“Oh, my God, Ellie, hi!” Nick said. His accent, surprisingly, was American. He released Caitlin and seized me instead. “You are simply gorgeous, darling!”
Every woman needs an amazing gay man in their life. I loved him immediately.
“Are you a photographer, too?” I asked, already imagining the fun we’d get up to.
“Me? God no,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m a senior dancer in the Production Cast.” He bowed his head before curtsying gracefully. “Soon to be on Broadway—as soon as I save enough clams to haul ass to the Big Apple.”
Nick seemed as fun and over-the-top as Caitlin—these were exactly the friends I needed to break me out of my shell on this whole adventure. I felt butterflies in my stomach at the excitement of the whole scenario. This was definitely going to be fun!
“Sooooo, ladies,” Caitlin said, motioning for us to sit down and huddle up. “What’s the latest with your skeeze roommate?” She directed the question at Nick, but then turned to me to explain. “See that black guy over there, with the incredible biceps? That’s Tyrone—Nick’s roommate. His girlfriend works on the Shore Excursion desk.” She leaned forward, speaking in a dramatic stage whisper. “Anyway, he’s constantly cheating on her when she’s working or sleeping, and last night he asked Jacoline to leave a crew party with him… When she told him to fuck off, he disappeared, and one of the other Shories slipped out right after.” She turned back to Nick. “Did they come back to the cabin?”
“Well, Princess, let’s just say that when I got back from the gym last night—when the rest of you were partying—the sock was on the door handle for quite a while…and I didn’t even recognise the girl who came out.” Nick wiped imaginary crumbs from the corners of his pursed lips, obviously enjoying divulging juicy gossip. “She looked pretty damn dishevelled. I thought she might have been a passenger.”
Jacoline shook her head and lowered her eyes, making one of those tsk-tsk-it’s-so-terrible faces.
“To make it worse,” Caitlin said, “he already slept with me a few weeks ago!”
I was surprised, but a bit confused. “Wait, so…the bad part is that he tried to sleep with Jacoline? Or that he slept with you? Or that he slept with a passenger? Or is it that he has a girlfriend?” Actually, it all sounded pretty dodgy.
“Oh, gawd, everybody sleeps around on ships,” Caitlin said, “but we draw the line at friends… Well, colleagues, at least.” The way she casually shrugged off the cheating surprised me. Cheating had been the nail in the coffin of the life I’d thought I had.
“Chicks before dicks,” Jacoline chimed in, and they high-fived.
I had just found the only two women in the world who actually used that expression.
“And yes, the passenger part is bad, but it depends who you are,” Caitlin said, looking suddenly serious. “It’s officially against the rules, but staff higher up on the pecking order sometimes get away with it. It’s easier if you have a cabin on a higher floor, though—getting a passenger below the water line can be tricky.”
Nick and Jacoline nodded in agreement, and then Nick launched into a story about waiters and bar staff who’d been caught with passengers and fired on the spot.
“Darling,” he said, “they literally got dropped off in the next port and had to find their own way home.” he said. It seemed like a harsh punishment, but he explained that a cruise line could potentially face legal battles of nightmare proportions if a passenger later called foul play. “Not that it’s ever stopped me, of course,” he added, sniggering, and the girls both giggled.
That story led to another, and another, as they entertained me with tales of passengers and the crazy things they did and said. “Do these stairs go down?” was an obvious favourite and had us creasing up. Caitlin relayed the cruise ship urban legend of a passenger who phoned the Guest Purser’s Desk for help because they were stuck in their room with two doors—a bathroom and one with a ‘do not disturb’ sign hanging on the doorknob. “They said ‘I can’t get out!’” she yelped, wiping away tears of laughter.
As breakfast came to an end, Jacoline got up from the table and said her goodbyes. “I’m going back for a sleep,” she said. “I’m completely fucked today. And not in a good way.” We all smiled and waved her off.
Nick stood up too. “I hate to love you and leave you, but I’m off to do a stretching session,” he said, air kissing us both. “But I’ll see you later, promise?”
