Aboard the MS Star Alignment (Closed for Showdolly1 and Uggg)

Aboard the MS Star Alignment. By Showdolly1 and Uggg.

M.S. Star Alignment, or The Alignment as her crew affectionately called her, was still a Queen of the Pacific. In service now for 10 years she was no longer the largest or the most advanced cruise liner on the big blue, though she once had been, but despite her weight in years she was still one of the most luxurious.

A cruise on The Alignment was no seven day budget package deal; No, most trips were 25 days at the least and Island ‘stop overs’ were up to a week in each location depending on local facilities and entertainments. The ship itself was richly appointed attracting a wealthier clientele and priced to match. Decks one, two and three were for the crème de la crème of customers, the VIPS, those that got a meet and greet with the Captain himself when they arrived.

These top deck customers had privileges and the top three decks had crew specially trained to meet the needs of the wealthy and spoiled. Jason was one such crew member. Most nights you’d find Jason working the bar in the small casino / private show lounge on deck two. Customer’s would come and go ordering their drinks, some would stay and chat, and some would flirt a little. Jason was undeniably a handsome devil, well built with short blond hair and smile lines around his eyes.

He was thirty eight years old but ageing well and it was not uncommon for the female customers to admire him, a fact that he was not above taking advantage of for a little off the clock fun every once in a while.

He knew the effect he had on women and even though every now and then, if they were attractive, he might indulge their fancies the truth was that it had always been so easy for him that he was becoming a little jaded. This never affected the quality of his work of course; he’d play his role, chatting and flirting and pouring drinks. The drinks ranged from simple beers and spirits through to much more complex mixes, cocktails for the wicked, rich vice. Jason was a more than competent bar tender and yet what those many customers that passed through never knew was that Jason was not in fact employed as a bar tender.

Jason was the food and beverage manager for all three top decks, he managed all the bars and restaurants and their staff for the VIP decks.
The bar work was simply his hobby, his way of passing time pleasantly in interesting company during his off duty hours. It also gave him a chance to talk anonymously with the clientele, hear their little gripes, their praises and their criticisms. It was a way for him to gather candid feedback about the service his staff was providing.

It was amazingly effective. An unhappy customer may be too polite to complain of over cooked potatoes to their waitress in the ‘Star Cafe’ on deck one but there is nothing they won’t tell the bar man with a pleasant smile and bright blue eyes as he’s serving them bloody marry number seven, late on a Tuesday night, as outside the big glass window behind the bar the black silent sea slips away into yesterday and the Star Alignment powers majestically onward- toward some tropical paradise.

It was in fact a Tuesday night near the start of a 34 day, three island, expedition and nearing the end of Jason’s self appointed ‘shift’ when he looked up just in time to see her as she strolled in.

Oh my!

Delilah Rae could no longer function in the company of the Neanderthals in this miserable, filthy coastal city. Packing for a month-long cruise was simple, but she couldn't leave it to one of the dolts on her own staff. No, this time the prim and proper woman would do it for herself; it was the adult thing to do, and as she was approaching 40 it was high time to be adult-ish.

A bathing suit for every week would be almost enough; she could pick up a couple of new ones in the ship gift shop, most likely. A single one-piece suit, in a jeweled purple tone wrap style, to accent her dark hair. A jeweled greenish-blue bikini so that when she was in the pool, her thin form may look almost nude. One boy-short with tiny triangle top in the lightest skin tone available; the men would all do a double take as she sunbathed. And a bright pink thing with frills and loops and sparkles - just for fun. She could get a matching mani-pedi on the cruise.

Matching shoes, scarves, and hats. A few pairs of sunglasses. A formal dress, three party dresses, shorts to go with her bathing suits (who needs shirts on a cruise vacation?) and a traveler's outfit for the first excursion into town including some good walking shoes. She could get the rest of her tourist clothes whilst touristing.

Del, as her friends called her, had insisted that she be on that ship leaving port this weekend. It didn't matter if the seats had been "sold out" already - she wanted one and she was willing to pay to get it. Sure enough, with that attitude, something suddenly "became available" and just imagine that it had top deck privileges to boot. Wining and dining with the captain wasn't just a privilege reserved for a few of the wealthy, in Delilah Rae's opinion; it was a must for any traveling vacation to know who was in charge of the vessel, and her right.

