by S. Cruz
“OK,” I said closing my notebook. “Listen do me a favor, I saw this girl, she’s tall and slim in a red dress, with long, brown hair. She was with a short, blond girl. I need to find her,” I said, following him out my door.
“Welcome back, man; I can’t believe you’ve already spotted someone that strikes your fancy,” Scott said, slapping my back. “Way to go, Jess!” We met John and Keith in the hallway. I took the stairs two at a time, anxious to get walking around the deck. Scott told the guys about the girl I was looking for. Naturally, the ribbing started, but I ignored them, more focused on finding this girl than listening to their shit.
“Listen, if we find her, don’t tell her about the band. We’re just four friends on vacation, all right?” I asked.
“Hey, whatever floats your boat—get it?” Scott said. Everyone laughed at his lame joke. I shook my head as I started walking, ignoring their crude remarks. We’d gone all the way around the large ship once, and I hadn’t seen her. There were a lot of attractive girls onboard this ship, but I was focused on one in particular. Scott and Keith were eyeing all the pretty girls. Scott was whistling and making remarks as we walked. John just laughed at them; he had his girl back home. This trip was more about getting my head back in the game, than a true vacation.
“One more time, guys,” I pleaded, not wanting to give up the search. So we started making the trip around the ship again. There were a lot of pretty girls on the ship, but none of them did anything for me. My main goal was finding her.
Keith yelled and pointed ahead. “Hey, is that her?”
My heart jumped in my chest. “Maybe I’m not sure, I need to get a closer look. Hurry, let’s catch up to them,” I said, picking up the pace, practically pushing people out of my way to get closer to her. The dress looked the same; those long legs and that long brown hair, this had to be her. I put my finger to my mouth to keep the guys quiet, even though we sounded like a herd of elephants as we ran to catch up to them. We walked behind them for quite a while so I could watch her as she listened to her blond friend babble on. Her slim body and long hair swayed from side to side while she walked. The view from back was pretty spectacular; I couldn’t wait to see the front up close. My hands were shaking as I watched her, this wave of nervousness washed over me. I found myself contemplating what I was going to say to her as I tried to find the courage to approach her. The guys kept looking at me and nodding in her direction, I put my hands up to try to keep them from saying something before I was ready. I was anxious to see if that intense attraction was still there. It’s now or never, I thought as I took a deep breath and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
“Looking for me, beautiful?” I asked. She jumped and immediately turned around. I felt bad for scaring her, but when she turned around I was face-to-face with the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Holy shit she was stunning. She had big, brown eyes and a gorgeous smile as her long fingers brushed her hair out of her face and she looked up at me. I was a goner!
“You’re real,” I thought to myself as I reached out for her hand. The sparks immediately started flying. I think I made her feel uncomfortable because she pulled her hand away. Cool it Greene, I thought, trying to restrain myself from my sudden impulse to touch her. I remembered my manners and introduced myself. She blushed, pulling her shaking hand away; obviously I’d made her nervous. Of course my friends were eager to meet my new inspiration, all three smiling at her like she was the meal of the day. Geeze guys could you be any more conspicuous, I thought as I introduced her to them, hoping they didn’t say anything to embarrass me..
Bailey introduced us to her blond girl friend Shelly. Her friend was cute, but Bailey was gorgeous, and I was desperate to get to know her. My whole body was on fire as I stood there looking at her. I asked permission, actually asked permission to walk and talk to her. I’d never asked permission before—if I wanted a woman, I turned on the charm and claimed her. Something about her was different making me feel different, so I let the gentleman side of my personality take over. I actually wanted to get to know her. I’d never cared to get to know any woman I was with before.
As we walked I shared some information about myself and asked about her. She was much quieter than her friend, glancing up at me under lowered eyelashes. She did talk about herself a little just the basics, I was sure there was much more to know about this beauty and I couldn’t wait to get to know her better, hopefully much, much better.
