“First of all, no more sorries. I’ve heard you say that more than anything else. Second, if I didn’t like Sir coming out of your mouth so much, I would have stopped you before, so there’s no disrespect here.” She has no idea just how much I do like it. “And third, we will have plenty of time to talk about my boat and the things you’d update but until then, there is a ton of work to be done to get ready for tomorrow’s charter.”
“Yes, Captain.” She smiles at me before exiting the room.
I need to watch myself around her, I find her intriguing to talk to and her beauty is so flawless that it overtakes my thoughts. Shaking my head, I look out over the open waters and my surroundings. I definitely need to get this boat moving in the early morning hours.
Taking the walkie-talkie off my hip, I announce to Rob, Marie, and Marco that I’d need them in the flybridge to discuss the first charter. Every employee has one attached to their hip too or at least they better. If I find any of them without their radio, they’ll get one warning before they’re sent packing back home. It’s our one line of communication to each other, no matter where you are on the boat. I can’t stress the importance enough.
The three of them walk in back-to-back. Sitting at one of the two tables I have here, they all sit behind it on the bench.
“Okay, let’s talk about charter one. We have a group of six ladies coming on board. The main charter guest, Holly, inherited her daddy’s fortune after he passed away last year. She said this is the first trip she’s taking in his honor. He always wanted to rent a yacht and sail away, but he was too wrapped up in his investments so he never took the time.”
“Wonderful, spoiled rich beautiful women. It’s what I’ve always wanted to deal with,” Marie states.
“Oh, you’ll be fine, just tell them how great they are, they love that shit,” Rob replies and we all laugh.
“That’s so true,” Marco says.
“They’ll all fall in love with your young boys, Rob, and, Marco, your accent will have them all falling over,” Marie responds back, and another round of laughs fill the room.
“Remember my rules, that’s all I’ll say on that topic.”
“Of course, Captain.” The vibe turns semi-serious as they all agree at the same time.
“They all like the finer things in life, as well as the finer foods. They specifically stated they don’t want to seem like they are eating at a fast food restaurant or at Applebee’s.”
“Damn, what’s wrong with Applebee’s?” Rob laughs out.
“Nothing on our salary but on rich folks’ salary, it’s definitely a downgrade.” Marie elbows his arm as she speaks.
Glancing over at Marco, Rob says, “Good luck.”
“I’ve got some dishes lined up already in my head, no worries here.”
“Good, glad to hear it. Now, Marie, they want a rose gold party the first night, next they’d like to have a pampering day, that goes into the night, and finish up with a beach picnic. And I’ve been requested to join them for dinner on the last night. Marco, please watch their requests and their allergies. It all seems straightforward, no surprises here. So, work your magic, Marco. And, Rob, watch the boys and get ready to step in if anything is spiraling out of control. I shouldn’t have to tell you all, but the better you all do, the better the tip. Provisions will be here within the hour, let’s get them on the boat quickly and get ready for tomorrow because we all know 2:00 p.m. will be here before we know it, which means our guests will be arriving.”
“Anything else, Captain?”
“Not that I can think of. If anything comes up or any problems arise, you know where to find me.”
They all disperse and I’m left alone to my thoughts. I always take the time to think of what my father would be thinking as I plan out each charter. Is he proud? Would he change anything? Do something different?
I can’t worry about that now, I have less than twenty-four hours to make sure the boat is in pristine shape. I want to see reflection in the gold and I want to see absolutely no wrinkles in anything.
* * *
The first night went off without a hitch; the deckhands have been impeccable with their professionalism against six extremely aggressive women. Lord, I didn’t think I was going to get away to steer the boat from the dock. They had wandering hands, each of them a little too friendly on my body.
