The Cruise Pt 01 3

This is a fairly long story of multiple parts around a theme of personal and group exploration. The protagonists are all consenting adults and there are themes of loving wives, erotic coupling, group sex but is from the point of view of a husband who goes on a cruise with his wife and her best friend. There is a fairly slow build up and the adventures heat up significantly as we progress. I hope you enjoy this one....

--

"She's been through a hard time and I just think it's a nice thing to do."

My wife Jenny spoke about why her best friend Emma was going to be joining us on our upcoming cruise to the Norwegian fjords.

Resting with her arm draped over my chest as we lay in bed discussing the trip we were taking in just a few days time Jenny had Invited Emma as a last minute change, really brought on by myself when pointing out there was no extra charge for extra occupants on the five star cruise line and the mega ship we'd be boarding.

"Don't you think it will be awkward, her living in the same room as us, sleeping just a few feet away?" I replied, "She's great company, she's not exactly the life of the party but a guy and two girls in a small cabin? It's not really that normal."

"I don't think it will be a problem," said Jenny. "It's a good size, there's a sofa bed, there's a curtain, we're all grown ups. It'll be fine."

In truth I was more concerned about the kind of experiences I was used to having on holidays, when Jenny was relaxed and we'd up our sex quota from the low average of once or twice a week to the same ratio daily.

"But what about when...you know... we want to be...well...intimate?"

Jenny laughed, "I'm sure she'll take the hint and stay out some nights! You'll get some action don't you worry!"

Jenny and I had been married nine years. We were very happy. Children had never been our thing and we were both very active in work and exercise. At 40 my wife was a former dancer and in my view was more attractive now than she was even in her youth.

She was slender, graceful, carried herself with poise and at 5ft 6in she stayed in shape through a daily routine of yoga and running with legs that just kept going and barely any body fat. With dark hair and blue eyes, she had small but perfectly formed breasts, still pert and a daily distraction. I couldn't ask for more. Our sex life was good, I mean sure we could do it more often but that's what any guy would want right?

At 42, 6ft, I ran my own company, was in great shape through cycling and running. I had aged well and drew more attention now than in my youth. I was as interested in Jenny as the day I first saw her and we'd exchanged numbers at a mutual work event.

Having a hot wife is both a blessing and a curse which sounds silly but stay with me. You get to make love to a stunning girl but being married you're doing that fewer and fewer times a week. Waking up and going to sleep next to someone you want to fuck all the time but you can't? It's equal measures awesome and frustrating day to day. This evening had been the perfect example, Jenny had come to bed in a black silk slip, highlighting all her best features but had curled up with an arm across me and started a conversation about her friend. We weren't going to be screwing this evening.

Emma was 40 and had lived with her parents for all her life. She was a modest but plain girl. Quiet. She had never had a steady boyfriend that we knew of, for all purposes we assumed she may have been asexual but that was the way she liked it. She was not unattractive, she did a lot of mature pursuits like walking and took holidays with older female friends from her work as an accountant. Though we rarely saw her, she was kind to my wife, they'd schooled together and we'd see each other once every few months to walk our dogs. Emma and not spoken much, she was shy around me but always a little more chatty after a drink. Generally she was quiet and not very comfortable in social situations, spoke quite bluntly and enjoyed her own company.

Sadly Emma had only six months before lost her parents, who quite elderly had died within a few months of each other. Jenny had met up with her several times these past months and the invite to the cruise must have seemed like something to take her mind off things. I didn't really mind, beyond the fact that I was pretty sure it'd mean my wife and I wouldn't be getting holiday bed action that often, if at all but my wife was kind and this was a good thing to do.

The day of the cruise arrived. We met Emma at the terminal building in Southampton. The giant cruise ship loomed over us on a bright day at the end of the summer. Emma wore her glasses on a smiling face, with short brown hair in skinny jeans and a smart v neck t shirt. I thought it was good she was smiling, I hoped she would enjoy the trip and I'd come around to the idea that it was a nice thing to do.

"This is so exciting!" Spoke Emma, giving my wife a hug and then with me awkwardly pausing before I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Beamed Jenny, "I can't wait to see the mountains, the fjords, and mostly the bottom of the glasses of many cocktails!"

