by S. Cruz
“I just had to find you,” Jesse said, lifting my chin so our eyes were connected. My attraction to him was immediate, I wondered if he felt it too.
“Can I walk with you?” he asked.
I nodded, looking at Shelly, who said “Sure” immediately.
Jesse squeezed in next to me, separating me from Shelly. He asked where I was from and what I did for a living. I’d never had a guy so interested in me before. I answered his questions, looking up at him from my lowered eyes. He seemed to be interested in getting to know me. I’m sure I must have looked terrified as we talked. I could hear Shelly laughing as she joked with the other guys. She was much better at this than I was.
I asked him questions too. He told me he was twenty-six and a graphic artist and lived in Arizona where he worked for an advertising company. He had this quiet confidence about him, calmly walking along and talking to me like we’d known each other for a long time. Every time he smiled, that dimple had my heart racing. I glanced up at him as he continued to talk to me, taking in a very handsome man that seemed to be solely interested in me. He was looking at me very closely as we walked; it’s a good thing because I wasn’t watching where I was walking and almost tripped on a very large cable that was coiled up near the railing of the ship.
“Be careful there, beautiful,” he said, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me to safety. My face was next to his neck, and I inhaled this spicy, manly scent mixed with the sea air. It was intoxicating as his muscular arms held me close to his body. I knew right then that I was in serious trouble with this guy as he held me suspended in his arms.
“Thank you,” I said after he lowered me back to my feet. Blushing I adjusted my dress; positive I’d probably exposed my underwear to have the passengers on the deck. Taking a deep breath I tried to calm my beating heart. Jesse had saved me from what could have been a very embarrassing fall. I looked over at Shelly, who had stopped walking and was watching us with a smirk. I knew she probably had a smart remark, but she just winked at me as we continued to walk around the ship.
Two of the guys seemed to be happy to follow her as she strutted her stuff for them, enjoying every minute of it. John the big dark haired guy was quiet, smiling at us as he followed behind his friends. Shelly was cute and perky, and all the guys always went for her. I normally just quietly stood back and watched the show. But Jesse never looked her way once—I couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t paying any attention to her at all.
We stopped walking and watched our ship sail toward the open seas. The view from the railing was magnificent. Seagulls were flying all around the ship as the waves hit the side of the bow. Jesse grabbed my hand again, pulling my mind back to him. I tried to pull my hand away, totally un-nerved by his touching me. He let go of my hand with a smile. I’d just met him and even though we had talked we were still complete strangers, but what he said to me next had thrown me off kilter.
“When you looked at me earlier from the dock, I felt this immediate connection with you,” he said. I sucked in a deep breath. He’d just confessed the same feelings that I was feeling when I saw him.
“You may think this is silly but, I think you may be the girl I’ve been looking for all these years.”
“Not really, I felt the same way about you,” I confessed before I realized the words had flown out of my mouth. Way to stay mysterious there, Bailey!
“You know, somehow, I felt that. It was so strong that I made the guys search all over this ship for you,” he admitted with a sly grin.
“Yeah, we practically knocked people over to get close enough to see if you were the girl he described to us,” Scott laughed. I looked at Jesse, who smiled sheepishly at me. I still couldn’t believe that he’d searched for me. I didn’t mention that I was secretly searching for him too. He took my shaking hands in his and looked into my eyes with a big, apologetic smile.
“I’m scaring you right now, aren’t I?” he asked.
“A little,” I nodded, feeling embarrassed but excited at the same time. I pulled my hand away again experiencing intense heat between us that had my body humming with all these new emotions. How is this possible we just met?
“I’m sorry; I know we just met. I didn’t know my friends were going to rat me out like that,” he said, giving his friends an annoyed look.
I had to chuckle at their discomfort as they squirmed at his comment. His friend John just smiled at the two of us. “Whatever man,” Scott said with a shrug and turned his attention back on Shelly.