I watch the interaction of the guests and the stewardesses through the windshield in front of me, as they serve them their evening cocktails under the stars at the outside bar. It’s a gorgeous night out. Late tomorrow afternoon we’ll be dropping the anchor in Freeport. Our guests will be able to enjoy their time there for two days, before we continue on. Before we know it, we’ll start making our way towards the states. There’s been a change of plans and it won’t be back to New Jersey for us; the ladies have decided they want to spend time in Florida, which works out perfectly for me, as that’s where we need to pick up our next charter guests. So, we’ll be staying in Miami to clean, restock, and relax for twenty-four hours before we sail again.
I catch Maci out of the corner of my eye. Her head falls back with laughter. Her beauty is breathtaking. She’s listening to something that one of the touchy, feely guests is saying. Dressed all in white only makes her bronze skin glow more; she should definitely wear it more often.
“Captain, excuse me, Captain?”
“Sorry, Eric, what can I do for ya?”
I don’t know how many times he actually said my name before I heard him. My focus was strictly who is in front of me, and not on what or who is behind me.
“I just wanted to let you know, I’ll be on watch tonight.”
“Only you? Usually there’s two of you.”
“Oh, yes, Maci will be joining me after she finishes the dinner dishes.”
Fuck me, now she’ll be right outside my door as I try to sleep. There’s not a shot in hell that’s going to be happening now. I might as well tell him to go to bed and I’ll stay with her, because let’s face it, I’ll be picturing that little nose wrinkling up as she relooks over my area.
“Great, is that all, Eric?”
“No, they wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready too. Would you like it brought up to you?”
“No, I could stand to take a walk. Can you stay for a bit while I do that?”
“Absolutely, take your time, Captain.”
“Thanks.”
I smell the same sweet vanilla that I did when I was helping her gather her belongings at the dock in New Jersey. I won’t forget it. How could I, the sweetness I was engulfed in matched her sweet personality.
She’s bent over the table and my dick instantly takes notice. It apparently likes what it sees, and I have to agree with it. Her ass looks amazing, so I stand there quietly taking in the view. I find myself doing that a lot when she’s in the room.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I hear her mumble out. She thinks she’s alone and I don’t have the heart to tell her I’m right behind her so I wait, she’ll eventually figure it out.
“Damn it.”
Now I can’t help myself, so I speak.
“You have quite the little potty mouth on you, don’t you?”
“Shit,” she says one more time, as she jumps at the sound of my voice.
“Haha,” I laugh out.
“I’m so sorry, no, normally I don’t.” She stands perfectly still and I can see what she was swearing about. The table, which has dishes of food spread across it, now has a bunch of rice sprayed all over the place.
“Did the rice get the best of you?”
“I think so. I went to put it on my plate and I thought I heard someone, but as I went to look over my shoulder, I moved my hand that had my plate in it. Needless to say, I dropped it all over the table instead of my plate and now it’s everywhere. I need to clean this up.”
“I guess technically it’s my fault, since I was the person you heard, so I better help you.”
“Absolutely not. I can handle this; you get something
to eat and relax. I’m sure the company we work for wouldn’t want you cleaning up when you have a crew to do it. Though I do appreciate the offer. Thank you.”
She hands me a plate after putting hers on the counter. I figured the least I can do is move the bowls of incredible smelling food to one end of the table, so she could wipe down one side before switching everything to the other end, letting her finish up. She smiles at me when I start to help; whether she likes it or not, I do it. And I want to assure her the company CEO would be completely fine with me helping, since I know him personally. It actually brings back memories of me helping the crew when I was fifteen, before I was allowed to steer the boat.
“You don’t follow directions well, do you?” she asks.
“I do when it’s necessary. How about you?”
“I will always do what is asked of me, and I’ll give it my all too.”
“That’s good to know.” I wink at her as Brittany, another stewardess, walks in the room.
“Hello, Captain.”
I’m not sure she even notices Maci is in the room, considering she hasn’t taken her eyes off me.
“Hey, Brittany.”
Well, that got her attention; when she startles a little, it confirms what I thought, she did only see me.
