“I’m on it, Captain. I’ll make sure they get what they want as well as other things.”
We wrap up the meeting a short time later and we all depart from the flybridge. We will have provisions coming at eleven and then guests will arrive at two; it’ll give us time to make sure everything is put away and we are ready to go.
“Crew, if you haven’t done so already, I need everyone changed to your white shirts and black shorts. Our guest should be here in twenty,” I announce on the walkie-talkies.
Everyone starts to line up but Brittany and Maci; the two of them come up the stairs giggling as I see the guests, cutting it too close. I’m annoyed.
“Ladies, I expect you up here at the same time as the others, next time move a little faster.”
“Good thing there is no next time, huh Cap?” Brittany’s mouth on this boat has tried my patience. She’ll be the only one I won’t ask back to work with again.
“Brittany, you have no idea how true that statement is. Now get in line.”
My eyes lock with Maci, she doesn’t make any comment and I’m grateful for it. I don’t want to be an asshole, but charters are how we make money so everything we do affects things, starting with us being present for our guests when they arrive.
After greeting the guests, the primary, known as Antonio, asks to talk to me privately.
“Captain, I’m hoping you can help me out with a special surprise for my buddy, Enzo. His birthday is in a couple days; I’d like to have strippers on board.”
Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. “Okay, I can make that happen.” And I will too.
“Great thanks, Captain.” He pats my shoulder before returning to his friends.
Sure, great, I think. Time to talk to Marie and Rob. Marie will not be thrilled at all about this, nor will the other girls. But Rob and the guys will probably be okay with it. I roll my eyes to myself at the thought…this will most likely be a long charter.
I press the button on the walkie talkie to say, “Let’s get ready to launch, everyone.”
“All eyes on deck, Captain,” Rob states, letting me know everyone is in place to get this one underway.
“Anchor is back in the pocket, Cap,” Eric comes through with.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
One by one they all let me know things are all clear and we pull away from port. I see our guests around the bar below, tipping back their bottles of beer as we gain speed over the open waters ahead.
We’ve been sailing for about two hours now and the drinks haven’t stopped below. One bottle has been broken, when it slipped out of the hand of one of them. Now they are hitting the hard liquor; not sure this is going to end well. I’ll keep a watchful eye on them.
Dinner is underway and I’ve been told the guys have gotten mouthy but nothing the girls couldn’t handle; Marie assured me. I was told one has passed out at the table and two of them are carrying him down to his room. Dumbasses, why the hell would you want to come on a multimillion-dollar yacht to get so wasted you don’t even remember it. Fuck that.
Sailing for over a day has me feeling a high; the same high I get every time we leave a port. A dream that came true before my very eyes.
I drop the anchor for the night once we are right outside of the Bahamas. We’ll stay here for the next two days before we pull into port at Nassau. Marie notified me this afternoon that we are all set with our additional guests coming for tomorrow night’s festivities.
“Hey, sugar, can you get me another Jack with a splash of Coke? You know what that means, right?”
I can hear him as I walk around the corner; this joker can’t be serious right now, then I hear Ann’s response.
“Oh, no I’m dumb. Tell me again, what is in it?”
I chuckle to myself. I can see her face as she rolls her eyes and walks away. They don’t see me, but I see them.
“Stupid bitch,” I hear him say to his friends and they all laugh.
And that is my cue to walk out.
“Gentlemen,” I say in a sharp tone.
“Captain,” the primary says in return.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” another replies.
“It’s been perfect. I hope my crew has been taking care of you.”
“I can think of other ways they can take care of me,” comes from the same one who just insulted Ann.
“Careful there. Treat my crew with respect.” I make sure they understand.
“Of course, we will, Captain,” the primary laughs, hitting his buddy on the arm.
Assholes. They don’t know I’ll put their asses on the tender boat and they can float back to shore for all I care. But the one thing I do care about is the respect that my crew deserves; they put up with a lot of shit during some of these charters. Between different guests requesting crazy things, to their absurd behavior, then mix in the different attitudes, they should get paid the money they do and then some. So, the tips they get, they definitely earn them.
The evening goes the same as the night before; at least one passes out but this time the rest of them leave him right there at the table, making fun of him. They start doing stupid shit that college kids do to their friends when they are the first one piss-ass drunk at a party. He got things put in his hands, like a claw from the lobster, then they tied his ankles to the chair with the napkins from the table; it went on and on through the night. They made sure to capture it all on their phones too.
Today they are going to get a day out on the water, hopefully tiring them out. I’m not looking forward to tonight. It’s bad enough that they find reasons to party, but when it really is one of their birthdays, it moves it to a whole new level.
Pressing the button on the side of my radio, I ask, “Rob, could you please gather your team together to get everything in the water for the guys, including the slide?”
“On it, Captain.”
“Thank you.”
Then I let the interior know, “Marie, please make sure the cabins are turned down while they are eating breakfast and playing with all the water toys. Also, bring out both cool towels and dry ones for them when they get out. It’s already hot out there today.”
