Strangers on the Sea
Driving through your normal town in the small town of Wilkes that you have always lived in you turned up the radio in your basic car. You knew everything about this town and have always wanted to leave. Sadly you never took the leap to actually leave, you always made up excuses as to why you could never go. As you made your turn into your normal parking space as the same boring company that your friends and family worked at an ad broadcast over the station you were listening to. “All expenses paid cruise. Sail away from everything for 30 days and come back relaxed and have a new look on life. Enter now by going onto www.bobbybones.com for your chance to win!” As you gathered your things you rolled your eyes thinking you could never win that. The black sliding doors to the building opened as you scanned your badge and you made your way to the desk. Same old boring cube, covered in beige and no personality at all. Seeing your dad coming around to your cube you smiled, at least someone is happy to see you.
“Hey Honey, I have a gift for you.” You noticed he had something behind his back.
“What is it? Let me guess a pen?” Your dad was never good at giving gifts. You laughed a bit as you turned back around to your computer to login. You felt the brush of paper on your arm and crooked your head. You saw the bright blue cover of a cruise pamphlet laying on your desk.
“I bought you a ticket for a cruise leaving this weekend, you need to relax and have a better outlook on your life.” Your dad patted your shoulder and walked away. One present you could actually use for once. This was your chance, nothing was going to stop you this time. All day as you took your boring calls about damages to appliances and not finding the right products in stores. You hated this job because it was the same old boring things happening to you every day. You watched the clock slowly tick by each day and finally it was five o’clock. Time to go home. You packed up your things and again saw the cruise ticket, you flipped through the pages as you left the building. Water slides, and games rooms, an open bar, everything looked amazing as you kept flipping. You saw an endorsement from Tony Stark on the back page. He funded millions towards this project and the ship even went down into the ocean for a week. As you got into your car you saw your dad waving you off towards home, You realized that this is your chance to get out of this small town and maybe meet someone new and leave this dead end life. You rushed home and packed your bags, you are going on a cruise.
That following weekend
You were all packed for the cruise, you plopped the sun hat you had recently purchased on your head and headed out to your car. You had agreed to leave your car at your dad’s while you were gone. Your heart was beating as fast as a humming bird thinking about what awaited you on that ship. Parking into your dad’s garage you transferred your things into the back of a taxi and headed toward the coast. Seeing your town fade away in the background you couldn't help but smile at the thought of escaping this town even for a short month. You promised yourself this town would not hold you back as you looked forward out of the front window. Plugging in your headphones you blasted your favorite mix of songs in preparation for this adventure. Seeing the cities that surrounded your small town you were amazed, the farthest you had been was a county over in Iredell. You checked your pass to see where you were boarding and you panicked again, you didn't pack for a luxury cruise you packed to relax. Noticing a credit card sticking out of your wallet. Your dad had snuck his onyx credit card into your things while you were at his house. You had the taxi driver stop and rushed into the nearest store and purchased everything that you saw. You were ready now. Unloading your new clothes into your suitcase you let out a heavy sigh and relaxed again. As you hit the road the high skyscrapers and no sign of stars made you even more excited, you were holding back from bouncing in your seat as the ship came into your view, some passengers were standing outside waiting to board. Paying the driver you grabbed your two bags and headed to the top entrance of the ship.Seeing everyone below you it made you feel amazing inside, someone was waiting for you at the door to the ship to carry your bags and escort you to the room. Handing you a key card you looked down all the hallways you passed, they were draped in golden curtains and had beautiful crown molding. Each hallway had a chandelier hanging down illuminating everything.
“This is amazing” you whispered to yourself looking in front of you just in time to not run into the man escorting you to your room. You scanned the card letting you into the rooms and your eyes went wide. As you entered you saw long windows that looked out onto the bluest water you had ever seen in your life. The room was magnificent, a giant bed was placed right in the middle of the windows and a gold chevron headboard was pressed against the wall. A small marble counter, flecked in gold, was to the right of the bed and offered free mini bars filled with everything from chocolate covered fruit to small champagne bottles. The man sat your stuff down and welcomed you to the Atlas and informed you of the welcome party tonight. As he closed the door you flopped down onto the bed and immediately called your dad thanking him for this experience.
That night
Seeing the clock you opened the closet loaded with your newly purchased clothes and pulled out a aquamarine silky dress and slipped it on paired with silver glitter heels, you curled your hair and grabbed your black clutch. Tucking your key card into the clutch you made your way down the hall to the elevator and stopped when you noticed a slim, muscular man stepping out of his room dressed in a deep red suit. His blonde hair shined under the bright chandelier hanging over his head. You blushed and headed down to the event room. It was elegance at its finest, tables covered in white cloths with waiters carrying around champagne flutes. Everyone was mingling, and you slipped by and chose a seat by the window to see outside at the waves with the stars shining down from the night sky. You took a sip of your champagne as you noticed the gorgeous stranger making his way toward you. You turned away and bit your lip in anticipation. He tapped your bare shoulder and you lit up with a smile.
“May I sit with you, Ma’am?” His voice was velvet in your ear and you signaled him to the opposite chair. His eyes were the same color as the ocean and you felt an instant connection.
“I’m sorry for not introducing myself, I'm Steve Robinson.” He offered his hand to you.
“Pleasure, I’m [YOUR FULL NAME].” You shook his soft hand and he winked at you.
“May I just tell you how amazing you look tonight?” He blushed a bit and you nodded your head at him in appreciation. You felt as if you should recognize him, but you blocked it out of your mind. You didn’t know any of these people in this class of people. He motioned to the waiter and grabbed two more flutes for you and him.
“Thank you. Would you like to dance?” You recognized the song the band started playing and stood up with your hand out. He took a hold and led you to the middle of the floor. You smelled his cologne and it made your eyes roll into the back of your head. The smell was intoxicating, full of evergreen forests and cedar. Luckily you had taken cotillion classes in high school. You two danced so elegantly and you kept trying to avoid eye contact with him until he pushed your chin up to look into your eyes.
“Would you like to take a walk with me, [YOUR NAME]?” You nodded in reply and made a quick exit to the top deck.