Super G

by Pepper Pace

  She had even met a few of Gio’s friends who would stop by and talk to them whenever they were spotted out and about. When Paolo came up to them at one of the crew parties she remembered him instantly as Wesley’s butler.

  Paolo and Gio slapped hands and Gio introduced them.

  “This is my good friend Paolo. And Paolo this is Sidney.” Paolo shook her hand and when he didn’t try to kiss her fingers Sidney decided that she liked the smiling man.

  “You two are dancing up a storm,” Paolo said mostly to Sidney.

  “The DJ is good and there’s space to dance unlike in the clubs on the upper deck,” she replied.

  “Plus we party better and our drinks are stronger,” Paolo said with a laugh.

  “The crew works hard but we party harder,” Gio said.

  Sidney decided to speak about the elephant in the room. “You’re Wesley’s butler. You were in his room the night I was there talking to him.”

  Paolo flashed Gio a guilty look. “I was there but not to eavesdrop, only to make sure that he remained a gentleman.”

  She tried to mimic Gio’s expression of raising one brow and dipping the other but she just couldn’t manage it. Instead she smiled and clapped Paolo’s arm in appreciation.

  “Thank you for looking out. I was sure that he wouldn’t do anything to me, but I knew that you were there if things turned bad.”

  Paolo nodded in relief. “He hasn’t been trying to stalk you or anything, just so you know. He mostly swims or sits working on his laptop.”

  She nodded. Then he got the message loud and clear.

  Gio was staring out on the dance floor. He gestured with his head and Paolo and Sidney turned to see Nicco dancing with his female client, trophy wife. They were grinding more than dancing. Trophy wife was all over Nicco.

  “Dios Mio, is he insane?” Paolo said.

  Gio was shaking his head in disgust. He turned to Sidney. “There is an unspoken rule that you don’t have sex with a married person whose spouse is also a guest.”

  “Unless you’re having sex with both…” Paolo added.

  Gio gave him a long look. “I doubt if that’s the case.”

  “Just saying…” Paolo added. He turned to Sidney. “Would you like to dance Miss Sidney?”

  “Okay.” She followed him out to the dance floor. He had smooth dancing moves. It was as if in order to be a butler you had to take lessons with the Chippendale dancers. But he never got dirty the way Nicco was doing with trophy wife. Gio joined them and they all three danced together for a time until Paolo caught the attention of a female who whisked him away.

  “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” she said to Gio.

  “I’ll get us drinks,” he said. She left the dance floor nearly dripping with sweat and very happy that she had opted for the twist out so that her hair was preserved.

  When she rounded the corridor to reach the bathroom, she saw Nicco leaned against the wall. Trophy wife was on her knees in front of him giving him a blowjob.

  Sidney almost skidded to a stop at the shocking sight. She almost turned around to leave but she really had to use the facilities.

  Nicco met her eyes. He wore an expression of boredom at what was being done to him, but he followed her with his eyes as she continued on to the bathroom.

  That creeped her out more than seeing him getting a blow job, the fact that he was staring at her as he got one.

  When she left the restroom, the two were gone. She was relieved and decided not to mention what she’d seen. She could sense some animosity between Gio and Nicco and she didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.

  “Tonight is the Captain’s Farewell party. Do you intend to go?”

  “I suppose I should. I still haven’t worn my red gown.”

  His fingers slid over her arm as they lay in his bed together. “I cannot wait to see you in red. The color compliments you. We can take some evening pictures of you on the balcony surrounded by the twinkling deck lights and the backdrop of the ocean.”

  “Are you sure you’re not a photographer, too?” He took wonderful pictures and videos. His were much better than the ones she had taken.

  “As the butler I’m always tasked with taking pictures. I’ve had to perfect the leaning tower of Pisa shot—which I have incidentally taken about half a million times.”

  She sat up in bed and groaned. “I’m going to be sore…again.”

  “I’m sorry.” He sat up and kissed her shoulder. “Was I too rough?”

  “God, no. I’m sore from all the times we’ve done it over the last few days.”

  They both knew that they were making up for a time when they would no longer be together. Today was their last full day together. Tomorrow she would disembark and they would never see each other again.

  “Shall I kiss it and make it better?”

  Her clitoris surged at his sexy words.

  “Okay.” She lay back down and spread her legs.

  I will remember every second of our time together, Sidney thought later as she and Gio bathed together in her huge Jacuzzi tub. These memories will be my food for years to come. Maybe even when I’m an old lady I’ll remember Gio…my Super G.

  “You look serious. What are you thinking?” He asked as she lay back against his broad back while he stroked her knee.

  She took a deep breath. “I’m thinking about how much I’m going to miss you.” There. She’d said it.

  He didn’t say anything so she looked up. He was now the serious one.

  “I’m going to miss you too, Sidney.” He paused for two beats before he continued. “Can you promise me something?”

  “Yes,” she said without caring what the terms were. He had only to ask.

  “Promise me that you will never settle for less. Find love. Find happiness. And be filled with joy. Always.”

  She nodded as tears welled in her eyes.

  “Okay.” She said.

