Neptune's Ring (10 page)

“Hell yeah,” the crowd roared.

“DJ Darla, if you please, the ladies are
ready to dance. Come slide with us ladies,” Kiki said as the DJ
started up the electric slide song and the women rushed to the
small dance floored cleared around the pool.

Kiki led the group to start the dance and
then left the dance floor to circulate among the guests, welcoming
them on board.

“She sure is a bundle of energy,” Levi said
to Cory with a wink. “How do you keep up with her?” she teased.

“Vitamins, and plenty of them,” Cory said
with a laugh.

“Maybe I should try those,” Levi said.

“It can’t hurt,” Cory said. “I don’t know
what I would do without them.”

Levi glanced at her watch to note the time.
“I am meeting Vanessa and Killian for lunch Cory, what would you
recommend?” Levi asked.

“If you just want something fairly light, the
club sandwich is awesome,” she answered.

“That sounds yummy, thanks, Cory.”

“I will see you later then and again it was
nice to meet you Cass,” Levi said.

“Likewise,” Cass said.

“Later Levi,” Cory said with a warm
smile.

Levi walked inside and took the route to the
control room. Killian saw her approach and waved her inside.

“Vanessa just stepped into the ladies room,
but she will be right back.”

“Thanks, is everything going well?” Levi
asked.

“Like clockwork,” Killian said.

“I can’t get over how beautiful it is out
here on the water, even when you can’t see anything but blue water
to the horizon,” Levi said.

“We will be passing some small islands later
today, that have lighthouses and small villages, but until then
it’s all blue water and maybe some dolphins.”

“Hey Baby,” Vanessa said, as she stepped back
into the room. “How did you sleep?”

“I couldn’t go back to sleep after you left,
so I showered and dressed before doing some walking around.”

“I am sorry, baby I should have just snuck
quietly out of the bed and left you sleeping.”

“I would have been very upset with you,
besides I left the casino eighty dollars richer,” Levi said with a
grin.

“Did you eat breakfast?”

“No, I decided I would just wait to eat lunch
with you.”

“Are you ready to order then?” Vanessa
asked.

“Cory recommended the club sandwich, so I
think I will give that a try,” Levi said.

“It is a good one,” Vanessa said, “so I think
I will join you with that.”

“Killian would you put an order in for us?”
Vanessa asked.

“It would be my pleasure, Captain.”

Vanessa gave Levi the tour of the control
room and showed her the different instruments they used to track
the weather, their progress on the time table and a giant GPS
system which constantly monitored their location en route.

“This is amazing,” Levi said.

“It is all very simple after you learn the
system,” Vanessa said. “Once we key in the master coordinates, the
ship is on virtual cruise control. We mostly monitor weather and
sea conditions and let the instruments do the rest.”

Simone woke late in the afternoon and found
that she was alone in the suite and she was surprised by Del’s
absence. She probably went down to the pool to tan and will be back
later for dinner, she thought as she stretched painfully on the
bed. Last night’s sex had been wild as Del filled her body with
wanton lust which surprised even Simone. She would be a good one to
keep around until she left the island on Sunday. Her nipples grew
hard thinking of Del and her hand slipped between her thighs to
give her pleasure.

When early evening arrived and Del had not
returned, Simone placed a call to Del’s room. The phone rang and
rang but Del did not answer. Simone placed the receiver back on the
telephone roughly as her anger rose.

Del slept until five and woke up starving.
She showered and walked to the dining room and was sitting at a
table waiting to order when a young woman approached.

“Mind if I join you?” the young woman
asked.

“Not at all,” Del said, with a charming
smile.

“My name is Petra,” the woman said. “I saw
you dining alone and I thought it would be nice to join you.”

“Very nice of you indeed, I am Del,” she
said.

“I know, I saw you in the club the other
night and I asked the bartender who you are,” Petra said,
surprising Del. “I really enjoyed watching you dance and I hoped I
would catch you alone sometime during this trip.”

“It looks like you are in luck then,” Del
smirked. “Would you like to join me in the club later?”

