by Adele Hart
I race out in time to catch Libby and pull her inside the store. “Perfect timing, sweetheart. I want you to meet Gretchen. She’s a guest on the ship. She was just asking who I was buying a gift for.”
Gretchen takes a step back as if standing next to me might be dangerous for her, and by the look in my Libby’s eyes, it might be. That look of jealousy makes me happy. It means Libby is as invested in this relationship as I am.
Justice stands to the side with a look that could make the pox seem friendly.
“Here you go, Mr. Cross.” The salesperson hands me a pretty wrapped box, and I place it in Libby’s palm.
“These seemed perfect for you.”
“This is your girlfriend?” Gretchen looks Libby up and down like I’ve chosen poorly.
“No,” I say with decisiveness. Justice smiles an I-knew-it smile, and Libby lowers her head as if in shame. “This is my future wife.” I pull her into my arms and cover her mouth with mine. I want every person to see me claim her. By the end of this cruise there will be no question about who belongs to whom. I belong to Libby. The only obstacle is getting her to trust that she belongs to me.
“Open it, sweetheart, so if you don’t like it we can get you something you do like.” Her hands shake as she pulls the silver ribbon from the white box. When she lifts the lid, she covers her mouth to suppress her joy. “They’re wonderful.” Her fingers trace the swirl of the design.
“I thought they were perfect for you. When you look at them, know that each one represents you and me. I love you Libby. I know it’s crazy, but I do.” I wait for her to return the words, but she doesn’t, and it hurts me more than I want to admit.
She puts the earrings on and pulls back her long raven hair for me to see. She looks down at her watch, and I’m almost certain she will tell me she has work to do. Instead, she says, “Asa, it’s time for a reward.”
It doesn’t take long for me to get her back to the room and into bed. I have her naked in minutes and as I hover over her with my cock throbbing and needy, I ask her what she wants.
“You—I want you.” And the hurt I felt earlier turns to hope because I want her to want me.
I slide into her making sure she gets every inch of me she asked for. She fits me like we were made for each other. Her tight heat has a way of making each time we make love feel like I’m coming home after a long journey.
“God, I love this,” I say as I stroke her again and again. The heat builds and her muscles begin to shake. I change the position so my cock rubs her clit the way she loves, and I know I’m in the perfect place when she moans words like, ‘oh’ and ‘yes’ and ‘Asa’ and ‘God’. My pace quickens, and she claws at my back. She takes in several short inhales of breath and then stills until the pleasure I pull from her resembles a seizure. She quakes beneath me and when her core clenches around me, I am lost inside her. I’ve never in my life been this content.
Seven
Libby
The woman rubs and kneads my sore muscles as I glance at the ocean. Asa is on the table next to mine having the tension removed from his body as well. Who knew that sex could be that demanding? We hold hands as the masseuses move across our bodies.
We are in a cabana on the beach in St Kitts. It’s the only place we’ve disembarked. Our excursions have all been enjoyed inside the suite. We visited the hot tub, the dining table, the couch, the spare bed, and the shower. All locations I’d love to see again, but sadly our time is running out and the thought makes my stomach muscles knot up painfully tight.
“Is this really what your life is like?” The ocean breeze is like a cool breath against my skin.
He squeezes my fingers. “No, it’s what my life is like with you in it.”
“Oh come on, Asa. Every chance my sister gets, she reminds me that the cruise ends in two days. I’m going back to my world, and you’re going back to yours. My world isn’t your world.” I didn’t mean for my voice to sound so testy, but as each day passes, I am reminded that these perfect moments will end.
His hand stiffens in mine. “Why not? Your world is my world.”
He sounds so sincere, so convincing, but I know that fairytales don’t really come true. If they did, people wouldn’t have to write about them all the time to keep the myth alive.
“Our worlds are each other's until the day after tomorrow when I walk down that plank and enter reality.”
“Damn it Libby. Why do you doubt what I tell you?” His hand drops from mine. “You don’t believe that I want you, and yet, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. You doubt this because you’re not sure you want me.” He swings his legs to the side of the table and hops off. “I’ve got work to do. I don’t have time for your doubts.”
I lift up. “Asa, stop.” I swing around to a sitting position and look at him. He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever known. He’s sweet and wise and wonderful, but I know this isn’t reality. This was a one-week fantasy. “Asa, I’m not the kind of girl who gets the glass slipper and the ball gown and the prince. I’m the kind of girl that reads about other girls getting it.”
“Libby, I don’t know what I can do to convince you that I love you. I don’t think that’s our problem. I think that you’re not convinced you love me. Maybe it’s our age difference.” A pained look covers his face. “Or maybe you were just using me. The one thing I know for sure is I’m not willing accept anything less than all of you.”
He turns and walks away, and I sit on the massage table and my heart drops like an anchor. What have I done?
I spend the afternoon walking around the port of St Kitts. I eat at a restaurant called Shipwreck Bay because it seems fitting for my situation. For days, I’ve been riding high on the waves of passion until Asa left me on the beach to think about my stupid actions. I should have chased him back to the ship and told him what he wanted to hear, but I had to convince my head what my heart already knew.
