Chapter Six - Stephen
“Fuck me, that was incredible,” I gasp as I lie panting on the bed next to Tia. Both our chests rise and fall at a truly rapid pace. “That real, truly was.”
I don’t say it aloud because I don’t want to be a dick, but I’ve had a lot of sex. Like, a whole lot of sex, especially since coming to America, but something about being with Tia was different. I knew it from the very first moment I saw her but now I really know it. We have a connection, something inexplicable that runs deep. Something that I want to explore deeper.
I twist my body onto my side and lean on my arm so I can look at her. Her peaceful, blissful, post coital expression is wonderful. I don’t know a lot about her but from my experience with women I don’t think she’s had sex in a very long time. I hope that was a sexual awakening for her, that I re-sparked her interest in the physical side of love because she’s damn good at it. The world deserves Tia to be having sex, Tia deserves to be having sex.
“That really was,” she gasps. “Something else.”
Usually right now my brain is at the place of making excuses to leave, but today I don’t want to. I want to remain right where I am in the bed with Tia and I want to talk to her all night long. I want to learn all about her and her life, I want to dig deeper into her brain to find out more about who she really is. This is a first for me and I have to admit I’m really excited about it.
“I have a confession to make,” I admit while biting down on my bottom lip. She turns to stare at me with a fire in her eyes, which suggests she thinks that I’m about to say something bad. Hopefully she won’t take my next words too terribly. “After I have sex I love to have a cigarette. I know it’s a filthy habit, especially for someone like me who loves to sing, but it’s one I can’t seem to get out of. Obviously, I can’t smoke in your room so do you mind if I pop out?”
“Oh.” She looks discomforted which I immediately realize is because of how I’ve worded things. For the first time ever I don’t want to bang and leave, but that’s what I’ve just made out I’m doing. “I see.”
“No, that isn’t an excuse to leave.” I smirk at her and pull my guitar pick out my pocket. “Look, I’ll even leave this here with you so you know I’m coming back… if you want me that is?” She nods, but it’s hesitantly. “I really do want to stay and have that drink, I’m not about to bail on you after what was the best experience of my whole life, I just need to settle this craving so I can really focus on you.”
I lean forward to place a kiss on her forehead while pressing the pick into her hand. She takes it and clings to it tightly as I pull back. I pull my trousers on while giving her a reassuring smile, but I can tell she still isn’t fully convinced.
“Tia, I like you a lot,” I spill my heart to her, hoping she can see how sincere I am. “This honestly isn’t something that I do to escape. If I want to leave, I’m just honest. You’ll see, I’ll be back in just a moment.”
“Yeah.” She smiles but I can see it’s forced. “Alright then, I’ll wait here until I hear you knocking on the door to come back in.”
I walk towards the door, vowing to be fast out there so I don’t have to see the insecurity in Tia’s eyes for even a second longer, but before I manage to get there something stops me in my tracks and pulls me back in. Her lips… those plump, gorgeous lips of Tia’s. I absolutely need to kiss them before I leave.
Cupping my hand under her chin I bring her face up to meet mine. Worry shines in the beautiful brown of her eyes, which I want desperately to dispel. Damn me and my stupid habit. If this isn’t a clear sign that I need to give it up then I don’t know what is. Maybe when we get back to America I’ll try hypnosis or something.
“I won’t be long,” I whisper, before gently kissing her. “I promise.”
“I believe you,” she finally agrees with me. “But don’t be long because I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll be even faster now,” I insist. “How can I resist such sweet words?”
My soft chaste kiss quickly turns into something more passionate which makes me think that there might even be a round two in there somewhere. Maybe we won’t get to talking tonight, maybe we’ll be too busy exploring one another’s bodies for that, but we still have plenty of time. There’s a few days left on the cruise, as long as I can keep away from management’s eyes I can keep on seeing Tia for as long as I like. I’ll get to learn all about her then. For now, her little promise has my pants stirring once more. By the time I get back I’ll be more than ready to go again.
“Right, you little minx,” I hiss against her lips. “I will be back very soon.”
I take giant strides across the room and I reach out to grab the door handle. Just as I turn it I take one last look at Tia. With her mussed up hair and her flushed face, she looks like a true natural beauty. A growl rises up in my throat and quickly releases itself making Tia giggle. I hope she’s excited for me to come back because now I damn well can’t wait.
