Chapter 13
Sneak Peek
A few days before we are to set sail for our cruise, Misty and I decide to begin packing everything that we'll be bringing along with us. From the start, we both agree that it's best not to pack too much stuff.
“We don't want to be spending a lot of time messing around with luggage,” Misty says.
“Yeah, and the cruise is only three days, after all, so we shouldn't need to take that much anyway,” I add.
She brings out a medium-sized black suitcase—large enough to pack all the things that both of us will need but still light enough to carry around easily. It also has wheels and an extendable handle to aid in the latter task.
“It's very dusty, I know; I haven't really gone on a vacation like this in a very long time,” Misty explains.
“I haven't either. I can't even remember the last time I went anywhere like this, if ever. Anyways, I'll help you clean it up. No problem.”
We use a couple of paper towels to clean up the dust on top of and inside the suitcase. Once we have it in tip-top shape, we begin actually putting things inside of it, starting with some of Misty's clothes.
“I still have a few other things that I want to pack, but I'll need to wash them first,” she tells me.
“If you're doing laundry, might as well also throw in some of the stuff I have before I pack it away too,” I suggest.
Misty and I decide that we're both packing several changes of clothing and that, when in doubt, it's better to pack a few too many items, within reason, than to accidentally leave too much out that might be needed.
“If we take too much, we can just avoid unpacking the extras, but—“ I start.
“If we realize we forgot something once we leave, we won't be able to go back and take it,” Misty finishes my thought.
Misty and I devise a simple system in which each of us gets half of the suitcase to fill up with whatever we desire. She also explains that it'll be more efficient and help prevent creasing if we roll up our clothing into long, narrow cylinders. There are also various pockets and compartments around the suitcase, which can be used to hold any other miscellaneous things that are needed.
⁂
Later on in the day, I decide to see what Misty is up to. In the downstairs area, I first check in the kitchen. Nope, she's not in there. I then go upstairs and check her room. Nope, she's not there either. While I'm in this general area, however, I can hear something coming from the laundry room, so I decide to check there. There she is! Misty appears to be unloading laundry from the washing machine that'll be packed in preparation for our cruise. She must not have heard me approaching, since the carpet flooring has a tendency to absorb walking sounds. Her back is turned to me, and she still doesn't notice that I'm standing there. She's wearing a high-cut T-shirt with red and white horizontal stripes that shows off her belly, tempting me to give her a squeeze. The floor in the laundry room is made of tile, so I have to be slower to approach her quietly.
“Sneak attack!” I say as I put my hands around her waist, giving her a gentle squeeze.
“Baby!” she responds, letting out a little gasp of surprise. She turns her head in my direction slightly and says, “What's up?”
“Not much. Just wanted to see what you were doing. Need some help with the laundry?” I offer.
While I'm asking that, I reach out in front of her and pick up a random article of clothing. As it so happens, it's a pair of Misty's lacy panties.
“Awww, you're always so helpful around the house! I really appreciate that. You can help me sort through this stuff and choose which outfits I should pack for our trip,” Misty answers.
“I'd be glad to,” I respond. “Mmm… You smell so good today. Are you wearing that peachy perfume you know I love?” I ask a few seconds later, with my arms still around Misty.
“Maybe…” she replies, giggling.
I help Misty carry some of the now-clean clothes downstairs. We sort through all of the items according to whom they belong and figure out, for the both of us, which ones to pack away to wear on our cruise.
Once we're finished packing the clothes we want to and putting away the clothes we aren't, we start to think about what else we'll need to bring. Sunscreen is a must—after all, we'll be sure to spend plenty of time outdoors in the hot summer sun. Bathing suits are also important for similar reasons. Toiletries such as shampoo, body wash, toothbrushes, and toothpaste are essential by default as well. Even though we plan on using it extremely sparingly, Misty and I also decide to pack one computer, more specifically, her netbook. We figure that if we ever want to have some downtime from all of the excitement, we could use it for a bit then. A digital camera is also included on our packing list, but Misty and I decide that we probably won't be taking an excess of pictures so as to focus on experiencing the vacation and not spend it behind a lens. We also agree not to bring our cell phones because they'll only serve as a distraction on a trip like this. In their stead, we'll be getting a pair of small walkie-talkies to be used in the event that we get separated on the ship.
