Super G

by Pepper Pace

  “Gio, you don’t have to leave. Just work different ships-”

  Gio placed an arm around his friend. “It’s not just Nicco. I’m ready for a change.”

  Paolo nodded. In the past he had poked fun at Gio for not engaging in the shipboard frolics, but he’d also respected him. It was hard to maintain relationships when you worked for a cruise line that rotated their staff between a fleet of four ships. It might be years before you worked again with someone that you’d connected with.

  The two friends slapped hands and parted ways. Gio went to the office for the file on his new guest. It was unprofessional to switch him to a new guest just hours before a tour, but he’d adapted to worse. He liked American guests. They were accustomed to tipping and he wanted all of the extras that he could get.

  Gio didn’t have to hold up a sign for his guest. He knew the limo driver. It made an impressive presentation when he was able to approach his guest as if they were already recognized.

  He didn’t have an optimum situation, though. His guest was a lone woman. She had been booked for a VIP loft, which had been recently upgraded to a Penthouse Suite. Prior to that the loft had been booked for a honeymoon. The reason that there was no longer a husband on the cruise could be the result of a number of touchy situations. He would need to play it sensitive.

  Nicco walked up to him as they waited in the VIP drop-off for the arrival of their guests. He was chewing gum and wearing sunglasses--so unprofessional.

  “Your American guest is a female traveling alone.”

  Gio barely glanced at him. “American’s tip well—especially lone travellers. I’m surprised that you gave up on the easy tips, Nicco.”

  “I do enjoy the American’s love for tossing around their money. I don’t enjoy so much having a withered old woman trying to suck my dick in the middle of the night.” Nicco walked away with a smug look.

  “That’s not what I heard,” Gio muttered hoping that Nicco’s teenage guest was a foul-tempered, kleptomaniac.

  But Nicco made a good point. Single women did sometimes expect ‘special treatment’. He’d never done anything like that himself, but it was not unheard of for him to make arrangements for special care for his guests. But he refused to let anything Nicco had to say get under his skin.

  He spotted his guest’s limo and headed for the curbside to open the door before the driver could do it—or God-forbid she opened it herself.

  “Madame…”

  And then he was met with the sight of a shapely brown leg that ended in a blood red wedge sandal with straps crisscrossing a thick and shapely ankle. Those were not nylons adorning that gorgeous brown leg. An African American woman?

  He offered his hand and brown fingers with neatly painted nails clasped his. The woman got out of the vehicle and met his eyes with a curious smile.

  Gio momentarily forgot his words. He stared into a set of wide brown eyes before taking in the rest of her. He scanned her face and then her body and saw, not a middle-aged white American but a curvy young woman with strikingly dark brown skin.

  She was dressed in a red floral sundress that stopped just at her knees. It would have looked like a sack on a thinner woman, but on her it swayed around her curves in a flattering manner.

  Short brown curls loosely framed the woman’s oval face. He wasn’t sure if her exquisite cheekbones were the results of makeup or was God-given, but he couldn’t take his eyes from her.

  Gio quickly caught himself. Women knew instantly when a man was looking too long.

  “Miss Wyatt?”

  “Yes,” she replied in a deep, slightly husky voice.

  Gio felt his dick twitch. He loved this sound from a woman. Her voice reminded him of how his women spoke after a night of passion. But he needed to chill and be professional. He wasn’t Nicco or some other newbie that flirted their way into the pocketbooks of their guests.

  He inclined his head slightly and realized that he was still holding her hand, which he released. “My name is Giacomo, but you may refer to me as Gio or G. I will be your Superior Genie for the next eight days.”

  “Gio,” she said to herself. His ears perked at the way the word fell from her lips. He turned to a waiting luggage carrier, and indicated that that they were to retrieve the baggage from the trunk.

  He noted that her matching luggage was of a good quality and based on her polished attire and the fact that the most expensive suite on the ship had been booked just for her, he knew that the woman was wealthy.

  Even though it was difficult to gage the age of black women, he didn’t believe that she could be much older than thirty.

  Gio glanced down at her ring finger and saw that it was bare. Did she come from a wealthy family, or perhaps she was some rich man’s mistress? What kind of a career did a woman have that allowed her to amass this kind of wealth at such a relatively young age? Hmmm. He was intrigued.

  Chapter Three

  ~Earlier~

  Sidney decided that she loved being driven around in limos. She ignored the bar, though, and opted for a bottled water. Just because the champagne was free didn’t mean that she had to indulge in it every time it was offered. Besides, the bottled water in Barcelona was really good. They offered it with pride at the hotel buffet as if it was a premium drink.

  As she stared out at the scenery, she decided that she liked Barcelona. She probably would never see it again, though. So that meant that she would have to make the best of this trip.

  The driver played music on a low volume but didn’t talk to her. She wished that he would point out some sights but maybe he didn’t speak English, so she stared out her window marveling each time she saw shops that she recognized like McDonalds.

  When they finally got to the pier Sidney realized that embarkation on such a large ship would be a nightmare. She wondered how her Butler would find her in all this mess.

