I slid into the seat beside Nick and leaned in closely to whisper into his ear.
“I had twigs and leaves in my hair – Mum found them. It was so funny”.
At my giggle, he looked at me for a moment and then smiled as well.
“You have a lovely smile, you should do it more often”. He said, as he lowered a hand to my leg and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Adam drew his attention at that moment, and his hand stayed on my leg for a while before he returned it to the table and opened his menu. I did the same, but for the life of me I could not remember what I ate, or what anyone said, I was so aware of Nick next to me, and the occasional brush of his clothing against mine as he moved. I so wanted for dinner to be over, hoping that we would sit in the theatre together in the dark, and maybe later go dancing together. Tonight I wanted to feel Nick’s body against mine, and to spend as much time with him as I could before I returned to the cabin that I shared with my mother.
As it turned out, we did sit together in the theatre, and I sank into my seat thankfully. There were strangers around us, not family or friends, so I felt more comfortable holding Nick’s hand throughout the show, not having to think about the knowing looks we would get. Whatever was developing between myself and Nick was too new, and I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. After the show, Nick grabbed my hand and dragged me out quickly, to beat the crowd and also I believe to make sure we stayed separated from the rest of our party. We headed outside to the open deck, where we linked arms and strolled around without the need to talk. Although I still had my wrap with me, I shivered slightly, and Nick responded by putting his arm around my shoulders. Not for the world would I have put on my wrap now!
After a couple of turns around the ship, we found ourselves in a quiet dark corner, where there didn’t seem to be anyone else around. Nick stepped into the shadows, pulling me with him and lowered his head to my neck.
“You’re wearing that perfume you bought the other day”, he murmured softly, inhaling deeply, “I’ve been catching wafts of it all night, and it has been driving me crazy”, and he started nuzzling at my neck. My hands, of their own volition, moved up his back, pulling him close to me. Nick slowly kissed his way up my neck, across my cheek, and finding my mouth, started kissing me deeply. This time my tongue met his and I melted into the embrace and the kiss. Nick must have heard someone coming, as he broke off the kiss and steered me back into our stroll around the ship.
Somehow we found ourselves on the upper deck, I don’t even remember how we got there. We stood at the entrance to the mini golf course, and noted that it was empty. I had never tried mini golf before, or even regular golf, but was happy to try anything that meant I could spend more time with Nick. We laughed at my feeble attempts to steer the ball to the holes, I usually hit the ball too hard and it bounced to the next ‘green’, or didn’t hit it hard enough and it just wobbled a little. Once I hit it too hard and it fell off the course altogether. As I bent to retrieve it I heard an appreciative little hum from Nick, and turned to look back at him. His eyes were fixed on my rear, then he saw me looking at him and held up his hands laughing.
“You caught me”, and he took a step towards me as I turned and straightened, “Now what are you going to do with me?” and he linked his hands around my waist and stared at me with a challenging look in his eyes.
I thought about it for a moment, then I stood on tiptoe, and put my lips close to his ear. “I am going to have to think about a suitable punishment, I will get back to you when I have thought up one”, and I very gently bit his earlobe. Nick sucked in his breath and moved his head to the side so that he could kiss me again. This kiss was like no other that we had shared so far, it was hard and demanding, and I met it as best as I could. Nick clearly had a lot more experience in the kissing department than I had, but I was learning fast. I found myself being moved backwards until I was pushed up against a plastic statue. I could feel the entire length of Nick’s body against mine, with the tell tale bulge pushing into my abdomen letting me know how much he wanted me. Instead of frightening me as it would have done just a short while ago, I found that I wanted more, and I pushed myself against him, moving gently against the bulge in his trousers. Nick pulled back from the kiss, putting his head down and exhaling loudly.
“This really isn’t the time or place, and neither you or I have a cabin to ourselves, so it’s best if we stop this for now, and come back to it later on, ok?”
I nodded in agreement, unwilling to trust myself to speak. The intensity of the passion between us had taken me by surprise, and Nick was right, unfortunately. I would have liked to continue, but we wouldn’t have anywhere private to go, so there was no point. We slowly pulled apart, and then abandoned our game, having lost all interest in mini golf.
We walked to a bar, where Nick ordered a whisky for himself, and one of my favourite cocktails for me. We took our drinks to a table and sat there sipping, and staring at each other. Suddenly we started smiling at each other, and Nick said with a self-deprecating tone:
“You make me feel like a teenager Lucy. Imagine necking at mini golf. I haven’t done anything like that for years” and he snorted with laughter.
“Me either,” I said, “But it was more fun than when I was a teenager. I wish I had known you then”. Then thoughts of my teenage crush wiped the smile off my face. Why had I remembered that now? I can’t imagine Nick ever would have acted so callously, even when he was young. I tried to lighten the mood again, but it was too late, it was gone.
