Free Royally Lost by Angie Stanton

answered, checking the area for Dylan. “Becca, you’re getting red. Did you put on sunscreen today?”
    “No. I guess I forgot.”
    “You can’t afford to forget. Good skin is your best asset when you get older. Look at my skin, it’s still porcelain perfect. Here, I’ve got some in my bag.” Vicky dug around in her bag until she pulled out a travel-sized tube.
    Becca accepted the tube and applied sunscreen to her arms, shoulders, and neckline. “Thanks.”
    “Don’t forget your face,” Vicky nagged.
    Becca sighed and gave in. She’d worked hard on her makeup so it looked perfect. Now she smeared sunscreen over her blush. She handed the tube back.
    “When did you say Dylan was coming back?” Vicky asked.
    “I thought right away, but maybe he stopped for something to drink,” Becca lied.
    “I don’t think we should wait any longer,” her dad said in predictable fashion. He couldn’t be inconvenienced by his kids, even for a lousy picture on a trip they didn’t want to take.
    “I suppose you’re right,” Vicky replied. “Becca, tell Dylan he shouldn’t leave you alone like this. It’s not safe. Be sure you two stick together.”
    “I will.” Becca crossed her fingers behind her back.
    Finally her dad and Vicky wandered away down a side street toward the beer garden where they would taste different beers for the next two hours and then stagger back to their cabin for a nap as the boat departed.
    Becca spent those two hours with her stomach grumbling, waiting for Nikolai. If she didn’t take a chance and wait for him now, she’d never see him again. They’d met several times by fate and she was sure they’d used up all their luck.
    At two o’clock, she bit back her pride and accepted the fact that Nikolai didn’t want to see her again. That or a terrible accident had happened and she refused to believe that. He probably met some other girl on vacation and took her for a ride on his cycle. Or maybe, he was kissing her in a dark museum library somewhere.
    The only thing that made this day less humiliating was that no one would know about it, except Dylan. Hopefully he wouldn’t rub it in her face too much, because she really couldn’t bear it.
    When Ethan dumped her the day of graduation, the whole school knew, which made going to grad parties pure torture.
    Hungry and needing a bathroom, she stopped first at the public restroom and begrudgingly paid the attendant the required euro. As she washed her hands, the mirror revealed her sunburned face. She groaned. On the way back toward the boat, she stopped at a little grocery store and bought Cheetos and a Snickers bar. Even though the packaging was written in a foreign script, the food tasted familiar and comforting, like home.
    She wandered back to the ship, burying her disappointment in her junk food snacks.
    Back on board, she locked herself in her bathroom in case Dylan showed up. She didn’t want him to know what a fool she’d been, falling for a guy with dusty blond hair, eyes deep like the ocean, and kisses that made her forget herself.
    She held her head in her hands. How could she be so gullible and think some random hot guy would be interested in her? Had he been laughing at her all along? She didn’t think so. She truly felt she’d found a nice guy.
    The cabin door creaked open and shut. Dylan was back. Great. He’d want to know how her day went and then, even if he didn’t speak the words, his eyes would say, I told you so .
    He knocked on the bathroom door. “Becca, hurry up. I’ve got something to show you,” he called.
    She sighed. Might as well get it over with. She looked into the mirror. Sad eyes stared back from her sunburned face. She forced a smile and looked like an idiot. Her frown returned.
    “Yeah, what is it?” She left the privacy of the bathroom and plopped down on her single bed, avoiding looking at Dylan or the sunny day outside the open balcony door.
    “So how was your date?”
    Becca glared at