Asa has done nothing to make me believe he doesn’t feel exactly as he says. The man shows me he loves me each time he makes love to me. He is so gentle and caring, always seeing to my pleasure before his own. He is everything I dream of and that’s the problem, he’s so perfect that it’s hard to believe he’s real. I’ve allowed him my body, but I’ve kept love at a distance. Once before, I gave a man my heart and my body and he hurt me. Poor Asa is paying for that man’s mistakes.
I reach up and touch the earrings. Asa and Libby, he said when he gave them to me, and now I wonder if there is an us anymore. It’s time to stop being afraid. It’s time to tell him I love him.
When I get back to our room, he is gone. I mean really gone as in all of his things are gone. The only thing that remains is a letter.
Libby,
I thought it better that I leave the ship today than torment you or myself any longer. I love you. Maybe that’s the problem. I saw you and I loved you and I smothered you. I didn’t give you a chance to make a choice for yourself. I chose for both of us. I’ve always been a man who knew what he wanted, and I never stopped until I got it.
It’s a good thing Captain Christos couldn’t perform a wedding or you would wear my ring instead of a pair of earrings. Imagine that.
I’m flying to Greece to take care of business. I’d love to see you when I return. Think of me, Libby, and decide if you could ever love me like I love you.
Yours always,
Asa
I dial his number right away and a funny tone sounds and then there’s silence. His phone is turned off. I whisper into the phone, knowing he can’t hear me. “Asa, come back to me.”
He’s shutting me out because I wouldn’t let him all the way in. I am terrified to open my heart to a man who could eviscerate me. By not telling him that I fell in love with him the minute he held up a romance novel in the library, I’ve torn my own heart out.
I spend the next two days moping around on deck with Justice by my side.
“I’m sorry I was such a shit, Lib. I didn’t trust his motive
s. He is this handsome, rich guy and—”
I hold up my hand to stop her. “I know, I’m me.”
“No, Libby, I know I’ve made you feel less than me, but it’s only because I always knew you were more than me. I needed a man to make me feel value, but you had that on your own. That’s what makes you beautiful and sexy. Asa sees it because he has an eye for quality.”
“I totally screwed it up, Justice. He loved me, and I let him get away.”
She pulls me into her bony chest. “I believe he loves you, and if that’s true, he won’t stay away. He won’t be able to.”
Life returns to my new normal which is checking my phone a million times a day and writing an email an hour to Asa, but only sending the least pathetic one a day.
Every day since the cruise ended, I get one short and sweet message.
Day one is: “I miss you, Libby.”
And I reply with, “I miss you, too.”
Day two: “I miss everything about you, Libby.”
And I reply, “I miss you more than you can imagine.”
Day three: “I can imagine a lot.”
And I reply, “Please imagine a lot, Asa.”
Day four: “Don’t tease me, Libby. I imagine it all. The glass slipper, the ball gown, and the princess.”
And I reply, “I thought it was a prince.”
Day five: “He’s not my type.”
And I reply, “I’m your type.”
Day six: “My type reads romance novels and believes in happily ever after.”
And I reply, “I’m your girl.”
Day seven: “Are you?”
And I reply, “Yes. Asa, I messed things up by not telling you how I feel. I’m so sorry.”
And an hour later he replies. “How do you feel?”
I sit in front of the computer and let the love pour out of my heart.
Asa,
You walked onto that ship and my life began. It started with Sex on the Beach and you bought me an orgasm. It was my first, and although it was really still Sex on the Beach, it was the best sexual experience I had ever had, and we weren't even naked.
You stalked me and found me in the library where you pretended to know about romance. I have read thousands of romance stories, and I knew nothing about romance until you showed me what it could be like.
You professed your love, and I lied to myself. You gave everything, and I gave little. How do I feel?
I feel like the biggest fool in the world. I feel like my life will never be the same without you. I don’t deserve you, but I want you. The words weren’t there on the ship, but my heart knew what my mouth refused to tell you. I love you, Asa Cross.
Yours always,
Libby
His response came by certified mail the next day. Inside the envelope were four tickets on the same cruise sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale the following week. They were for my parents, Justice and me. There was no note. No explanation. Only an invitation. I imagine it is a test of sorts. Will I drop everything for him?
The answer is yes. I believe in fairytales. I believe in happily ever after. I believe in Asa Cross. I believe in love.
A week later, while Mom and Dad and Justice are getting settled into their rooms, I stand in front of the bar sipping a Sex on the Beach and watching people enter the ship. It seems like a lifetime since I was here, but it’s only been two weeks. Two weeks since Justice stood next to me shopping men like they were meat at the market. There was select, choice, and prime, and Justice tasted from every category. As for me, I went prime all the way, and there was only one cut I’d accept, and he is walking onto the ship.
I pick up my umbrella-embellished drink and watch him walk on board. I didn’t think it was possible for him to get any sexier but he is. He approaches the bartender and asks him to have coffee sent to his room. This is a déjà vu moment. An opportunity for a do-over. I lean over to smell him because I miss his sandalwood and sunshine scent.
“Can I help you?” His brilliant smile disarms me.