Boarding was easy, schmoozing and flirting came naturally, and the most important thing of all was the Sex On The Beach.

But who was that amazing specimen behind the bar? Not that it mattered. He was hers, now.

"You ever had Sex On The Beach, sailor? Make mine a double." Complete with a wink and a shrugging-off of the scarf that matched her pink frilly bikini top with the push-up inserts.

Oh yes, she had a casual elegance and she clearly knew it. She had the confident demeanor that came with good looks and money. Women like this were bedroom fodder in Jason’s world of luxurious privilege and holiday fantasy time. Seducing them was so easy it wasn’t even a pleasure any more, just a habit. It didn’t matter what their worlds were back on dry land; here where the stars aligned they were, if only for a month or so, living out one of their fantasies.

Being attractive and confident Jason never found it difficult to slide himself into those fantasies; after all, what woman didn’t have the confident, discreet and handsome lover in her dream of a Tropical Island Cruise. The fantasy just wasn’t complete without a little whirlwind romance in the form of a discreet affair.

But from the moment she sauntered in there was something else about this one. Something that caught him straight away and yet he couldn’t define it. Did she actually appeal to him?

He smiled politely as she approached the bar and ordered. He let the smile reach his eyes, knowing full well what effect that had on women, once again acting on seductive habit rather than actual intent. Meanwhile in the back ground his mind was slowly realizing it needed to catch up because his body was very keen to race ahead. Jason’s heart had begun to beat just a fraction faster and all his senses were coming alive.

He placed two tall glasses of ice on the counter in front of her with a practiced flourish and mixed two shots each of vodka, lemon juice and peach schnapps before pouring them from the mixer into the first glass and topping it up with equal parts orange and cranberry juice. He slid a bamboo straw in and finally a prepared cocktail stick with a wedge of watermelon and a frangipani flower skewered on top. The second glass he then filled with a double shot of the peach schnapps topped with Orange and the same arrangement of straw and decoration.

Jason leaned in close as if he were about to reveal a secret, enjoying the smell of her and the slight widening of her eyes at his unexpected break from the previously displayed polite neutrality. He smiled. He pointed to the ‘sex on the beach.’

“One double ‘Sex on the beach’,”

He pointed to the second glass

“...And one ‘Fuzzy navel.’ On the house... Because if you like the first, you will love the second.”

He winked and turned away leaving her no chance to reply or to regain the casual cool composure she’d been maintaining while he prepared the drinks.

He smiled to himself briefly then turned back to her as she was sipping from the first of the two glasses. Jason always enjoyed the little surprise it caused in them when he slipped out of and back into character so smoothly. It was a well practiced routine for him but it always put them off guard. This one was doing well, playing it cool, he admired her composure. He had another little trick to try.

“May I have your number please Ma’am?”

Her delicate brow arched in surprise for just the briefest of moments.

“Ma’am your cabin number please ...for your tab?”

Trickery revealed, well practiced, subtle innuendo. She flushed just slightly.
He let his eyes crinkle up at the edges just a fraction, the most subtle of smiles but enough to let his mischief reveal itself. He had little doubt it would not be lost on her.

Right, game revealed, the ball was in her court now...

Number? Hell yeah, he could have her number. She was tempted to ask if he meant her phone number or her cabin number, emphasis on the "a" in cabin, when he retorted that he'd intended to bill her tab. Of course that's what he meant, silly girl. Realizing quickly that this was a game, Del couldn't help but play right back.

"It's Delilah Rae, suga." This lonely and fun-loving woman was on the first damn day of her vacation and she fully intended to not only take advantage of every moment but also to keep every possible option wide open. All. The. Fun. She casually flashed her key card to the barkeep so he could see the damn number for himself while she acted like she hadn't heard him.

"My friends call me Del, but never deli, I'm a pisces and single as the day is long. My "numbers" are 38-30-42 since you asked," here Delilah winked at him as she lifted her drink to take another sip, "and I'd like to know where you got the idea of fuzz across my navel. What's next - butter across my nipples?"

