I breathed deeply as she walked away, inhaling the musty air from the Calypso's oxygen scrubbers. It was a beautiful ship, the first of many luxury submarines to follow. It was set up only for shallow dives, much of the hull being made of reinforced glass. It was equipped with a full gym, as well as a basketball court and showers. There were ninety-one employees aboard the Calypso at all times, along with the roughly 400 tourists who came along for "an experience like none before" as the pamphlet put it. I could certainly believe it. The three days I had spent on this ship had been the best I could remember, with the painfully noticeable exception of The Girl. Her name was The Girl because I had yet to introduce myself to her, even though I felt there was no need to, that we had already met. God she was so beautiful, if only I could remember what she looked like...
There were no other people to disturb the delicious silence of the submarine today though. There was a party on the island we had docked at the day before, and anyone who thought they were anyone was there. I made no such pretenses. I had the whole day to myself, and was looking forward to working up a good sweat in the gym before a long day of reading. Fortunately, that was doomed to never happen.
I was ensured personally by the captain that I would have the whole day to myself, so that's why it came as such a surprise when I saw Her standing outside my door.
"So sorry to bother you, I know you wanted to be alone, but—I have a problem," she said, her hands rubbing nervously at the edge of her khaki shorts.
I favored her with a small smirk. I wasn't going to make this easy for her, no matter how much I wanted her. "Not a problem. How can I help?"
"Well," she started, her eyes focusing anywhere but on mine, "I need to use your shower. I heard you'd be on board, and I don't want to go to the showers in the gym alone."
An unusual request to be sure, but one I could understand. The showers were down a deck, and it could be creepy when it was quiet. "Sure, come on in," I said, passing my card through the slot and opening the door. "I just hope you don't mind a little music. I can't read in silence." That was an absolute lie, but I was in the mood for a little of the old love master Barry White.
I heard a voice from the bathroom. "Umm...your shower is broken. I guess we'll have to go down to the gym, if you would please, please go with me?" There was no way I could turn her down, not when she was begging like that.
"Sure let's go," was my immediate reply. So much for Mr. White.