I turned to Caitlin to ask what she suggested I do for the day, but before I could say anything Seth walked into the mess. He’d obviously finished shooting gangway already. There was a guy with him who looked to be a bit older than Seth, maybe in his late thirties. Possibly Italian or Greek, he was really tanned with jet black hair, and very handsome.
“This is Luciano, the ship’s Senior Engineer,” Seth said as they approached our table. “He thought he’d come and join me for breakfast instead of sufferin’ through any more of that silly five star service they get up in the officer’s mess.”
Luciano nodded and smiled broadly. “Ciao, belle,” he said. Definitely Italian.
They loaded their plates up high at the buffet and then joined us. Seth sat down close to me and put his arm around the back of my chair; little hairs all over my body stood up in excitement. His leg was touching mine, and even though I had been considering getting up to get more coffee, I didn’t want to move and break the energy field.
“You won’t get a breakfast like this at crappy old Parsons,” Seth said to Caitlin, raising his juice to her in a mock toast.
“Parsons?” I repeated, curious.
“I’ve applied for a scholarship to Parsons’ School of Fashion to do a BA in Fashion Design. I’m just here killing time and saving money,” Caitlin said, turning to me. She appeared a bit embarrassed, though it seemed to me she was playing down its importance. I was impressed—I’d incorrectly pegged her as a perennial party girl.
Caitlin and Seth led the conversation, rapidly leaving Caitlin’s ambitions behind in the interest of getting me to talk about home, family, hobbies, and my past jobs. I avoided mentioning my ex. I didn’t want to be ‘that’ girl, the one who went on about her previous relationship in front of her new man.
After a while, Caitlin noticed we all had empty mugs; when she got up to get refills, Seth offered to help. While they were gone, Luciano leaned in, his face serious.
“So, Ellie, you and Seth are together now?”
“Well, I guess so,” I said, startled. I hadn’t expected to get asked so directly and so hadn’t really thought about what I’d say—especially in light of Seth’s comment about keeping the relationship quiet. “I mean, I think he’s great, and I don’t know him that well yet; but we definitely…hit it off.” How did you explain your involvement with someone you’d met yesterday but had already gone to bed with? How did I justify anything without spilling my long, boring history? And did I need to? These guys were a mixture of the party-people and the fun police.
“Ah yes, he’s ‘great’, as you say,” Luciano said. “We’re very good friends, and I know him well.” He paused to take a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. “It doesn’t bother you that he’s also been with your colleague Maria? I assume you’ve met her already?”
The look on my face obviously spoke volumes and Luciano started to backpedal immediately. “Sorry, I thought you knew…well, they were not really, you know…um… She is really pazza.” He wound his finger near his temple to indicate somebody crazy. Red-faced, he mumbled something else and walked over to join Seth at the coffee station. He started talking earnestly to Seth, prompting Caitlin to scamper back to our table.
“Oh darl, I’m so sorry I didn’t get to warn you,” she said apologetically as she set down our coffees. “The stuff I was saying this morning about people sleeping with friends and colleagues…well, I think Seth’s kind of on a different page with that one.” Caitlin was shaking her head, looking genuinely frustrated. “I was going to
say something, but it had already happened, and everyone will know you didn’t know…” She took my hand. “Seth and Maria were seeing each other for a while, but he broke it off with her and she’s been pretty pissed at him ever since.”
This last part gave me hope. “At least he broke it off with her, right? That means he’s not pining after her.”