She wasn’t watching where she was walking and was about to get her foot caught in a coiled up rope, so I quickly grabbed her around the waist and lifted her out of danger. Her body flopped against mine, igniting a fire within me. I wanted to hold her tight against me and feel the excitement that was circulating inside my body. She was like a lit match to my libido, my heart was racing and my hands were shaking as I held her. Damn this was foreign to me, such intense feelings so soon after meeting this girl. She should come with a warning label. Once my brain kicked back into gear I realized I’d better put her back down before she ran screaming away from me. I’d come completely unglued, holding this perfect stranger in my arms like she was mine. I put her down and stepped back to give her some personal space. Running my hand thru my hair I blew out my breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I looked around at my friends, which were standing there watching me with knowing grins on their faces. I don’t think they’d ever seen me come unglued like this before; I was the cool, suave womanizer, not this shaky mass of nerves.
I stopped at the railing so we could watch our ship head for the open seas. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her as she took in the sight before us. Her profile: silky hair, long legs, slender body, incredible brown eyes, everything I’d ever dreamed of. She seemed to be very sweet and shy and her friend, appeared to be her polar opposite, outspoken and flirty. While Shelly kept my friends entertained, I continued my pursuit of this beauty.
I confessed to Bailey that I was dreading this cruise. I even whispered in her ear that she was my dream girl. What the fuck was I doing letting my personal feelings out to a girl I just met. I’d never done that before, somehow the words just flew out of my mouth. Somehow I felt compelled to confess what I was feeling to her. I don’t know if I was trying to reassure her that I wasn’t a crazed stalker, or that I wanted her to know how I felt up front, no pretenses. This is the one that’s going to fuck you up Greene, I told myself.
I knew we had equipment to set up, and I had to leave, but I was afraid if I walked away I’d lose her and our connection would be broken. John kept giving me a look, but I wanted just a little more time with her. So I took a shot at making a dinner date with her for tonight. To my surprise she accepted, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
John smiled as he pointed to his watch, his subtle hint that we had to go. I rallied the guys, and we headed to find the Green Room where we would be performing during this cruise. John had signed us to perform three times throughout the cruise.
“Jess, she’s beautiful,” John said, nudging me.
“I know. It’s so weird; I felt this incredible connection when I laid eyes on her. I’ve got to see where this attraction leads man; my head is swimming with all these lyrics, I need to grab my notebook and write them down,” I said with a sappy grin.
“Now, asshole, aren’t you glad you came on this cruise?” John said.
“Man, I’m sorry I’ve been such a fucking pain in the ass,” I chuckled.
“You’re forgiven. Let’s get our equipment set up and go meet your dream girl for dinner. I’m anxious to get to know her,” he said.
“Just remember, she’s mine,” I said, giving my friends that “I’ll fucking kill you if you touch her” look. They all chuckled. “Glad you all find this so damn funny,” I said, pissed at the knowing looks they were giving me.
“Hands off, we get it, man; she’s all yours,” Keith said with his hands in the air and a shit-eating grin on his face.
“I like her friend,” Scott said, raising his eyebrows.
“Just don’t forget we’re here to perform, now let’s find that Green Room,” John said, putting a damper on our fun. It took us a couple hours to get all the equipment unpacked and set up. The Green Room was a large room, with a raised wooden stage, decorated all in green befitting its name. Tables were set up all around the room, with a large bar to the left of the entrance. We met with the announcer, and John went over our schedule. Lighting and sound were tested. I was really pleased with the venue. John had given a write-up about the band and some photos that our record producer had taken and sent them to the cruise director so they could print up programs. We were all set and headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner.
When I got to my room, I sat at my desk with my notebook and wrote down some more of my thoughts. I don’t know how long I sat there lost in my own head. I was inspired by this beautiful brown eyed girl. Noticing the time I quickly cleaned up, anxious to see her again. I’d known a lot of women in my line of work, hot and easy. Most of them were very pretty, but they weren’t interested in me, only that I was a singer in a band. They’d hang around with the band for a good time. I fucked them and left them, never looking back. No connection, no remorse, just sex and emptiness.