"Absolutely!" Smiled her friend. "Espresso martinis? Margaritas? Both of the above!?"

"I'm really pleased you could join us," I intruded smiling at her and she smiled back,

"Oh thanks for inviting me! I've not had a holiday in ages!"

"Come on," intervened Jenny, "let's get on board." With that we dropped off our bags and got in line to check in and prepared for a week I'd not soon forget.

Embarkation days are a bit of a blur. You get on board, find your muster station, find some food, maybe drinks and then check out your cabin. Ours was on a pretty high deck with a balcony. A space big enough for a bathroom, bed and sofa bed. Technically you could fit four in there but for us three was plenty.

--

With the lights off I could make just make out the outline of Emma sleeping on the sofa bed a few metres away. Jenny was to my left in the king sized double bed and I lay on my back on the right side. Emma's sofa bed was longways and her head was toward the far side of the cabin, near the glass door that led to the balcony.

We'd had a fun evening of drinks and laughter. Having set up in the clubhouse style bar, a band had played as the girls had put away a good four or five cocktails while I'd been steady on a few beers. We'd all been quite merry.

The awkwardness of getting ready for bed hadn been the problem I thought it would be. Emma had gone to the bathroom dressed and exited in some plain cotton pyjamas with flowers on. She was the same height as my wife. She looked a little different without her glasses. It was noticeable without a bra that her breasts were a little larger than my wife's, and her bottom a little larger though I mentally told myself off for noticing.

Jenny had taken her place in the bathroom and emerged in a silver satin pyjama set in which she always looked fantastic, tying her hair up as she always did for bed. She'd taken the left side of the bed surprisingly as she usually slept on the right and it left me on the side of her friend. As I left the bathroom the room light was already off. I sleep in boxer shorts and that's all. I admit I was a little disappointed that Emma failed to turn her head to check me out. I took good care of myself and it was nice from time to time to get looks from others to let me know I wasn't yet over the hill so to speak. As I lay back in the bed, Jenny murmured and snuggled up to me for a cuddle, as was often the case after a few drinks. I closed my eyes.

It could only have been a minute or so. The room was silent but my wife as she rested against me, traced her hand from my chest a little lower. She sleepily, perhaps a little drunkenly kissed my shoulder. I felt a stirring below my waist. I thought to myself that she's just teasing me. Nothing was likely to happen.

Jenny was quite conservative, for example she'd refused to have sex on our last camping trip in case some stranger heard us. But here she was, her hand continuing it's journey down my stomach, tracing over the outline of my shorts as she ran her fingers over the prominence of my growing cock. She murmured again and giggled sleepily, her eyes still shut. She moved closer, still her eyes closed and now kissed my chest and began to slowly, maybe be her hand up and over by cock, deftly stroking me. As I got harder I looked across at her, she was only slightly awake but tipsily she was in a place of naughtiness, barely aware if at all of her friend sleeping just a few feet away.

Her hand slipped under my waist band and took hold of me. I am quite fortunate in the cock department. Solidly near seven inches, a good girth I could get hard easily and was generally a pretty horny guy. With my wife stroking me and the taboo of someone else in the room I was not going to last too long. I bit my lip and was sure to contain my breathing. Emma was likely already asleep thanks to captain Morgan and his Coca-Cola friends, and the sound of movement under the sheet was likely hidden by the hum of the ship's engines.

"Mmm" Jenny murmured as she took a firmer grip on me. She was definitely not asleep, though certainly not fully awake. I lifted my hips and slid my shorts off, giving easier access and a greater freedom of movement. Jenny took her hand from me, brought it to her lips and wetly kissed her own palm to lubricate it before bringing it to me. Her pace a little more purposeful as she gently twisted her wrist as she stoked. Kissing my chest running her hand up and down, pausing to feel my balls and gliding her fingertips up my shaft. My right hand was above me, gripping the headboard. My left arm held my wife. This was heavenly. To my surprise she stopped, then peeled the bedsheet back to give her full access to me. I was now on display in the air and the darkness of the room. For a moment I thought I heard Emma stir to my right, but as I looked right Jenny lightly bit my chest and my gaze returned to her. She wet her palm one more time and continued to pump me. I knew I wasn't going to last much longer as a thrill of being in the presence of someone, potentially exposed to them took over.

