Cindy

Sam kissed me sweetly on the steps before opening the door to the pool deck. We look around and see Pete but no Millie. We walk over to join him. He was sitting on a lounge chair and was saving two others with beach towels and one by placing Millie's beach bag on it. Sam threw him the two towels, and Pete laid them on the lounge with Millie's bag.

"Where is Millie?" I asked Pete curiously.

"She had a headache, so she went to see the ship's doctor." He informed me as I laid out my towel and tossed Sam his.

I removed my tee-shirt dress to reveal my bright pink bikini. Sam's eyes find mine before he unashamedly scans my entire body slowly and deliberately, from my head down to my pink-painted toes. I blush enough to match my damn suit.

Without asking, Sam straddled his lounge, leaving me room to sit. I smile and hand him my lotion before I sit with my back towards him.

Sam leans up against my back. His hot chest sends shivers down my spine. I can feel his warm breath on my neck as he whispers into my ear. "This is my favorite part of the day."

I lower my voice so only he can hear me speak, "Mmmm, mine too."

He leans back, squirts lotion into his hand, and massages my neck and shoulders before going down to my bikini bottom. "You missed your calling as a masseuse." I encourage him.

I hear him chuckle, "You would be my only client because there is nobody else that I would enjoy rubbing lotion onto, nobody."

I melt at his words. We switch spots, and I do Sam's back. I know that my small hands are nowhere near as strong as his, so instead of deeply massaging him, I do the complete opposite. I am slow, light, and teasing with my touch. When I see him shudder and his back has goosebumps, I know I am affecting him.

We finish up our sunscreen as I see Millie approach. "Hey, girl! How are you feeling?"

She gives me a slight smile, and I can see in her eyes that she is not feeling well, "Can we talk?"

"Of course." I glance at the guys, and I can see that they are both concerned. I grab my dress and quickly pull it over my head.

I stand and join Millie. "Where to?"

"How about over at that empty table," Millie says quietly.

She starts walking over to the table. I shrug at the men and follow her.

I sit next to her and place my hand over hers. "What is going on, Millie? Are you okay?"

"It's nothing like that. I went to the ship's doctor to get something to relieve my headache." Millie looks down.

"What's wrong, Millie? Come on. I know something is bothering you. Spill it, already." I demanded.

She deeply breathes, "It's about the ship's doctor, Doctor Williams."

"What about him?"

"I don't know. The doctor made me very uncomfortable." She finally admits to me.

"What? How?" I needed more information. "Did he touch you?" I raised my voice and noticed the boys turn towards us.

Millie shakes her head, "No, no, nothing like that. Damn! I don't know how to explain it. He just gave me the creeps. The way he looked at me." She bit her lip, trying to find the words, but I knew exactly how she felt.

Some guys have a way of giving women a feeling. It is not a good feeling but an uncomfortable feeling that makes us feel uneasy, unsafe, and vulnerable. Ask any woman; she has been there. It is real for the woman, whether the man has malicious intent.

"What exactly did he say or do to make you feel that way?" In the back of my head, I think about the missing women. Sam has talked to Pete about it, but we all agreed not to ruin Millie's vacation.

"I feel like the man was undressing me with his eyes. You know the type of guy."

I nod. "Unfortunately."

She continues, "He brushed his hand against mine. I know that it was intentional. It gave me chills, and not in a good way."

"Do you want to report him?" I ask.

"For what? Being creepy? I think this whole missing women thing is just getting to me."

"Wait! You know?" I asked Millie incredulously.

Millie shrugs. "Girl, I am a teacher! My eavesdropping skills are sharp. I overheard that conversation yesterday about the two missing friends on the way to dinner. Not to mention, Sam and you are always whispering and strategizing. It is quite adorable."

I place my hand on my chest, "Well, color me impressed."

She smiles at my compliment, "My only question is, why haven't you talked to me about this?"

"Honestly, I did not want to worry you and mess up your vacation," I admit.

"Again, I am a teacher!" We laugh.

I get serious. "So you think Sam and I should look into the ship's doctor?"

"Yeah, I do," Millie replies,

I nod, and we head back over to the guys. They both still have very concerned looks on their faces.

"Everything okay," Pete asks Millie.

I speak up, "She knows."

The guys raised their eyebrows as Millie and I removed our cover-ups and stretched onto our lounge chairs. I can hear Pete and Millie discussing how she was feeling. I also listen to her speak to him about Dr. Williams' behavior. I can see him tense up. Awe, he's jealous.

I catch Sam's eyes and know right away that he also heard Millie talking about the ship's doctor. He leans over towards me, and I move closer. "I see we have our first person of interest."

I pat his arm, "Second, I want to know why that purser shut down Debbie and Ruth so quickly when they tried to report their friends missing."

He nods, "Ah. Yes, of course."

We spent the rest of the afternoon splashing in the pool, listening to the Caribbean sound of the band on deck, and just being lazy after the physical effort we all put forth on our excursion.

***

Benson had scheduled dinner for Millie and me at the Captain's table tonight. It could not have happened at a better time. I plan to ask the Captain to speak privately with me after dinner with Sam at my side.

"Boy, your boss sure knows how to treat you right!" Millie says as she slips into her ankle-length light pink satin dress.

There is a scooping neckline providing the perfect frame for her voluptuous breasts. The thin shoulder straps show off her smooth skin. Her dress hangs beautifully on her body, hugging her womanly curves impeccably. She slips on low-heeled, matching pink sandals. Her make-up is flawless. She is so beautiful.

"Zip me, please." I turn my back to her, and she zips up my strapless lavender, lace-over satin, form-fitting gown. My breasts overflowed just the right amount over the top. I chose light shimmery makeup, which accented my newly acquired tan. My hair was in a smooth bun at the nape of my neck. I slipped on my silver single-strapped high heels. I feel like a princess.

Because we have dinner at the Captain's table tonight, the guys are on their own. They still wanted to escort us to dinner. We heard the guy's door open. We gave them a few moments of waiting before we made our grand entrance into the corridor. The looks on the guy's face were all of the assurance that Millie and I needed to know that our styles were on point.

Sam reached for my hand and moved his mouth down to my ear. I felt a shiver go down my back when I felt his warm breath on my neck as his deep, gruff voice whispered to me, "You look so fucking incredible. I could seriously devour you for my dinner."

Well, damn. I squeezed Sam's hand as his heated eyes met mine. "Behave yourself; I can't go waltzing up to the Captain's table all flustered."

He let out an adorable chuckle and pulled me closer. "We can't have that! You, my girl, have a mission to accomplish!"

We smiled at each other, and just like that, my mind was back on my task for the evening. Captain John Swaid.

*****