“While we're buying those, maybe we should also look into getting a protective case for that netbook,” I suggest.
“Yeah, that's probably a good idea actually. Wouldn't want it to get scratches,” Misty replies.
Once we're at the store, we decide to see what computers they have on display just for fun. The specifications are a little bit better than what I remember them being last I checked.
“This one's very pretty,” Misty remarks, calling me over to get a closer look at a beautifully designed, bright-red, shiny laptop.
I briefly close and open the laptop's lid so that I can see both the inside and outside of it better.
“I like it. I think it definitely matches your personality,” I comment.
“The next time I'm looking to buy a new computer, I'll have to consider getting this one or something similar to it,” she says.
After we're done looking at the new computers, we get to business and find the section of the store where they sell walkie-talkies. We end up going with something relatively simple and inexpensive, since we don't need super-high-end radios for our purposes.
To attend to the next item on our list, a carrying case for Misty's netbook, we only have to go two aisles over. Unlike with the previous item, there's a huge variety of protective cases to choose from. Misty picks one out that'll fit according to the dimensions of the gadget's screen. With that, all of the tasks we intended to complete are now done, so we pay for the items and go back home to resume planning the trip.
The other major thing we want to prepare is a general knowledge of the activities that are available on the cruise ship as well as where things are located. For the latter requirement, we can easily download a copy of the ship's layout, which is available on the cruise line's website, and get a sneak peak together. Also on that website, there exists a laundry list of exciting things we can do on the ship.
During lunch, we discuss what we want to do and compose a sort of basic itinerary in our heads. There's no reason to plan ahead too much though because going in with the intention of sticking to a rigid schedule will probably result in disappointment when it doesn't turn out that way, and it almost certainly won't. On the other hand, not planning anything at all isn't a good idea either, since then you'll have no idea where to even begin at all.
⁂
On the morning of the first day of the cruise, we have an alarm set to wake us up well before we actually need to be up—a few hours before the embarkation time. I wake up before Misty does and swiftly shut off the loud alarm.
“Time to wake up, sweetie,” I say, turning to Misty.
I hear her rustling from beneath the covers before she peeks out from under there with one half-closed eye. She giggles and makes a funny face at me by sticking her tongue out. I reach out and tickle her belly to make the wake-up process a little easier, and she laughs some more.
“Good morning, love,” s
he says as she sits up.
“Good morning, my little honey bee. Aren't you so silly today!”
“I can't help it—I'm just so excited!” Misty declares. “We should probably have something for breakfast now before we go meet with Andy,” she adds.
Andy is very generous and agreed beforehand to drive us to the port the cruise is leaving from, which is very convenient; that way, we can avoid the problem of parking Misty's car in a different city while we're away for several days. As Misty and I exit Andy's car, we thank him sincerely for his kindness.
At the terminal, as expected, we have to wait for a considerable amount of time in a line. Foreseeing this, we brought two small bags of Chex Mix with us to eat during this lengthy waiting period. Things begin getting exciting once we receive our cruise cards in addition to a map of the ship and a listing of events happening onboard today. As we ascend the gangway, it feels like there are a thousand slopes to traverse before, finally, we arrive on the ship. Misty and I breathe a sigh of relief, realizing that our vacation is now really ready to begin at last.
Using the elevators this early on is about as pointless as a broken pencil, so we utilize the stairs to access our room. Even though we're fortunate enough to not have to go all that far to get to our room, we're still both somewhat tired when we reach it. We decide to rest for a little bit after these last few hours of traveling. This also gives plenty of time for the massive crowds to disperse more evenly around the ship so that we're able to visit the buffet, which is normally densely packed at this time. We take this opportunity to get an initial look around our cabin to see where everything is. We've already familiarized ourselves with the two beds in the room that we were just relaxing on. Against the wall and between the two beds sits a nightstand with a lamp on it. Aside from the main room, there's a small bathroom as well as some closet space, and that's pretty much it. The closet is not completely empty however, and we spot an electronic safe there, provided for storing valuables. Misty decides that it's best to store her netbook in there, sharing the safe's passcode with me in case I ever want to use it.
“It's a very cozy room. I like it,” Misty says to me.
“Yeah, this is pretty nice. It's got everything we need, for sure,” I add.