Marie and the other ladies comply with my requests.
* * *
The tender boat has just returned with three exotic dancers; I’d rather call them that than strippers. The guests are finishing up dinner now and then they will go to the main lounge area where the party will take place. Brittany, Maci, and Scott are in there decorating now while Ann and Marie finish up things out here. Rob has been hanging around outside with Derek, making themselves busy washing down the deck, while keeping a watchful eye on the ladies and our drunken guests.
Eric is walking our additional friends to a secure location on the boat, so they can get ready and not be seen. Marco is putting the finishing touches on the special cake he was requested to make; a yellow cake with strawberries and cream cheese frosting in between each of the four layers. Everyone seems very busy, ensuring things are perfect for these five guys who probably don’t deserve it with as much shit as they’ve given the crew.
“Okay, gentlemen, if you’ll follow me, we have a nice surprise for you, well Enzo in particular,” Marie announces, looking at the guest of honor. “Antonio and the rest of your buddies wanted to give you a birthday party you’ll never forget.”
“What, are you giving me a happy ending?” he chuckles, as he slaps his buddy’s chest, causing them all to follow with his laughter.
“Bro, I can do better than that,” says the primary.
I listen to them all talk as I walk toward them, needing to make sure they don’t get too hands on with the ladies taking off their clothes but also the ones on the boat.
“Bro,” she says in a mocking tone, “think you’ll enjoy this even more.” She’s pissed, I can tell.
“Let me be the judge of that,” he responds by acting like he’s going to unbuckle his pants. Fuck that, if he knows what’s good for him, he doesn’t
dare to do it.
“How was dinner?” I make my presence known when I speak.
“Fabulous, Captain,” says one of them.
“Good. Are you off to your evening festivities?”
“I was just guiding them in that direction now, Captain.”
“Thank you, Marie.”
“Join us, Captain.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, but I’ll be around.”
“Antonio’s right, Captain, I think you should join me for a celebratory drink for my birthday.”
“No drinking on the job for me, but I promise to stop in briefly in a little bit.”
They finally stop asking and accept my answer. When the sliding glass doors open, I’m in awe at the sight of her standing behind the bar, ready to take orders. Her long brown hair is flowing all around her, one side is tucked behind her ear while she leans forward to grab a glass off the top rack behind her. She smiles brightly as the guys walk up and I’m instantly jealous, wanting to be the only one who puts that smile on her face. I stop briefly before I excuse myself to go up to the flybridge. I need to make sure the engineers are watching things for a short moment, since I agreed to come back down. I won’t break my word to them.
Once I return, I’m pleased to see Derek and Rob have joined Scott to help out the interior ladies and play the new role of bodyguard tonight. I’m glad I never had to say it, they just knew to do it, especially when I see how touchy these guys are being with the dancers we brought on. Time to break it up a bit.
“Are we having fun, gentlemen?” The music is playing to support the activity going on.
“My boys know me well,” the birthday boy says. I say boy because they are acting like teenagers who have never been around girls before.
“Well, let’s remember to respect the ladies who are around us.”
“Bro, they want my money, so they’ll earn it,” comes out of one of the asshole’s mouth.
I’m trying to control my temper. If there is anything that gets my blood boiling, it’s guys like this. They take arrogance to a new level.
“Yo, come over here and give the captain a nice lap dance,” Antonio calls over.
“No, no lap dance for this captain.”
“Come on, Captain, you want us to be happy, right?”
Fuckers.
“Happy, yes, but this isn’t something I can or will partake in.”
I walk over to the bar to stand and watch, though it could be so I can be close to her too.
“Everything going okay, ladies?” I ask over the loud music.
“How many days do we have left with them?” Ann questions.
“I feel your pain.”
“So, they’ve asked you to blow them too?” she asks with a smirk.
“They asked you what?” I see red.
“Well, not in so many words but I can read between the lines.”
“I assure you, Captain, I put a stop to it,” Scott steps in to let me know.
“Thank you. You all deserve a lot more than what they’ll leave for a tip, for what you’ve put up with.”
“You can say that again,” Marie laughs out.
She hasn’t said a thing to me, and I just want to hold her and see if she’s okay.
“You’re quiet, Maci, everything okay over there?”
“Yes, Captain. I’m counting down the minutes until all this is over with…” She waves her hand toward the activity going on in front of us.
There are enough one-dollar bills on the floor to pay for a person’s rent on the top floor. I can say they don’t seem to have a problem spending it freely. I see Enzo whispering into one of the women’s ears; then she stalks toward me. What the hell?
She stops in front of me, turns, and starts shaking her ass very close to my junk. She bends over; touching her toes while her thong is on display for me to see. Twerking has never been my thing and this just proves that it still isn’t; I’m as soft as I was when she walked up to me. My body doesn’t react to her at all. Looking back up, I glance over to Maci and she is staring with wide eyes, before she looks away and resumes lifting a tray of dirty glasses to take them to the kitchen. Shit!
