Cruising for Love

1

Janet hurriedly stuffed her passport ID and boarding documents into her purse. As she was scrambling to grab her belongings, her purse had tipped off of the counter. She took a big sigh and attempted to catch up with Derrick. Instead of helping her, he had mumbled something about her being an embarrassment and walked of. By the time she caught back up with him, he was already seated in the waiting area. They wouldn't start boarding the ship for another 20 minutes.

"Took you long enough. If you dressed more practical like I suggested, instead of wearing those ridiculous heals, you would be able to keep up." Derrick said as Janet sat down.

"It wasn't my heals that slowed me down, I had to pick all my stuff up with no help." Derrick rolled his eyes and replied;

"I'm already paying for you to be on the cruise, and now you want me to be your maid too," Instead of keeping the argument going Janet looked away and watched the other passengers start to fill up the room. She saw another couple, sit a few seats down from them, start kissing and giggling. Must be newlyweds she thought to herself. Even as she tried to ignore their happiness, it still made her aware of how unhappy she was. Janet had been dating Derrick for over a year. He had always been hard on her, but lately he had become a real jerk. It seemed like every chance he got to break her down, he took it. Her friends were constantly telling her to leave him, but he had done a good job at convincing her, that he was the best she could get. He had a great career, already owned a house, and didn't mind spending money and taking her nice places. There were even times when he was fun to be around, even though those time had become a rare event.

Loud music pulled Janet out of her thoughts. A worker had set up a speaker and was playing music to entertain everyone while they waited. She recognized the song, Cupid Shuffle. 4 black guys were the first to jump up and start dancing. They were laughing and being silly, but Janet could tell they knew how to dance. One in particular grabbed her attention immediately.

"Why does it always have to be us making a scene?" Derrick whispered in Janet's ear.

"They are just having a good time. Its a vacation. You want to go up there with me?"

"You're joking right? No, I'm not surprised, your country ass would think something like that is fun" Janet shocked at Derrick's harsh words didn't say much again until it was time to board the ship.

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Xavier took in the vastness of the ship's interior. The ambiance of the lobby felt great. He looked up to see a sparkling chandelier hanging from the ceiling, three floors up. A glass elevator reflected the shops that lined the second and third floor. A winding staircase sat across the room, opposite the elevator. At the base of the staircase was a lounge area with some comfortable-looking velvet couches and a grand piano. The scene was straight out of a movie.

"Man-- Where. Is. The. DRANK?" exclaimed Ron to his group.

"I think Xavier wants to give us a lecture on the architecture and history of this boat" smirked Benny as he nudged Xavier.

"I just want to feel this moment," sang Xavier with his hands gripping an imaginary microphone.

"I just want to fill my cup! Where is the drank?" retorted Ron.

"Yo, you gonna get us kicked off the boat," Xavier shot back, as they were beginning to catch a few stares.

"Let's go find some food," Matt suggested. "I haven't eaten since we left Houston this morning."

"Bet!" all three of them agreed. They all started towards the lido deck, but Xavier lingered for a few seconds. This was his first cruise and he wanted to appreciate every minute of it. It was his idea for all the fellas to take this trip. They all had been friends since college, but after graduation they hardly ever all got to kick back and have a good time together. With Benny being engaged, Xavier knew this would probably be the last time they all got together worry free.

The sun was bright and people were already sitting out by the pool. Every food line was crowded, and waiters were walking the deck with trays full of drinks. Ron waved down a waiter and ordered a bucket of beer.

"This is for while we wait in line for food" Ron said as he gulped down bottle number one. Xavier  started to get impatient as the couple in front of them seemed to be moving so slow. From what he could hear, every time the girl went to grab something, the guy had comment to make.

"I don't think you need those extra fries. You should have put more salad on your plate."

"Damn! Are you her daddy or boyfriend? Keep the line moving!" Ron shouted at the guy.  Xavier prepared himself for what he know was about to be fight. Instead the guy looked down and rushed off, leaving the girl. Up until now he hadn't really taken a good look at her. She was about 5'5, with a smooth chocolate complexion. Nothing about her was overweight, in fact, if she was his girl, he would have probably told her to eat a few biscuits. She was wearing a floral-print sundress that captured her coke bottle physique. Xavier pretended to be intrigued with something on the floor, in the direct line of sight of her thighs. The bottom of her dress did a slight shimmy as her peach-like ass shifted with each step. Xavier used his height advantage to peer over her shoulder and look down at her cleavage. Her natural curly hair looked soft and smelled like it had just been washed. He hadn't seen her face yet, but the side view was easy on the eyes.

Janet fumbled with her plate and tried to get through the line as fast as possible. She wasn't mad about what Derrick said, or that he had left her again. What had her upset, was that he embarrassed her in front of this new guy. It was the same guy she couldn't stop looking at before they got on the ship. His loud friend did not help the situation by calling out Derrick, and bringing more attention to her.

"You can take your time. Your boyfriend may have a problem, but I don't mind the view." Xavier said. Janet turned around thinking that it was the annoying friend, but was surprised to see it was him. For the first time in years, she was speechless. So she let out a nervous laugh and quickly left line. Janet couldn't believe her own reaction. She was acting like a teenager. A single teenager.

"I see you trying to start early on the hoes." Ron laughed and patted Xavier on the back. "Good Job!"

Xavier and all his friends laughed as they found their way to a seat.

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Janet stepped off the elevator alone. After lunch Derrick was in a pissy mood. He barely let her finish her food before he wanted to go to the room. He faked a headache and said he didn't want to go to dinner. She had already missed enough activities, and was determined to at least have a nice meal, so she put on her evening dress and left him.

The best part about the dinning, was that you are seated with other people. So she knew that she wouldn't have to eat alone. She was just hoping that these strangers would be someone she could hold a decent conversation with. When the waiter walked her to her table she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Did you have to sneak away from Daddy, to come to dinner?" Ron said with a laugh.