I controlled my breathing so as to not raise suspension but it wasn't easy, Jenny's pace increased and it couldn't have been more than a minute or two before I felt that electric sensation as I came, spurts firing onto my stomach, almost as high as my chest as Jenny slowed. She slowly and quietly rolled to her left, rolling back to me with some tissue to clean up. She looked at me with a sheepish grin and mouthed "shush" so as to remind to be be quiet. She then rolled back, deposited the tissue on her side table turned back, kissed me on the lips and whispered "good night" as she smiled a very naughty smile. She rolled away from me and drifted off to sleep.

To my right a sound struck my attention, it may have been a soft moan but I couldn't be sure. In the darkness I tried to make Emma out. She seemed to be asleep, her eyes closed, her arms under the sheets at her sides. She was however clearly looking toward me where I lay naked. For a moment I could have sworn her eyes were open. I pulled the bed sheet over me and drifted off to sleep quite satisfied.

--

I woke in the morning to the sound of the shower. Jenny was stood in the cabin getting dressed, Emma obviously occupying the bathroom.

"Good morning sleepyhead", said my wife beaming.

"You're sprightly considering" I said with a wry smile,

"Good god yes I had a bit too much to drink but it was a fun night wasn't it!?"

"I had a great time," I smiled, "especially the last part!"

"Oh no what did I do?" Jenny feigned ignorance. She did that sometimes when she'd let her hair down and really enjoyed herself,

"You took things in hand." I gave her a look that said it all.

"With Emma in the room? How very bad of me." I wasn't sure if she was serious but her dismissiveness suggested she wasn't concerned and as she ran over to give me a little kiss I could tell she had woken in a playful mood.

The bathroom door opened and Emma emerged in a towel with her hair in the towel turban than girls so easily make. She certainly didn't have the figure of my wife but her exposed shoulders and neck showed smoothness of skin, a slender neck and ample cleavage. I also have a real thing for wet hair, even when covered. Emma, though plain did have a nice smile and she was prettier than she made herself up to be.

"Good morning John! Ready for a day at sea?" Emma it seemed, like my wife was also sprightly.

"You two have far too much energy," I sighed and laid back on my pillow with a groan.

"Come on get up, we girls need breakfast! Come on!", Jenny was nothing if not persistent.

It's at this point I realised I was still naked under the covers from the night before. Like most mornings I was also a little aroused, not only because of seeing Emma in the towel and my wife nonchalantly dressing in a black Victoria's Secret underwear set, not minding Emma one bit.

"I might need a moment ladies", gesturing that I was not entirely dressed,

"Oh sorry I'll turn around" said Emma with a smile as she walked to her side of the cabin and sat upon the sofa bed purposefully looking toward the window. I got out of bed naked, grabbed the shorts still on the floor, covered my modesty and made a beeline for the bathroom. I glanced behind me noticing that I could see my full reflection in the glass of the door to the balcony, I could see Emma watching me. My gaze as it returned caught my wife who gave me a raised eyebrow look as she'd caught me looking toward her semi-naked friend. I took to the shower, fighting a temptation to treat myself. I abstained and after dressing we went to breakfast.

A day at sea on a cruise can be quiet, it depends where you are. The British North Sea is certainly not the Caribbean so you can't exactly sunbath on an upper deck, so we spent the day exploring, eating and yes starting early on a few drinks. The ship had mostly mature passengers. It was a high class cruise line which meant the food and surroundings were excellent but it wasn't exactly a party boat. In the evenings you could find somewhere to dance but it was more 80s hits than Calvin Harris. We were probably the youngest there, and we were not that young.

Mid afternoon I headed to the gym for a very light and likely a mistake of a session. I got back to the cabin to find the girls giggling on the sofa and they went suspiciously quiet as I entered the room.

"What were you too laughing about?" I enquired, "talking about boys?"

"None of your business!" Laughed Jenny, "though there aren't many men on here worth getting riled up for!," she poked her tongue out at me to put me in my place,

"I don't know," said Emma, "there's one or two I couldn't say no to!" I was sure she winked at me and the two of them burst into giggles, I was taken aback by Emma's response as she'd never shown any interest in any kind of innuendo in the past, and noticed two Prosecco flutes and a nearly empty bottle. These two had been having some fun and that had clearly made them a little more forthcoming.

