Chapter 31: Maura’s Experiment

“Captain Alfred, how come your boat doesn’t have a name?” I asked.

“I guess it’s because we just haven’t gotten around to giving her one. What do you think we should name her?”

I thought for a minute. “I guess I’m not sure. How did you go about naming your other boats?”

“Well ... the first one was easy. Lazy Weekends was her name and she certainly lived up to it. The next one was named after my departed wife. Somehow, I don’t think I could handle doing that again. The third one already had a name when we traded for it, Floating Away. Kind of ironic in that we never seemed to just float in it. We always seemed to be going somewhere.”

“How about in the Navy, how do they name your ship there?”

“That’s all handled by the bureaucrats in Paris,” he said with disgust. “It’s all about the money.”

“Why don’t you have a ship naming contest? Give everyone some time. Set the rules, and when you decide, we can have a party or something.”

“That, my friend is an excellent suggestion. Work us up some rules and we’ll tell everyone at dinner,” he said. “We should reach Funchal sometime tomorrow. We can hold the contest once we’re under way again. Give everybody something to do.”

Just then, Roland came up the steps. “I wouldn’t go down there right now. Archara, Carina, and Eileen have got it in their heads to reorganize the galley. They are saying that with fifteen on board they need it to provision enough supplies for the next leg of our crossing.”

“More than likely, Archara just wants to do some early spring cleaning. Since we left just a few weeks after I picked her up, she hasn’t really had the chance to clean.”

Just then Henri and Phillipe came up the stairs. “Hey dad? Have you seen what they are doing to the galley?”

“Word to the wise, son. Say nothing and avoid the women until you can’t,” Captain Alfred told his son.

“Truer words have never been spoken,” added Roland. Then the five of us sat around and watched the winds sweep our nameless yacht over the waves and talked of manly things. Around dark, the women came bearing trays of leftovers, snacks, and other unrelated food stuffs for our dinner. Then of course they had a ‘honey do’ list of fetching and hauling they needed done.

After a dinner of leftovers, Maura approached me. “Daniel? Would you talk to me?” she asked.

“Certainly,” I replied. So, we settled into a couple of chairs on the fly bridge away from everyone else. “Will this do? Or do you need something more private?”

“This is fine. I was just wondering about some of the things you said earlier,” Maura said. “Mom said you gave her what she needed. How did you know? You’re not that much older than me.”

“It’s not really about age, but more experience and intuition. When she started talking, I really listened. The more she talked, the more this idea seemed to come to my head. So, I simply helped her be who she really wants to be.”

“But how did you know?” she asked.

“I’m not sure I can explain. It just seems to come to me.”

“What comes to you when you talk to me?” she asked

“Right now? The only thing that comes to mind is how sexy and wholesome you are!” I said with a grin.

“You think I’m sexy? Even after all those awful things I said to you?” she asked.

“That was the nurturing part of you, the part that cares for others. While in this case, it was somewhat misguided due to lack of information, it would probably be considered normal. It still doesn’t change the fact that I think you’re sexy.”

“But I don’t feel sexy...” she whined.

“You’re not looking at the right things,” I told her. “Want to try an experiment?”

“What kind of experiment?”

“The sexy kind. Come on,” I told her. “Let’s go to your stateroom.”

“My stateroom? Why?” she asked, rolling her eyes at me.

“I told you. You want to know why I think you’re sexy. It’s easier to show you than tell you.”

Maura followed me down to their stateroom. Hiromi was still in the galley helping the other women. When we went in, I closed the door and showed her the large mirror mounted on the back of the door.

“Now. Stand right here and look in the mirror. Tell me what you see.”

“I see me,” she said. “This is silly!”

“It’s not silly. This is an experiment to see how you see yourself.”

“Then I see that my butt is too big, and my breasts are too small,” she said turning around to face me.

“Maura, you’re not trying,” I told her as I turned her back around to face the mirror. “Would you like me to tell you what I see?”

She just nodded her head. I could see fear in her eyes. That’s when I knew what she wanted.

“Well, the first thing I see, is a pair of beautiful blue eyes looking afraid. I think they are afraid that I will discover the passion that lurks just below the surface and is straining to come out. I see lips that are soft and sensuous, wanting to touch, to taste, and to consume. I see a pert little nose that is searching for those intoxicating smells that come with the passion just waiting to reveal itself.”

“Daniel? I ... uh...” she started.

Using my fingers to trace along her neck I continued.

“I see a long, sculpted neck that leads enticingly down to the slopes of two celestial globes of womanhood. Monuments to the enduring essence of femininity and motherhood.”

I moved my hands to heft her full teenaged breasts without touching her nipples.

“I see two dark areolas capped by hardened nipples that, if touched the right way, will lead to sparks. And those sparks will explode the passion that is so close.”

Maura moaned and closed her eyes as she melted back against my body.

“Open your eyes, Maura. I want you to see why I think you are so sexy,” I said, moving my lips close to her ear.

She moaned as she lifted her head from my shoulder. I could see her opening her eyes in the mirror. I allowed my hand to move down softly over her flat tummy, stopping just above a thick curly thatch of red pubic hair.

“You are afraid, Maura. I saw it in your eyes, I can see it now with my fingers only millimeters away from your pussy,” I whispered in her ear. “Tell me why, Maura. Why are you afraid that any moment I will drop my hand even lower, touching your sweet Neverland?”

“Ohhhh!” she moaned.

“Tell me, Maura. Tell me about how you’re really only fifteen-years-old and have never felt the touch of a man on your private pleasure palace.”

“How...? How did you know?” she cried as she turned in my arms and squeezed tightly to me. Then the tears began to fall. I picked her up and laid her on her berth and was headed to find her mom or sister to help her when she said, “Daniel. Please don’t go!”

I stopped and just looked at her.

“You are right! I am afraid. I actually just turned sixteen two weeks ago. But when we discovered that our rescuers were not wearing clothes, my mom and sister agreed to say I was eighteen so you all wouldn’t think of me as a baby.”

“I think we can all see that you are definitely not a baby, Maura,” I said with a smile.

“But ... I’ve never ... I’ve never had ... uh, sex before. I’ve never even kissed a guy! That’s why I’m afraid.”