Tomorrow Never Dies

Chapter 53 - "see you soon"

When I woke up, the ship was docked. We were in Antigua, and the dance girls and I were going for a spa day. I pulled my bag together, a towel, shampoo and conditioner, a change of clothes, and put on a cute black bikini and threw on a white floaty dress on top. I pulled on a hat and a pair of sunglasses, and I was ready to go.

I met Jade, Leigh-Anne and Jesy at the boardwalk and we stepped onto dry land for the first time since we'd started our rotation. My foot sank into the white sand, and I grinned as I felt the coarse granules between my toes.

"Ready?" Leigh asked, and I nodded. We wandered towards the spa, just on the promenade of the beach, and stepped inside. The atmosphere was one of serenity, with dim candles and subtle incense creating a calm ambience. Almost immediately, our bags were taken from us and we were led into a room with a small pool and a hot tub, along with several sun lounger style chairs. I lay on one, stretching out my body, while Leigh and Jesy dipped their toes into the pool and Jade was led into a side room for a massage.

I relaxed in the warm atmosphere, thinking about how lucky I was to be there, and soon one of the spa workers arrived at my side, offering me champagne and chocolates. I took them gladly, since while I was on the ship I'd been eating extra healthy to maintain my high fitness level. I nibbled my chocolates, and sipped the champagne, closing my eyes as I listened to Leigh and Jesy splashing about in the pool.

After a little while relaxing, I decided to take off my slip dress and swim about in the pool for a bit. Leigh grabbed my hand and started pulling me around, splashing my face and making sure I got my hair wet, just to annoy me. I shook my head and splashed her back, and once Jesy joined in, we were involved in a fully fledged water fight. Not long afterwards, Jade appeared from the massage room, a look of complete and utter serenity on her face, and lay back on a sun lounger. The masseuse came out and called for me, so I climbed out of the pool as gracefully as possible, dried myself off and followed him into the massage room. He instructed me to lie facedown on the bed, so I did, and almost immediately he began working his magic. His hands worked their way down my back, round my shoulders, over all the pressure points in my body, undoing knots and relaxing me.

By the time he was done, all I felt was calm. Once he ushered me out the room, I decided to take a selfie and tweet it with the caption 'spa day with the girlies'. Almost immediately, Michael texted me.

M: Do you have any idea how beautiful you look god damn

I smiled as I went to reply.

You flatter me darling x

M: That bikini makes your boobs look amazing, just saying

I rolled my eyes, disgusted by my boyfriend's thought processes.

Good thing I love you x

M: Love you more x

I turned off my phone, imagining him saying those words to me, and fell asleep.

***
By the time I woke up, it was time to go back to the ship. I packed my things, paid for the day, and the girls and I made our way back along the beach to the boardwalk. We boarded the boat, making polite conversation with passengers, and went back to our rooms. Jade and I entered our cabin, and we both smiled to each other when we saw the wall opposite the door. We'd made it into a little collage wall, with pictures from home on outside, and pictures from on the cruise towards the middle. On my side were family pictures, pictures with Grace and the girls, and photos of myself and Michael. On Jade's side there were similar photos, and there was a picture of her and Jed eating a roast dinner together that always made me smile.

"It's our night off, are we partying?" Jade asked, and I nodded.

"Of course," I replied. "Pick a dress for me?" She got up, rifling through the wardrobe, and picked out a coral playsuit.

"I know it's not a dress but it'll look pretty."

"Whatever you say, my queen." She smiled, handed me the playsuit, and went to choose an outfit for herself. I changed quickly, applied a little bit of light makeup, and curled my hair. "Ready?" I asked after a little while, and once she nodded, we left the room to go to the central ballroom. I grabbed a sandwich from the buffet, nibbled on it, and made my way to the bar where I saw Leigh, Jade and Jesy. I joined them, ordered a glass of wine, and started chatting idly with some passengers stood next to me. They were telling me all about how they'd loved the entertainment so far, making me smile, and how they were happy to see me relaxing, since I'd clearly exhausted myself working so hard every night. I thanked them, and went onto the floor to dance for a bit. While I was dancing, the other girls joined me, and soon I felt a presence behind me.

"Can I buy you a drink, darlin'?" The voice speaking had a rough American drawl to it, sending shivers down my spine.

"No, thank you," I avoided making eye contact, but a quick scan of my admirer told me that he was a middle aged man with a thinning hairline and a greying beard.

"Not even one for the pretty lady?"

"I'm sure, thank you." Alarm bells were going off in my head, and I was telling myself that I was going to need to get my point across more clearly if he tried again.

"But you look so beautiful."

"I'm sure my boyfriend thinks so too," I said, finally making eye contact. "Now, I'd appreciate it if you left me the fuck alone because I said no more than once and I am not in the mood." I spun on my heel and stormed out of the ballroom, back to my cabin, and immediately FaceTimed Grace. As soon as she picked up, I looked into her eyes and started crying.

"Hey, hey, Flo, what's wrong?"

"I miss you so fucking much," I sobbed. "It's been so long and I miss you and Michael and Mum and everyone." She gave me a sad smile, but there was a glint in her eyes that told me she was planning something. I frowned a little, then shook my head as it was unlikely.

"It's normal babe, you're homesick," she told me. "We all miss you too, we really do. Especially Michael."

"Where is he?"

"In his room. He's smitten with that selfie you posted before, if you know what I mean."

"Disgusting," I laughed. "Typical boy."

"That's him," she smiled. "Do you want me to go and get him?"

"No, it's okay. I think I'm just tired, a passenger was being a bit creepy and I just flipped out a bit."

"You okay?" I nodded. "Good."

"I love you Gracie."

"I love you too, Flo. See you soon." And we hung up together. I put the phone down, stuck it on charge, and went to take my makeup off. I cleansed my face thoroughly and rubbed in some moisturiser, then took off my playsuit and pulled on one of Michael's tops that I'd claimed as pyjamas. I put on some soft, calming music, climbed into bed, grateful for the clean sheets, and fell asleep.

*****
Impromptu nights out and new all time low music and new ed music im LIVING
this might be the last time i update in a while. i'll see what happens but things have gone on and im not sure if i can finish this book. im sorry

laters

song of the chapter: dirty laundry by all time low