“Sweetheart, as entertaining as you all are, you need to go see the guys who are paying you.”
I excuse myself and walk in the same direction as she did. Walking in, she’s nowhere to be found, so I continue on to the stairs that lead down to the crew kitchen. There she is, standing as beautiful as ever with her back to me.
“Are you okay, Maci?”
“I am.”
“Turn around.”
She does so slowly and even though nothing has dropped, her eyes are glossed over.
“Come here.”
She doesn’t move. I walk toward her, taking her hand, leading to a more private space so if someone came, we’d have time to separate. I pull her into me, hugging her tightly.
“That’s not my thing, Sweet Pea. She had no effect on me, I can promise you that.”
“I didn’t realize it would even affect me, to be honest. It came out of nowhere.”
“And if I’m being honest, it’s nice to see it bothered you, though I don’t like to see you upset.”
Leaning down, I quickly place a kiss to her lips before we separate and walk back to the main room.
“We better get back up there before someone wonders where we both went to,” she says.
“Agreed, you go first.”
I can’t help myself as I watch her ass walk away from me; the sway of her hips has me needing to adjust myself before I walk out, heading back to the flybridge.
* * *
Thank goodness this charter is coming to an end; I’ve had about enough of these pricks. We just pulled away from port in Nassau, heading back to New Jersey.
After I get home, I tend to work in the office for the next few months, getting things in order there before I find my way to Florida. They don’t end their charter season until early November so, I’ll check on things down there after the first of the year, making sure all the yachts are ready to go in early spring. There will be several meetings I’ll have to attend with our supply companies, and most of our upper management. Some of the yachts will need updating and certain things fixed, but that is where I’m hoping Maci will fit in. I’m looking forward to her ideas with this yacht and all the others we have.
“Coffee, Captain?” Marie knocks and walks in.
“Yes, please. How’s it going?”
Her eyebrows raise, letting me know she has the same feeling as I do.
“I know. We can’t get back to New Jersey fast enough, huh?” I chuckle at her.
“You got that right.”
“How’s everything going? I think your crew came together nicely this time around.”
“They did finally, the start was a rough go; I think I reminded Maci six times to fold the end of the toilet paper to a point in the guest bathrooms, and I wasn’t sure she was ever going to get how to truly iron and fold our white crew shirts. And don’t get me started on the making bed issues we had at the beginning. You can tell she’s a rookie, but one who doesn’t give up. I like that about her.”
“Yes, she seems to be willing to pitch in wherever and she gives it her all.”
“That she does and she’s figured it all out. Ann and Brittany were great from the start, for the most part; a couple small hiccups but nothing to write home about.”
“That’s good.”
I am glad to hear that Maci found her groove with the interior. You can tell she isn’t one to fail, so I really had no doubts that she’d figure everything out, even after seeing her watching a YouTube video. I want to laugh at the memory, but don’t in front of Marie.
“Brittany can be a handful but when she’s working, she’s busting her ass.”
“Yeah, I witnessed her attitude firsthand.” I can vividly remember her drunken night.
“Haha, I remember.”
It’s nice to have this time with Marie. I
need to know how everyone is doing, so I can decide whether or not to invite them back to work on one of my yachts. If I’ve missed something during the charter, now is the time to find out. I have files on crew members who will never step foot on my boats again for a list of reasons. I usually give people two chances to show me growth when it comes to cruising. If they haven’t grown in knowledge and experience, then they aren’t asked to come back. It’s a fast-paced job, so if you can’t work under pressure then it’s not the career path you should take. It doesn’t make you a bad person; it just means that yachting is not for you.
We’ve got a night of sailing then we’ll be tying off around five tomorrow night, which gives us a little over thirty-eight hours of sailing up the coast. Being on the flybridge for the last six hours, I’m ready for lunch and a break. I’m ready to walkie-talkie someone to come up when in walks Rob.
“Captain, you ready for a break?”
“I am, thanks.”
“Lunch is in the crew kitchen.”
“Sounds good, I think I’ll head down to grab something before I take a walk around. How are our friends doing today?” I need to make sure our charter guests are behaving.
“For the most part, okay but they are starting in on their daily intake of alcohol. Man, I don’t know if I’ve been on board with guests who have drunk as much as them. They’ve downed fourteen bottles of Jack since they stepped foot on the boat, and don’t get me started on what else they have consumed.”
We both chuckle before I speak, “It is hard to believe they’ve been sober at all with what they’ve downed.”
“No kidding.”
I walk out, leaving Rob behind to man the yacht as I go looking for food. I go into the crew kitchen to see her sitting with Eric and Brittany.
“How’s the day going so far?”
“Tomorrow afternoon can’t come soon enough,” Maci states.
“Can’t wait to get off the boat, huh?” My eyebrows crease together, though I have a smirk on my face, letting her know I’m joking.
“Oh, no that’s not it at all, but I am ready for our guests to get off the boat.” She smiles back.
“I agree. I can’t believe that one slapped you on the ass this morning,” Brittany says.
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