I have. And I'm looking at all of you while I say it—don't even think about it."
My face was flaming. The air in the room was suffocatingly hot. I could feel the heat of his chest through his shirt, the way his fingers squeezed my hip. For a moment, the teasing died down, replaced by the sheer weight of how he felt about me. But the peace didn't last long. It was a public claim, raw and undeniably spicy. Section e went wild .
Aries surged to his feet, fuming. "That's it! Keifer, get your mouth off my sister's neck before I make sure you never speak again!"
Keifer didn't move. He just looked at Aries over my shoulder, his eyes dark and defiant. "She's the one who dared me, Aries. Blame the girl, not me"
"I'm going to kill him," Aries muttered, pacing the small space of the lounge. "I'm literally going to toss him to the sharks" but Ella stopped him.
The game eventually slowed down, the laughter dying away as the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the cabin in shades of deep violet and orange. It was Rakki who broke the silence, her voice soft.
"Jay... we've been talking. We've been back together for a while now, but there's one thing you never do anymore. You don't dance. Not since... since Mira."
The name hit me like a physical blow. Mira. My best friend. My twin flame on the dance floor. She was gone, and the memories of that night—the screeching tires, the cold rain, the sound of glass shattering—were locked behind a door in my mind I couldn't open. I didn't remember the accident. I only remembered the silence that followed.
" Yes Jay. We've all been wondering. We saw the old videos. We saw what happened with Mira. Why don't you dance anymore? You were the best we'd ever seen."Freya said.
"I can't," I whispered, looking at the floor. "The music... it feels different now.When you lose the reason why you do something, the movement feels empty."
"It's not empty, Jay," Mica said, moving closer. "You're back with us. You're safe. We want to see the Jay who owned the floor, not the Jay who's hiding from it.Trust us Mira would also want the same."
"Just one dance, Jay," Percy added. "For us."
Dance for us, Jay," Aries said, his voice unusually soft. "Show these idiots what a real performer looks like."
Even Keifer was silent, his hand squeezing mine. He knew my trauma better than anyone, but he also knew that I was dying inside without my art. "Show them, Jay," he urged softly. "Show me the fire you've been hiding."
They started a chant. Even Cin joined in, tapping a rhythm on the table.That did it.
I stood up, my legs feeling like lead. Blaster went to the sound system and found a track—a heavy, rhythmic beat mixed with a haunting violin melody. It was dark, soulful, and intense. As the bass kicked in, I closed my eyes. For a second, I felt the phantom presence of Mira beside me, her hand on my shoulder.
Then, I moved.
It wasn't a rehearsed routine; it was an exorcism. I moved with a fluidity that shouldn't have been possible, my body snapping into sharp lines and then melting into the next motion.
I used the entire lounge, spinning past a stunned Cin, leaping over a coffee table, my hair flying wild. Every move was a release of the pain, the kidnapping, the fear, and the love I was finally allowing myself to feel. I wasn't just dancing; I was screaming through my skin.
Section E was paralyzed. I saw Aries leaning against the wall, his jaw dropped, watching the sister he thought he'd lost come back to life. The girls were crying openly. But it was Keifer's reaction that floored me. He wasn't cheering. He was leaning forward, his eyes burning with a mix of awe and a hunger so primal it made my breath hitch.
He looked at me like I was the only thing in the universe.
When the song ended, I was breathless, my chest heaving, sweat dampening my skin.
The room was silent for a heartbeat before it erupted. Cin practically tackled me. "You're a literal queen! Mira is probably screaming right now!"
The high of the dance, combined with the emotional release, was overwhelming.The celebration that followed was a blur. I reached for the nearest glass on the bar—a heavy pour of whiskey—and downed it. Then another. I wanted to feel light. I wanted the world to stay blurry.
An hour later, I was leaning heavily against the bar, giggling as I tried to explain to a very amused Blaster why fish don't have eyebrows. My head was spinning in the best way possible.
"I think someone's had too much fun," Keifer's voice rumbled nearby.
I turned, tripping slightly, and landed right against his hard chest. "I'm fine! I'm a goddess of the ocean, remember?" I slurred, poking his nose.
"Okay, the goddess is officially toasted," Keifer's voice rumbled behind me. He wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me upright. "I'm taking her to the cabin."
Aries marched over, his face still red from the earlier fuming. "You take her to her room, Keifer. Her room. If I hear so much as a floorboard creak, I'm coming in with a harpoon!"
"Goodnight, Aries," Keifer said coolly, scooping me up into his arms like I weighed nothing. I tucked my head into his chest, mumbling something about how he smelled like expensive trouble.
The others were already stumbling off to their respective sleeping quarters, throwing muffled 'goodnights' our way.
"Keifer," I whispered, my voice thick with more than just alcohol. "You were staring."
"I'm always staring, Jay," he groaned, his hands sliding up to cup my face. He leaned in, his lips brushing against mine in a way that made my head spin more than the tequila. "You have no idea what you do to me when you move like that. It's torture."
"Then stop talking," I challenged, pulling him closer.
The kiss was desperate, a collision of all the words we hadn't said. It was spicy, fueled by the lingering adrenaline of the dance and the privacy of the high-altitude cabin.
His hands were everywhere, tracing the curves the shorts had left exposed, his touch possessive and grounding all at once. In that small room, miles above the ocean, the world outside ceased to exist.
"One step at a time?" I murmured against his lips, breathless.
"Maybe two steps tonight," he replied, his voice dark and promising, before he claimed my lips again.
We were going home, but as I looked into his eyes, I realized I was already there.
His hands were everywhere, tracing the curves the short shorts had left exposed, his touch possessive and grounding. He let out a low, guttural sound, his teeth grazing my collarbone in a way that made my toes curl into the silk sheets.
The friction of his calloused palm against my skin sent a jolt of pure adrenaline through me, overriding the haze of the drinks.
"Aries is going to kill you," I gasped, my head tossing back as his kisses moved lower, his tongue tracing the edge of my strapless top.
"Let him try," Keifer muttered against my skin, his grip on my wrists tightening just enough to make me whimper. "I'd walk through a firing squad just to have you like this. Drunk on me, instead of that whiskey."
He released my hands, only to slide his fingers into my damp hair, tilting my face up so he could devour my mouth.
The kiss was messy, spicy, and desperate—tasting of salt and longing. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him flush against me, needing to feel the solid weight of him, the proof that we were finally moving forward.
He groaned into the kiss, his hands wandering with a possessive urgency, mapping out every inch of me as if he were memorizing a prayer. For a moment, there was no Section E, no dead best friend, and no brother pacing the deck outside. There was only the sway of the ship and the man who made me feel like I didn't need to dance to fly.
In the quiet of the ship, miles away from the world's expectations, the king and his queen finally found their own rhythm.
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A/n
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