Sip drink one. Sip drink two. Lick lips, raise eyebrows. Check, baby. Check.

He was actually blushing! One point to her, that put them even by his count, a good place to start. Jason noted down her cabin number on the tab, then pulled the stool he kept behind the bar for quiet evenings like this, over near to where she sat and took a seat himself.

There was no one else at the bar and he’d been on his feet for a couple of hours, it felt good to get off them for a bit. She was silent while he was doing all this but she watched him and had a look in her eyes that after what she’d just said, he knew was either a question or maybe an offer.

“Delilah Rae, Pisces, it is always pleasure to meet someone so utterly charming.”

He let his eyes tell her just how much so as they took her in appreciatively. Yes she was very fine indeed.

“I am Jason Norgaard, I’m a Leo and as single as the night is black, my numbers are 7, 9.30 and 11. Thats 7 pm when I start my shift here each evening, 9.30 pm after which time I allow myself a couple of drinks and 11 pm when my shift ends.”

He said that last a little suggestively and looked at his watch.

“Oh look 10.30! Well then I guess we could talk about slippery nipples...”

He’d placed two shot glasses on the bar and proceeded to add a half measure of Sambuca and a half measure of Irish Cream to each topping them off with just a drop of Grenadine.

He smiled at her and threw one back!

“Oh Yes! I do love how slippery nipples slide over the tongue, don’t you?”

Again he spoke with the barely concealed flirtatious tone.

Jason was acting on instinct. His flirting with beautiful women was well practiced and he didn’t need to put in any effort, the innuendo came easy as did the smiles, the looks and knowing how much was just enough and how much was just a little too much.
He was genuinely confident around women and with his track record and good looks he had every reason to be, but his confidence tonight was just a little strained.
He sensed something about the lovely Delilah Rae that left him just a little uncertain, he was just starting to get a sense of what that could be.

Could it be that like him, it was all just a little too easy for her?
Could it be that she too, always got what she desired?
Could it be then... that like him what she was never able to get anymore was a sense of actual connection?

Jason didn’t like to confront his feelings of lonely isolation. Suddenly he found himself craving something more than just a dirty little liaison with this lovely creature. If things kept progressing as they were the chances were high that either tonight or tomorrow they’d have a bit of a roll together in the sheets and it would be just like every other such encounter for the two of them, great physically speaking but otherwise completely and utterly bland.

Just another mouthful of the same bland porridge, just another chance at an actual connection with someone that failed utterly, because with every such failure (and there had been so many) Jason found himself just a fraction more isolated. Of course there was every chance that this was all him and he was simply projecting his own feelings onto her. He felt like an idiot.

Suddenly he slumped a little in his seat as the mask of his confidence slipped for the first time in years.

She noticed, she looked a little surprised by the sudden change in his demeanor. He’d been intending to offer the second ‘slippery nipple’ shot to her when she finished her drinks but on an impulse he threw it back himself and reached for the vodka to refill both shot glasses.
He sighed.

“You know Delilah you are quite the sight. You look so lovely in that outfit, very attractive. Have you been on a cruise before?”

It was perhaps the most genuine compliment he had offered a woman in years. He wasn’t even trying to play the game anymore, he just wanted to say something real, to feel something real.

Someone to fuck tonight. That's what Delilah Rae was looking for just now. Just to get the tension out so she could enjoy the rest of her vacation - a boy toy, a one nighter, someone looking for the same thing that she was on this first night of a long cruise. "He" had never been difficult to find in the past. In fact, a time or two "he" had been she instead. Or they.

She'd been about to ask for a second buttery nipple when the keep went to pouring one anyhow. Delilah let her fingers trail between her breasts as she kept her eyes on his chest, watching his breaths move his pectoral muscles beneath that flimsy uniform shirt. Then the twerp drank it himself.

A bit shocked, the woman took a relieved breath when he instead poured the vodka shots. Now, that was more like it. He quoted his schedule to her, giving her the information she needed - he was completely available and open to her advances, and this was simply Act I.


“You know Delilah you are quite the sight. You look so lovely in that outfit, very attractive. Have you been on a cruise before?”