“Time for dancing”, Nick said, standing up suddenly and holding out his hand. I put my hand in his and we walked upstairs to the nightclub. My dress performed just as I had thought it would, swirling around my legs as I twisted and turned, and slowly the dark mood that had descended was swept away by the music and the motion of our bodies. Most of the early evening was spent in fast dances, snatching drinks in between to quench our thirst, we both stuck to water and juices as we were so hot, but then as the evening wore on a few slow dances were played. At the first, Nick and I moved towards each other and swayed together to the music, just as many other couples did. I laid my head on his chest and breathed deeply. This was just heavenly. We repeated this many times, and it was in the early hours of the morning that we finally found ourselves walking to my cabin, arms around each other. Both Nick and I agreed that we would probably not meet for breakfast, as it was so few hours away, but would meet for lunch at the restaurant.
I crept into my room, and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I had a quick shower as I felt quite sticky from all the exertions of dancing, and wondered if Nick was doing the same in his room. I closed my eyes and pictured him in the shower, with the soapy water running down his body, and wondered what he looked like naked. My only experience naked with a man had been so rushed and awkward that I really hadn’t seen him properly. I had seen men in the media, and on film, but not in person, and not sexually aroused. I tried to picture what Nick would look like naked and aroused, and had to turn the warm water down to make the water colder, as I was becoming aroused myself and knew I would never sleep if I could not get myself under control.
I dressed for bed, turned out the light and crept through the darkened room to my single bed, wishing that instead I was heading for a double bed, with Nick in it, waiting for me.
13.
When I finally awoke, after a restless night punctuated with erotic dreams, it was eleven o’clock. I yawned and sat up, and saw a note propped up on the dresser. It was in Mum’s writing and read:
“You looked tired so I didn’t wake you. Will put the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door. See you at lunch”.
Hmmm. Unusual for Mum, I didn’t even remember her trying to wake me. Well, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t late to see Nick again, so I threw back the covers and jumped into the shower. I dressed with care, and pulled my bed together, not knowing if the steward would be able to visit the room, as it was so late. I went to the restauran
t, arriving in plenty of time, and waited for the rest of our party. Amelia, Robert and the children arrived first, so we went in together, telling the receptionist to show the rest of our party to the table as they arrived. Amelia sat next to me, and I didn’t have to wait long to find out whether she had noticed the growing closeness between myself and her brother.
“Did you have a good time on shore yesterday with Nick?” She asked with an innocent expression on her face. “Dad said that Nick just made it back onto the ship in time, did you both get lost or something?”, and she stared at me, her eyes wide with feigned innocence.
I smiled and replied, “No, actually, we were just paddling on a beach and lost track of time”. I was saved from further reply by the arrival of Adam and Sarah. I quickly enquired as to how they had enjoyed their time in Bermuda yesterday with their friends, and feigned interest in the shops that Nick and I had not visited. Nick then arrived and took up a seat next to me, and smiled at me sleepily.
Adam turned to him with a smile and said, “You look tired, mate. Late night?”
Nick told him that we had been dancing until very late, and shook out his napkin, placing it in his lap and staring at his brother. The two men looked at each other for a while then Adam smiled and turned to Sarah. Had something just passed between Nick and Adam that I had missed? I had known Adam long enough to know that the look he had given Nick had another meaning, but I did not know what it was. I resolved to talk to Nick about that later.
Tom and Judy arrived, with Mum and Percy in tow. After everyone had ordered, talk turned to New York, and who was staying on, and who wasn’t, and what were the sights that absolutely must be seen.
Mum then cleared her throat, and then said, avoiding my eyes, “Actually, I have had a change of plans. I was going to spend time in New York with Lucy, but Percy has been talking so much about Miami, and how he has rented a two bedroom apartment with some wonderful views, that I’ve decided to join him there.” At my gasp of surprise she turned to me at last and continued: “I’m sorry if it upsets your plans Lucy, but Percy tells me that Nick is going to be in New York too, otherwise I wouldn’t have left you alone in a strange city. Nick will look after you.”
Mum then deftly changed the subject, asking Josh and Lana what they had done yesterday, and then our meals arrived and Mum’s news was temporarily forgotten in the general hubbub of plates and cutlery. Forgotten by everyone but myself and Nick, we stared at each other and I am sure he was thinking the same thing that I was. Crafty old woman indeed! I think she and Percy must have been planning this for a while. I couldn’t wait to get Mum alone to give her a piece of my mind about her interference. Although another part of me was also happy that I would now be alone with Nick for a few days. However, Mum, as well as crafty, was also quick. She managed to avoid me for the rest of the day, and in the evening as well.
After lunch, Nick and I went swimming. I stole glimpses of him in his bathers, trying to impress the image of him in my mind for fantasizing later when I was alone. I had a good idea of how his strong chest and back looked without clothes, and how his legs were lean and muscular, and quite hairy in fact, but would have to ‘fill in the blanks’ when it came to what he looked like under his shorts. I was pretty sure that he was watching me as I moved in my swimsuit as well, so I made sure that there were times that I bent slightly forward to afford him a good view of my cleavage, and when I turned to climb out of the pool, I bent forward a little again to make sure he could get a good view of my behind.
