The Cruise 14

Disclaimers:

Mine, all mine. Female loving. No violence. Please, please, please give me feedback. I will cry if you don't :)

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I've been told that many interesting things happen on ships. Well, I was just about to find out. Standing in front of the huge line cruiser, I gaped in awe as I kept raising my head higher and higher, trying to capture its enormity with one glance. I've never been on a ship before and I hoped to God that I wouldn't find out I was sea sick on the 14 days cruise. I've thought about going on a cruise for a while but never found the opportunity. As luck would have it, I won this cruise on radio show. I was the lucky caller who guessed the correct answer to one of their stupid questions, and surprisingly enough, won this luxury cruise. I hoped the ship would last to the end of the cruise. You never knew with these radio shows and their prizes; I for one had never trusted them.

I climbed the stairs leading into the ship's lobby and was happily greeted by a smiling crew of men and women in white uniforms. The lobby entrance looked similar to any other kind of "land" hotel, with a reception area, where I received my cabin key, stairs leading to the upper and lower floors, an elevator, and a million other passengers crowding around. Quickly making my way through the throng, I found my cabin easily and opened the door. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't on the lowest deck, but rather comfortably in the middle. The cabin was roomy enough for one person, with two beds nailed to the wall on either side of a wooden/metal table. The bathroom was slightly to the side, and a small closet was to the left of the door. Overall, it didn't look half as bad as I'd imagined. It was an inner cabin and so didn't have a window, but I figured I wouldn't be spending too much time in there anyhow, so it shouldn't matter one or way or the other.

I was happily surprised to find that my luggage had been brought up and placed safely in my room. Picking my suitcase up and putting it on the available bed, I began rummaging through, arranging a few of the things I wanted to wear later and hanging them in the closet. Freshening up in the bathroom, I decided to look around the ship and acquaint myself. Locking the door, I traveled down the long corridor and reached the reception area. Going up the stairs, one of the ship's larger lounges revealed itself to me. I stepped inside and looked around. There was a stage near the door, tucked into a kind of niche in the wall, with a large round platform in front, made for dancing. Long leather couches surrounded the platform on all sides, and behind them, there were many chairs and sofas scattered around nailed tables. A seemingly well equipped bar stood to the side, open for business. People were still milling about, trying to acquaint themselves as much as me, I assumed; either that or they were surrounding the complimentary refreshments. Taking my leave, I headed toward the other end of the ship, stumbling upon a second, smaller bar. Continuing straight ahead, I found the dining room, one of them at least, and then decided to climb the stair to the next floor. On the upper deck, I found three swimming pools, a fairly large casino, a second, more exclusive restaurant and another, smaller dance club. Heading back down, I found a movie theater, an equipped gym and three different duty free shops. The ship exceeded all my expectations and I was positively glowing with happiness at having answered that silly question on that radio show I never listen to. This was going to be an unforgettable experience, I could feel in my bones; I just didn't realize how unforgettable it would actually turn out to be.

After the tiring "sightseeing" I decided to go back to my cabin and perhaps rest a bit before the ship left port. An hour later, I was standing outside, on the deck, among hundreds of other people, waving at hundreds more I didn't know, as the ship slowly raised its anchor and began drifting away from the pier. The weather was bright and sunny and the sea was a beautiful blue/green color, calm and smooth. The air was salty and humid though and I joined the rest of the passengers as they walked back inside the cool interior. An announcement rang through the ship's speakers, letting us know that lunch was served in both dining rooms and we were welcome to head on over. Feeling my stomach grumbling a bit in hunger, I followed the forming line and went to the self-service dining room. I wanted to try both and would do so in the fourteen days I was to spend on the cruise.