“Listen, Bailey, I swear I’m a nice guy,” he said, crossing his heart. “I just believe in going after what I want.” He smiled at me. Oh my god he just said he wanted me! Now I really was nervous and I turned bright red and looked over at Shelly. She was watching us and heard what he said, giving me a look with her hands on her hips. I knew exactly what she was thinking: Don’t fuck this up, Bailey. Jesse followed my eyes to look at her too. I pulled my hands from his and raised them in a “what?” gesture as she blurted out, “Remember our list.”
I nodded my understanding. I knew she wanted me to pursue whatever Jesse and I might have together, but I’d already decided I would do just that after he saved me from falling on that cable. Maybe he was the knight in shining armor I’d always dreamed about. Jesse looked confused with one eyebrow raised.
“List, what kind of list?” He smirked.
“Oh, just ignore her,” I said, waving my hand to dismiss the issue.
“Dare I ask what’s on that list? Or maybe I don’t want to know.”
“Long story,” I said, desperately trying to change the subject and kill my best friend and her big mouth.
“I’ve got time,” he said, looking intrigued.
“Not today,” I said. I turned to see Shelly giggling and flirting with Jesse’s blond friend. She was slapping his arm as he pulled her into him by her waist. She’s already got two of the guys drooling over her, and she’s not a bit uncomfortable. I wished I had that kind of confidence with men. I was a work in progress, but Jesse made me feel desirable. I was enjoying myself, and my shyness was slowly beginning to disappear.
“Look,” Jesse said, grabbing my hand to turn me toward the shoreline. “The coastline looks so small now.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said, leaning against the railing to look at the little bit of green still visible. And then there was nothing but blue water all around us.
I noticed Shelly step up to the railing with her two new friends surrounding her. She was still giggling, but the view that she was watching wasn’t the same view I was watching. John leaned on the railing looking out to sea by himself apparently not affected by Shelly’s charms. Jesse slid his arm around my waist to pull me closer to his side. I looked up at him, feeling uncomfortable and took a step away to loosen his grip. My heart was beating so fast. Too much, too soon, I thought to myself.
“Just in case you trip again,” he explained when I stepped away. He smiled and I smiled back as I tried to relax. I turned back to look at the ocean.
“Thank you for saving me.” I finally said.
“You know I was dreading this cruise,” he whispered.
“Really!” I said, surprised.
“But now I’m really glad that John twisted my arm and made me come.” His green eyes were sparkling in the sunlight. He stepped a little closer to me until I could feel his warm breath on my neck.
“The view is beautiful,” I said with a sigh, still processing the fact that I was actually on this ship with this handsome guy next to me.
“You’re the view I’m enjoying, Bailey!” he said, turning me around to face him. His mouth hovered just above my lips. I held my breath wondering if he was about to try to kiss me. He smiled down at me for what seemed like an eternity then he slowly pulled his face away from mine and turned back toward the ocean. I quietly let my breath out as I turned to clutch the railing tight. I was so out of my comfort zone right then. I felt his hand slide around my waist again as he pulled me close
r to him. The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering, I was barely breathing as I felt the warmth of his arm around my waist.
I swept my hair out of my face and let the ocean breeze blow over my heated body to cool me down. My heart was racing so fast as I stood there with this silly grin on my face. I sneaked a peek at Jesse, who was smiling at me. He whispered in my ear.
“You know, you’re my fantasy girl!”
If he hadn’t been holding me, I would have fallen overboard with that remark. I was in shock—never in a million years did I dream I’d be this sexy man’s fantasy girl. I was in heaven!
I wanted to look in the mirror and make sure I hadn’t morphed into someone else’s body. This couldn’t be happening to me.
“I don’t want to walk away from you for fear this was all a dream,” he confessed turning to look at me. I didn’t know what to say as I turned around to face him. I was feeling the same way, but I didn’t tell him. He was looking directly into my eyes, looking so sincere that a shiver ran down my spine. I think he really means what he just said.