“I would like that very much,” Petra
said.

The waitress arrived to take their orders and
then Del and Petra made small talk as they waited. They were
laughing over a funny comment when Simone walked to the entrance of
the dining room. Simone had tired of waiting for Del to return and
had decided to go to the dining room for some dinner. She stopped
dead in her tracks when she saw Del with another woman. Simone
glared across the room at Del, who was deep in pleasant
conversation with the attractive young woman.

Simone spun on her heels and left the dining
room with tears welling in her eyes. She could not believe that Del
would betray her like this as she stormed back to her room. Simone
had to regain her composure and do it quickly.

Petra ordered a bottle of wine to accompany
their meal and they had nearly a half bottle left when they
finished their meal. “Would you care to walk with me to the end of
the pier and finish this bottle of wine?” she asked.

“That would be lovely,” Del said as she rose
and picked up her empty glass and the bottle.

Del and Petra walked to the end of the pier
and sat on a small bench. They shared the delicious wine as they
continued to get to know one another and several hours passed
before they decided it was time to enter the club.

Nat was behind the bar when Del walked in
with Petra on her arm. She smiled up at them as they approached the
bar and Nat would loved to have known what occurred for Del to be
here with someone new and where Simone was in this turn of
events.

“Good evening ladies,” she said, and Del
smiled brightly at her. “What can I get you two tonight?”

“We would like a couple of tall Tropical
E’s,” Del said, as she placed a twenty on the bar.

Nat poured the drinks for them and took the
twenty from the bar and made change for Del. “Here you go ladies.
Enjoy,” Nat said.

“Thanks, Nat,” Del said, before she led Petra
into a booth near the dance floor.

Nat watched them snuggle into the booth and
looked up to find NeNe standing in front of her.

“I wonder what that is all about,” NeNe
said.

“I have no clue, but I am sure there is
plenty of drama attached to that story,” Nat said. “I just hope it
doesn’t rear its ugly head in here tonight.”

“Me too,” NeNe said. “May I have a soda?”

“Certainly,” Nat said, as she poured a drink
for NeNe.

“Where is Susan tonight?”

“She called to say she was running late, but
promised she would be here by eight, so I am covering for her for a
little while.”

“It looks like a good crowd for a Wednesday,”
NeNe said.

“A thirsty one too, I have been busy since
the doors opened,” Nat said.

“Well I will do my best to keep them hot and
thirsty,” NeNe said, as she turned to walk back to the booth. “Keep
your eyes open NeNe, there is strange electricity in the air
tonight,” Nat warned.

“I will, Nat,” NeNe said, and then walked
away.

Nat couldn’t place her finger on what seemed
so odd, but she had a feeling that something was not quite right in
the club and she scanned the room nervously.

Simone rushed back to her suite and collapsed
onto the bed crying. Her shoulder was throbbing with pain as her
sobs wracked her body and she rolled over to take a pain pill. She
swallowed the pill with a sip of water and tossed the glass across
the room.

“Damn you Del,” she screamed after the glass
shattered against the wall.

Simone’s brain was cloudy with so many
emotions bombarding her at the same time. Rage filled her body as
her heart felt the pain of being discarded by Del. Simone had
wrongly assumed that the young tiger that had filled her bed for
the past two nights would be there until she left the island and
her confidence hit rock bottom.

“Think Simone,” she said to herself as her
body rocked on the edge of the bed.

Levi sat in the control room for several
hours watching Vanessa and Killian as they set all the ships
controls. She glanced out the window as Key West came into distant
view and saw the lighthouse which graced the emerald shoreline.

“That’s the last land you will see for a
couple of hours,” Killian said, “until we pass a few smaller
islands.”

“I think I will take a walk on the deck and
then go back to the cabin for a short nap,” Levi said. “I want to
be well rested for later tonight.”

“Ah, yes,” Killian said. “Vanessa mentioned
you were going to witness the meteor storm.”

“We saw a few falling last night, but I am
sure it was nothing like the peak will be.”

“The report said to expect sixty or more per
hour,” Killian said. “It should be a wondrous sight.”

