Ty grinned as Hudson left without another word to join the group in the hot tub. Everyone handled defeat in different ways. She let the group relax in the hot tub for half an hour before she reminded them that the dining room was open for breakfast.

The guys were out of the hot tub in a second at the mention of food and the girls were right behind them. Ty had to call after them to remind them about the scavenger hunt scheduled for later that morning.

Quiet settled over the deck again as Ty began to gather all the aerobics supplies. Nico sat in defiant silence, keeping his gaze purposefully straight ahead. Ty knew his silent treatment would last until he managed to win a bet with someone else. She predicted he would be talking to her by the afternoon.

"Bye Nico!" she called out extra cheerfully. His expression turned more sour as he refused to acknowledge her. "You're welcome for the coffee," she added, slowly walking backwards towards the door. Still nothing. "And my thrilling company!" His stony resolve only made her grin. "And for a fun morning. You are always complaining about how boring the mornings usually are."

She stopped when she reached the door and did a crazy dance, flailing her arms about to earn some sort of response. She struck a silly pose at the end but still, she got nothing. She shrugged and left Nico to wallow.

Mornings were one of Ty's favorite times on the ship. The early-rising passengers were already out and about, getting breakfast, and the most energetic kids were dragging their parents to the pool, but the chaos of the day hadn't landed yet. The ship still felt like it belonged to her.

Ty greeted her fellow workers as she made her way to the crew's dining hall, her stomach calling for nourishment. She found Anders in the buffet line and joined him.

"Morning," she sang, adding a plate to his tray.

He grunted a response and kept moving, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Anders was a man of few words in the morning and that made him one of Ty's favorite breakfast companions. He would silently drink his coffee and plow through his large plate of food without a single word, leaving Ty to eat in peace.

"A banana. And more eggs," she instructed even though her breakfast choices hadn't changed once in the years they had been getting breakfast together.

He didn't pay attention to her as he filled her plate as well as his own. She tossed two yogurts onto the tray before breaking away to grab coffee. Anders grunted out thanks as she set the two cups on the table and they began to eat in peace.

Ty was opening her yogurt when she paused, sensing Jules' energetic presence a moment before she burst into the dining hall.

"Ty Claire Bennett!" she called. "Good morning. Hi. Have you seen Ty? Oh, Hanna did you get a haircut?"

Ty watched Jules get momentarily distracted. Jules seemed to flutter about as she spoke excitedly with the girl, pulling on the ends of her hair. But after a moment, she grew serious and began to look around the room again, calling for Ty. Ty was surprised. A new haircut usually distracted Jules for much longer.

The bounce in Jules' step became more pronounced when she spotted Ty and began to walk toward the table.

"There you are!" she said.

She was slightly out of breath and Ty perked up, curious about what had whipped her up into such an excited state.

"Here I be," Ty said.

"I don't care where you are now. I want to talk about where you were this morning! At the pool! With a certain guest! I need to know everything!"

"It sounds like you already do know everything."

"What was he doing there? Was he there just to see you? Omg he totally was, wasn't he? Did he say something?" Jules rattled off her questions in a single breath. "I bet he wanted to see you again. He likes you..."

As Jules started to answer her own questions, Ty returned to eating her yogurt. She glanced over at Anders. Jules's presence hadn't had any effect on him as he continued to eat his breakfast in sleepy silence. She took in the amount of coffee left in his cup and tried to predict how soon she could expect him to be awake to the world.

Ty was mid-calculation when Johnny entered the dining hall and caught her attention. His hair was messily pushed back and he was wearing sunglasses. Jules continued her one-sided conversation and Ty watched Johnny lazily saunter through the buffet line.

He filled his tray and joined them at their table. He began to scarf down his food until he noticed Ty scrutinizing him. He stopped mid-bite. "What?"

She squinted her eyes as she focused on his appearance. "I'm just wondering Johnny, did you sleep in the sunglasses? Or did you wake up and make a conscious decision to wear sunglasses inside?"