“I think I'm ready to explore outside of the room now though, so let's go!” she says excitedly, standing near the door.
“Oh, wait—can't forget this,” I remember, grabbing my copy of map we were given earlier.
“Actually, I'll get mine too,” Misty says, backtracking to where she left her own copy as well.
Maps in hand, we casually walk around the cruise ship to survey any activities we may want to do later on. After we do a decent amount of exploring, we decide that it's time to have lunch, so we navigate to the buffet. Once there, we order two Reuben sandwiches, and when they're done preparing them for us, we find a table to sit at.
“The buffet is actually open 24/7, so we can come here anytime we like,” Misty informs me as I dig in.
“Oh? I wasn't aware of that. That's pretty awesome,” I reply while she's taking her first bite.
“Mmm… This is very tasty!” she comments.
“The food on cruises is always really good, from what I've heard.”
When our lunch is consumed, we get ourselves a cup of Coca-Cola from the soft-drink station to wash it down. Meanwhile, we think about what we'd like to do next.
“I think I'm in the mood for going to the swimming pool,” Misty declares after about a minute of thinking.
“Which one? There are probably several around,” I answer with a question.
Using our handy maps, we look through a list of pools available onboard and select one at random. We then have to make a quick stop at our room to get our bathing suits, but once that's done, we're all set. Almost as soon as we step inside the pool, Misty playfully splashes a little water on me. I laugh and splash her back, and she responds with laughter too.
After some splashing around, Misty surprises me by taking out a mini beach ball. I didn't even know that she packed it, let alone brought it to the pool with her. She inflates it and tosses it in my direction, so I catch it.
We have a lot of fun tossing the ball around before we discover that there's a hot tub adjacent to the pool. We relax in the hot tub for about twenty minutes, talking about what our next action should be.
“What would you like to do after this?” Misty asks me.
“Maybe we can go back to our room and check what sorts of organized activities they're running. There might be a neat show coming up or something like that,” I suggest.
“Good thinkin'. If there's nothing interesting going on now, we can always just use the map again to find another activity.”
“Actually, I was thinking I'd like to check out the mini-golf course. I'm sure they have one of those here. Is that something you'd like for us to do?”
“Sure, I could get into some mini golf with you,” Misty replies.
We head back to our room, change into our normal clothes, and set our swimsuits aside to dry off elsewhere. Sitting next to each other on the edge of one of the beds, we look over a list of upcoming shows together.
“I'm not seein' anything right now, but there's this ice-carving thing that'll be on in about an hour and a half,” I say after a few minutes.
“I had my eye on that one too! I guess we can hit up the mini-golf course until then,” Misty responds.
We find our destination on the highest deck of the ship. We each take a club, I select a yellow golf ball, and Misty chooses a blue one.
“I'd probably have picked the green one if it wasn't for the fact that it'll blend in with the grass. Anyways, you can take the first swing,” I offer.
“Yeah, I'm hoping mine doesn't blend in with the background,” Misty adds.
The first hole is fairly straightforward, simply consisting of a rectangular playing area, with a barrier surrounding it, and the goal near the other end. She sets the ball down on the starting square and takes a swing. It makes a clink as it bounces off the edge nearest the objective and ends up fairly close to it—a very good shot. I take my turn and, likewise, bring the ball close to that same general area. We both end up reaching the target on our second shots. The next hole is similar, only this time, there are a few additional barrier pieces on the track, preventing the goal from being reached as easily.
As we proceed in a similar fashion through the entire course, it progressively becomes more difficult the further we get. We conclude our mini-golf session with thirty more minutes to spare before the ice-carving show.
“Well, that was fun!” Misty declares.
“I had a great time too. I may have won by a little bit, but you played a really good game,” I cheer.
“I certainly did better than I expected. So… Do you want to go back inside the room to wait for the show to start, or do you think we should wait over by the place where they're doing it?” she asks me.
“I'd prefer waiting nearby just to be sure we don't miss anything. Besides, who wouldn't want to lounge outdoors in this amazing weather?” I answer.
“I couldn't agree more!”
In about thirty minutes, at the scheduled time, the staff brings in a large block of ice, and the artist begins working on it promptly.
“I presume this will be a speed carving, or else the thing will melt in this heat,” I comment to Misty.
“What do you think it's gonna be?” she asks once it begins taking shape a little bit.