Bailey seemed to be innocent and sweet, a totally different experience for me. I wanted her to like me for myself before I told her about my crazy lifestyle. I’d been looking for someone that would truly like Jesse Greene. I couldn’t believe I was actually nervous around this girl. Women were a dime a dozen in the bars and nightclubs. I’d never had this reaction before. Meeting and bedding women was my MO…and I was an expert! I had a different woman every night. That had been my life since high school. It was boring, and I was sick of it. As a result, my creative side had dried up. I wasn’t writing songs anymore, just drinking and screwing.
John was worried I was washed up at twenty-six. If my father were alive, he would say, “I told you so!” I wanted to make it in this business, but burning the candle at both ends had caught up with me. John was concerned because we’d signed with this big record producer, and I needed inspiration to write more songs. I didn’t want to let him down, or the rest of the band. I knew I’d been a fuckup and had let them all down. When we first got together I’d written quite a few songs that we performed around the area, but that wasn’t enough to fill a CD. Those songs were what our record producer was impressed with. John had approached him with a recording he made one night of us performing at one of the bars. We were scheduled to cut a CD in late January and we needed more original songs to complete the CD.
John had been patient with me, but this was his last-ditch effort to get me back on the right path. He and our record producer cooked up this idea to sign the band to perform on this cruise. This got me out of the bars for a while in hopes that my creative side would kick back into gear. The band was relying on me and I didn’t want to let them down. They’d been with me thru thick and thin and never gave up on me.
I had to get my shit together!
Two
Bailey
Shelly and I went to our rooms to get ready for our dates. I took a nice, long shower, shaved, and put on a pair of my sexy new underwear, just in case. Shelly usually did my hair because it was very long and straight, making it difficult for me to curl the ends. Besides, she did a much better job than I did. So when I heard a loud knock on my door, I let her in.
She was already dressed in a short, filmy blue dress, looking like my very own personal fairy godmother. I dried my hair; then she took my hot curling iron and put some curls in the end of it, pulling up one side with a beautiful silver-and-turquoise hair comb. I chose turquoise and silver jewelry to go with my silver dress. Shelly said the color showed off my skin tone, and I trusted her; she had a good eye for fashion. The dress was short and tight and hugged my body, with a diamond shape cut out in the back.
By five forty-five I was ready and nervous as hell. I paced waiting for Shelly.
“Oh my God Shelly I’m so nervous,” I confessed. Shelly never got nervous, so I got a pep talk as we walked toward the main dining hall
“OK I know you’re nervous take a deep breath,” Shelly smiled as I stood outside the door to the dining hall shaking. She made me shake my hands and deep breathe a few times. This was all so new to me and she seemed to think it was pretty amusing. I took a deep breath as she flung the door open, and we walked into the room. I took a couple steps in and there they stood just inside the door, waiting for us. Jesse was dressed in black jeans with a black shirt and a gray jacket, looking sexy as hell. I didn’t even notice the other guys as he reached for my hand with a big smile to lead me toward a table. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“Bailey, you look gorgeous,” he said, scanning my body.
I blushed as he pulled out my chair like a perfect gentleman. I heard Shelly giggling behind me as his friends joined us. Scott pulled out a chair for her and sat right next to her. Keith pulled up the chair on the other side of her, and the flirting began. John sat on the other side of Scott, across from Jesse and I drinking a beer with a smirk on his face.
The dining room was stunning, with crystal chandeliers and candles on each table. The floors were carpeted in navy blue and gold, with the same colors on the walls. A server was at our table immediately to take our drink orders. Jesse’s arm was at my back, rubbing up and down on my bare skin. He was making me nervous again, so I adjusted my chair further away from him. He glanced over at me with a sheepish grin.
