Sin at Sea (9 page)

More than anything, I just wanted to sleep for a bit, preferably in his arms. How he had the energy to lift me or stand, I couldn’t imagine. Then, he stumbled a little. “Whew, too much blood south of the border for this,” he joked as he climbed onto the bed next to me. As he wrapped his arms around me, he asked, “Can we just nap here…like this…for a little while?”

Still worn out, I couldn’t speak. I just nodded my head. He knew, since his head was on top of mine. One hand held mine under the pillow. The other cupped my breast and tucked under me. His arm was positioned so that he could haul me closer the minute he felt too much space between us.
So nice.
That was my last thought before sleep claimed me.

When I woke, the morning of our second full day at sea, I was surprised to discover that I was alone. It took me a moment to process it. I grabbed a bathrobe from the closet, and found that the bathroom was empty. I could see from where I was standing that he wasn’t on the balcony. Before I could ponder what to do next, I heard that all too familiar card in the door.

Turning to smile in greeting, I caught Mr. BE just as he was stumbling through the door. “I’m never going to get my sea legs,” he joked.

In his hand he had one plate that was heaping full of some of our favorite breakfast foods. Then he turned around and picked up another plate and a heaping bowl of fruit salad. My smile was genuine and effortless.

“I was hoping we could have breakfast in bed and lay low for little bit. I guess the waves are bothering me more than I thought,” he said. “Plus, it’s just a day of nothing before we hit Grand Turk in the morning.”

Nodding, I brought the food to the bed. “Wow,” I said, “you must have taken just a few of everything. It’s all my favorites.”

He smiled. “I know. I paid attention.” Then he lowered himself to the edge of the bed. He seemed worn out and I had to admit, it was probably my fault for not letting him rest more at night. I was being too selfish and all the while he’s been struggling with motion sickness and totally worn out.

“Relax,” I suggested. “It’s a perfect day to lounge around. If I want sun, I’ll go out on the balcony. If you want me to lay with you, I will. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

I meant everything I said, but suddenly I had no idea where it came from. It was, sensitive, caring, bordering on nurturing and maternal. Gawd, if it had been that lawyer asking me to sleep in when I wanted to be up enjoying the party on the lido deck, I probably would have told him to fuck off and catch up when he could. I hadn’t even hung around for Jolie. Thank goodness, because if I had, I might have missed meeting this man.

Shake it off! Four days. That’s all that’s left. Just live in the moment with Mr. BE.
I hated that I had to keep reminding myself. Yet, I loved this…my best regroup ever, even if I wasn’t regrouping with Jolie. Hell, it didn’t matter. We weren’t on a time schedule. We could just stay a few extra days in Charleston if we wanted. We had nothing to rush back to.

So we sat and ate. I fed him some. He did the same for me. When the food had disappeared, he nestled down in the pillows.

“Sleepy,” he said, quietly. He started to close his eyes. “I just need a little nap. Then we can do whatever you want. You don’t even have to wait here. I can meet you somewhere…” His voice trailed off.

“Now what kind of wife would I be if I just left you when you weren’t feeling well? Nah. I’ll stick around. I may even nap with you,” I said.

A smiled spread across his lips. He reached out and grazed my face with the back of his hand. “You are the perfect wife,” he said. “I’ll never have better.” Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

While he slept, I loaded pictures onto the laptop. I uploaded several that I sent to different magazines. Then I took some shots of him sleeping. There was something so alluring about him, with the light scruff he had growing on his face, the thick dark lashes that were too pretty to belong to any man, and the way his biceps bulged under the t-shirt. There was plenty of time for me to take a luxurious shower, to apply the minimal amount of makeup, the gross quantities of sunblock, and pull my hair up into a messy bun.

As lunchtime arrived, it was my turn to go and bring back some food for us. Surely he would awaken hungry in a short period of time. When he did, I wanted to make sure he was as well cared for as he had done for me. While I knew that I could have ordered room service, I also knew how disruptive and noisy it was for me to call, then for them to arrive and bang on the door. There would be the balancing act while signing for the food, and let’s not forget the tip. Plus, the selection was greater in Windows on the Sea buffet than it was on the limited room service menu.

Just as I walked in the door with our plates and set them on the coffee table, he began to awaken. “That was quite the nap,” I commented. “Hope you are hungry.”

He smiled and nodded. “I’m starving. We’ll need to get ice cream after this.” Then he reached for the grilled ham and cheese I picked up for him at the deli.

Soon we were having fun, joking, playing, and it of course turned into one of my passions. The camera was out and I was recording every moment of this. What I loved was the spontaneity of it all. Instead of focusing and pausing, it was all point and shoot. Periodically, I would check and see if I was getting anything worth saving. Oh, I was. I captured this look on his face, this playful adoration as we were rolling around on the bed. It was perfect. He might be gifting me paintings and jewelry, but this was what I could give him for forever. He would have these photographs on the SD card to always remember.

We finally started dressing for dinner. “What are you wearing tonight?” He asked casually.