  The limo driver stopped at the curb and Sidney’s eyes instantly fell on a man that was dressed impeccably in a pair of black slacks and a white shirt beneath a black suit jacket. His collar was left undone and yet he still looked polished. The suit fit him impeccably so there was no way that it was off-the rack.

  She had to admit that the men in Spain were handsome, but this guy put every man that she had ever met to shame and that included…that man that she had been engaged to. He was big, not just tall but thick like the soccer players that she’d watched on television last night. They were akin to American football players, just not as stocky.

  She smiled to herself as she thought that a man like him could definitely handle a plus sized woman. She was checking out his thick arms and legs as he stepped down from the curb.

  His deep olive coloring held a brown hue that made for a terrific tan. But it was his eyes that finally captivated her. They were amber, which contrasted beautifully against his darker skin tone. Thick hair was combed back, but he couldn’t fight the curls that sprung out and surrounded his clean-shaven face.

  Sidney realized that the man was walking to her car, as if he was being pulled to her by her magnetic stare. And then he opened her car door and her mouth fell open.

  “Madame,” he spoke in slightly accented English. And then he held out his hand for her.

  For a moment she was reminded of an old movie she’d seen on late night cable called Lady Sings the Blues in which Billy D. Williams holds out his hand to Diana Ross with a twenty-dollar bill poised between his fingers. When she hesitated to accept it he says, ‘Do you want my hand to fall off?’

  Sidney felt her eyes widen at the sight of his hand. He would not need to ask her twice!

  When she stepped out of the limo she was gripping his hand. She stared up into his amber eyes and saw the way they instantly scanned her form. Sometimes a bigger woman knows and sometimes she didn’t—but when she knows that a man appreciated what he saw, then she felt it down into her very core.

  Sidney felt his appreciation for her down to her core.

  “Miss Wyatt?” He asked. />
  How in the hell did he know who she was?

  “Yes,” she replied slightly surprised.

  “My name is Giacomo, but you may refer to me as Gio or G. I will be your Superior Genie for the next two weeks.” He dipped his head slightly and gave her a winning smile. Sidney’s breath nearly caught in her throat.

  “Gio,” she said to herself trying to capture the way that one word rolled off his tongue. What if he just talked with his tongue pressed against her pussy? Just the movement of his tongue while talking would surely make her cum. She felt her cheeks warm at that erotic image. She needed to stop. Granted it had been half a year since the last time she’d had sex, but that was not the purpose of this trip--not that she would turn down an opportunity to engage in a shipboard romance if the opportunity arose.

  He gestured for someone to retrieve her bags from the trunk and she couldn’t help but to check out his butt when he stooped to place luggage tags on her suitcases.

  “If you’ll follow me I will get you through the embarkation process,” he said with a slight bow. Gio led her past the mass of people trying to enter a building. He kept her in his sights and explained that he was taking her to a VIP entrance.

  She realized that his accent was different than the Spanish people that she’d talked to. She liked it even more—perhaps because it was coming from his sumptuous lips.

  “Is that an Italian accent?” She asked.

  “Yes, Madam. I’m actually Italian and Sicilian.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  “Absolutely. My father was from Sicily which is actually an island closest to the lowest portion of Italy, what you might call the toe of the boot.” He paused and stared at her carefully. “Sicilians are brown-skinned people…some even as brown as you.”

  She gave him a surprised look. “Oh, I didn’t realize that there was that big of a difference between the two.”

  He just smiled.

  Gio was not sure why he had said that. He could have easily offended her by making reference to her race. Damn, he was acting like an awkward teenager in the presence of a pretty girl. It really was time for him to retire.

  Once inside the VIP lounge, Gio got Miss Wyatt seated and then asked for her passport.

  “May I bring you a beverage?” He asked while she retrieved her passport.

  “No, I can get it-”

  “It will be my pleasure to bring your refreshments. We have fruit, snacks, and other delicacies.” He turned and snapped his fingers. A young man instantly appeared. “Please bring a tray of refreshments for Miss Wyatt.” He turned to her again, this time one of his brows was arched while the other dipped, leaving him with a slightly disapproving expression. “And Madame I will leave you in the capable hands of the concierge while I take care of your registration.”

  She nodded, somehow feeling chastised for offering to get her own drink. Well, wouldn’t she be peeved if someone tried to do her job? She watched him walk away holding a leather pack containing her documents and couldn’t help but to admire his butt. God, it was a nice butt.

  The concierge bowed, reminding her that he was still present. “Just ice water, please. Oh, can you make it sparkling?”

  “Certainly Miss.”

  While she waited Sidney walked to a large picture window that overlooked the pier. Several large ships crowded the dock. There were a few other people in the lounge, presumably for the same reason—those fortunate enough to have a butler to do all the labor of checking in.

  The concierge brought her a glass of sparkling water and set a tray of colorful macaron cookies on the table beside her.

  “Thank you,” she said, and he inclined his head and disappeared.

  She discreetly checked out the other people in the room. There were two other couples, both appeared middle aged—one of the couples appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent with their colorful ankle length robes.

  As she observed her surroundings a family entered the room, led by their butler.

