❝ — * | 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 .

sofia didn’t have so much of a warm feeling in her chest as she did in the pit of her stomach. she knew what it was, but she couldn’t pinpoint why it was. nothing about hunter had changed or their friendship. they were the same as they always were and yet, she found herself so much more attracted to him. she usually just tried to think of something else, but then they could be in a position like this and it could get a little harder to deal with. “first of all, you’re adorable and i thank you for the compliment. but second of all, i’d always be lonely in a life without you.” it took her a moment to realise that that wasn’t actually the reason why she was claiming to be so lonely. her cheeks heated up a little, a soft pink tinge covering the tops of her cheeks. she so desperately wanted to be able to shake that off, but she was sure hunter had already noticed it, so there was hardly a point. as hunter loosened his hold on her, sofia leaned back slightly to watch him and she grinned. “i’ll agree that chocolate is better, but your company is fab. and, as it happens, i have the day off, too. so we can spend all day just cuddling and talking. what a dream.” she lifted her hand to her head and rested the back of it against her forehead, pretending to swoon. sofia threw herself back into hunter’s chest and tilted her head back a little to catch his eyes and she grinned. “we’re silly together, aren’t we?”

     the blush on her cheeks was enough to make hunter bust out a big grin and a soft laugh. he didn’t dwell on it, though, and knew better than to bring it up. ❝ please. don’t act like there isn’t a handful of guys you could be spending your time with other than me. ❞ he joked, although deep down inside there was the tiniest sliver of jealousy. another laugh escaped his lips at her words, their eyes meeting for a brief second before hunter looked away. she was really the only one he’d willingly dedicate a whole day to aside from a couple of others that he could somewhat tolerate. hunter was irritable towards most, and just in general. ❝ very silly. ❞ he nodded in agreement. there was something that happened merely a day ago and it wouldn’t leave his brain no matter how hard he tried to occupy his mind. sofia seemed as good a person as any to share his thoughts with considering they’d usually confided in each other. ❝ my parents called me, ❞ hunter started, ❝ they wanted me to send them money from my next paycheck. ❞ his tone was a mixture of seriousness and partial disbelief that they’d bothered contacting him at all. the atmosphere in the room no longer full of jokes and playfulness. ❝ can you fucking believe that? ❞ he realized this probably wasn’t the kind of conversation to have first thing in the morning and attempted to change the subject. ❝ anyways, you excited to go to fiji? ❞

sofia smiled down at hunter, humming as she noticed the blush spreading across his skin. her hand lifted to brush her thumb over his cheekbone, hand pressing against his skin. “you’re the cutest, hunter. don’t feel bad for it. i’m used to it by now, you know i’m just teasing you, silly. and yeah, i guess i’d have to say that you did win. but that’s only because i wasn’t ready and you know it.” sofia’s hand stopped moving across the nightstand and she turned her head to look at hunter, a grin present on her features. “i don’t know, you certainly seem like the type of guy to pinch all my chocolate when i’m not looking.” and then he told her what had really happened and she gasped, lifting her hand to her chest. “oh, goodness gracious. we really went and finished all that last night? what a mess we both are.” she had donned a southern accent as she spoke, though it began to fade out as she finished speaking. sofia was rather good at mimicking accents due to the amount of passengers they had from different places around the world. but it was hard for her to maintain it for a long time. she giggled as hunter wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. it actually was very nice to be that close to him and cuddle him. “i think you’re gonna have to find something else for me to enjoy, hunter. it’s so sad. it’s all gone and i’m just.. i’m just so lonely without it!” they were both a pair of goofs but it was why they were so close and got on so well.

      he tried to ignore the warm feeling in his chest at having sofia so close, this had been happening a little more recently in the time he’d known her. he wasn’t quite sure why, but somehow this girl had managed to hold a special place in his closed off heart. he loved the time they’d spend together whether there was an activity to do or even just sitting and talking about anything. hunter still wasn’t quite ready for that kind of a romantic commitment and lord knows he wouldn’t try to suggest otherwise to her. ❝ pretty girl like you? you’ll never ever be lonely. ❞ he teased, arms loosening their hold on her ever so slightly. his gaze traveled up to the ceiling and his head nodded from side to side in thought. ❝ well, it’s not quite as good as chocolate but i can offer you my company? i’ve got off from work today and nothing planned. ❞

