Sunday, April 21st, Day 1.
Dear diary,
Alice is a bitch. She's a cunt, a dick, a heel, and a shitty friend, and I'm talking Judas Iscariot level bad friend.
Here's what happened:
Since we live in different parts of the country, we agreed to meet on board. After all the hassle of travel and the security screening, I made my way down to our assigned cabin. It's small, with two twin beds and a tiny, airline-cramped, bathroom, although with a shower. There's no window, since we booked as cheaply as possible. After all, we reasoned, we weren't planning on spending any time awake in the cabin..
My suitcase was there, but Alice's wasn't. I wondered if she'd handed hers over at a different security point, so it was taking longer to get down here.
Just then, my phone binged. It was a text from Alice.
"Sorry, Jason booked last minute trip to Vegas for us, so gotta bail. Sure u'll meet lots of gr8 people. Hav fun!"
Fucking bitch! We'd been planning this cruise together for over six months, now she dumped me at the last minute for that loser!
I slumped back onto one of the beds, tears welling in my eyes. What a shitty friend! I mean, she was never someone I could count on, not the type of friend you'd ever call on in a crisis, but still...
Should I get off, go home? I couldn't get my money back, but did I want to be all alone on this huge cruise liner, where I didn't know a soul?
Slowly it dawned on me. I didn't know anyone, but then no-one knew me. For a week, I could be someone else if I wanted. Someone who lived an exciting life. I didn't have to be Rachel, assistant lecturer in classics at a second-rate college, I could be a fun girl, a girl who partied, a girl who guys paid attention to. I might even get laid. God, it had been so long...
It's not that I'm bad looking - on the contrary, I'm quite pretty, and I have a smoking body that I work on every day. It's just that I spend too much time worrying about what people think about me, I miss opportunities, I turn down guys that are interested in me because I think they'd be turned off when they met the real me. I'm a worrier, a procrastinator.
But now I don't have to be. I've made up my mind. For this week, I'm going to be someone else. I'll give in to impulses, I'll drink and flirt and dance and have fun.
This alternate me needed a name. The boring, practical Rachel chimed in, "you have monogrammed luggage - you need to pick a name that starts with R". As if anyone would be paying attention to a suitcase, but the name "Roxanne" jumped in to my head.
I've never met anyone named Roxanne, but it seems like a bad girl's name, the kind of girl who would have sex on a first date, something Rachel has NEVER done.
I've decided to be Rachel in the AM, and Roxanne in the PM for the rest of the cruise, but just for tonight, I'm letting Rachel have her way - it's been a really long day, driving to the airport, a layover, standing in line, stressing about Alice.
Goodnight, Diary.
Monday, April 22nd, Day 2.
Dear Diary,
This morning, Rachel had her run and a yoga class, followed by a nice, relaxing swim, but in the afternoon, Roxanne went shopping.
I spent hours browsing the multitude of stores on board, and bought some sexy underwear, a negligee and some perfume Rachel considered way too whorish.
I had a leisurely dinner, then headed back to my room. On the way back, I got a nagging feeling in the back of my mind - there was something Roxanne would never go out without. I stopped by the pharmacy and studied the vast selection of condoms. What would Roxanne buy? Extra large, "ribbed for her pleasure". This was the first big test of the Roxanne persona. Rachel had always found the idea of buying condoms mortifying, but Roxanne had no problem. I sauntered up to the counter, the sales girl rang them up without even looking up at me and I handed over the cash (a little bit of Rachel there, worried about the naughty purchase being traced back to her) and strolled back to my cabin, dizzy with the ridiculous little success I'd just had.
I'd bought a box of twelve and, back in my cabin, I used up four practicing putting them on a banana. I figured Roxanne was the kind of girl who would take the initiative in this situation. Then Rachel took the used ones down the hall to a trash can, so the maid wouldn't find them in her room.
I took a long shower and took great pains with shaving. For only the second time in my life, I shaved my pussy. Roxanne DEFINITELY went bare. It felt so nice, all smooth and velvety. I wondered if I could really summon up the courage to let someone touch it this week.
Once dry, I put on a white, lacy g-string I'd just bought and then pulled my little black dress out of the closet. As you may remember, dear Diary, I bought it a few years ago in a fit of madness, and since my mother always told me "a lady shows legs or cleavage, but never both", I've never worn it before.
It looked sensational on me. It really emphasized my trim figure, and the built-in underwired bra pushed my small boobs up to spectacular effect. It was scandalously short, I'd have to be careful about sitting down. But that was Rachel thinking - maybe Roxanne might like to flash a little panty!
I thought about what to do with my hair. Instead of Rachel's ponytail, Roxanne wore her hair up, with a few sultry whisps trailing across her face. I put on the siren-red lipstick Roxanne bought that day, and made sure to emphasize my eyes.
In the little clutch bag went the lipstick, my phone, and a couple of condoms. I felt so deliciously slutty!
I headed to the bar and got myself a cosmopolitan (that's what sexy girls drink, right, Diary?) and settled myself on a bar stool to listen to the surprisingly good lounge singer. I was way too early (thanks, Rachel,) and it took a while for the scene to liven up, but eventually a small group of good-looking guys arrived and took a booth. I noticed a few glances in my direction. Shortly, a dark-haired guy came up to the bar. They had waitress service, so I knew he was coming up to talk to me.
He stood by me and ordered himself a drink. With what seemed like a monumental effort, he turned to me.
"Um, can I buy you a drink?"
Rachel would have said, "I already have one," and looked at him scornfully. He would have slunk away, and Rachel would spend the rest of the evening scolding herself.
"Thanks," smiled Roxanne, "I'd love another cosmo."
He ordered the drink, and I drained the one I was holding. So far, so good.
We sipped our drinks, and made awkward small talk.
We agreed that the ship was big, the cabins small, the shopping selection huge, some of the people even huger.
He made a few lame jokes, and I laughed as if they were funny. I was actually having a good time.
All though this, he kept making what I'm sure he thought were surreptitious glances at my cleavage.
Eventually, I said "do you want to see them?"
He blushed a deep red, and began to stammer an apology.
I lifted my hand and pressed a finger to his lips.
"Do. You. Want. To. See. Them?"
He nodded dumbly.
"Then invite me to your cabin."
He looked shocked.
"Now..." I said, gently.
"Um, yes, would you like..."
"Yes," I interrupted, "lead the way."
We left the bar, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a couple of his friends giving him a thumbs-up. I grinned inwardly to myself.
We went deep down into the ship, much lower than my cabin, and his was even more cramped. After only one day aboard, it was already a pig sty, clothes and empty bottles everywhere. Rachel would never have stayed.