He shrugged and returned to his food, not entertained by her criticism.

"Maybe I should try wearing sunglasses to breakfast," she mused, resting her chin in her hand.

"Why would you wear sunglasses inside?" Anders asked, the tone of his voice implying just how stupid he thought the idea was.

"It adds allure," Johnny said.

All the occupants at the table looked at him, giving him a range of looks from stupid to uninterested.

Jules ignored the sunglasses topic and turned the conversation back to her. "What happened with Hudson?"

"Who's Hudson?" Anders asked.

"How do you even know that I saw Hudson this morning?" Ty asked.

Jules drummed her fingers together like she was an evil mob boss. "I have my ways."

"Nico? He was pissed he lost, wasn't he?" Ty guessed.

Jules tried to keep up her superior look but Ty could see her deflate at the correct guess.

"I have my ways." Jules waved away the distraction. "But that doesn't matter. What did you say to Hudson? What did he say to you? Did you flirt with him? I would have."

"Who's Hudson?" Anders asked again.

Ty just shrugged, like she was as lost as he was.

"He's the hot guy from last night," Jules clarified.

Anders gave her a flat look. "That means nothing to me."

"Ty talked to him a couple of times."

Anders continued to stare at her blankly.

"He was really hot," Jules added.

"Again, that doesn't help me at all," Anders said. "Ty talked to a million people last night. And as for noticing a 'hot guy', sorry but my focus wasn't on that last night."

"He had brown, perfect hair, mysterious eyes, and his jacket fit impeccably," Jules said, her eyes turning dreamy.

"Jules!" Anders said firmly.

"Wait, Anders, you didn't notice the guy in the impeccable jacket?" Johnny joked. "How could you miss that?"

Jules began to describe Hudson once again and Ty stood. The conversation was going in a circle and she knew it would most likely end in Anders stalking off annoyed and Jules confused. Ty piled all their dishes and trash on the tray and left the table. She could still hear Jules describing Hudson as she stacked the tray and left the dining hall.

Ty expected to hear the Hamilton Party the moment she stepped onto the main floor of the ship but she didn't find anything other than the normal hustle and bustle. She looked around curiously as she entered the main lobby and almost missed the group in the corner.

Ty stopped and studied them. They were separated into three, tightly formed huddles. Their voices were contained, and there was an intensity to the way they exchanged ideas. It felt like they were preparing for something serious. She caught a few words from one group and watched as the team members quickly hushed their teammates before casting furtive glances at the other two groups.

"What are we looking at?" Kenny asked from beside Ty.

She looked sideways and found her fellow cruise worker had joined her and she hadn't noticed. She pointed a finger at the Hamilton group.

"Them," she said simply.

They studied the group a little longer.

"This must be our scavenger hunt party," Bee said, coming to stand on Ty's other side. She pulled at the ends of her long, blonde ponytail as she observed the group. "Jules told me they were good-looking, but she didn't tell me they were this good-looking."

Ty smirked. There probably wasn't a single worker on the ship that Jules hadn't told about the Hamilton Party.

"From the way Jules is talking, they might become more well-known than the Henley Family."

Kenny scoffed. "Unless they end up in a bloody deck brawl, I think the Henley Family's status is safe."

Ty patted him reassuringly on the back. She knew the Henley Family held a special place in his heart. He had been one of the six employees who had jumped in to stop the fight. He had worn his black eye as a badge of honor.

"For the sake of your pretty face, I hope a bloody brawl is off the table."

She reached up to pinch his cheek and he swatted her hand away.

"A lot of people told me the black eye complimented my looks," he bragged.

Ty believed that. A black eye would fit right in with his rugged beard and sturdy build.

"Even so, I don't think Louie would appreciate another fight just to enhance your looks. Come on," she nodded in the direction of the group. "Let's get this thing started before they come up with too many wild ideas."