“Oh, hey yourself, Maci. I didn’t even see you there.”
“I just finished cleaning up the mess…”
“I made,” I interrupt her. Why, I don’t know. I don’t want the others thinking negative about her. I also don’t know why I feel the need to protect her.
“You did?” Maci’s facial expression is as shocked as I am feeling.
“I can help you clean up, Captain,” Brittany says, batting her lashes at me, which doesn’t get my attention at all. She’s a pretty girl, nothing wrong with her at all. She just isn’t the girl standing next to her.
“Maci’s got it handled, but thank you, Brittany.”
“Anytime. In fact, if you need anything at all, just holler.” Again, a round of flickering lashes.
I let it go, I don’t have it in me to tell her it is never going to happen.
“So, Maci, what are you doing?”
“I finished handing out fresh drinks upstairs, now I’m grabbing something quick to eat, before I dive into the laundry. I’m down to the last two loads then I’m going to start the ironing.”
“Girl, you’re good at that.”
“I guess so.” This was all so new to her; she didn’t have a clue what she was good at and what she wasn’t.
“I’m good at a lot of things.” Brittany winks over at me.
“Ladies, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head back up to the flybridge.” Again, I don’t even respond to her comment.
* * *
It’s a clear sky on the water tonight. We make sure to have the option for our guests to listen to music, if that’s what they choose to do, wherever they are on the boat. It’s mostly used while they are lying out on the sundeck, or if they are enjoying the warm night at the outdoor bar under the string of lights that illuminates it beautifully.
I can barely hear the music, but with the way everyone is dancing down below me, I can tell they are enjoying it. I see Marie look up at me, nod to the guests, then start to walk my way.
“Captain, you’ve been requested down below.”
“Marie, seriously, you can’t get me out of it?” It is the last place I want to be unless I can have a certain someone rubbing up against me instead of the main charter guest. She’ll be attacking me the second I get down there.
“Haha, sorry, Captain. Remember what you say, ‘anything for the guests.’ The door is that way.” She’s laughing her ass off while she points across the room. She knows I hate frisky drunk guests. I can flirt with the best of them, but the ones who get so hands on from the start, without even having a drop of alcohol in them, make me the most nervous. That means with alcohol, I’m a dead man. They will attack me like the cougars they are.
“Fuck me,” I mutter.
“I think that’s what they are hoping will happen,” she replies.
Just as I’m about to say I can’t, because no one is here to cover the flybridge, in walks Eric. Well fuck me again. Damn it.
Giving the door a slightly harder pull than I normally would have, I hear Eric through the closed door. “What’s the matter with him?”
Then Marie answers, “He’s about to get groped and he’s not looking forward to it,” all while she’s laughing.
I look up to find them both smiling while watching out of the windows above as I greet our guests. The first hand reaches forward and rubs down my chest, as Maci walks out with drinks. The little silver tray wobbles a little as she watches. I don’t know if she has never carried drinks that way before or if seeing a woman pressed up against me is bothersome to her. I’m hoping it’s the latter. Why this woman has me wondering thoughts like that dumbfounds me.
This is like a slow form of torture and it’s not remotely fun, but I plaster on a smile, have a quick drink, and call it a night. Having dinner with them is easy, you eat, make small talk, and answer any questions they may have. Almost all guests want to first know if there is anyone special in my life, and I assure them my mother and sister are all the women I can handle right now. Usually there is always one who wants to know if I’ve broken-in the master suite, though I never kiss and tell, so that is my little secret. But on this boat, I can answer honestly and say no. Now on the Inspiration and Moonlight yachts, I’ll only say that the beds are enjoyable.
Stepping back into the flybridge, I’m finally at ease after an hour of wandering hands. Our guests are hammered as they finish the last of a couple bottles of champagne.
“Welcome back, Captain.” Marie gives me a wicked smile, as she talks.
“I was a human bun down there; I was stuck between two women at all times.”
