It would be an incredibly stupid thing to do, but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen. If only he would stop looking at her, she might be able to get a grip.
Fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, depending on the way you looked at it, Selene took the opportunity to put herself out there a little further.
"Adam, you have got to stop that, okay? Seriously, you're killing me," she said, flashing her dazzling smile and arching her back like a cat.
Juri was overcome by an almost overwhelming urge to copy the liquid movement. It was such a strong desire that she had to pull her knees up to her chest and wrap her arms around them tight to keep herself out.
The desire, both for Adam and to emulate her new friend, frightened her. It was too much, the kind of too much that threatened to take a person over if she wasn't very, very careful.
"Stop what, sugar?" Adam asked playfully.
It hardly seemed possible, but his smile got even wider than it had been only a couple of seconds ago. A little bit of a Southern drawl came out on the word "sugar," and Juri's heart melted all the more. It was a bittersweet feeling at best.
She was an observant girl, and even if she wasn't, it didn't take a genius to see that all of the man's attention was focused on Selene.
Not that she should be surprised. Everything about Selene practically screamed sex, right down to her spicy personality. Juri wasn't sure what she screamed, but it most definitely wasn't that.
"Oh, don't even," Selene squealed, really getting into the act now.
She stood slowly, bending over suggestively in a way that certainly made her attentions bold to the Captain. The ball was in his court now and it would be up to him to return the swerve.
By the time she stood at her full five-foot-seven height, Adam was drooling. He had every right to be. The teaser of Selene's full c cup was enough to do the trick for most red-blooded men.
He was no exception to the rule. Selene pretended not to notice that Adam was salivating over her boobs. Juri was quite sure, that for good measure Selene did that classic Marilyn Monroe come hither pose by having placed her hands on her hips and jutted them out at an angle.
"You're quite the character, Selene. Have I told you how glad I am to have you on this ship?" Adam asked.
He took a step closer to Selene and almost, but not quite brushed a wayward strand of hair out of her face. Juri cleared her throat, then cleared it again, and louder this time.
The aim was to make Selene and the good captain aware of her continued presence, just in case their extreme flirtation had driven that little detail straight from their hormone-hopped-up brain.
When it didn't work, she sighed and stood. Her rising blush had a lot to do with Selene's over-the-top flirting and the fact that Adam didn't so much as twitch a glance in her direction. Selene's face was smug and she looked straight at Juri and smiled triumphantly. She threaded an arm through Juri's and pulled her in close.
"Captain -" She started saucily.
"Oh God, don't do that. Don't call me captain. Just Adam, okay? I like it better that way," Adam answered.
"Captain," Selene continued, Juri was quite sure in a bid to rile him up all the more, "I wanted to make sure that you say hello to my new friend. Will you look at her? How am I supposed to compete with a gal like this?"
"Hi, nice to meet you," Adam said obligingly. His voice was friendly, but in Juri's mind, it was a politician's friendly. It was nothing like the way he responded to Selene, whom she was ready to kill right about now. She tugged her arm free of Selene's grip and folded her arms over her chest as if it was going to cover anything up.
"Hello, sir," she said meekly.
"Nope, not sir. What I said to Selene here applied to you as well."
"Oh, um, okay. Then hello, Adam," she responded.
God, she sounded so lame! She wished fervently that she could just vanish, poof, right then and there. When it didn't happen, she took one step back and then another, wanting only to widen the existing space.
All at once, she felt very strongly that this was not the place where she belonged. On the ship, yes, okay. She still felt that new inclusion like a warm blanket. But here?
Witnessing this exchange between a man she found irresistible and her best friend on the ship? Three's a crowd, it was time for her to make her escape.
"Hey Juri, where do you think you're going?" Selene asked with a frown. It was like the broad was reading her mind.
"I'm going to go for a little walk, I think," she answered lamely.
"Oh, come on, I don't see the point in doing something like that. It's a ship, Juri. The only place you're going to walk is in circles."
"I know," Juri said with a hesitant laugh, "but you have to remember, this is my first time sailing on a ship. I think walking will help. Help me get my sea legs, you know?"
"Alright, suit yourself," Selene shrugged, "but don't wander around too long, okay? We need to get to work on my master plan!"
"Master plan? Do I even want to know?" Juri asked, her head instantly filling with such an acute sense of dread that it was almost comical.
"No, you don't, Juri. Better to be surprised!" Selene laughed delightedly. Adam joined in, and Juri attempted to do so as well.
Her contribution was only half-hearted, but it was passable for her friends. She could still hear the two of them laughing when she rounded the corner of the deck. It made her wish to rejoin them and to get as far away as possible, all at the same time.