  Hmph, she’s a trophy wife, Sidney thought to herself as she checked out the obvious age difference between a man that appeared to be in his sixties and his wife that looked to be in her thirties. They had a teenaged son that looked annoyed as he tagged along behind them, thumb typing on his cellphone.

  Their butler was watching her, which wasn’t abnormal. Everyone always took a double-take, if for no reason than because of her deep dark color…well and also because she looked good. But this guy was really checking her out. He was wearing sunglasses and he lowered them. He was tall, handsome, blond haired and blue-eyed. His suit was also impeccable with skinny slacks and shiny black shoes that fit the role of a butler very nicely, only he wore a paisley printed bow tie that was snazzy and unexpected.

  He was staring so hard that it caught the attention of his male guest and now both were staring at her—and when that happened the wife had to check her out too. She didn’t seem impressed and maybe even mildly annoyed that there was no one checking her out in the same way.

  Sidney inclined her head politely even though they were being rude. She turned back to the large window without seeing if they had returned the gesture.

  “Madame,” Gio was suddenly beside her. “Shall we?”

  “All done?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He passed her passport and a ship card to her. “We will have a muster drill here at four o’clock. You will have the opportunity to meet the Captain and his crew and they will take you and the other VIPs on a behind the scenes tour of the ship.”

  “Oh, nice. I can’t wait to see the rest of this ship. This room is gorgeous.”

  Gio was led her out of the room and he turned to her. “Would you like a tour of the ship before I take you to your suite?”

  She wasn’t sure. This was her first cruise and she couldn’t wait to see the ship, but she was intrigued about a suite that cost the equivalent of half a year’s rent.

  “Suite first.” But that was mainly because she had to pee.

  Gio led her out of the lounge, but not before glancing at the family that was supposed to be his. He suppressed a smirk at the sour look on Nicco’s face.

  As they headed for a set of elevators Sidney took in the opulence. The corridors were decorated in gold and cream colors. The carpet even seemed to mimic marble.

  Gio took in his guest’s expression as she checked out the smallest details as they headed down the corridor.

  “Is this your first cruise, ma’am?” He asked.

  She smiled sheepishly. “Yes, and my first time in Europe. I’ve been taking pictures like I’ve never left home before.” He would probably be amused to know that she had her cellphone poised and ready to take photos as soon as they reached the suite. Would it be rude of her to ask him to step aside so that she could film her walk-through? Wait, was she insane! In years to come she would want to remember every exquisite inch of her butler. She would definitely want him in her walk-through video.

  Sidney smiled to herself as she considered how thirsty she was acting right now. But it was all in good fun. A man like that was probably married or had a supermodel girlfriend.

  “We will strive to make this a memorable experience,” he said while scanning them into one of the elevators.

  You already have, she thought.

  Once the two were enclosed in the elevator she caught Gio’s subtle scent. In the U.S. she would have described it as clean like soap, but here, it was probably some expensive cologne that mimicked cleanliness. She liked it, though.

  The elevator door opened to an expansive corridor that made the previous level look cheap in comparison.

  She knew the butler was watching her expression because one corner of his lip moved slightly upward but not as if he was mocking the way her eyes had gone wide. It was more like he took pride in her acknowledgement of the enhanced accommodations.

  The floors were white marble. There were sculptures in alcoves, and beautiful modern paintings that created a contemporary vibe. The
ceilings were even painted in funky but tasteful geometric shapes. Tall back chairs were situated along the corridor just incase you got tired on your way to your room.

  “This way,” he led her down the large corridor. “This is the rear of the ship. We call it the aft. My apologies for the long walk, but as you can see we have tried to make the journey enjoyable.”

  She tingled at his low sexy voice and wanted to keep him talking. “What do they call the front of the ship? The fore?”

  “Close. We call it the forward. You’ve made an excellent selection in rooms. Many people enjoy the aft suites because of the uninterrupted view of the ocean and the wake.”

  They finally reached her room and the butler inserted his black card into a slot on the door.

  “The elevators will only allow access to this level with the use of a VIP keycard.”

  “How many rooms are on this level?”

  “Four.” He paused before opening the door and then he did so with such a flourish that his movements seemed to say TADOW!

  Sidney stepped inside slowly as she tried to take in everything at once. She remembered her camera and dug into her purse for her cellphone to record it all. Gio was the first thing to appear on her screen when she pressed record and he smiled at her.

  “Would you like me to record you?” He asked.

  Nah, bruh, she thought to herself. You are good right where you are.

  “No. You can just explain everything as we walk through.”

  As they moved from room to room, Gio took on the voice of a tour guide. “Here you will find a voice activated virtual assistant which is connected to your speaker system—both indoor and outdoor. Do you like music, ma’am?”

  “I love music,” she replied while trying not to be too obvious by pointing her cellphone camera right in his face.

  “What do you listen to?” He asked.

  “Uh…Amy Winehouse?”

  He told the Assistant to play Amy Winehouse and the warm dulcet tones of Love is a Losing Game began to play. Her brow gathered as she was reminded of how truthful those lyrics were.