Kate was the first person in the group to spot Ty. She gave a delighted smile as she reached out and pulled Ty into her group.

"Just the person we were looking for," she said. "How many clues are there? Should we expect a play on words? And are there bonus items?"

Everyone in the group leaned forward eagerly.

"You'll have to wait and see," Ty tutted as she took a step back. "Hello everyone," she called out, grabbing the group's attention.

She kept backing up until she could see the whole group and Kenny and Bee slid into position on either side of her.

"I hope you all had a great breakfast and are recharged for our next event, The Scavenger Hunt!" The crowd cheered. Ty smirked. It was too easy to get the group excited. "Alright! That's what I wanted to hear. Now, this is how it's going to work..."

She broke down the simple rules. The party would be split into three smaller groups. Each group would receive a list of items they had to find, or activities they had to accomplish and each item or activity was worth a certain number of points. They had two hours to earn as many points as they could. Whoever ended up with the most amount of points, won.

Scheming began among the groups before she even finished explaining the rules. Each group seemed to have an appointed leader, and Ty was surprised to find Hudson the leader of his group. Kenny passed out the Scavenger Hunt Lists and Ty lost any false sense she might have had of having anyone's attention.

She turned to Bee and Kenny. "Bee, you'll take the group on the right. Kenny, the group on the left," she instructed.

With scavenger hunts, they always had a cruise worker trail each group to ensure they didn't get stumped on clues and they followed the rules. The whole thing was about having fun and this helped ensure everyone had a good time.

Kenny and Bee nodded and she turned back to the group. Their voices had risen and she blew her whistle to call their attention back to her.

"You have everything you need," she said. "We'll meet back here in two hours. Sync your watches." She grinned as everyone with a watch checked the time. She always said that line, but no one usually cared enough to actually do it. "May the games begin!" She blew her whistle and the groups jumped into action.

Kate and Grant were leaders of their groups and both were gone in thirty seconds, heading off in different directions. Bee and Kenny quickly followed. Hudson kept his group close, moving them to a corner where he brought them into a huddle. Ty moved closer and listened in.

After Hudson quickly scanned the list, his gaze turned to the group around him. They all waited patiently.

"I'm breaking you up into smaller teams," he instructed. "Russ, with Turner and Ally..."

Everyone rearranged themselves into their new groups as Hudson split them up and then he began talking about strategy.

"Team A, you will take the first page and half of the second page. Team B, you will take the rest of the second and third pages. My team, we'll tackle the bonus items on the back. Notice the points listed next to each item."

Ty couldn't help but think of a teacher instructing his students as Hudson directed the group's attention. She found it intriguing that he could be so apathetic one moment, and the next, he was leading the charge.

"Don't waste your time on the easy tasks. Team A, start with number twelve. You'll find that around the pool, as well as five, eight, and fourteen. Be conscious about the area you are in. Check the list for other tasks you can complete before you leave that location. Moving to different locations means you lose time. Team B..."

Hudson drilled his instructions into the group for another minute. He methodically broke down the list like scavenger hunts like this was a military operation and their lives depended on it. After he was done, he put his hand into the middle and everyone followed.

"We don't accept defeat. To victory!" he shouted and everyone echoed him.

The next moment the groups dispersed, heading off in different directions, looking like they were on a mission.

Ty followed behind Hudson and his group of two, a guy and a girl. She reasoned he was the leader and if anything went wrong people would report back to him and she would be there to help.

She denied her reason had nothing to do with the fact that she was thoroughly enjoying the intense, competitive side of Hudson.

Trailing behind Scavenger Hunt groups was usually one of the most boring jobs. The groups would move slowly and get distracted and Ty had spent a lot of time sitting around and waiting. But Hudson didn't give her the luxury of sitting. His team had fire beneath their feet as they raced through the bonus page, which was the trickiest.

Ty had had a hand in creating the list and she had put some items on there expecting no one would be able to accomplish them. But Hudson came at the list differently than anyone ever had. He didn't take the items or tasks at face value but searched for ways to bend the rules and think outside the box.

