Aboard Pleasure

Excerpt From: Aboard Pleasure

“This is a bad idea. I don’t have time to take a vacation right now,” Violet complained as her two best friends practically pushed her up the gangplank of the luxury cruise ship. She squinted in the bright Miami sunlight as if she’d just emerged from a cave, and in a way she had.

“There is more to life than legal briefs,” Mirabelle said.

Carrie jumped in. “Yeah, there are silky briefs and boxer briefs and?”

“Men without briefs!” the three of them finished the old joke together—one of many they’d made up as they’d helped each other survive law school nearly ten years ago.

At the top of the walkway, a blond, hunky guy—wearing khaki shorts and a polo shirt that spanned impressive chest muscles—held a clipboard.

“Hel-lo, Sailor,” Carrie whispered under her breath. “Sign me up for whatever you’ve got on your clipboard, baby.”

“Hi, Stan.” Violet chose to read his nametag rather than give him a pet name. “Can you point the way to our cabin?” She held up her boarding pass.

His smile was wide and showed brilliantly white, straight teeth. He must have made his dentist proud. And she must be dead not to feel any kind of attraction to him. Maybe too much time in her work cave had killed her senses.

“No problem, ladies,” he said after glancing at their passes. “Your cabin is on the Silk Promenade. Head through those double doors and take your first staircase to the right. Past the shops, take a left turn, then a right, and head towards the bow of the ship. Your cabin will be on the left side about halfway down.”

Violet stared at him blankly, having got lost after the shops. Behind her, she heard Mirabelle muttering the directions over and over again as if to memorise them.

“Oooh, thanks so much,” Carrie chimed. “We’ll catch you later when you’re not so busy.”

Violet tugged her and Mirabelle away from the throng of people gathering around Stan for directions.

“Wasn’t he hot?” Carrie gushed.

Violet looked at Mirabelle. “Did you get the directions?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“Thank God one of us is spatially gifted,” Violet said. “Lead the way, O Talented One.”

Violet followed her friends up the stairs and past the shops as Stan had directed. When they reached a T in the hallway, Mirabelle stopped and repeated the directions.

“To the right,” she directed.

“You’re sure?” Violet asked.

“Yep.” She nodded and took off down the hall. At the next T, she took a left, and they found themselves in a long hallway with numbered doors on each side.

“He said it was about halfway down. What’s the number again?” Mirabelle walked ahead of them.