Lunch was wonderful, the food was tasty and the throng, though seemingly man-hungry, was quite polite and civilized, making the self-service experience into a rather pleasant one. Stomach full and satisfied, I made my way to the main lounge where I had seen the stage located. I could hear music coming from the room and went to investigate. A live band was playing on the stage. There were four male band members and two singers, one male, one female. They sang in beautiful harmony, interpreting a few of my favorite tunes, and I took a seat on one of the leather couches in front. The male singer had a deep baritone voice that intertwined perfectly with the female singer's light alto. He had on a flashy orange shirt and white pants, and she wore a short black dress with spaghetti straps. They looked good on stage and I was impressed. I always did enjoy fine singing, and talented people in general.

I kept listening for almost an hour when they thanked the small crowd of passengers and left the stage. I was just about to leave the lounge when one of the most stunning visions I had ever encountered entered the room. She walked across the dance platform, standing with her back to the passengers; she exchanged a few words with the two singers. The two nodded and quickly left the stage to do her bidding. She was wearing a white naval officer's jacket and a white mini-skirt with a pair of white pumps. She had flowing blonde hair that reached past her shoulders and when she finally turned around I noticed the pair of gorgeous piercing blue eyes. Looking around, she barely made eye contact with anyone in the vicinity and left.

Sitting like a jackass with my mouth probably gaping open and drooling, I tried to collect myself and spring from my glued spot on the couch. The leather made a squeaky noise, causing the remaining band members to turn my way. I smiled crookedly and said, "You guys were great."

The guys smiled back at me and thanked me. Before I could rush out after the knock out blonde and make her acquaintance, the band members came over to me. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I don't look too bad either, if I do say so myself. I'm fairly tall for a woman; towering over most men at 5'10, have short chestnut hair and deep black eyes. I was wearing one of my favorite tight blue jeans and I guess I had caught the young men's attention. The keyboard player introduced himself as Jessie; a 30 year old man with black hair and brown eyes, handsome and charming. The guitarist was Ray, quite the opposite of Jessie with his shortly cropped blonde hair, cute boyish grin and blue, puppy dog eyes. The drummer and bass player were a little older, married with children, and they quickly excused themselves to go for a smoke.

"I'm Karen. It's nice to meet you guys."

"The pleasure is all mine," said Jessie, charmingly kissing the back of my hand.

I smiled, flattered, and decided they might be a good source of information concerning the stunning blonde I was desperately seeking. As if we'd known each other for years, we began talking and swapping stories. I quickly learned that they weren't much for small talk, and since I wasn't either, we encountered many silent moments, which surprisingly enough weren't uncomfortable. Eventually, the two singers joined us as well. I learned that the female singer's name was Julia and the male was Antonio. Antonio wasn't what you'd call gorgeous, but he had a certain charm about him that made him handsomer than many men I knew. Julia was beautiful, however, in the conventional way as in the other; meaning, both on the outside and the inside. She had long black hair that reached her hips and soft blue eyes. She still had on the thick make up she used when on stage and I imagined she looked far better without it. After getting to know each other a bit better, I felt secure enough to inquire a bit about the ship and its staff and crew. I asked what it was like living and working on a ship, the places they've been to, and finally reached the subject I was most interested in. "So, who was that blonde woman that came here before and talked to you?" I asked nonchalantly.

Jessie scrunched his face with distaste. "Our cruise director. Her name's Jenny Smith. You'll be seeing a lot of her once we're large at sea since she's both a part of the entertainment shows and around the ship, busily bossing us all around."

I chuckled without any real humor. "Oh, I see. I gather you don't like her very much." I asked cautiously.

His lips twisted in a small sneer. "Yeah, you could say that."

I nodded, not expecting any kind of explanation. Even though I really did like him and thought he was a decent guy, I honestly considered changing my mind after seeing his attitude concerning my beauty. Okay, so she wasn't MY beauty, per se, but I felt protective of her for some reason.

Bringing the conversation to an end, I excused myself and said I would be back later that evening for their show. On the way toward my cabin, I nearly ran into someone. All I saw was a flash of blonde hair as I mindlessly grabbed the other person to avoid a collision. When I steadied us both, I gazed down and saw those amazing blue eyes glaring at me. "Would you watch where you walk?!"

Again, I found myself moronically speechless and tried to stammer an apology, even though it had been her fault for almost running me over.

