HOME | DD

Description
You dropped you bag onto the small bed and looked around the tiny cabin for a long moment. It was painted a soft seafoam green, with a wallpaper boarder high on the wall that was meant to look like tiles in shades of blues and white. A small TV was affixed to the wall in one corner, and there was a narrow closet in the hallway that led to the door. There was a tiny bathroom equipped only with a toilet, sink and stand up shower.

You consoled yourself with the thought that you wouldn’t be spending much time in there anyway.

You, and the rest of your family, were on a fourteen day long cruise through the Caribbean for your sister’s wedding. It would be a good time, you knew, except you were a little worried about being lonely. You didn’t always get along with your family, being a bit of a black sheep. But maybe a vacation would do you some good.

Grabbing your cell phone and your room key, you headed out, deciding to check out the ship a little. It was a huge thing, over a thousand feet long, with over three thousand passengers on board when it was at full capacity. And yet it was still real nice, and there weren’t a lot of children running around. You weren’t the only person getting acquainted with the ship, as many other people milled around. You passed a small group of teenagers squealing about something while pointing at a map. You passed them without much thought. After some wandering, you found yourself standing at very back of the ship, on the main upper deck, looking off over the port. Workers were scuttling around preparing he ship for departure, calling back and forth occasionally. It was exciting to be underway. You looked to your left and saw the open ocean spreading before you. It was a deep sapphire blue, lined in orange from the setting sun.

“Nice view, isn’t it?”

You glanced back to your right to see a man had joined you at the railing. He looked out over the port with a smile quirking his lips. The man was taller than you, though not dreadfully so, and had fair skin and dirty blonde hair. He turned to you after a moment, waiting for you to reply with that smirk still on his face.

“Yeah, I can never get enough of it,” you answered, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I take it you’ve been here before,” the man said, leaning one forearm against the rail.

“Yeah, I went on a cruise like this when I was younger. I used to love coming to the back of the ship to see the sunset every day.”

“Can’t say I blame you,” he grinned. The two of you lapsed into a semi comfortable silence, looking out over the ocean as the engine’s started up and the ship slowly began to pull away from shore. The man seemed nice, but at the same time, you felt shy around him. He was not conventionally handsome, but there was something about him that was almost magnetic in a way. His mischievous smile, the playful tone of his voice. But you had not been in a relationship in a long time, and you had never been good at flirting to begin with, so you weren’t really sure what to do when a man like that showed interest in you. In your mind, he was way out of your league.

You fidgeted a little, and he noticed, turning his eyes to you and cocking his head to the side. He had pretty eyes, you realized, the color of honey. “My name’s Gabriel,” he said finally.

“___yn____,” you smiled, holding out your hand. He took it, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“So what are you here for?” he asked amiably.

“My sister’s wedding, actually. She thought it would be a fun idea to do the wedding and honeymoon on the ship, so the rest of us get a vacation too.”

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth turned down into an expression that seemed to say ‘Really, you don’t say’, before smiling slightly. “That sounds like fun.”

“Yeah, it is-“

A loud yell from behind you cut you off. Both you and Gabriel turned to look across the deck to where a group of people were hanging around a small pool and bar. The woman who had yelled wore a bright, Hawaiian print bathing suit, and was carrying a strawberry daiquiri in either hand. She held them up and hollered for you to come join them. You forced a smile and waived her away. Turning away, you covered your face with your hand, completely mortified. Gabriel chuckled quietly beside you.

“Except for some of my family,” you finished.

“Aah, it’s their vacation, they’re allowed to relax,” the man said, flashing that quirky, playful smile again. He tossed you a sideways glance. “You’re allowed to have some fun too, you know.” He waggled his eyebrows at you.

You blushed but glanced away, unsure how to answer that. He seemed nice, and certainly was attractive, but you had to admit you were kind of scared of what he seemed to be purposing.

“What kind of fun?” you managed finally.

He leaned against the railing, his face screwed up into an exaggeratedly thoughtful expression. “I dunno, but I hear there’s a nice adults-only pool in the area of cabins I’m staying in.”

You blushed a little bit and gave him a regretful smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around, Gabriel,” you said, starting away across the deck.

After a moment, he called out to you. “I came on too strong, didn’t I?”

You paused to look at him over your shoulder, holding up one hand, with your thumb and finger close together. “Little bit.”

He made a face, but pushed his hands into his pockets and watched as you walked away.

You had to meet your family for dinner. That’s what you told yourself anyway, but you were having a hard time not thinking of the man standing by the aft railing.

