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

Tul's POV 

The sous chef definitely outdid himself with his Cajun Buttered Shrimp Tacos.

I am a seafood lover and I usually prefer to eat fish more than any other seafood like crabs, or shrimp or lobster but this particular shrimp dish, I would eat it any time.

I had taken a tall glass of white chardonnay on my way to my table and sipped from it after every bite from my taco. They went together so well. I went back to the beverage section and helped myself to another tall glass of chardonnay.

After dinner, I stood up, feeling a little buzzed from the two tall glasses of chardonnay that I had imbibed.

I decided to go out to the open deck to take in deep breaths and help my brain to replace the alcohol with fresh oxygen.

As I walked out of the dining hall, I started to wonder why Kimmon never returned my calls or my texts. Had he gotten tired of me? Were we no longer together?

Come to think of it, were we even officially together? Was I the only one who assumed that we were officially together?

I felt a painful spasm in my heart. Maybe the whole affair was one sided and it was obviously just my side.

Kimmon, where are you???

I opened the door leading to the open deck and was starting to move forward toward the railing but my peripheral vision caught sight of a couple making out on a bench by the wall at the far end of the deck.

When I recognized the faces of the couple, I immediately saw red.

The alcohol in my brain did not help any with the sudden sharp emotions that rose within my chest.

In a few quick strides, I reached Kimmon and Copter and was ready to swing at Copter when Kimmon grabbed my arm.

"What the fuck, Tul !!!" he yelled, "get away from him and from me!"

"So he is the reason why you have not been communicating with me!" I yelled, breathing heavily because I was suddenly finding it hard to take in any air.

"Why couldn't you take the hint, Tul?" Kimmon asked.

"The hint that you are fooling around with someone else now?" I asked angrily.

"I never fooled around with you, Tul," said Kimmon, "I have always considered you only as a good friend who I got along with because we have a lot of things in common, we shared the same interests and the same sense of humor. But beyond that, I never felt anything else."

There was a long pause, a painful silence.

"I see," I finally found my voice, "well, thank you very much for making it perfectly clear to me."

I quickly turned on my heel and walked away before he could see the tears falling down my cheeks.

I heard him say, "Good bye, Tul, and I'm sorry" but I did not bother to respond.

I walked blindly out of the open deck and made my way to the foyer and pressed the service button for an elevator.

As soon as it came and the doors opened, I rushed inside, not seeing the person who was walking out of it because the tears were clouding my vision.

"Hey, watch it," the person said.

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

He looked at me and I looked at him through my tears.

Oh fuck, he recognized me immediately and I recognized him as well.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No," I answered truthfully, "you better stay with me because I'm planning to jump off the railing of this ship."

"Don't be an idiot," he scolded me, "nothing in this world is worth losing your life over."

"At this point in time, I'm willing to feed myself to the sharks," I said.

"Stop that crazy talk," he said, "come and join me for dinner in the dining hall."

"I've just been from there," I informed him.

"And the dinner was so bad that it made you want to kill yourself?" he asked me wide eyed.

I gave him a painful flick on his forehead.

"No, you dumbass," I said, "on the contrary, it was the best dinner I've had so far on this ship."

"So why don't you have another go at it?" he asked.

"Nah," I replied, "but I can keep you company. I will just drink a lot of water to flush out the alcohol that is swimming around my brain right now."

"Let's go then," he said, taking my hand.

His hand felt warm and comforting.

We found a table by the wall and I sat and waited for him as he went to pick up his dinner and his drink.

I secretly studied his face as he made his way towards me.

Why did I not notice before that he was very handsome. He had perfect features. And when he smiled at me, showing those even white teeth, I found myself wanting to spend more time with him.

As he progressed with his dinner, I remembered belatedly that we had never formally introduced ourselves to each other.

"By the way, my name is Tul," I said, holding out my hand to him.

He licked off the sauce that had come in touch with his finger before taking my hand.

"And I am Max," he said, "it's my pleasure to officially make your acquaintance."

Again, I could not help admiring his very attractive smile.

"What is that drink in your glass?" I asked, looking curiously at the red liquid.

"It's a red cabernet sauvignon," he replied, "this variety is very sweet. I should stop and ask the person in charge of the beverage section what brand it is."

Oh dear, I was already buzzed. If I went to try one glass, I would most certainly end up drunk.

"You wanna take a sip?" Max offered, holding out the glass to me.

"Just a tiny sip," I could not resist the offer.

It was indeed very sweet. What the hell, I stood up and took a tall glass of it from the beverage section.

By the end of dinner, Max was buzzed from the two glasses that he had imbibed and I was well and totally drunk from the third glass of wine that I had this evening alone.

We headed out of the dining hall and I felt him leading me back to the foyer where he pressed the service button for elevator service.

When the elevator door opened, without letting go of my hand, he walked in and I walked in with him.

The elevator stopped at the deck level that he desired and I followed him out of it, trying to walk in a straight manner but ending up walking sideways. He had to prop me up several times before we reached his cabin.

Wait, why was I going with him into his cabin???

A/N: Just a forewarning to readers below 18, please skip the next chapter. Those who have watched MaxTul in their two series of Together With Me, we all know how these two can really dive into their passionate physical scenes without holding back. That is how they will be portrayed in the next chapter as well. So please, if you are faint of heart, just skip it. It will not take away from the plot of the story anyway. Sorry about that, in advance. xD