## CHAPTER 1 ##
“Okay, I’ll see you back in the room later” I said to my sister, not doing well at concealing my tiredness. It was day 5 of a 15 day cruise and somehow my family had roped me into coming along. My bedroom was a small boxy space with no windows that I had to share with my sister, although as it panned out I didn’t see much of her over the holiday.
“Alright, don’t stay out too late” she replied in a joking tone as she turned away and walked across the patterned carpet of the bar and out of sight. The bartender took my drink order, and a few minutes later he handed me a colourful cocktail in a delicate glass. The seat I chose was a large comfy armchair in the corner, perfect for people watching. A handful of people were stood at the bar, laughing, and small clusters of people were dotted around the dimly-lit room. I tried to listen to the live music playing down the corridor but it was obscured by chatter and the sounds of clinking cups. I just wanted to have one drink and then head to bed. I needed to clear my thoughts – I hadn’t had any privacy to masturbate and I would regularly find myself staring at the more attractive passengers in a day dream haze.
As I reached the last few sips of my sweet-tasting cocktail a woman a few tables down got up and turned her head towards me, then starting walking in my direction. I had noticed her a few minutes earlier, her and the man she was with, leaning in closely to whisper and occasionally glance at me. Before she got up they were pointing at eachother and giggling like two friends encouraging the other to do a dare.
The soft lights illuminated her figure as she strutted through the bar. Details about her became apparent for the first time, like the mature curve of her hips, and the way her twilight blue izmir rus escort dress clung to her thighs, contrasting the light skin above her knee. I thought I could detect a flirtatious sway as she walked, but I darted my eyes around out of a fear of staring too much. The man, who I assumed was her husband, had gone to the bar – but was still looking our way over his shoulder. I felt her shadow fall over me and I heard her speak.
“Would you settle a bet for me, sweetheart?”
Her voice was appealing, each syllable pronounced with purpose but set to a gentle rhythm. she was perhaps talking a bit louder than necessary owing to the alcohol, but her composure was solid. I cast my eyes up to hers, blue eyes with classy dark makeup which stared back at me, waiting for a response. Taken by surprise, I could only muster a confused grunt.
“I said, would you please settle a bet for me and my husband? May I sit?”
I managed a meagre “yes, sure”, but I’m sure she was already reaching to pull the chair next to me away from the table so she could sit. With legs crossed she smoothed out her dress and flicked her hair behind her shoulders, then clasped her hands together in her lap. Sharp red fingernails interlocked and I thought of an old painting I saw once of a phoenix.
“My name is Maria. It’s nice to meet you, Mr…”
She trailed off and raised an eyebrow, giving me that expectant look once again that I had only ever seen before in schoolteachers.
“Oh, Alex. I’m Alex, nice to meet you too.”
“Alex, that’s a pretty name” she said coyly, “How are you liking the cruise, Alex?” The way she said my name was like someone inspecting an item in their hand, feeling its many surfaces and testing the weight of it.
Despite izmit escort the cocktail I felt too shy to respond to the comment about my name, but a slight blush showed that it was appreciated. Not wanting to lie to her, I decided to give my honest review.
“It’s fun and all, but It’s also a bit boring on this ship. There isn’t much to do and most people are kinda old.”
“I see. And am I one of those ‘kinda old’ people?”
Her demeanour simultaneously put you at ease and put you under the spotlight, and I mumbled again, but this time in the negative. She was older than me, but by no more than ten or fifteen years.
“My husband and I were thinking much the same as you. We were hoping to meet someone like you to have some fun with.”
Before I could ask what she meant by that, her husband arrived holding three drinks – A beer, a white wine, and the same neon cocktail that I was drinking before. Maria patted the seat next to her, inviting him to sit, then kissed him on the cheek in thanks.
“Honey, this is Alex” she cooed, obviously happy that we were now all settled together in our seats with drinks in hand.
“Hello Alex, I’m Stuart”. He stood and extended his hand to shake and I reciprocated, making eye contact with him for the first time as he squeezed my hand tight. His hair was dark and slightly wavy, and he had a few days worth of stubble. Peeking out of his flannel shirt sleeve I could see a tattoo, but couldn’t quite make out what it was. Eventually he released my hand and we sat, and all took a breath.
“The cocktail is for you.” He slid it toward me. “Sex on the beach, correct?”
I nodded and smiled as I took a sip through the straw. Realising I was being rude, I offered to pay for it, but that request was ığdır escort quickly refused.
“You can repay me by settling our little wager”, Stuart suggested, giving his wife a sly smile. I nodded in agreement.
“So, tell me Alex, we’re bloody dying to know – do you have a partner? A girlfriend or boyfriend back on shore? Maria and I have differing predictions.”
With the question finally launched he sat back and took a swig of his beer, and I was left with the limelight, their dual stares, and the now-familiar sensation of a rabbit in the headlights. It was not what I was expecting, and it took me a second to formulate my response.
“Umm, no, I’ve got no partner back home” I uttered, “I’m a single pringle.” The pringle bit was meant as a joke but I said it awkwardly, and they ignored it anyway, instead exchanging information between themselves via looks and expressions. Stuart handed Maria a small silver key and she took it triumphantly. Putting it safely into her purse, she trained her gaze on me and parted her ruby lips to speak.
“Stuart here thought that such a cute young thing such as yourself must have been collared by someone, but I could tell you were a handsome bachelor.” She elbowed me as if she had just told an inside joke between us, then continued.
“Why don’t you come up to our cabin tomorrow Alex? Hubby is going ashore but I don’t feel like it. I could sure use some company.”
I knew this request was very forward, but this couple asked questions in a way that made it difficult to say no. Besides, I wanted to see more of them. I agreed to come tomorrow.
“Fantastic! Room 125, deck 10. Come at 3pm. Will you remember that sweetheart? You will? I look forward to it then” With this last statement she swapped grins with Stuart, and they both got up to leave.
She leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek, revealing a glimpse of a black lace bra as she did so.
“Goodnight, pet”.
I went back to my room and wrote down the room number straight away, my face burning with the faint stain of her lipstick.