Description
You dropped you bag onto the small bed and looked around the tiny cabin for a long moment. It was painted a soft seafoam green, with a wallpaper boarder high on the wall that was meant to look like tiles in shades of blues and white. A small TV was affixed to the wall in one corner, and there was a narrow closet in the hallway that led to the door. There was a tiny bathroom equipped only with a toilet, sink and stand up shower.

You consoled yourself with the thought that you wouldn’t be spending much time in there anyway.

You, and the rest of your family, were on a fourteen day long cruise through the Caribbean for your sister’s wedding. It would be a good time, you knew, except you were a little worried about being lonely. You didn’t always get along with your family, being a bit of a black sheep. But maybe a vacation would do you some good.

Grabbing your cell phone and your room key, you headed out, deciding to check out the ship a little. It was a huge thing, over a thousand feet long, with over three thousand passengers on board when it was at full capacity. And yet it was still real nice, and there weren’t a lot of children running around. You weren’t the only person getting acquainted with the ship, as many other people milled around. You passed a small group of teenagers squealing about something while pointing at a map. You passed them without much thought. After some wandering, you found yourself standing at very back of the ship, on the main upper deck, looking off over the port. Workers were scuttling around preparing he ship for departure, calling back and forth occasionally. It was exciting to be underway. You looked to your left and saw the open ocean spreading before you. It was a deep sapphire blue, lined in orange from the setting sun.

“Nice view, isn’t it?”

You glanced back to your right to see a man had joined you at the railing. He looked out over the port with a smile quirking his lips. The man was taller than you, though not dreadfully so, and had fair skin and dirty blonde hair. He turned to you after a moment, waiting for you to reply with that smirk still on his face.

“Yeah, I can never get enough of it,” you answered, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I take it you’ve been here before,” the man said, leaning one forearm against the rail.

“Yeah, I went on a cruise like this when I was younger. I used to love coming to the back of the ship to see the sunset every day.”

“Can’t say I blame you,” he grinned. The two of you lapsed into a semi comfortable silence, looking out over the ocean as the engine’s started up and the ship slowly began to pull away from shore. The man seemed nice, but at the same time, you felt shy around him. He was not conventionally handsome, but there was something about him that was almost magnetic in a way. His mischievous smile, the playful tone of his voice. But you had not been in a relationship in a long time, and you had never been good at flirting to begin with, so you weren’t really sure what to do when a man like that showed interest in you. In your mind, he was way out of your league.

You fidgeted a little, and he noticed, turning his eyes to you and cocking his head to the side. He had pretty eyes, you realized, the color of honey. “My name’s Gabriel,” he said finally.

“___yn____,” you smiled, holding out your hand. He took it, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“So what are you here for?” he asked amiably.

“My sister’s wedding, actually. She thought it would be a fun idea to do the wedding and honeymoon on the ship, so the rest of us get a vacation too.”

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth turned down into an expression that seemed to say ‘Really, you don’t say’, before smiling slightly. “That sounds like fun.”

“Yeah, it is-“

A loud yell from behind you cut you off. Both you and Gabriel turned to look across the deck to where a group of people were hanging around a small pool and bar. The woman who had yelled wore a bright, Hawaiian print bathing suit, and was carrying a strawberry daiquiri in either hand. She held them up and hollered for you to come join them. You forced a smile and waived her away. Turning away, you covered your face with your hand, completely mortified. Gabriel chuckled quietly beside you.

“Except for some of my family,” you finished.

“Aah, it’s their vacation, they’re allowed to relax,” the man said, flashing that quirky, playful smile again. He tossed you a sideways glance. “You’re allowed to have some fun too, you know.” He waggled his eyebrows at you.

You blushed but glanced away, unsure how to answer that. He seemed nice, and certainly was attractive, but you had to admit you were kind of scared of what he seemed to be purposing.

“What kind of fun?” you managed finally.

He leaned against the railing, his face screwed up into an exaggeratedly thoughtful expression. “I dunno, but I hear there’s a nice adults-only pool in the area of cabins I’m staying in.”

You blushed a little bit and gave him a regretful smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around, Gabriel,” you said, starting away across the deck.

After a moment, he called out to you. “I came on too strong, didn’t I?”

You paused to look at him over your shoulder, holding up one hand, with your thumb and finger close together. “Little bit.”

He made a face, but pushed his hands into his pockets and watched as you walked away.

You had to meet your family for dinner. That’s what you told yourself anyway, but you were having a hard time not thinking of the man standing by the aft railing.