“Why don’t you plan to join us then,
Killian?” Levi asked.

Killian looked at Vanessa who smiled and
nodded at her friend.

“I will bring the wine,” Killian said, with a
huge grin.

“I will see you later ladies,” Levi said.

She kissed Vanessa then left the control room
and walked back out to the pool.

Cass was still sitting at the bar chatting
with Cory as Levi walked onto the deck.

“I hope you had a good lunch,” Cory said, as
Levi took a seat at the bar.

“You are correct, the club sandwich was
spectacular.”

“Welcome back,” Cass said, as she turned to
Levi with a smile.

“May I get you anything?” Cory asked.

“Let me buy the lady a slow grind,” Cass
suggested.

“Very well,” Levi said. “I will have a slow
grind, Cory.”

Cory poured two drinks and placed them in
front of Levi and Cass.

“Thanks for the drink,” Levi said as she
picked up her glass and raised it to Cass.

“You are very welcome,” Cass said, as she
touched her glass to Levi’s. “So is this your first cruise?”

“Yes, Vanessa and I flew back from the resort
on Monday and I am an official stow away for the trip down to the
island,” Levi said.

“Well I am very happy to see you on board,”
Cass said.

“How often do you travel?” Levi asked.

“I take this cruise every few months, but I
travel extensively for pleasure,” Cass said.

“What do you do that allows you to travel so
much, if you don’t mind my asking?” Levi said.

“I was born into money, but I have made my
own fortune in the publishing business,” Cass said. “So many people
believe that silver spoon babies cannot be successful, so I chose
to prove them wrong,” she said with a confident sparkle in her
eyes.

“I worked hard to build my business for ten
years and now I employ others to keep it successful as I enjoy
reaping the harvest of my hard work,” Cass said.

“So have you pretty well seen it all?” Levi
asked.

Cass chuckled. “Not even close yet. I have
been on every continent, but there is so much to see and do, I am
not sure one lifetime will be enough to see it all.”

“Pardon my asking, but do you always travel
alone?”

“Only for the last three years. My partner of
ten years died from cancer and since then I travel alone in search
of another soul mate,” Cass said with a warm tone of remembrance in
her voice.

“I am very sorry to hear that,” Levi said,
with a blush.

“There is no need to be sorry for asking
anything, Levi. I was blessed to have ten years with Melinda.” She
sighed softly. “I have searched many places and when I find someone
I am interested in they are generally already taken as is always a
case with the good ones,” she chuckled. “So, I travel and search
and have a good time doing so,” Cass said with a friendly grin.

“I hope you find another soul mate,” Levi
said. “It sounds like you were lucky to have found Melinda and I am
certain there is another just waiting for your arrival.”

“I hope you are right, Levi. My soul is tired
of being lonely,” Cass said, as she took a sip of her drink. “This
really is an excellent drink,” Cass said. “If you ever get tired of
working for Nat and Liz, I would gladly steal you away,” she
said.

“You know Nat and Liz?” Levi asked.

“I have known them for years, and two better
women cannot be found,” Cass said.

“That is truly spoken my friend,” Levi
said.

“So you mentioned Vanessa and Killian
earlier,” Cass said. “Which one of them makes you smile so?”

Levi laughed and said, “Vanessa definitely
puts a smile on my heart.”

“That is very refreshing to hear. Sometimes I
think true love is a lost cause,” Cass said.

“I don’t think it is as much a lost cause as
it is that people today don’t feel the need to work on love and
give up at the first sign of trouble,” Levi said. “It seems a lot
of people find it easier just to move on to the next person and
hope it will be better.”

“You are so right about that, Levi,” Cory
said. “I see it happen all the time on here as I am sure you do
too. Ladies come on board as lovers and leave with someone else. It
is impossible to keep up with who is with who anymore, even with
our regular crowd.”

“There was always one part of arguing with
Melinda that I liked,” Cass said.

“Which was what?” Cory asked.

“The part where I admitted I was wrong before
we kissed and made up,” Cass said with a chuckle.