“Bailey, I know we just met, but I would love to spend more time with you and get to know you better. I feel this unbelievable connection with you, I just can’t explain it. Would you have dinner with me tonight?”
“Umm…sure, I’d like that,” I said, excited that he wanted to spend more time with me. He appeared to be relieved, blowing out his breath and running his hand thru his hair.
“Well all right then,” he chuckled. How about meeting a six in the main dining hall, do you know where that is?” he asked.
“Yes, Shelly and I found it when we were exploring earlier,” I said.
“Listen, I have to go. I haven’t settled in my room yet, and I’ve got a few things I need to do. I was too busy looking for you,” he chuckled. He turned and gave a signal to the other three guys.
“OK Jesse, see you later,” I said looking over at Shelly.
“I’ll see you in a few hours, Bailey.” He turned toward his friends and walked away, looking just as gorgeous from the back as he did from the front. I stood there in shock, watching the most handsome guy I’d ever laid eyes on turn and wink at me with this big smile on his face. He’d actually found me, before I could find him! I wanted to see where this attraction would lead me.
“Well, well, well,” Shelly said, standing next to me.
“He asked me to dinner,” I said in shock.
“I know I heard him. He’s hot, Bails, seriously hot! And those friends of his are just as sexy as he is! I heard him tell you he was looking for you, where did you two meet?” She asked looking curious.
I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer and confessed. “I saw him when we were standing on the dock. He and his friends were up at the top of the stairs; he turned around and looked right at me. Shelly it was weird, our eyes connected and I felt this intense heat throughout my body. I guess you’d say we had a moment. I’d never felt like that before. Then he turned around and disappeared onto the ship. I didn’t want to tell you that I’d been secretly looking for him too.”
“You had a moment with a guy and you never said a word to me. Bailey I’m your best friend for God’s sake, don’t you think a reaction to a guy like Jesse would have been worth mentioning?” She chastised me.
“I’m sorry; I just didn’t think anything would come of it, so I kept my mouth shut. Oh my God you’re going with me to dinner tonight, aren’t you?” I asked, panicky.
“Yes, don’t get your knickers in a knot. Scott and Keith both heard Jesse ask you and invited me to join them for dinner.” She pointed at their backs as they walked away. “Bailey, we haven’t even been on this ship four hours yet, and we already have dates,” she said, hugging me.
“I know, this is just surreal,” I said.
“I have the feeling that this is going to be a great trip!” She grabbed my hand and practically skipped toward the door that led down to our rooms.
“I hope so; I feel this strong connection to Jesse,” I said, smiling at her.
“Well, according to Scott, Jesse was hot to find you. He described you in that red dress and practically begged the guys to look for you.”
“Really, he told you that?” I was shocked. “I thought that was just a pickup line Jesse said to get my attention.”
“No, Scott said he was like a crazed man stalking the deck, looking for his dream girl. Then when Keith spotted you, Jesse took off, practically running people down to catch up to you,” she chuckled. “He said they followed behind us for a while until Jesse could get up the courage to speak to you.
“I can’t believe it, I never figured that a hunk like Jesse would ever have any trouble talking to girls, he seems so self-assured. Shelly I’ve never been anyone’s dream girl before. This can’t be happening,” I said, shaking my head.
“Oh no you don’t. Stop that self-doubting crap right now. That gorgeous hunk of man wants you, girlfriend. Damn you and your low self-esteem. I’m going to pinch you so that you’ll know that this is real and stop with the self-loathing shit,” she said, pinching my arm.
“Ouch! Damn it, Shelly, that hurt,” I said, jumping back from her.
“You are going to have a good time,” she said, swirling her fingers around in front of my face like she was hypnotizing me.
“Oh my God, Shelly, stop that,” I yelled, embarrassed by her theatrics as I looked around to make sure nobody was watching her. “Don’t ever pinch me again,” I said as I rubbed my arm. She loved to put on a show and didn’t care who was watching.
