Erin first saw him on the top deck. She was in one of the swarm of lounge chairs on the highest point of the cruise ship called Passion of the Seas, and was admiring the beauty all around her. The sunset, the waves, the fluffy clouds meandering in a perfect blue sky, it was really something.
But then there was him.
He was by himself, wearing black board shorts and sunglasses. The rest of his body was a treat for the eyes; sculpted shoulders, six-pack abs, strong chiseled face, and a Marine Corps tattoo on his shoulder. His hair was short, and sun-kissed with specks of blond. His skin was bronzed by time outdoors, and he had the hands of a man accustomed to work. He sat comfortably by the railing, drink in hand, looking for all the world like a man at ease with the world.
Erin was in her favorite black bikini, and was proud of it. She had spent long hours in the gym for her figure, which she knew without false modesty was in a damn fine shape. Her long brown hair fell like tantalizing curtains over her 34C breasts, and her tan complemented her hair and eyes perfectly. Erin wore sunglasses too, and like to surreptitiously glance around at the meat market.
It gave her a voyeuristic thrill to be able to stare at the hunks around her without being noticed. Most of them were coupled up, but it didn't hurt anyone to look. Children surged around the deck and their long-suffering parents followed close behind, but she paid them no mind. She couldn't help imagining the touch of those strong hands on her shoulders, that stubble against her cheek, and she hungrily eyed the voluminous bulge in those shorts.
There were many groups of friends sitting around chatting, and Erin overheard one group discussing the man in Spanish. They couldn't know her fluency in that tongue, and she kept her expression neutral as they salivated over this pristine male specimen. They adjusted their bikini tops and stretched their legs out on their chairs to try to catch his eye. Erin smirked slightly over her book. Amateurs.
Erin sat her book down on her chair, and boldly walked right up to the railing next to him, leaning over it to admire the ocean, practically shoulder-to-shoulder with the man.
"Can I help you?" he asked, but did not pull away.
"Yes, you can buy me a drink," she replied casually, without looking at him.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, intrigued. "I'll be right back," he said, and went to the bar. Erin glanced surreptitiously back over her shoulder at the other group of women that had been trying to entice him and reveled in the looks of shock and envy they sent her way.
People bustled while he ordered. A dad behind her in a ridiculous cowboy hat chased a large brood of noisy children. It all washed over her awareness without leaving a mark. She was a woman on a mission.
Shortly he returned with a Long Island iced tea. Still casual, Erin accepted it without a word. He leaned against the railing next to her, but still gave her personal space. That would have to change.
She wished so badly she could get a picture of this; with her looking smoking hot, next to this steamy man, with the ocean behind them. She couldn't well ask for a selfie though, that would ruin the moment.
Making a man wait was a delicate balance. A little waiting lead to anticipation and excitement. Too much led to impatience. Erin believed that she had it just right, so she spoke, "What do I call you?"
"Chester," he answered with a deep, purring timbre in his voice.
"Well Chesty," she asked, with a large dollop of teasing, "what does a girl have to do to get invited to your cabin?"
He smiled slyly. That drove Erin wild, and made her get wet. This was no boy, flabbergasted and anxious around a beautiful woman. This was a man who knew what he was doing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a keycard, then slipped it into Erin's bikini top, pushing it down snugly against her tit-flesh. The coolness and eroticism made her breasts get harder than the plastic of the card.
"One hour," he said, then sat back down in his chair as though the conversation had never happened.
Erin returned to her own chair as well, picked up her book, and resumed reading. The rectangle in her top was visible to anyone who glanced that way. After a few minutes, she got up, lifted her arms up high in a stretch that showed off her toned shoulders and firm breasts, and signaled to the man in the cowboy hat with the children.
"Yes dear, what's up?" he said with a goofy smile. Her husband was cute, in a Dudley-do-Right sort of way.