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him and then they sat quietly together among the jets of the whirlpool.

  The formal dinner required them all to sit together. Once again Wesley wasn’t present. She was happy. She didn’t want to make small talk with him. She saw a new family that she had never seen before. They husband and wife had two preteen kids who were the life of the table.

  Things worked differently then when she had her own table. The butlers took turns seeing after each course and when not in service they stood at attention at a distance, each dressed in tuxedos with long tails and white gloves. They all looked good, like GQ models but in her opinion, Gio looked the best.

  When Nicco came forward to attend to the appetizer course she noted that he wore a jeweled pin on his lapel and a purple kerchief in his breast pocket. He was so extra, she thought. But he looked good and by the furtive glances of trophy wife she was not the only one to notice.

  As each appetizer was presented, Nicco appraised it and nodded his head in approval before allowing it to be placed in front of each guest, and then he moved to the next guest.

  He wouldn’t meet the eyes of trophy wife when he reached her and Sidney wondered how one stood in the presence of the husband and son of a woman that you were fucking. In Nicco’s case he did it with ease as he presented each with their appetizer course and moved on.

  When the server appeared with the wine he poured it into each glass but a different server appeared with a different wine bottle just for her. Of course it was Moscato. She gave the server a look of thanks and resisted an urge to look over at Gio but she had to smile to herself.

  “What is that you’re drinking?” Trophy wife asked her. She had never said hi, greeted her with a smile, or made even the smallest attempt to introduce herself and yet she felt entitled to ask after the wine she was drinking.

  “Moscato,” Sidney replied simply.

  “Moscato?” She asked in thinly veiled distaste.

  “Yes. Moscato.”

  “You don’t find it too sweet?” She asked while
staring at Sidney steadily.

  “There are plenty of things that I enjoy that are sweet: berries, tea…and Moscato wine.”

  “You’re American.” The husband asked in surprise.

  “Yes,” Sidney answered, unsure of why he had been unsure.

  “Arnold Westheimer,” he said in introduction before gesturing to his wife. “Carol and that’s our son Joe.”

  “Hello,” Sidney said politely and introduced herself. The boy named Joe looked at her but didn’t speak. She expected Arnold to say something to him but he ignored his son’s rudeness.

  “So, I understand that you have the penthouse?” Carol asked.

  “Yes.”

  “We would have taken it but there wasn’t a second bedroom.” Carol suddenly looked like she had a bright idea. “Sidney, would you mind terribly if I took a quick peek at it? If they converted one of the rooms into a bedroom for Joseph then we might find it acceptable on our next trip to Europe.”

  Sidney looked at her in confusion. Why would she need to look at her penthouse when there was another one that wasn’t being used that she could tour?

  “Sure, but I might be a little busy since it’s my last night.”

  “Of course you will be. But I’ll have Nicco touch bases with your butler—Gio is it?”

  How did this woman know Gio’s name? While it was true that Sidney did not believe in slut shaming, she did believe that this woman truly was a slut. Well she would be surprised if Gio could ever go for a woman like Carol.

  Sidney turned her attention away from them and concentrated on the meal before her.

  When dessert was served, it was Gio’s turn to finally approach the table. He introduced himself politely and asked each person if they had liked the last course. And when he reached her his smile broadened.

  “And Sidney, was the meal to your liking?”

  “Yes. Compliments to the chef,” she replied honestly.

  Gio nodded. “I shall relay that. Coffee or an after dinner liqueur?”

  “Oh. Coffee I think.”

  The server brought her a coffee cup but when he made to pour it, Gio stopped him and took the coffee and then poured it into her cup himself.

  Gio made a silent gesture for him to serve the other guests and the man moved around the table asking if anyone wanted coffee or a liqueur.

  Instead of allowing her to pour her own cream and sugar, Gio did it for her. Everyone watched as he sprinkled the contents of four sugar packs and then a stream of cream into the coffee. He swirled the contents with a spoon and then waited for Sidney to take a sip.

  She knew he was putting on a show so she played along. She took a sip of the beverage and nodded in approval. He bowed slightly.

  Trophy wife refused to drink her coffee. She just looked at it and waited. Gio went to her.

  “Madame? Is there anything more that you require before dessert is presented?”

  She looked at her coffee cup and then quickly shook her head and reached for the cream and sugar. “Oh. No.”

  “Gio is it?” The husband spoke. “Bring me two deserts.”

  “Certainly.” Gio made a small motion to the server who nodded and retreated.

  Trophy wife turned to her husband in disapproval. “Arnold, I thought you were going to try.” She spoke in a whisper.

  He sighed in exasperation and whispered his response only it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “I will, but it’s the last day of the cruise. There’s no reason to start a diet on the last day of a cruise.”

  The man was older but he wasn’t out of shape. He just wasn’t built like the butlers.

  Dessert was presented and while she enjoyed her truffles and fruit, the chef came out and introduced himself and thanked them for coming. The Captain was next and he hoped that they’d had a pleasant cruise and that they would return to cruise again.

  The butlers and the serving staff came forward and the Captain thanked each of them and everyone at the table applauded them.

