After the “Welcome Aboard” buffet, there was a vessel-wide call for everyone to convene at their respective muster points where they were all told what to do in the unlikely case they would have to abandon ship. They were ordered to line up according to their cabin numbers, with the tallest person in the back. Griffin stepped in behind Indina and listened intently as their designated muster captain strutted back and forth, speaking instructions into a bullhorn while two crewmembers demonstrated how to properly secure a life jacket.
“Maybe I should have brushed up on my swimming skills,” Griffin muttered.
“Let’s hope none of this is necessary. I just got my hair done. I don’t plan on swimming at all this weekend.”
“Seriously?” Griffin asked. He looked at her soft, shoulder-length hair. It was at least four different shades, mostly deep brown with streaks of warm honey and light blonde. It looked glorious against her beautiful light brown skin.
“You can’t come on a cruise and not go swimming at least once,” Griffin said.
“After spending nearly two hours getting this flat-ironed, I bet I can. One drop of water and my hair will curl up into the tiniest ’fro you’ve ever seen.”
“I like it when you wear it that way.”
She looked back at him, one brow arching.
“What? You think I don’t pay attention to stuff like that?” He leaned forward and placed his lips against the shell of her ear. “I notice a lot more about you than you think.”
He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he felt a faint tremble against him.
Just then, the crewmember with the bullhorn announced that the required muster was complete, and that all luggage should be waiting in their cabins. People swarmed the elevator bank. Griffin and Indina decided to take the stairs up to the seventh deck instead of waiting for an available car.
“Any idea where the rest of your family is staying?” Griffin asked as they walked down the narrow corridor toward their cabin.
“Harrison said they’re all here in the aft section, but on the fifth floor. Because our cabin was booked at the last minute, we had to take what they had left.” She tapped her keycard to the electronic pad and opened the door to their cabin. “Thankfully, all they had left was this junior suite.”
The nautically decorated cabin was small by normal hotel room standards, but larger than Griffin had anticipated for a cruise ship. In addition to a queen bed, there was a separate seating area with a sofa, a small table and two chairs, and what he supposed was considered a wet bar. There was also an entertainment center, though the equipment looked a bit dated.
“We have a veranda,” he said, bypassing their bags as he walked over to the sliding doors and opened them. Warm air instantly flooded the room.
“Oh, this is nice,” Indina said as she joined him on the small balcony. “I can totally see myself out here enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning while doing a little dolphin watching.”
“It would be cool as hell if we saw dolphins.”
“I know, right? I’m starting to warm up to this cruise idea.”
“Seeing as we have three days on this boat, I should hope so.” Griffin laughed. He folded his arms over the balcony’s thick railing and looked out at the New Orleans skyline. “This is a helluva view.”
“I’ll be happy when the view is of a nice beach and clear blue water.” She fanned herself. “I sure hope there’s a breeze once the ship actually starts moving.”
“Yeah, it’s hot as hell out here,” Griffin said, pushing back from the balcony railing and gesturing for Indina to lead the way back into the cabin. Once inside, he perched himself on the table and crossed his feet at the ankles. Folding his arms over his chest, Griffin asked, “So what exactly does one do on a cruise, besides consume more shrimp than any single person should eat in one sitting?”
“Those shrimps were pretty damn good.” Indina laughed.
“I’m hoping they’ll have more tomorrow,” he said. “But other than eating, what is there to do? I’ve never been on a cruise before, so I have no idea.”
“Neither have I,” Indina said. “I know we have dinner every night at seven fifteen, and that we have a family excursion to see some Mayan ruins once we get to the Yucatan. But other than that…” She shrugged.
A thick silence filled the room, sucking the air out of it. Several uneasy moments ticked by as they both stood there in the awkward stillness.
Indina gestured to the bed. “We could always have sex.”
He nodded. “Works for me.”
Griffin pushed away from the table, grabbing his shirt by the collar and pulling it over his head as he made his way to the bed. He toed his shoes off and did away with his socks before unsnapping his jeans and pushing them, along with his boxers, down his hips. He helped Indina with her pants, tugging them off her legs and tossing them on the sofa. Griffin grabbed a condom from his wallet before chucking that aside as well.
He stood at the edge of the bed while Indina unhooked her bra and gently folded it.
“Is there a reason you’re treating that bra as if it’s breakable?”
“It was expensive. I don’t want the cups to collapse,” she said, placing the bra on the tiny bedside shelf. Then she sat on the edge of the bed, spread her thighs on either side of his legs and drew him toward her. “Now give me this,” she said. Wrapping her palm around the base of his semi-hard cock, she pumped her hand up and down his length several times before drawing it into her mouth with one long, slow suck.
Griffin’s