Without saying a word, I pulled the only other cocktail dress I had packed. The hem ended just a few inches over the knee. Around the bottom of the all black dress was a glittery silver butterfly pattern. It had a dangerously low back. And I loved how it looked with the black-strapped heels that connected above the ankle.

“Hmmm,” he said as he turned the dress around on the hanger. “I like it, but I don’t love it.”

“Thanks,” I responded icily. I thrive on compliments and get a little tense when I receive unwarranted criticisms. I turned away to start dressing despite his lackluster enthusiasm. The night was off to a bad start. My back was to him and it would stay that way until I managed to get my seething anger under control. One by one, I showed him each and every one of the dresses we had picked together. Each time, he made a face that suggested he was unimpressed. My ego was taking a blow. Suddenly my confidence was in the toilet. I had run out of options. With my head down, I faced away from him once more.

Wrapping one arm around me, I stiffened. Then the second arm came around and it was holding a beautiful blue cocktail dress. “I just thought this one would go better with our eyes, and your ring, and my dress shirt,” he said with a shrug. “Of course, if you hate it, I’ll return it.” He started to pull back and take the dress from my view.

Naturally, I snatched it from his hand. “I love it,” I said slowly. I had always worn my dark hair long. Sometimes I let the natural waves take over, other times I straightened the heck out of it. Lately, I had been letting my eyes do the talking. As eyes went, I had always liked mine. They were blue…deep blue. They turned up on the outside so that I always looked happy. At the moment, they were filled with tears. “You bought me a dress.” I held it in my hands and touched the fabric. It was flowing and sheer and long. It made me think of something that Helen of Troy would wear. It may have been love at first sight. “You bought me a dress?” I just kept petting it and staring at it.

“Yes, I bought you a dress. I’ll take you to dinner if you put it on,” he urged.

Holding the dress against me I whipped around and looked at him. With a suggestive eyebrow raised, I asked, “What if I take everything off?”

Laughing, he responded, “I’ll show you that tonight. First, we eat.” He patted my butt to get me moving. “I’m just going to wait out on the balcony. I seem to be a bit…distracting.”

Already I was biting my lip. It was going to be long night. Fine. Two could play this game. Again I found myself wearing pasties and a teeny tiny thong. Tonight it would be black with a star charm holding it all together in the back. That should do it. Putting the finishing touches on my hair and makeup, we finally left the room.

Glancing at his watch, he said, “We still have a good hour before we should hit the line for dinner. What would you like to do?”

Laughing, I hooked my arm through his. “Let’s go, handsome. We have to live a lifetime in one week. We’re going to do it all.”

We exited onto the promenade deck and I lead him all the way to the sushi bar. Every night from 5-8pm there was a selection of sushi. It was only two different kinds of rolls, but it was all we could eat. Over the course of the week, I planned to make them regret that. Starting now.

“I don’t eat sushi,” he said while demonstrating his best full body shudder.

“You do now,” I said. I released his arm to step toward the sushi bar. Suddenly, he caught on. They would only give each person four pieces of sushi. As a hors d’oeuvre, it was only a taste for me. I needed his, too.

Playing along, he asked, “So, do I like ginger?”

Smirking, I said, “No, you hate ginger.”

“How do I feel about wasabi?” He asked with a straight face and raised eyebrows.

Chuckling, I said, “You
love
wasabi!” Then I placed a healthy scoop on both plates.

We found an open window seat and I immediately sat down and patted the spot beside me. Smiling, he joined me. It was off to the side, out of the line of sight, hidden almost completely by the photography background set up. With that kind of set up, it was easy enough to rub against his leg, to run my hand along his inner thigh, to lean in and speak in a low seductive voice in his ear under the guise of too much background noise.

It was working. I could see him getting excited. It was evident in the way he shifted in his seat. It was obvious in the way that he covered his groin with the plate. Still, I needed to up the ante. Standing, I bent low over him to collect his plate. At the angle I was bending, I had no doubt that he could see straight down my dress. I gazed at his face just to be sure. Yup. He was transfixed, completely frozen as he stared at my goodies.

“Baby, can I take that plate for you?” I asked innocently. “They won’t let us bring it in the casino.”

At first, he started to pass me the plate without thinking, and then he shook his head as if to break the trance and gripped it even tighter. “I’m just going to hold onto it for a minute,” he said breathlessly.

Blinking, I looked at him and asked, “Have you reconsidered your stance on sushi?”

Shaking his head he closed his eyes for a moment. He leaned over and held his head in his hands. From where I stood, I could hear that he was mumbling something. I sat down quickly, concerned.

“What?” I asked. “What are you saying?” Reaching out, I grabbed his forearm with my hand.

“Just mumbling things that are major turnoffs,” he said with a sly look. “It helps…so I don’t have to sit around with a plate in my lap all night.” He smirked.

Standing, I smiled. “Well, you take all the time you need. I’m going to the casino. Will you join me?”