“I think they were looking for the sausage to add to that bun, if ya know what I mean,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows, causing both her and Eric to start laughing together.
“Hell no, that is not happening and after that I need a shower. I’m going to take one, then hit my pillow, I’ll see you in the morning. Knock on the door if you need anything.”
“Will do, Captain. Goodnight.”
“And I’m out of here too, Maci should be up soon. Night.”
Two steps back into my room with my towel wrapped around my waist and I hear her. She’s on the other side of the door talking to Eric. I can’t make out what they are saying, but a slight hint of jealousy hits me. I want to be on the other side of the door, so now I have to come up with an excuse. I can’t go for a drink, because I don’t really ever drink while we are on charter; only if I’m with the guests, then it’s a one drink max. I also have a small fridge in my room that is well-stocked so I can’t say, “I need a Diet Coke.” Shit, this sucks.
Throwing on my shorts and T-shirt, I walk out ready to make up a lie on the spot. I’m being ridiculous, I own this fucking boat for God’s sake. I can go where I want, when I want. This woman has me acting like a teenager.
Chapter Four
Maci
Okay, maybe I can see now what Brittany meant when she called him Captain McDreamboat. His hair is wet from his shower and I’m seeing him in casual clothes for the first time. God help me. Black basketball shorts and a white shirt show off his tan skin. I’m not good at hiding my expressions, swallowing hard at the mere sight of him. I’m sure he can see the fluster on my cheeks after he entered the room.
I try not to make eye contact with him; I’m nervous that one day he’s going to ask me about what he saw on my phone. I can only hope that he didn’t read what the video was about, and that he only saw it to be a video up on my screen. Though I’ve decided, if he never mentions it, neither will I.
“Captain.” Eric nods.
“Sir, I mean, Captain.” Damn it, damn it, damn it.
“Eric.” He nods back at him. And then his vision turns to me.
“Maci, I told you if you forget to call me Captain, Sir is fine.” He smirks as he walks by me. His arm brushes against mine, and I feel a tingle all over. Oh boy.
He continues on out the door and heads down the spiral staircase toward the employee galley.
“He’s such a good guy,” Eric states.
“How many times have you worked for him?”
“I’ve only been on the other boats the company owns; I’ve never actually worked directly with him but you can just tell. Though I have a couple buddies who have and I was told all about him.”
“Oh, do tell.” I slide over closer to him, smiling.
“Haha, you got the hots for Cap?”
“No way, I’d just like to know how he really is.” There is no way I’ll admit to the little flirtation vibe that has been going on between us.
“Hmm, hmm.”
“Shut up,” I giggle at him.
We spend about a half hour chatting about the rest of our crew. Eric has worked with Rob on one other charter and with Scott on two other boats, but never Derek. I explained that I really have no official training or experience, it was something I thought I could learn and enjoy for the summer.
He grew up with his family at a lake house and was always on the water, whether it was on one of the Jet Skis they owned or behind their boat water skiing. He loves it, so after he heard about this type of job from a friend, he jumped at the chance to live on a yacht and make money. Good money at that.
I feel his presence before I even turn around. He walks in carrying a plate of veggies and dip. I should have expected his snacks to be that; you don’t get that body by eating chips and dip. Eric asks me if I mind if he heads down to grab something to snack on and a drink. He asks if I want anything before he walks out.
Turning back around toward the windows, if I don’t look somewhere else, I’ll be staring at a pair of baby blue eyes. He really is stunning to look at and you can tell he knows it, but he also is extremely confident, which makes him even hotter. Yes, a man in uniform is a no-brainer when it comes to hotness, but when the man in the clothes exudes authority, a touch of arrogance—well, maybe a lot of arrogance—and is just overall screaming power, you take notice. This man makes my stomach flutter, nervous and excited all at the same time. I don’t know what to do first: throw up, drop something, stumble, or stutter. It’s nuts, or I’m nuts, one or the other.
Sexy Seaman Page 4