“As a matter of fact you can.” I stir the pink drink with the little blue umbrella. “I’m told Sex on the Beach should always come with an orgasm, and yet I’m almost finished with this first one and I haven’t experience as much as a quiver.”
Asa leans in and whispers in my ear. “Sweetheart, that’s almost criminal.”
“Maybe I should I have another,” I say.
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“The man I love once told me that wise wasn’t always fun.”
“What’s it going to be, sweetheart? Do you want to be wise or do you want to have fun?”
I finish my drink. “I want it all, Asa Cross. I want the fairy tale. I want the fantasy. I want you.”
“Are you ready to dive into the deep end with me?”
Feeling emboldened by his presence, his smile, his scent, I lift up on my tiptoes and whisper in his ear. “I’m ready for everything. Make me wet, Asa.”
It isn’t until dinnertime that I see my parents and they are dressed like they are going to a ball. I am dressed like I’ve just fallen out of bed, and I have because I went straight to the room and made love to Asa for hours.
My father approaches Asa as if they are old friends. “Is everything ready?” Dad asks.
“It’s all ready on my end.”
They all look at me, but I don’t understand. They seem to speak in code.
“We are just about ready,” my mother says. “This one needs a little fairy god mothering.” Mom wraps her arm around mine. “We’ll be back.”
Mom and Justice whisk me away to a Justice’s room.
“Do you love him, honey?” Mom asks.
“More than I can imagine. He’s everything, Mom.” I sit on the bed next to my mom and watch as Justice pulls several things from her closet.
“It’s like a fairytale come true,” she says. She hands me a shoebox and sits on the bed across from me.
I lift the lid and find crystal-encrusted shoes. “Glass slippers.” I say on a shocked exhale.
“He came to visit your father and me this week. He loves you.”
Next Justice hands me a clothing bag. My hands shake as I pull down the zipper. Inside is a gown designed for a princess.
“He had it made especially for you,” Mom says. “The glass slippers, the gown, he wants you to have it all, sweetheart.”
“Oh my God, Mom, is this what I think it is? Are you here because I’m getting married?”
My mom smiles and nods. “Only if you want him, Libby. We are here to support you no matter your decision.”
I look at the dress and the shoes. “I love him, Mom, and I want the fairytale.” I look at myself in the mirror. “It’s time for some of that fairy god mothering you were talking about.”
An hour later, I walk to the aft deck decorated in tulle and roses. A string quartet plays in the background while a tuxedo-clad Asa walks up to greet me.
“You look beautiful, Libby.” He drops to his knee in front of me and my heart soars to the sky. “I know this is kind of rushed and backwards. I should have asked you before I set up the wedding but—”
“Yes, Asa. I’ll marry you.”
He laughs. “I haven’t asked yet.”
My heart thump thumps in my chest. “But you were going to, right?”
“Yes, Libby.” He pulls a ring from his pocket and places it at the tip of my ring finger. “Liberty Ferall,” he chuckles and I want to give him a poke in the side, but I don’t. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes, Asa Cross. I will.” He slides the enormous stone on my finger and walks me to the altar where three men besides my father stand.
Captain Christos stands next to my sister and talks on the phone. When he hangs up, he points to my father. “We’re still in US waters sir. If you’ll do the honors.”
Asa and I stand together on his ship and recite the vows that bind us forever.
“I love you, Liberty Cross,” he says when my father announce
s that we are married.
“I love you too, Asa. Thanks for being my prince.”
Turns out Asa had it all covered. He had a person capable of marrying us no matter where we were at sea. Whether we were in US or international waters, he was ready because my husband is a man who knows what he wants, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.
Epilogue
Asa - One year later
Who knew a year later, we’d be back on board the Southern Cross waiting for Justice to marry Captain Christos? Turns out her and my captain hit it off on our last cruise.
“Asa, we have to hurry.” My beautiful wife rushes to the closet and pulls out her dress.
“Sweetheart, this is our ship. No one will start without us.” I pull her into my arms and nuzzle her neck. My hand slides to her rounded belly. Libby is always stunning, but she is more so with my baby growing inside her.
“Asa, we don’t have time.”
I run my hand between her legs and she moans. She’s slick for me. “There’s always time sweetheart.” I nibble on her ear lobe and press my hardness against her luscious ass. The hanger falls from her hands to the floor. It takes little convincing for my girl to give up. When I have her flat on her back, she’s all mine for as long as I want her. Besides, the ceremony won’t begin for an hour. Yep, that’s plenty of time.
I press my hands against her thighs, spread her wide open, and look at her glistening, pink, wet pussy. I’ve seen nothing so beautiful or tasted anything so sweet.
“I’ll be quick, I need you once more.” Something about this room increases my desire. It’s where everything began. Room 8150 has never been used by anyone but Libby and myself. I refuse to let a single soul soak in our hot tub, bathe in our shower, or sleep in our bed. This is where it all began. The moment I fell in love and my life took on bigger meaning than building ships and earning money. This room is where fairytales came true. Where a prince found his princess. Where a man found his woman. Where a husband found his wife. Where I found my forever.