Caitlin didn’t look convinced. “Well, yeah…but I think Maria REALLY liked him, so while you might not have to worry about Seth still holding a torch for her, I think she’s still holding one for him.” Caitlin looked around to make sure we were still alone. “Babe, I’m not someone who backs down to bitches, but Maria isn’t someone you want on your bad side.” She took a deep breath and leaned closer. “On her last ship, Maria and this girl Katie from the beauty salon got in this huge spat. Same old story—boy meets girl, boy meets other girl, girls duke it out…” She flicked her hair over her shoulder and continued, “The guy was a passenger, some big shot sports agent, so they shouldn’t have been messing with him anyway, but never mind. Rumour had it that Maria was so pissed about Katie getting involved with her man that she spiked Katie’s drink one night in the nightclub, then took a bunch of half-naked photos of Katie once she’d passed out back in the cabin. If that wasn’t bad enough, all of those photos got posted to Facebook where everyone could see them. Katie’s parents tried to get her to come home, but in the end she took a demotion so she could be trans-shipped and just get away from the whole thing.” She shrugged. “I guess no one could ever prove anything—even the photos were posted through Katie’s account, so Maria never got in trouble. She just said she’d been worried about Katie and had helped her back to her cabin, and then left, but I wouldn’t put it past her to have pulled such a shit stunt. I’ve seen her lose it, and man, it’s not pretty… The bitch can be seriously vindictive.” There was a pause, and then she added, “So…yeah. She’s kind of used to getting what she wants. If I were you, I’d keep out of her way for a while. Lay low, you know?”
Great. I had unleashed a scorned, potentially violent woman. And it was only my second day.
Caitlin obviously saw the anxiety in my face, because she hastily added, “But don’t worry, I’ve totally got your back. Just be careful; South American women are totally loco.” She made the same crazy-in-the-head sign with her index finger.
I wasn’t one for stereotyping, but it was a bit worrying to see Maria described that way twice in the space of minutes.
Seth and Luciano returned, and as Seth sat down he said, “So you heard about Maria?” I nodded, mutely. “Don’t worry about it. It didn’t last long. She’s really not my type.”
Did that mean I was? Hope fluttered in my stomach, but my masochistic side needed to know all the details, and so the questions began. “How long ago did you finish with her?” I prayed it was far in the past.
“Well, it’s been quite a while…like, a week or so.”
A week? I’d still been crying into my pillow a week after I’d broken it off with Dan. I knew cruise ship life is meant to move at four times the speed of real life, but in the real world, you didn’t normally have to sleep in the room across from your lover’s ex. Still, Seth’s tone told me he was confident a week was long enough for bygones to be bygones.
“She’s a little bit crazy,” he continued, “but don’t worry, as long as I’m around, she won’t do anything.” He smiled his winning smile and looked around the table. “Don’t you think so, Caity?”
Caitlin shrugged and took a huge sip of her drink.
Seth turned his attention to Luciano. “Back me up here, man?”
Luciano also shrugged.
Great. I’d managed to get on the wrong side of my new man’s ex already, and everyone pretty much agreed that she was not only a bitch, but a little crazy into the bargain.
Bollocks.
Chapter Three
As I opened the Pic Stop that evening, my mind again turned to the problem of Maria. In my single days, my friends and I had always followed the rule about not messing with each other’s blokes—even if it had been years since the friend in question had been with him. If I’d known about Maria, I wouldn’t have slept with Seth, although in my defence I hadn’t actually met her until afterwards… Sigh. I probably wouldn’t have done it if I’d been sober either; I would have waited a week. Or at least a few days. Still, the damage was done. Maria was clearly already pissed off at me. So there was no need to stop sleeping with him now, right? Single women all over the world would be very disappointed if I let the side down by letting such a fine-looking specimen get away.
It was hard to focus on sales and service when my thoughts were on Seth, and it didn’t help that my head was slightly splitting with the remnants of a hangover that had only been temporarily dulled by the application of coffee. I was really going to need to sleep more during my contract. I had a feeling that the constant drinking and late nights would take their toll before long. I was definitely going to start going to bed earlier…next cruise.
I had fudged my way through two hours of forced smiling when Seth popped his head in through the doorway, just in time for my hour-long meal break. He was sporting a massive grin and holding out a huge bottle of water, which I knew was icy cold from the tell-tale drips of condensation running down the sides. Just what I wanted.
And the drink was a welcome sight too.
“Oh, you’re a lifesaver,” I exclaimed, and raced over to have a sip.
“Not without a kiss first,” Seth said, hiding the bottle behind his back. As I leaned over to kiss him, he whispered in my ear, “Would you like to come for a ride?” He was looking at me with come-hither eyes and a white-toothed grin.