“Sorry I guess I’m making you nervous again,” Jesse said. I blushed and turned my attention to the guys teasing each other at the table. Their playfulness with each other eased the tension at the table and soon I relaxed and enjoyed listening to them. Scott was whispering and laughing with Shelly as he put his arm around her. That appeared to be a clear sign to Keith that he was claiming her.
Keith moved his chair a little to the left to give them space. Not a word was said; it was just understood that she was going to be with Scott. I wondered how often this happened with these guys. It didn’t seem to bother Shelly as she snuggled into Scott’s side.
“Bailey would you like to go dancing after dinner?” Jesse asked me.
“Sure, that sounds like fun,” I said, smiling at him. I was out of my element, but didn’t want our evening to end so soon. Shelly and I loved to dance and spent a good amount of our teenage years dancing to the music on our iPod’s. His green eyes were searching mine, making it hard to pull my gaze away. Those eyes were mesmerizing; my heart was beating double time as I looked at him. Jesse announced to everyone that after dinner, we were going dancing.
“OK, cool,” Scott said, looking at Shelly for approval. She nodded, and just like that, our night was planned. We laughed through our entire dinner—these guys were very entertaining. Scott especially was very animated and funny. He was a perfect match for Shelly, who could be quite the comedian herself. They seemed to be getting along very well; he had his hands all over her as she smiled nonstop through dinner.
I had two glasses of wine, making me feel warm and fuzzy. Dinner was delicious, we had great service and I was having a good time. I did notice the waitresses glancing at the guys at our table; they did seem to get a great deal of female attention. When we were done eating, Jesse suggested that we take a stroll on the deck to experience our first sunset over the ocean. The sun was just starting to go down when we left the dining hall for a walk. There was a cool breeze that felt great on my warm skin. I wasn’t cold, but Jesse put his arm around my shoulders to hold me close. I guess the wine relaxed me because his arm around my shoulder didn’t make me nervous, it actually felt good. I was enjoying the night air and the beautiful view. We had a few quiet moments alone enjoying the view, before everyone else joined us. Then our moment alone was broken as we headed toward the Cove bar, where a band was playing.
Jesse held the door open for me to enter the dark bar. It was decorated with a nautical motif. A large wooden bar was to the right,
with tables to the left and a band in the far corner. John found a large table and ordered a round of drinks. We were sitting in a corner opposite the band. They were playing a slow song so Jesse pulled me out onto the dance floor, sweeping me into his arms as we danced. I slid my arms around his neck, losing myself in the music, feeling carefree and happy as he nuzzled my neck. He began to sing along with the band in this raspy, low voice. I couldn’t believe it; his voice was fantastic.
I wanted to hear him better, so I closed my eyes and leaned into his body while he sang in my ear. It felt like heaven, being wrapped in his arms as he moved slowly and swayed to the music. He knew all the words to the song and sang it better than the singer in the band did, which I had tuned out as soon as Jesse began to sing. His hand skimmed up my back and into my hair, pulling my head back to look into his eyes, giving me his panty-dropping smile. I was in deep trouble. His finger traced my jaw-line; then he bent his head to give me a tender kiss. It was sweet and made my body come alive with sensations. He rested his head beside mine, swinging us around several times, which started me giggling. He laughed as he held me tight and hummed in my ear. He was a good dancer, and I was enjoying myself.
We danced for a couple more songs; then he took my hand and led me off the floor to our table. I took a drink of my wine, lifting up my hair to get some air on my warm neck and back. I saw Shelly and Scott out on the dance floor. Keith was missing, so John was the only one at the table, sitting all by himself and drinking his beer. Poor guy.
“Are you having fun, Bailey?” Jesse asked.
“Yes,” I said, watching him drink his beer. Who knew that watching a man drink a beer would be so damn sexy? Everyone in the bar was watching Scott and Shelly slow dance; their moves were X-rated. I put my hand over my eyes and bowed my head in embarrassment. Jesse started laughing at me.