She wrenched herself away from me, spared me another annoyed glare and stomped off. I frowned in mild anger but still couldn't muster a bad opinion of her. She must be tired or overworked, or both, I thought to myself, reaching the cabin. There were a few more hours of daylight to kill before the nightly show and I decided to finish some paperwork for work. Taking a vacation during the busiest season usually wouldn't be overly appreciated, but being self employed always had its benefits.

Finally, after a few hours of work, I washed up, put on a pair of tight black jeans, a ribbed white tank top and a tailored black suit jacket, finishing the look off with a pair of spiked high heeled boots. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror, confident and proud in my tightly muscled body. Straightening up, I left the cabin and walked up to the Palace lounge. A few notes wafted into the corridor and I smiled as I recognized another favorite song. People were checking me out appreciatively and I made sure to wear one of the cockiest grins I had in storage. As I stepped in the dimly lit "show room," the guys in the band immediately noticed me and smiled, nodding in greeting. I smiled back and sat down in one of the available front seats. The room was still fairly empty but I had a feeling it would quickly fill up as the show neared. The singers caught my eye as well, greeting them in the same fashion.

They played for another half hour and by then the room was bursting and bubbling with chatter and activity. The band left the stage for a few minutes and then the lights changed as the sound of Antonio's booming voice came through the speakers, introducing my beautiful blonde cruise director, Miss Jenny Smith.

Jenny, dressed in a sparkly black strapless dress, danced her way across the platform toward the middle of the dance floor. When the music ended, she raised her arms up high and smiled brightly at the crowd. She introduced herself shortly, explained what we were to be seeing that night and quickly vacated the stage for the first performers, Antonio and Julia, dressed in flashy clothes, backed by a band of four dancers. The dancers were very decorative with multicolored feathery hats and bright red dresses. The songs blended one into another as the dancers and singers changed into a variety of costumes. Jenny joined in here and there, singing along with the other two and dancing to the beat. She looked even sexier in the different costumes and I was nearly blinded by the brightness of her pearly white smile. She seemed to be looking through people though as she simply went through the routine. An hour later, she thanked the crowd, introducing the dancers, singers and band, and left the stage. My heart thumped in excitement. Not only was she beautiful, but she was talented too. She had the voice of an angel. Softer and higher than Julia's, it blended so smoothly with the other two.

The first port we docked at was amazingly beautiful. I took one of the offered organized tours of the city and came back tired but satisfied. I bought a few souvenirs to give to friends and relatives and washed my hands of that duty. Putting the presents inside my cabin, I went to have a refreshing ice coffee at the Palace lounge. Choosing a couch that was pressed to a large window, I sat down and ordered. The prices were so high that I nearly blanched at the sound of it, but I swallowed my pain and ordered anyhow. I wasn't cheap or anything, but one would think there was a semblance of decency in this world. I guess one would think wrong.

As I passed my time people watching, sipping my iced coffee slowly and leisurely, a bunch of guys came on to me and except for one, whom I actually thought was kind of cute, I easily dismissed the rest. Then Antonio and Jessie popped by. They had gone into town to buy a few necessities and came back to rest and arrange their things for the evening show. They were both as charming as ever, warming me to them even more so than before. During our conversation of much nonsense, two of the dancers joined us. They looked so different in the light of day, without the tons of make up and scant dresses. They looked...well, not overly pretty. Now, I'm sure you must think you're detecting a tinge of jealousy, but honestly, as you all know by now, I have no qualms about praising beautiful women, or going after them for that matter. Those two were simply nothing special.

Each one sat down next to her respective "boyfriend" and started cuddling into the openly resisting men. I kind of felt sorry for the boys. They didn't look too happy to see their cruise "groupies" and quite disappointed at the unwanted interruption. The girls didn't look too perturbed as I imagine any normal woman would be at such an unenthusiastic greeting, and the forced cuddling continued. Jessie looked even more uncomfortable than Antonio, who actually didn't seem to mind much. He gave her a sharp retort to one of her questions and sent her on her way. I looked on in interest. Jessie, who was a little more subtle than his friend, tried to appease his girlfriend by agreeing to whatever she had asked, and finally she left as well. I personally thought it was simply rude the way they barged in and didn't even bother to introduce themselves to me. But then again, it was the boys that should have done the introductions. Oh well.