As the end of two hours drew near, Hudson had accomplished more bonus items than anyone ever had. Hudson was ushering his team up a flight of stairs as they headed back to the main lobby when he noticed Ty for the first time. He hung back and waited as she joined them on the stairs.

They climbed the first flight in silence. Ty could tell he was expecting a comment about how much his team had accomplished, but she wasn't in the giving mood, and from the short time she had known him, she knew his ego was alive and healthy. She didn't want her comments to make it fat.

On the second flight, he broke the silence. "This was some scavenger hunt. Some of those bonus ones were really tricky."

"Don't worry. Everyone else finds them tricky too," she consoled him.

She patted him on the back and could see him flinch at being compared to everyone else.

When they reached the main floor he stopped in her path and studied her. She tried her best to keep her face neutral but under his gaze, she slowly began to smile. She pinched her lips to try and contain the smile, and it was all he needed. A cocky grin spread across his face like her pinched mouth had told him all he needed to know.

"We did pretty good," he said. Ty managed to snap her face back into a neutral expression, but he seemed able to read something she didn't think was there. "We did better than anyone else has."

She dropped her look into a stony glare at his cocksure attitude and a full grin bloomed on his face.

"No, no, no. Please, hold the compliments," he continued. "I know we are the best team, but we wouldn't ever want it to go to our heads." He leaned in to whisper. "Especially Russ over there." He hooked his thumb at one of his teammates. "He can really have an ego."

"Sure, Russ is the one with an ego," she said, pushing past him.

She could hear him gently chuckle as she walked towards the growing group. Tallying the final scores was only a formality. Based on what Hudson and his team had accomplished, there wasn't any question about which group would be winning.

Hudson was lifted on his teammates' shoulders as they chanted his name after their victory was announced. No one in the group was a sore loser and the excitement of the one team spread to everyone else. Someone suggested victory drinks by the pool and the group began to exit quickly.

Hudson was still glowing from his victory as he swaggered over to Ty.

"So...." he began.

"Are you a fan of rhinos now?" she asked.

The question took him by surprise and he lost some of his swagger. "To be clear, I never called them rhinos."

"But you did."

"I did not."

"Sure," she said, but they both knew she didn't mean it. She smiled politely and could see it grate on his nerves. "Good job on the scavenger hunt by the way," she added. "You got the highest score I've ever seen."

The compliment was too little too late and he barely reacted. He studied her intently like she was a tricky bonus task on the scavenger hunt, but no matter how he tried to finagle it, he wasn't going to figure her out. It was a gratifying look.

After a long moment, he looked away and shrugged. "It was nothing really. Just a silly scavenger hunt. It was actually pretty easy." He looked back at her with a playful glint in his eyes. "I assume you made it?"

Ty laughed in surprise at the underhanded insult. She gave a conceding nod. "Well played Mr. Hamilton, well played."

**********************************************************************

Kshemamga velli labhamga randi! (Telugu)

Dancing dolphins! Who is grinning like an idiot right? 🗯💭💬😄

Don't lie, you totally are. If I was grinning like an idiot rereading it then you have to be. If you weren't, well...

You're dead to me.😑

😆 Haha just kidding. Though with the amount of times you've announced that you're dead because something I wrote was funny or too cute it's amazing that any of us are still alive at this point.

Maybe we keep coming back to life because we can't get enough of the funny and cute things! What better reason to keep living than the things that we will probably never attain.

Okay, too depressing, happy thought: we're all going to die single but since we'll do it together technically we won't be dying alone! Woohoo!! 🥳

I know, it's amazing I'm the cheery person that I am! My positive outlook on life even surprises me sometimes!! 💁‍♀️

When someone sees a dark sky as depressing I see it as a reason to listen to the Mono album. See even rain can bring about positive actions!

Okay! Before you swim away to some other adventure vote, comment, follow!

This little guy is hustling!