This is the beginning of the sequel to Within the Shadows. Though you would get a different experience by reading the first series before starting this one, I am writing this so that reading the first isn't an absolute requirement for understanding the story. The experience will be different whether you have read part one or not before starting on this, but different isn't always better. The choice is yours. This first part of the sequel is a bit long winded with a lot of setup and very little payoff, but I feel as though it was necessary to establish some of the characters. I hope you enjoy this tale!
*****
Part One
The Ship
A Rough Divorce
Rebecca set on the edge of the bed in her room on the top floor of the cruise ship. This was only the second day of her ten-day vacation and she was already ready to return home. Leah, her mother, and Judith, her aunt had paid for the cruise in an attempt to make her forget her recent divorce which had been a heartbreaking experience. She half listened as her mother and aunt playfully argued about something while she fully concentrated on the sounds of her heart pumping blood through her veins.
She thought Stan was the love of her life. The only one she would ever want to be with. The man that would make her a mother. The man who would grow old with her. Instead, she had decided to visit him in his office to find him having sex with his secretary right there on his desk. She thought about the only image she was able to focus on at that time. The picture of her and her husband falling over the front of the desk as that whore's ass was shoved back.
Almost one year later and she found herself newly divorced and on a cruise with her mother and aunt. How much more pathetic could her life get?
"Rebecca," her mother's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see both her mother and aunt looking at her concerned.
"Sorry," Rebecca said softly as she tried to shake her depressing thoughts away. "Did you say something?"
"You know, I've been thinking," Leah said thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure I know what you need to get your mind off of that deadbeat loser."
"And that is," Rebecca asked arching an eyebrow. Even though her hate for Stan was true, she didn't like others speaking negatively of him. What was wrong with her?
"You need a good fucking," Judith said with a smile, causing Leah to give the woman a sharp look before turning back to Rebecca.
"Although I don't like the phrasing Judith so lovingly used," Leah stated, offering Judith another sharp glance. "I agree. You need to get out there and have some fun. You're single now and we're never going to see these people again so there's no need to worry about embarrassing meetings once we're back home."
Rebecca couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her aunt had always been a bit eccentric and tended to have a new boyfriend every other week, but her mother had only dated two men since her father had left her twenty years ago.
"I don't know what to say," Rebecca admitted as she stood up from the bed. "How could you make a suggestion like that? What kind of woman do you think I am?"
"Human," Leah stated calmly as she approached Rebecca and place an arm on her shoulder. "You think he's been waiting? Hell, he wasn't even waiting while you were married. It's not cheating. You are doing nothing wrong."
"I never said it was cheating," Rebecca snapped, pulling away from her mother's grasp. "I'm just not ready. That's all"
"You'll never be ready," Judith said as she walked up to Rebecca and smiled. "You have to just jump in, honey."
"I'm going out," Rebecca said in a tone a bit firmer than she intended. "I'll be back in a bit." She turned and walked out of the room. She turned down the hallway and headed toward the large pool that sat in the center of the top deck.
The Bet
Dixie sat at a table in the bar on the top deck of the cruise ship with her two best friends; Jackie and Melanie. She held a single ten-sided dice and smiled at her two friends.
"I don't know about this, Dixie," Melanie said as she nervously looked around the bar at all the people.
"You agreed to this dare last night," Dixie teased as she brushed her free hand through her straight dark brown hair and blew a large bubble of gum causing to pop and stick to the outsides of her lips. She slid her tongue around and pulled the gum back into her mouth.
"I was drunk," Melanie protested in a forced whisper.
"We were all drunk," Jackie said as she nudged Melanie with her shoulder. "Besides, this'll be fun."
"Totally fun," Dixie said with a giggle. "There's nothing to worry about. We roll the dice, find one man for each of us, split up and have the man we chose fuck us in whatever way the dice says."
"This sounds extremely slutty is all," Melanie said as she looked over her shoulder.
"Who the fuck cares, Melanie," Dixie said with a laugh. "We are like a million miles from home. You don't have to marry him. Just fuck him."
Dixie and Jackie stared at Melanie until she finally shrugged.
"Fine," Melanie huffed. "But I'm not going to like this."
"That's a bad way to start this off," Jackie said, giving Melanie another nudge with her shoulder.
"Like it or not, it doesn't matter," Dixie stated as she opened her hand to reveal the dice. "It's time to roll and we might as well start with you. Have you picked your man yet?"
Melanie looked over her shoulder again before turning back and blushing.
"The guy in the black shirt and tanned shorts," she said bashfully. "But I don't even know if he'll want to take me."
"You're like totally hot Melanie," Dixie said, reaching across the table and pinching her friend on the arm. "He'll want you."
Dixie rolled the dice in her hand before releasing it on the table. The tree girls closed in as they watched it roll around until it stopped.
"Number three," Dixie said as she unfolded the piece of paper and ran her finger down until she found the third line. "You're lucky! Cowgirl. All you have to do is ride his dick."
"Okay," Melanie sighed.
"Now let's roll to see where you have him cum," Dixie said as she smiled in anticipation. Melanie sucked in her breath once more as the dice tumbled across the table and landed on a seven. Dixie found the seventh line on the second column and laughed.
"What is it," Melanie demanded as her eyes widened.
"You have to have him cum on your face," Dixie said smiling. "Not too bad considering some of the other options."
"Me next," Jackie said with anticipation written on her face.
Dixie laughed in delight at Jackie's excitement as she rolled the dice once more.
"Seven for the position is doggy style," Dixie read before rolling again. "And one for cum is the vagina. Hope your birth control is current."