Jenny was nowhere to be seen. And trust me, I looked. I slowly tried to lead our conversation back to my favorite subject, and inquired about her. Antonio, who had seemed so perfectly friendly towards her the night before during the show, suddenly changed his attitude. I soon learned that there was much intrigue going on "behind the scenes" on a cruise ship. Oftentimes, the crew felt the need to grow several more faces that would fit in with the different circumstances and frankly, I was beginning to get confused. It was hard to keep up with it all, and taxing on the personality. I felt the need to apologize for possessing only one.

"Jenny is a weird one. She's not a very nice person," said Antonio. "She does all sorts of things to seem like she is, but we all know it's an act."

"She's two-faced and so hopelessly untalented, and she thinks she can just boss everyone around and have them jump to do her bidding," added Jessie.

I pursed my lips in thought and said, "Really? She doesn't seem like that. I mean, I don't know her as you do, but she seems like an okay person. And I think she's talented." I didn't want to alienate them but I felt the need to speak up for her, especially since I believed in what I was saying.

Both men made a face and shrugged their shoulders, keeping quiet. As much fun as I was having, the sea was getting a little stormy and I felt the need to walk around for a bit. I excused myself and walked outside. The air was crisp as we were leaving the port. Seagulls were circling the ship as it carefully made its way out into the open seas. My stomach was slightly rebelling but as I faced the wind and watched the ocean, I felt my stomach settle a bit. Breathing in deep gulps, I smiled to myself as the wind mussed my hair. The cruise was indeed turning out to be an interesting diversion from my day-to-day life. For the last few years I had buried myself in work. After graduating from law school I was picked up by a large firm and worked my ass off for several years, winning many major cases in their name. Finally, I decided to start up my own little firm that grew steadily and confidently. But too much work made a girl real dull and I decided, with a little friendly shove from my pushy secretary, to take a short vacation that happened to coincide with my winning this ticket. It seemed, to her, like the perfect opportunity to get rid of me.

It was getting chilly and I reentered the lounge. The band was preparing for the show, playing a few tunes to warm up the slowly gathering crowd. I smiled and sat down to listen. There wasn't much to do on a ship, so I guess I could understand the reasoning behind the intrigue among the crew. That was their only source of entertainment.

The days passed fairly uneventfully as I enjoyed my time off. The weather returned to its former comfortable state and the sea was once again oily smooth. I'd gotten to know the singers and band members even better and we were actually becoming friends, exchanging phone numbers and addresses. Jenny remained as elusive as before, seemingly avoiding human contact, unless she had an order to give to one of the entertainers. I was beginning to understand the group's turbulent feelings towards her and even share them at one point. One evening, after the show, we all started talking and we were having so much fun that the time practically flew by. Before I noticed, it was already past midnight. Around half past twelve, Jenny sauntered into the lounge where we were all grouped together, and said to them, "Alright, we need to rehearse." Then she turned over to me and said sharply, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave. You can't stay here while we're rehearsing."

I looked at her quizzically, arching my brow, "excuse me?"

"We can't allow passengers in on our rehearsals. Besides, it will ruin tomorrow night's show for you." She flashed me an insincere smile and turned around.

I could have argued and said something like, 'this is a public area and it is my right to be here anytime I want since I paid - okay I didn't, but she doesn't know that – for this cruise, and if you want to rehearse without having passengers around, do it at times when they aren't on board!' But of course I didn't say that because of my stupid weakness, and followed by the apologetic gazes of the band members, I left the lounge.

Our relationship didn't improve from that moment on, but Jenny did seem a little more accommodating afterwards. She was probably afraid I would say something that would give her trouble. Naturally, I didn't.