“A ride?” I looked at him quizzically. Then it clicked, and I felt my cheeks burning. “Oh. But what about dinner…?” I asked, not really caring if I never ate again.
“It can wait. I can’t.” Wow, the sign of a horny man. Or a pushy one. I settled on the former with a touch of the latter. “Now…let’s go.” He pulled me out of the shop with one hand, reaching back to lock the door with the other. I liked a man who could multitask.
We raced back to Seth’s cabin and were barely through the door before he had my shirt halfway over my head. Hating to have my muffin-top on display, I reached over and turned off the light. It was pitch black. Damn, I kept forgetting about that. Reading my mind, Seth flicked on the fairy lights, which were much nicer and considerably more flattering to the complexion.
Seth didn’t seem to mind my curves. If anything, he loved them. He kept murmuring, “you’re so beautiful”, over and over again as he kissed my face, my neck, my hair. I was completely under his spell. What girl doesn’t like being told they’re beautiful? This time we were totally sober and, amazingly, he was still completely into me. The fact Seth thought I was sexy was really flattering, if a little hard to believe, and it really turned me on.
He picked me up easily, placed me on the edge of the desk, and lifted my skirt. “Time is of the essence…” he whispered. “Much faster this way.”
God, he was sexy…and efficient. Dan hadn’t so much as touched my hand in months before I left, and here was possibly the most beautiful man I’d ever seen devouring me like a feast in the desert. I melted in all the right places. I held my breath in anticipation of the foreplay that was sure to follow.
What felt like moments later, it was all over. For him, at least. I was still balancing on the edge of a rather pointy-cornered hardback by the time Seth was all zipped up. He ran his fingers through his hair and peered at himself in the little mirror on the wall.
“Sorry, Ellie, I’m starving. You’re the best, though. I owe you one.”
I felt a little stunned by his love-’em-and-leave-’em approach and must have looked a little hurt, because he leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You’re gonna get it good later.” He kissed me on the forehead.
Ah, I realised. The anticipation game… This guy was good.
I slid off the des
k and bent down to pull myself together a bit. When I looked up, he was already halfway out the door. “Feel free to use the bathroom. Don’t rush. See ya at the crew bar later.” And he was gone.
I went back to my cabin for a shower. It just felt wrong to go back to work with the smell of a sexy Texan all over me; I was sure people would immediately know what I’d been up to.
The rest of my shift passed uneventfully. I kept standing at the door and furtively glancing around, hoping Seth would make an appearance. He didn’t, but Caitlin swung by at closing time with a covered plate.
“Hi, darl, I noticed you weren’t at dinner and thought you’d be hungry.” She lifted the cover off the plate and revealed soggy looking nachos. “I know it’s not the best, but hopefully it will fill the hole.” She grinned. “Speaking of which, I saw you and Seth disappearing into his cabin at dinner time… You didn’t see me because you were blinded by the passion.” She laughed out loud. “Give me the gory details, lady.”
As we closed the shop and rushed back to the cabin to change for the crew bar, I filled her in with all the bits I didn’t feel too embarrassed to repeat out loud. We danced about to pop music as we got ready, and as one of her favourite old school tunes came on, Caitlin turned it up. “Rock this party, dance everybody, make it hot in this party…!” she sang loudly and out of tune, dancing around in her g-string. Caitlin wasn’t conventionally beautiful, but her energy and enthusiasm definitely made her attractive. I loved her lack of inhibition and wished I had a tenth of her confidence.
I waited until she was dressed and then asked her how she kept in shape. She had a remarkably tiny waist and slender arms—both things I lacked, and longed for.
“Oh, I’m just lucky, I guess,” she replied, shrugging it off. Trust her to be humble about it.
While we were doing our make-up, jiggling and dancing on the spot, Caitlin reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a bottle of Kahlua and two shot glasses. “To get us in the mood!” she yelled over the music. I wasn’t sure how much more of a party mood she could be in, but I was happy to have a swig. I was actually feeling a bit nervous about seeing Seth again.
Sex, Lies, and Cruising Page 4