"Girls!" I sighed, and took to the bathroom to a fit of giggles in the background.

Jenny and Emma were pretty much sobered up for the evening. Nights on the ship are fairly formal and you're expected to dress up. Last night we'd been informal but this evening we had an early theatre date, a meal and then were likely to hit one of the bars where there's usually some more entertainment.

Jenny was in a stunning designer dress, black, A line, with flashes of colour. She dressed in the room while Emma was readying in the bathroom. I could see my wife had some of her nicer lingerie underneath. I kissed her neck as she sat and did her hair in the mirror,

"I love you beautiful", I whispered, she smiled back at me and mouthed "I love you too."

Emma emerged from the bathroom in one of my wife's dresses, one of my favourites. Also designer it was green satin and Emma's fuller figure complemented it very well. She'd fixed her makeup and wore diamond ear rings with one of my wife's necklaces drawing attention to a slightly open cleavage. She looked incredibly pretty, I felt very fortunate to be headed out with these two.

"Oh Em you look gorgeous" my wife beamed, "I knew that dress would look great on you. John doesn't she look amazing?!" I couldn't not answer,

"She looks fantastic... I mean Emma you look fantastic", Emma visibly blushed,

"Oh I don't know I think it might be a bit much for me,"

"Don't be silly Em, you look really hot and John agrees don't you John," it was slightly odd my wife was pinning that on me,

"Incredible." Was all I could say, Emma's smile told me I'd said the right thing.

"Good boy," said Jenny, "Em should know that she's beautiful and that people want to shag her", My mouth was on the floor at my wife's words, she picked up her things and continued "right, let's go people, places to be, Prosecco to be drunk!"

The theatre show was good. Several performers, beautiful girls, great songs. The meal in one of the formal restaurants was also first class. Three courses, plentiful bubbly and several eyes watching our table as two attractive young ladies sat with one man, one either side of me. The thought to myself that this wasn't so bad at all was painfully obvious. The girls would drink from their flutes slowly, making eye contact with me, their ruby coated lipstick lips, moistened and their smiles and laughs forced my own. They were fantastic company.

After dinner we entered one of the club bars. It was clear some kind of game show type event was going to be on.

"It's a mr and Mrs! I love this!" Shouted Jenny, a little too loudly,

"We don't have to go here," I said, with Emma likely to feel a little awkward with lots of couples in attendance.

"No it's okay," said Emma, "it's fine, this sort of thing is usually quite funny."

"It'll be more than fine," said Jenny, "especially if we do this..." at that point I noticed that she'd actually had quite a lot of Prosecco but the thing with my wife is that you can't tell she's drunk beyond the fact she's excitable and likely to do crazy spur of the moment things, last nights' hand job being an example, however I wasn't expecting for her to take off her wedding ring and force it onto her slightly reluctant best friend though Emma didn't put up much of a fight.

"Come on" said my wife, "this'll be really fun".

We took our seats and when volunteers were asked for Jenny boisterously elected a reluctant Emma and her more reluctant new husband John.

"These two! They're honeymooners! Pick them!" She shouted, the compère not looking a gift horse in the mouth promptly instructed us to join the other couples on the stage. This was going to be awkward, weird and several parts of awkward on the side.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Emma to me as we sat side by side in the spotlight,

"It's fine" I reassured her, "it's just a game, it'll be fine. It's not a problem."

"What is the thing that annoys you most about your husband?"

The compère's question was one of those geared to make the audience laugh whatever the response.

The way the game works is you're asked a question and you write down an answer that you think your partner would give about you. Normally with Jenny that would have been quite easy but masquerading with Emma it wasn't so easy. I wrote down my answer, she wrote hers.

Couple number 1 got theirs wrong, a stern stare from wife 1 to husband 1 at him thinking it was his biting his fingernails that angered her most when she confidently explained it was his watching football every day that drove her crazy.

"That one's not going to last" I leaned in and whispered to Emma's ear, she giggled and whispered back "absolutely", I noticed her perfume was the same as my wife's. In her response she'd turned to me and it was only then I'd noticed we'd never been closer to each other, her face just an inch from mine. Her eyes sparkled in the light of the show floor. As if she noticed the close proximity she leaned away and back in her chair.