               ‘ i ate a brownie the other day & it was magnificent. pretty intense feeling , almost felt as though i was floating. ’ pausing in her words , bonnie looked at the other with a small smile. ‘ oh —- oh , there was no pot in it. just was a really good brownie. ’

      he eyed bonnie curiously, not fully convinced that there wasn’t some kind of illegal narcotic in the treat considering her description of it. ❝ and that’s exactly what someone would say if there actually was. ❞ hunter said smugly before pressing his lips together to hold back a huge grin.

her head was just resting on hunter’s chest, fingers splayed on his stomach. “you know, you kept kicking me all night. it was really fucking annoying.” she laughed a little, pressing her hand a little harder onto him to push herself up into a seated position. sofia stretched her arms above her head and groaned, the feeling of her muscles pulling far too good after a long night of rest. “do we have any of that chocolate left? it was really fucking good. i want to know exactly where they got that from. and then i’m gonna buy it in boxes and store it in my room.” she was only partially kidding, but sofia had a real soft spot for some good chocolate. the type of chocolate that had marshmallows in and just melted in her mouth. it was heavenly. reaching over hunter, sofia reached around on the nightstand, humming quietly. “it must be here somewhere. and if you tell me you ate it whilst i was asleep, totally gonna cry my eyes out.” // @hunterbrcoks

      there was a slight blush that spread across his tan cheeks at the mention of him throwing his legs around, he had a bad habit of doing that sometimes and it made him a hard person to sleep next to. ❝ my bad, sof. i didn’t mean to sleep fight you, but tell me... did i win? ❞ he chuckled slightly, shifting a little to get himself more comfortable once she was sitting up. hunter’s eyes followed the blonde’s movements as she reached for the chocolate that had already been devoured by the two of them. ❝ i’m a little offended you’d think i’d do that to you. ❞ he fake gasped for added dramatic effect. ❝ i’m also pretty sure we finished it, though. there’s no way to replace it because that stuff was from back home. ❞ hunter stuck his bottom lip out in a pout before pulling the girl back to his chest, arms wrapping around her frame as he rocked her back and forth gently. ❝ oh, poor little sofia. how ever will you manage without my delicious chocolate? ❞

“i swear, god is tryin’ to make my life miserable,” temple started, climbing up into a barstool. her hands flew to her face, covering her eyes in utter defeat. “it’s like he wants me to suffer. that policy about hookin’ up with passengers has to be the worst thing that has ever happened to me,” she sighed, shaking her head in her hands. “like, the amount of fuckin’ hot guys and girls that i have seen aboard this damn ship…” temple trailed off, her hands now moving in dramatic gestures in front of her. 

      usually, hunter was both amused and annoyed by temple’s actions and mannerisms. she was a little too much sometimes but right now, on his third beer, he really didn’t care. ❝ who gives a shit? ❞ he replied with a simple shrug. in truth, maybe two or three times he may or may not have broken that rule although somehow he managed not to get caught yet. ❝ i say do whatever the fuck you want as long as you don’t make a big stink about it. ❞

“some of the passengers here are just.. infuriating.” he usually got on quite well for everybody, but when passengers got drunk and tried to fight him because he refused them entry into the casino? yeah, he hated them more than anything. “where i come from, what security says goes. and yet, i come here and security means nothing to people. i guess that happens when you just throw money at your problems, though.” xavier rubbed his hand over his face and flashed a smile at the other. “anyway, sorry for whinging about my own crappy shift. how was yours?”

      hunter nodded as he listened to the xavier go on about work drama, only somewhat listening to what he had to say. ❝ i don’t know, these days people just love to hate on any type of authority figure. everybody wants to stick it to the man or some shit. ❞ he shrugged at the other’s question about his own shift, brows somewhat furrowed together as he wracked his brain for anything that stood out. ❝ oh y’know, same as everyday. just a handful of people sending back their food saying it wasn’t what they ordered when it actually fuckin’ was. ❞