“It's tough to say at this point. Looks like it'll be some sort of animal.”
We both watch in amazement as the tools rapidly transform the once-boring block of ice, and the creation gradually begins to take its form.
“Wow! It's a tiger! How cool is that?” Misty marvels as the finishing touches are added.
“Well, I'll be! That's impressive. Do you think we can come over there and get an even closer look before it melts away?” I ask.
Misty and
I are standing some ways away from where the action took place, so we try to get an up-close look at the finished creation. This proves to be rather challenging, since many others are just as impressed as we are, so a hefty crowd forms around the completed ice sculpture. Eventually, we manage to make our way through, but by this point, it's already in the early stages of melting. Nonetheless, we're still in awe of the ice tiger when we see it up close, and Misty snaps a few photos of it from various angles.
Before our next meal, we roam around the ship, primarily taking a look at some of the shops they have present onboard. For dinner, we decide that it'll be fun to dress nicely and attend a semi-fancy restaurant. Both of us get minestrone soup as an appetizer and grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes as the main dish. We know that we don't necessarily have to always order the same things on the menu, but there's just something special when we share the experience of eating the same tasty foods.
After dinner, we head back to the room and take a shower after a full day of traveling and exploring. I go first and then, once I'm done, Misty hops in, and I take a breather, lying down in bed on my back. I close my eyes and listen to the steady sound of running shower water nearby. The sound ceases after about fifteen minutes, and a few more minutes following that, Misty comes out and surprises me: She's wearing a sexy sports outfit with the player number sixty-nine written on it, complete with a half-turquoise, half-orange toy football. I've never seen this outfit before.
“Catch!” Misty says playfully, tossing me the toy football. Shortly after I catch it, she hops up on top of me and, whilst giggling, asks, “Do you like it?”
“Mmm… You look so hot tonight, baby.”
She extends her hands toward me and presses them onto my chest, looking me in the eyes seductively. She then begins unbuttoning my shirt, and when she gets to about the halfway point, she gently rubs the pads of her fingers on my bare chest, her white-tipped fingernails also lightly grazing me. I reach my hands out, and Misty moves in closer so that I can more easily access her sexy butt. She leans in and whispers something naughty into my ear as I fondle her.
“Whoa, I've never done anything like that before. Are you sure you wanna? I mean… I have a very—” She immediately silences me with an index finger over my mouth.
“Shhh… You don't have to worry about disappointing me. Now just relax.” Misty places her index finger on my chest—”Tonight is all about you”—she points it at herself—“and me.”
The scent of Misty's perfume only further increases my already strong attraction for her. She moans lovingly as I squeeze her and run my hands all over the soft skin of her tight midsection. I can tell by that sexy smirk on her face that she wants me badly, and I want her just as much too. Misty and I lock lips, the echoes of our intense passion filling the room before we give in to our deepest desires.
⁂
We wake up early the next morning to get ready for another fun-filled day of activities and exploration.
“Good morning, my little love doll,” I say to Misty.
“I love it when you call me that! Wasn't last night so hot?” she replies, with her arms around me.
“It really was, especially the third time!”
“What do you wanna do today, hon?” Misty asks after giving me a quick kiss on the lips.
“I know how we can start our day together: I could brush your beautiful blonde hair for you,” I answer.
“Ooo, I like that idea!”
I sit on the side of the bed that has a mirror across from it. Misty hands me her hairbrush, and I invite her to come sit on my lap. I hold it in one hand and use my free arm to securely hold Misty. When I begin, I find that the brush glides effortlessly through her shoulder-length light-blonde hair. I move the brush very slowly, being especially careful around Misty's ears.
Once her hair is all perfectly straight, I set the brush aside so that I can hold her with both of my arms. Misty moans lightly and tilts her head to the side as I plant kisses all along her neck and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. She repositions herself to be sitting next to me and stares at me with a dreamy expression, her eyes half closed. I gently tug on a few strands of her hair and run my fingers through it, the back of my hand softly rubbing up against her cheek while I do so.
“I really appreciate how much effort you spend every day doing your hair, putting on makeup, and choosing your clothes—all because you want to be so sexy just for me. You're the most beautiful woman in the world,” I tell her softly.
Misty's only response is to get on top of me on the bed, and we share our deepest, most passionate kiss yet.