Annie closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she sat on the closed toilet lid in the small boat's even smaller bathroom. If she had to endure one more minute in the arms of Tay, she was going to puke. She listened as the other three were laughing, enjoying themselves. Steven, the surprisingly attractive boat driver, was sitting on the small deck on the top of the cabin. Annie chided herself for having grabbed onto him when she was practically thrown into the boat. She tried not to think about his slim but muscled form or the smell of clean clothes and something manlier that she just couldn't seem to get out of her mind.

She groaned and shook her head. Bummer he wasn't the best man. Annie really felt like she should be doing better at being kinder to Tay but it was a miracle she hadn't pushed him into the water already. A soft knock on the small door jarred her back to the present. But the voice she heard on the other side wasn't who she had expected.

"Hey there, Red. You feeling alright?"

Even with his voice muffled, Annie could hear the concern. That brought a small smile to her face as she got and opened the door. There he stood, his shades still covering his eyes.

"Yeah. I'm alright. Just..."

"Don't sweat it. Snorkeling isn't for everyone."

Annie snorted. "Neither are weeklong blind dates."

Steven sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, the corners of his lips lifting in a hidden smile. "Yeesh. That bad, huh?"

Annie shrugged as she leaned against the bathroom doorway. Steven's brows rose and he pointed to the three in the water.

"Are you sure you don't want to at least give it a go? I promise you won't regret it."

"Mmm. I think I'm good with kayaking, hiking, and village visits being tainted. I don't want another memory or place to be ruined."

Steven's posture changed and he turned as if to guard her against the others. "Is he really bothering you that much? Do you need me to say something?"

Annie laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him turn back to her. Not being able to see his eyes unnerved her a bit so she took her hand back, trying not to think how strong his shoulder felt.

"It's alright. Ross and Kara love him. It was originally supposed to be Kara and I but I don't know what I was thinking. Those two only have eyes for each other and Ross grew up with Tay so it's only logical for Kara's best friend to hook up with her future husband's best friend."

Steven winced. "I'm sorry. I usually keep a deck of cards and a couple of movies in the cabin but the TV busted last week."

Annie folded her arms, her small smile returning to her lips. "It's alright. I'm a big girl. I'm also ready for this wedding to come and go. Being maid of honor should come with a guidebook."

Steven nodded. "I feel ya there. All during his mission, he wouldn't shut up about her. Even though he was supposed to be focusing on the work, he'd rather tell me, in excruciating detail, how she likes her pancakes in the morning and how she got him to lose weight before he came." He turned to her and chuckled. "Two years, Red. Even when we were transferred and given different companions he still found time to track me down and tell me. I like to think the Lord was testing me with my ability to not strangle someone on sight." Then he shrugged, his lips pulling down in a manner that made her want to reach up and smooth his cheek. "But I'm no maid of honor."

Annie laughed, hard. Steven joined in and her middle warmed at the sound of his deep laugh, like distant thunder. Annie quite liked not only his laugh but his smile. Though she wished he would take off his sunglasses, she was dying to know his eye color. His hair was a beautiful dirty blond so she thought maybe blue. She looked at him for a few seconds. Then a thought came to mind when what he said sank in.

"Red?" Annie asked quietly, cocking her head to the side unknowingly.

Steven scratched his neck and gave a small smile. "Well you know, since I don't know your name and your hair is red, I figured it was a safe bet to call you that instead of "Hey you there"."

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, no it's ok. I like it. I guess I just kinda threw myself at you instead of telling you my name."

Annie was literally about to reach her hand out for him to shake when Kara came bounding over, dripping wet, her eyes wide with worry. She took Annie by the shoulders and squeezed.

"We forgot about the nail appointment!"

Quickly, she turned to Steven and begged for him to race them all back to their resort where her precious appointment was waiting for her. Annie chose to sit down and wait things out as Ross and Tay hurried the supplies on board and as Steven tried to keep a straight face as he revved the boat. Tay plopped down next to her, flinging water on her and filling her nose with the smell of BO and fish.

She about vomited but Steven turned to look at her and gritted his teeth, raising his hands as his fingers curved like claws and he shook invisible shoulders just like Kara did to Annie's. Annie snorted, covering her mouth with her hand, her teeth biting her twitching lip. Kara's worried voice called over the sound of the boat and Annie brought her attention to her friend. It was time to calm the worried princess and tell her that the missed nail appointment won't make all her other appointments suddenly fall behind and cancel on her.

But Annie just couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment that after this, she was going to be thrown back into the whirlwind of the wedding and she probably won't see Steven again. 

If ever.