"That's it! I can't stand this anymore." Lisa yelled at Darren.
"You don't even care about me, about my needs! I'm leaving!" she continued.
"Fine! Leave then!" Darren returned.
Lisa stormed out and never looked back. She and Darren had been losing grip on their relationship over the past several months and with the passing of her grandmother and mother, the stress had become too much for Lisa to handle. Her thoughts of Darren had turned from one of attraction to total disgust over the last seven years.
Darren is a typical male, her friends would say. One who is concerned with his own interests and not yours.
Lisa was a true child of the nineties, head strong, self sufficient, confidant that she could do anything she wanted as well as any man, and she wanted out of this relationship.
They had been a couple ever since Lisa was a junior in college. She met Darren at the local college pub on her 21st birthday and felt an immediate attraction. Inexperienced in the ways of love, Lisa found herself attracted to his tall frame and sandy blonde hair.
Darren had been paying very close attention to her that evening and she knew that he wanted her from the start. Darren however didn't push her the first night which attracted Lisa even more, a true southern gentleman, she would tell herself.
Lisa was not allowed to date without a chaperone until turning eighteen. Years later she would determine that her attraction was to the freedom from her strict upbringing and not so much Darren.
Seven years and a lot of mental abuse later, Lisa had come to realize that Darren was never going to treat her the way she wanted, the way she was supposed to be treated. Her lack of experienced kept Lisa from ever knowing what she was missing, but she had heard other woman talk about their great sex lives and Lisa began to wonder.
When Darren came home one night smelling of beer and sex, she knew that she was over him. Darren even tried to have sex with Lisa that same night, but he only wanted to fuck. Thoughts of Lisa's enjoyment were the last thing on his mind. Lisa knew then that she could leave without feeling any guilt.
Frequently reminiscing about that night, Lisa convinced herself it was the right decision. She and Darren had planned on taking a winter cruise together; they had booked it and paid for it in full. Now it was only a week away and Lisa was considering canceling the whole trip, however, when she found out she couldn't get any of her money back, she decided that she would take the vacation alone.
The week prior to her vacation was filled with troubles. Her job was making many demands as a production manager, but with the added stress of taking a vacation alone, it only made the work issues seem worse.
Lisa had decided before entering college that she wanted to be a career woman and this added work was the price she would pay. Family life could wait. Now that her career was well entrenched, she looked forward to any rewards that might come along.
Traveling was nothing new to her, but vacations were usually a weekend to a Florida beach or along the Alabama coast, nothing ever exotic. That's why she was looking forward to this cruise, she was actually going to leave the country and sail off to the Caribbean beaches she'd seen in the travel brochures.
The day had come and Lisa was still considering not going. It took Herculean effort to drag herself to the airport, but after several months since the breakup, Lisa realized this would be her best opportunity to make a new start. She boarded her Delta flight from Huntsville and flew non stop to Miami where she then took a taxi to the Port of Miami and boarded her cruise ship.
Passengers milled about the ship, making themselves accustomed to the nuances of the ships layout, locating the bars and restaurants and waiting for their luggage to arrive to their cabins.
Lisa was no different. She walked to her cabin on the Sky deck, cabin 108 her ticket read. It was large for a cruise ship, with a large floor to ceiling window and balcony that overlooked the pool deck.
Lisa was well armed with her latest Stephen King novel and began to read while sitting on her balcony. A loud laughter arose from the deck below and Lisa was drawn to a dark haired man. He was older than her, she thought, maybe forty? She watched him for a moment, her eyes searching the deck for a female companion and finding none.
"That doesn't mean he's alone Lisa." she scolded herself.
Still, she watched him. His smile was genuine and his manner seemed confident. He looked comfortable while sitting at the table with the others. He was not the center of attention, but it obviously didn't bother him.
"Does he know those people? He must! What am I thinking?"
Lisa returned to her book, but not before she snuck another look at the dark haired man.
Part TWO
Alan D'Entremont was a hard worker. His company had survived the rough times and was again thriving. Sales were approaching the previous watermark of four years ago, so he decided to reward his sales staff by taking them on a cruise.
Having recently divorced his wife of twenty one years, Alan was taking the trip as a bachelor, which was something new for him. The divorce was a direct result of Alan trying desperately to save his company from going bankrupt, which left little time for his wife. She found a new lover and left him as a single man for the past year. He vowed never to settle down again.
Alan was enjoying the company of his employee's and wanted to make sure to entertain them, but didn't want to interfere with their vacation, so he made arrangements to take a tour of the ship and left them at their table saying that he'd see them later that evening at dinner.
He tipped his head back to finish his drink and noticed a dark haired woman looking in his direction. She was younger than him that was obvious. Long dark hair, mid-back, maybe longer, ample breasts and toned body. She wore white shorts and a sleeveless knit top and she had a book in her hands, but Alan couldn't make out the title or author.
The one thing he could make out was her beauty. His fanciful thoughts of her quickly vanished as he was sure she was with a boyfriend or husband. He took his eyes off her and walked towards the main deck to begin his ships tour.
Lisa watched the dark haired man leave and suddenly felt a pang of regret. There was something about his mannerism that appealed to her. She could only hope to meet him before the cruise was over, but with more than two thousand people aboard, not counting the crew, she wasn't going to hold her breath.
The evening rapidly approached and Lisa got ready for dinner. Unlike many of the newer ships, this ship still maintained the traditional first and second dining arrangements with the same people every night.
Lisa was ready for anything and was looking forward to making some new friends. She dressed in a pleated skirt with a white sweater. Underneath she wore a lace bra and panties to match. Lisa looked at herself in the mirror and was pleased with her look. She left her cabin to begin the first evening's meal.
At dinner Lisa was seated with seven others, two couples and two other single women traveling together. One couple, Albert and Louise were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
Lisa was taken in by their charm immediately. Louise was the talker and Albert was the kindly gentleman. The other couple was celebrating their own anniversary while the single girls were hunting men. They weren't much younger than Lisa in age, but Lisa didn't feel like playing the big sister role and decided to talk with the older couple mostly.
"Albert is such a wonderful man," Louise said.
"Years ago, I told Albert I'd be good in one room in the house. I could clean the bathrooms, cook the meals or cook in the bedroom." she continued with a twinkle in her eye.