He'd recognized the game as easily as she had. Game over, pretenses down. Fine with Del. She relaxed, figuring she had this one in the bag. That made it easy to play and have fun, probably moreso, and the experience that allowed them to communicate without words and roll with the tide, as it were, immediately caused Delilah to become herself.

"Oh yes, dearie. Too many. They've become vanilla shakes, and here I sit - a lover of whatever it is I haven't yet seen or done. It's about the experiences, you understand - the sights you see and the people you meet, as much as it is about the places you go. It's about finding a simpler place where the busy-ness floats away on the evening breeze, and carelessness and freedom are as fresh as the kiss on your lover's lips in the morning."

Almost princess-like, even prominent Delilah Rae could hear the desperation of escapism in her own voice, the call of someone who needs so much more and has found only emptiness, yet still believes and thus still seeks to find what it is she hopes for... longs for... lives for....

Though a little disappointment was wrapping around his heart as he realized that she wasn’t going to be what he’d hoped, she wasn’t going to be something different or someone he could actually connect with, he still wasn’t about to turn down what was on offer. She would be yet another easy conquest. Resigned he slipped back into his role.

“Say it’s almost the end of my shift but I’ve got all the makings of a couple of Black Russians back in my cabin and at this time of night with the flood lights off on the pool deck you can get a beautiful view from my balcony of the stars over the bow. Want to come back and continue our little talk there?”

He rested his hand lightly on hers where it sat on the bar.

Delilah smiled and blinked twice, nodding. She silently sipped on her drink. Now that the game was afoot, what else was there to do? An invite back was certainly what came next. It was always what came next, and those invitations were so easy to procure. Men were after that one thing and Delilah Rae was more than ready to give it to them.

But her heart sank as she realized that the fun was being sucked out of the game. She'd met players before, of course, and it had been easy to just tuck and roll out of the place. Here, though - here, the choice was either to pretend to be someone you think the other person would be attracted to even though you both know it's a façade, or become yourself and hope that doesn't cancel everything that came before.

Maybe it was better to call it quits between two players and find a new game to play. Or maybe this one time she could let some of her real emotions show through, some of her real self, and see how he reacted. But, as he was a player too, she was sure that he would run as far and as fast as he could if she did that.

Lost in thought, Delilah twirled her napkin, spun her drink, and sipped at it occasionally whilst she waited for her new... friend to finish his shift. She remembered to smile when he looked her way. Gratefully she accepted the refills he provided and even waved at the other patrons who might send a drink her way.

But the thrill was gone. The lust was gone. Del sank a little deeper emotionally as she began to think about who she "really" was in the "real" world. No - she definitely couldn't let him see those parts of her. But the usual game was less fun this way and she wasn't even sure she wanted that any more.

He'd said they'd "continue their little talk," and maybe she'd get him to do just that. After all, that's all he'd offered.

After his shift Jason assisted a slightly drunk Delilah from her bar stool, he was a little tipsy himself and with the Star alignment rocking gently in the oceans swell he didn't want her falling and hurting herself. It always took the new guests a few days to get their sea legs.

He lead her down the wide well appointed 'front of house' guest corridor to the small discreet door that led behind the curtain into the secret world of staff and crew. From here he led her through the narrower corridors that made up the network by which the huge ship's real functions were maintained. Guests seldom saw these corridors under normal circumstances and so they had none of the luxurious trimmings you'd see in the wider guest thoroughfares.

He took her arm gently as he led her around exposed bulkheads and he placed his hand softly on the small of her back as he guided her through the labyrinth.

Finally as they reached his door he took her chin lightly in his hand and turned her beautiful face up to his. He placed the lightest of kisses on her lips and then pushed the door open.

"Please Delilah, come in?"

The kiss had been a little forward but it made clear what had only so far been offered in innuendo and veiled flirting. Her eyes opened again after the kiss and as his fingers slipped from her chin she looked passed him into his cabin.

The cabin itself was not particularly large though as a he was a high ranking crew member it was rather luxurious as crew cabins went but even from the door she could see a glimpse of the beautiful night sky from his private deck. It was the one thing he loved most about his berth. He stepped into his room and held his hand out for her...