  Afterwards Gio said a few words to the Captain who looked over at her. He smiled and came over to her.

  “Miss Wyatt. I hear that you are an up and coming influencer. Would you like to take a few pictures of the behind the scenes working of a cruise ship kitchen?”

  “Yes, that would be wonderful.”

  When she got up to follow him she heard young Joe respond to his mother’s whispered question.

  “An influencer is just a fake celebrity that makes stupid videos on YouTube,” he snapped.

  She smirked. Yeah, she wanted to be that.

  Gio escorted her through the kitchen where she got good shots of the artistically designed food and the Michelin star chef. It would be great for her vlog. Gio took over the filming as she gave the chef an impromptu interview about cooking on a cruise ship.

  Instead of returning through the VIP lounge they left through a back corridor of the ship and Sidney could no longer resist. She jumped into Gio’s arms and gave him a big hug.

  “Oh my God, you are so amazing. This is going to be excellent for the vlog. Gio I have enough content to make a month’s worth of vlogs!”

  He held her close, not releasing her. “That’s the plan, honey. Don’t try to use it all at once. There can be a cooking portion, a fashion and make up portion and then of course tours of various cities in Europe.”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “I’m so excited to begin this.”

  “I’m going to set up a Dropbox just for us and then you can show me what you create before you post it, okay? I want to help wherever I can.”

  She held his face and stared at him intently. “And I want your email address so that I can write to you.”

  “And your phone number so that I can text you,” he added. “I want to keep in touch Sidney. Do you understand?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I want that too, honey.”

  “Now, beautiful Sidney, I want to spend the next few hours making love to you if that’s okay.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Giacomo Anello.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gio and Sidney made plans to meet in her suite after he changed out of his tuxedo.

  She was thinking how said the last night of a cruise was. Everyone was busy packing and the decks were quieter than normal. She got off the elevator and headed down the long corridor lined with beautiful art. She would miss seeing this every day. So busy was she in admiring the art for the last time that she didn’t notice that someone had moved from the shadows until they were standing almost directly in front of her.

  “Hello Miss Wyatt.”

  “Nicco. Hello.” She moved to continue on but he walked along side of her.

  “I hope you’ve enjoyed your cruise?”

  “Yes. It’s been very nice,” she replied politely.

  “I’m sorry that I did not have time to personally attend to your needs. But as the cruise is not yet complete, perhaps I can be of some service to you?”

  What?? She looked at him and stopped walking.

  “What kind of service are you referring to, Nicco?”

  He reached out and traced her arm with his fingertip. She jerked away from his touch.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to overstep. It’s just that I’m better at everything than Gio. I’ve watched you at the parties with him. He can’t do the things that I could do for you. I see how you move. I know what you need.”

  “Oh…kay. You don’t know a damn thing about me. If you knew anything then you’d know this was the last thing I’d want from you.” She stormed around him and heard him speak from behind her.

  “I know that you got dumped by the man that paid for your cruise. I know that you probably don’t have a pot to piss in. I know that if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re so fuckable-”

  When she had turned to keep him in her sites she was frozen to the spot, but not by his words but by what she saw behind him.

  Wesley had been sitting in one of the seating
areas that ran along the corridor. He had been working on a laptop. She hadn’t even noticed him but he’d jumped to his feet and was coming at Nicco from behind. The smug Head butler didn’t have any idea until Wesley who was a full foot taller than Nicco grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him into one of the framed art pieces.

  “What the fuck did you say to her, you piece of shit?!”

  “Wait!” Nicco groveled in shock. “I didn’t say anything-”

  Wesley swung him around and punched him in the face and then in the stomach. “Get the fuck out of here before I beat the living shit out of you!”

  Nicco, was bent over in pain holding his stomach while his nose bled. He hurried down the corridor looking back at Wesley as if he might change his mind and finish the ass whupping.

  Wesley turned to Sidney who had her arms folded protectively around her.

  “Are you okay?” She just nodded, still in shock at how quickly that had turned awful.

  Wesley’s brow was gathered in anger. He looked different. His normally clean-shaven face was covered in the beginnings of a beard and he had done the impossible by gaining a tawny tan. His always neat and perfect hair had fallen in his eyes that had darkened in rage.

  They heard footsteps hurrying from the elevator.

  Gio was just about to step out of the elevator to meet Sidney when Nicco rushed on, coughing and gagging and clearly beaten up.

  “Nicco! What happened?!”

  “That crazy fucker did this!” He coughed while still holding his stomach and dripping blood onto the elevator floor.

  The husband of his guest had found out about his late night trysts, then. But when he looked out the elevator door he saw Sidney standing with her arms wrapped around her and Wesley breathing hard and ready to fight.

  He didn’t think, he forgot all about Nicco and hurried down the corridor.

  Sidney saw Gio first as he charged toward them with Wesley in his sights.

  “Gio! No!”

  Sidney hurried around Wesley who just stood there unmoving. Sidney hugged him and his arms went around her protectively as he glared at the man that he thought had done some kind of harm to the woman he loved.