I take the steps two at a time in my eagerness which quickly takes me out into the crisp night air. As night time has fallen, the warmth has long gone. It’s always the way out on the water, I should have realized it would be like this but it still makes me shiver hard. I cross my arms over my chest, and move out. I need to get to the designated smoking area and quickly.
This is idiotic, I think to myself. I need to make some serious life changes from today.
It’s very quiet out here, everyone else must already be tucked away in their cabins, getting a night of sleep. It’s where I’ll be too soon enough. I smile to myself as I think about the gorgeous girl I have waiting for me back in her room. She’s wonderful, I miss her already, I already don’t feel like myself around her.
“What the fuck did you do with the money?”
My heart stops dead in my chest when I hear random shouting ringing through the air. My feet stop moving for a second and I listen intently. That didn’t sound good, and I have to admit I’m a bit frightened. I’ve not heard anything bad happen on this boat, and to be honest I never thought I would. Everyone seems to push for this sort of thing but I know what I heard.
“Tell me now or you’ll be tossed from this boat now.”
Shit, this can’t be good. Someone’s in danger. Without thinking much about my own safety I tiptoe forwards. The unlit cigarette in my hand falls to the ground but I barely notice. The idea of getting my nicotine fix is long forgotten as I try to find out just what’s happening. As an employee working on this ship, no matter the capacity, might mean I have to intervene if things get silly.
“I fucking mean it, do you think I’m joking?”
I suddenly spot two men in suits yelling at a guy in what looks like sweat pants and a hoodie. I don’t recognise any of the people, I haven’t seen them while the cruise has been happening, but then I haven’t been everywhere all at once. I haven’t been out of my room much actually, apart from to play, so just because they don’t look to me like they belong here, doesn’t mean they don’t.
“I think I know what happened,” one of the suited men with his back to me declares. I can see that he’s tall and that he has very dark hair but that’s about it. Nothing that could be any use to anyone. “I think you took the drugs, you used some of them for yourself and you sold the rest, lining your own pockets with the cash.”
“N… no,” sweat pants retaliates. “Not at all, I would never, I would not…”
But his jittery shakes gives him away. I don’t really know what’s going on here, and I’m not too familiar with the drug world either, but to me it seems like he’s guilty.
“You fucking did,” suit disagrees with a sharp shake of his head. “And we all know it. This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?”
“I was mugged… I swear, it wasn’t me.”
Suit steps back and makes a hand gesture at the other man. I take a tentative step forwards feeling that the moment to intervene is coming but before I do something happens to stop me. The other suited man pulls out something from his pocket and all I manage to catch is the metallic glint of a gun.
A gun? Fuck, this is bad.
My heart thunders in my chest, I can barely breathe enough to get any air into my lungs. Panic consumes me, it swallows me up whole causing my legs to freeze to the spot. I’m so covered in ice that I couldn’t move even if I wanted to… and to be honest I’m not sure that I want to. Just because I’m an employee doesn’t mean I want to risk my life. I’m sure as hell not getting paid enough to lose my life.
“Anything left too say?” suit yells. “Anymore bullshit excuses.”
A thick ball of emotion lodges itself in my throat as the man pleads for his life. I don’t know how, but I feel like I’ve seen enough movies to know how this is going to end and it isn’t good.
Bang!
Everything moves in slow motion. It’s almost as if it isn’t quite real. I hear the gun shot, even though a lot of the sound gets lost in the wind, but since there’s no immediate after effects I start to believe I might have just imagined it. Maybe I’m going a little crazy.
But then something slams into sweat pant’s chest and it sends him flying over the edge. His body spills from the boat like a rag doll, which is a truly sickening sight. I actually feel vomit ball up in my stomach, I think it might burst out onto my feet at any given moment.
“Fuck.”
The word fells out of my mouth without me thinking about it. I don’t even know how loud I say it until the men in suits both spin around to look at me. My eyes widen, my frozen legs start to melt, the need to get the hell away from this horrible situation overshadows anything else. It’s as if I have a survival instinct deep inside me, and it finally kicks in.
Flash.
I see a bolt of lightening or a camera flash as I take off in the direction of my bedroom but I don’t stop moving. I need to escape, I need to be alone in my room, I need to lock myself away so that I feel safe.
In all of this, Tia is long forgotten. All I can concentrate on is my fear and my need to get away from it. It’s my life on the line here, I can’t think about anything else.