As we sat side by side on our sun loungers, Nick said quietly to me as he sat down, “I know what you’re doing you know. I’m not complaining though – you can keep doing it”. And he shut his eyes to relax in the sun, leaving me smiling at being caught. We spent the entire afternoon swimming and napping, still recovering from our late night, and therefore getting ready for dinner was rushed. That probably contributed to me missing Mum as she was already dressed and gone. Or she was avoiding me – probably a bit of that too.
Nick and I sat together at dinner again – everyone seemed to be comfortable with their seating arrangements and no-one wanted to change seats, for which I was grateful as I liked sitting next to Nick. After dinner, as we walked to the show, Nick said to me quietly as we walked:
“I managed to get Dad on his own for a while before dinner, and the two of them have stitched us up completely. As well as both of them suddenly deciding to leave us alone together, they have changed our hotel booking. Did you know we are now staying at the same hotel?”
I stopped walking and turned to him in surprise “You’re kidding!”
“Nope”, he said, “Matchmakers, the pair of them. I don’t mind, but do you?”
I looked at him, and realized that I didn’t mind. The more I thought about it, the more I was actually looking forward to being alone with Nick, without anyone we knew being around us. We could go to a restaurant and sit at a table for two, instead of a table for twelve for a start! I started walking again.
“I am going to have a serious talk with Mum. I am looking forward to some time with you alone, but she really has gone too far”.
As on the previous night, Nick and I sat together, away from our friends, and we held hands through the show. Nick was rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand, and although I was not sure if it was a conscious or unconscious action, it was causing me to have serious lapses in concentration and I couldn’t follow the story line to the show. Afterwards, we again took a few turns around the deck, but this time bumped into Adam and Sarah, on their way to evening trivia, and were pressed into joining them, Tom and Judy. Afterwards the six of us remained in our seats, and listened to the pianist that began playing after trivia, having a couple of drinks and talking. I realized that Adam and Nick were making arrangements to meet in New York and had to interrupt:
“Wait a minute, Adam, you and Sarah will be on your honeymoon, you won’t want to meet up with anyone else will you?”
Sarah then spoke up:
“We won’t be spending all our time with you, but there’s a couple of things we could do together. We are there a week, but I understand you are only there for a few days? I would like some female company when I do some shopping, Adam will come along to carry my parcels of course” – and she smiled at Adam as he rolled his eyes – “but he might get bored and wander off, and I will probably need a second opinion over some of the things I want to look at”.
I thought this was a great idea of Sarah’s, we needed time to get to know each other better, our contact had been minimal over the last few months as she and Adam had been spending so much time together, and we hadn’t really had any time together. So I agreed to this and let the conversation continue around me.
This trip was a life changer for me. I hoped that whatever was developing between Nick and myself would last for a while, but even if it didn’t, Nick had taught me that there were trustworthy men that I could risk a relationship with. I thought I had made a friend of Amelia, and now Sarah and I were getting to know each other better. My world was expanding and I was happy.
14.
The next day was our last full day on the ship. I woke up early, with mixed feelings. This trip had broadened my horizons a lot, and made me face some things about myself that I had not faced, so I couldn't be honest and say that I hadn't enjoyed it. Plus I had met some new people and had spent some time getting to know Sarah better, and witnessing their wedding, so I had had a wonderful time.
However, on the other hand - tomorrow I would get to spend some time with Nick - not really alone, as we would be in a big city of course, but away from our friends - and my mother! - and would hopefully get to know each other a lot better.
I dressed carefully and waited for Mum to be ready, then we went to breakfast. The day passed like other sea days had passed - breakfast, trivia, lunch and dancing. Oh, the dancing! Nick and I ended up in convulsions of laughter after trying the tango together. The more sedate 'conventional' dance had been
wonderful - it felt so good to be in Nick's arms - but when the teacher (who was actually one of the dancers from the theatrical group on board) tried to demonstrate the more theatrical version which involved men dragging women around by the arm, everyone on board dissolved into giggles, us included. It was a fun way to end the lesson.
Dinner passed quietly, Nick and I were teased mercilessly however about the dance, with Adam suggesting that Nick might have pulled a muscle when he dipped me, but apart from that I think that everyone was feeling a little melancholy as the trip was almost over. Tom and Judy were of course looking forward to seeing their children again, as they had left them back at home with family in Australia, but apart from them everyone else seemed as if they would have liked to stay on board longer. Mum and Percy were talking excitedly about their trip to Miami, Adam looked over at Nick speculatively a few times, and Nick and I were sitting side by side just quietly conversing. To me, it felt as if we were marking time until the next day.
The show passed much as the others did, with Nick and I sitting side by side in the dark, holding hands, Nick's thumb absently rubbing the back of my hand, and then afterwards we went for a long walk around the ship. I did want to go to bed early, as I would have to be up early to leave the ship, but I also didn't want to cut my time with Nick short. I got the impression that Nick may have been thinking along similar lines, as although we didn't have a lot to say to each other, Nick seemed content to just walk around with me.
Awakening Lucy Page 6