“I have you to thank for meeting the cutest guys ever, and now we both have dates for dinner,” she said, hugging me.
“Me? I didn’t do anything,” I said.
“Don’t screw this up!” she warned, pointing her finger in my face.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence!” I said, exasperated with her threat.
“OK, enough of this bullshit; let’s go get gorgeous,” she said. She hooked my arm with hers, and just like that, the conversation was over. I think I was in a state of shock—nothing like this had ever happened to me before, and I wasn’t handling it very well. I don’t even remember walking down the stairs to our rooms.
Jesse
We stood on the loading dock waiting for our equipment to be loaded onto the ship. Scott was being his usual goofball self, cracking jokes and trying to convince me how much fun we were going to have. John was also doing his best to try to pump me up about performing on this ship, something about getting my mojo back. I wasn’t buying it.
John had booked us on this cruise hoping my creative juices would kick in. He wanted to get me away from the bars and nightclubs for a week so I could relax and maybe get over my dry spell. I haven’t written any new songs in quite a long time, he hoped a change of scenery and beautiful girls in bikinis would be just what I needed. Yeah right, fuck that!
I wasn’t very happy about his idea and gave him shit every chance I got. He was trying to make his point when I turned my back on him to block him out. I didn’t need to listen to his psychobabble. I looked down at the dock and something in red caught my eye, I blocked out the sun and took a closer look. Standing there was this girl in a little red sundress staring up at me. Her long, brown hair was blowing in the breeze as our eyes connected, and I froze. I felt dizzy and grabbed the railing for support as my heart started pounding in my chest.
“Oh my God, that’s her,” I thought to myself. My body was frozen in time, taking in every inch of her long legs and bronze skin in that short red dress. She smiled at me; I couldn’t believe it. I looked around to see if it was someone else she was smiling at, but nobody was looking at her. I stuck my hand up in a lame attempt at a wave. To my surprise she smiled and waved back at me. I hadn’t smiled in a long time, but I had this silly grin on my face. She was young and beautiful, truly stunning. The sun was shining behind her, making her appear to be glowing like an angel. I could see all the way up her long thighs as the wind swirled her dre
ss while she tried to hold it down. She was exquisite. This tingle went up my spine like an electric current lighting my body on fire. Not once had I ever had that kind of reaction to a girl before, and believe me, I’d had a lot of women in my life.
I hoped that she was on this cruise, because I was determined to find her. I had seven days to meet this vision that sent my body into overdrive. Suddenly all these verses were floating around in my head; my creative side was humming with ideas, until John slapped me on my back to snap me out of my trance.
“Hey, man, are you listening to me?” he asked as I turned back around. I realized that he had been talking to me the whole time, but I never heard a word he said. I wanted to turn back around to see her one more time, but I was afraid I’d imagined her! John pushed me forward to step onto the deck of the ship; he was still trying to pump me up about this cruise.
“Yeah, you’re right, man; I can’t wait for this cruise to begin,” I said, shaking hands with some of the ship’s personnel. I had this smile on my face that I couldn’t wipe off; John was looking at me like I was possessed.
The crew pointed us in the right direction, and we headed for our rooms. I dropped my suitcase and sat down at the desk, taking out my Notebook to write down some of the lyrics before I forgot them. I started writing about this beautiful girl in a red dress and was writing like a madman when Scott knocked on my door and stepped in.
“Jess, come on, the guys want to watch the ship leave port. Let’s go up on deck,” he said, watching me writing furiously.
“Just a minute I need to get all these thoughts down while there fresh in my mind,” I said. This immediate connection with her took me by surprise; my head was swimming with unfamiliar feelings that I had to explore further. Somehow this girl had tapped into my creative side, causing me to overflow with emotions I really didn’t completely understand. I just jotted down what I was feeling, hoping to make sense of it later. Scott stood there watching me, leaning against my door. I knew he was excited to explore the ship, but he’d have to wait.
