A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

This is a continuation of chapter 14 and chapter 36

Mond's POV

I couldn't fight a vague feeling of sadness as I watched Tytan walk away.

I knew in my heart of hearts that I had felt an instant attraction to him.

My problem was there were so many things going against me.

First of all, I was a cruise employee and it was strictly prohibited for employees to mingle socially, much less get involved in a relationship with any passenger.

Second of all, he looked way younger than me. Was he even older than eighteen?

Third of all, he already had a bad first impression of me.

Fourth of all...... I sighed because the list was endless. I could think of any and all reasons why he would not want to be my friend, much less a boyfriend.

With a heavy heart, I took one last look at the pool where the remaining passengers were swimming peacefully and the others who had gone back to sipping their drinks quietly or just reading a book by the poolside.

Then I started to make my way back to my office.

I was sure that by now my coffee had gone cold.

I discarded the cup of cold coffee and went back to manning the set of monitors that showed me the comings and goings of people in the corridors and foyers and the different public places of the ship like the dining hall and open decks in each level and of course the pool area.

I was glad when my shift finally ended at seven in the evening.

I made my way to the area behind the dining hall which was the dining area for the staff.

The main dish for dinner was herbed salmon. I was not much into seafood. I asked the dietary staff for a substitute dish.

He handed me a quarter leg of baked chicken surrounded by a combination of peas, carrots and sweet corn.

I was already halfway through my dinner when Krist Perawat, the nurse, walked in. He had also just finished his shift.

"Hey," he said to me.

I nodded to return his greeting.

I watched him as he painstakingly went through the process of choosing his dinner.

He was still in the process of piling his plate with his food choices when I finished my own dinner and went to the dessert section.

I asked the dietary staff for a large cup of the Rocky Road ice cream.

I was in the middle of putting a large scoop of the Rocky Road into my mouth when I noticed him looking pointedly at the ice cream.

"I know, I know," I said with a guilty laugh. I could tell that he was calculating the calories in his mind.

"I'm gonna burn it off first thing tomorrow morning at the gym before I start my shift," I said, more to myself than to this goody two shoes nurse.

"I wasn't saying anything," said Krist, putting on an innocent look on his face.

"Yeah, sure," I said, "your pointed look spoke louder than words."

"You are a security officer," he reminded me, "you have to stay fit and trim. How can you run after the bad guys when your belly is running ahead of your legs."

"Holy guacamole, you're so vicious," I exclaimed.

He just shrugged. "I'm just speaking the truth".

"Fine," I said, putting down my spoon and discarding the rest of my unfinished Rocky Road.

"I'm gonna turn in for the night," I told him, standing up and making my way out of the staff dining area.

He just nodded because his mouth was full of romaine lettuce. I couldn't understand how anyone could enjoy eating raw vegetable. That was so not me.

I made my way to the foyer and pressed the elevator to go up to the top upper deck where the staff quarters was located.

My heart started to beat in an uneven tempo when the elevator door opened and Tytan walked out of it.

A/N: The image below does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

"Why are you not yet in bed?" was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

I regretted it instantly.

He looked at me with hostility.

"As long as I'm not committing any crime, what is it to you if I'm not yet in bed?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," I said, "let me start over. Are you at least eighteen years old?"

"It's none of your business," he replied, already starting to walk away.

"It is my business, if you're a minor and you're roaming around the ship unchaperoned," I said.

"Mr. Security Officer," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'm probably older than you. I just happen to look younger than my real age."

I wasn't inclined to believe him without proof. He probably would hate me even more after this incident, but I had to do my job.

"Please show me your ID," I said.

"Fuck you," he said, walking quickly away.

I went after him and grabbed him by the wrist.

"I'm just trying to do my job," I said, "now show me your ID."

He twisted his wrist out of my grasp and took out his wallet from his back pocket.

To my relief, his ID indicated that was twenty years old. Who would have known. He didn't look a day older than seventeen.

I handed him back his ID card.

"Thank you," I said, "and sorry that I had to verify your age. Why are you still up at this hour anyway?"

"Now, That. Is. None. of. Your. Goddamn. Business, is it?" he asked turning away and stopping by the vending machine in the foyer.

"What?" he asked defensively as I stood where I was, still watching him.

"Nothing, sorry," I said, pressing the button once more for elevator service.

I heard more than saw several coins going into the vending machine and the loud thud of a canned soda dropping into the bottom receptacle of the machine.

He bent and took the canned soda from the vending machine.

I heard the loud pop and fizz as he opened it.

Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Hey," I said, approaching him, "I did not finish my dessert of ice cream earlier because the nurse was lecturing me about the calories, but I'm really craving for something sweet. Do you think I could join you for a soda while the nurse is not here to see me?"

The idea of a security officer doing something sneaky seemed to amuse him and appeal to him because suddenly, he smiled and said, "Sure!"

I went through my pockets but found out that I didn't have enough coins for a soda.

He pushed me aside and slipped in a dollar bill through the slot.

"What kind soda did you have in mind?" he asked.

"A lemon lime soda," I replied.

He pressed the corresponding buttons and down came my soda.

He took it out of the vending machine and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said, "I appreciate your kindness."

"No biggie," he said, "just look the other way if you see me snatching someone's purse."

I looked at him wide eyed.

He started to laugh hysterically.

"You're so gullible," he said.

"No, I just tend to take every statement seriously," I said, "I was trained that way for my job."

"I see," he said, "I better be careful then what I say when I'm around you."

I didn't know how to respond to that statement, so I pulled the tab of the canned soda and waited for the fizz to die down before sipping from it.

We both started to walk towards the open deck.

"Is this where you were planning to drink your soda?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, "but I wanna walk over farther away where I can't be seen through the glass windows overlooking the open deck, in case the nurse happens to walk by."

Again, the idea of me, the security officer, doing something sneaky seemed to amuse him and he actually started to giggle.

He followed me to one of the benches that lined the wall on the far end of the open deck.

I sat down first, not realizing that he was aiming to sit at the exact same spot, and he ended up sitting on my lap.