Chapter 4

Not being on call enabled Brad to do some of the tours Marla had recommended when the ship was in port. Marla kept him company on a few of the tours. It was one thing for Brad to be doing this sightseeing as a single since being out of uniform and wearing sunglasses for the most part hid his identity. That was not the case when Marla accompanied him since her being the cruise director, made her well-known among the passengers. That made her a popular person with the tour group.

Brad had some nice memories of doing these tours with Marla. Finding amber and seeing it turn into jewelry, visiting some old churches, or riding horses up to the top of an active volcano and roasting marshmallows there, were some of the tours they took or things they did.

Even though he was technically off duty when Brad was off the ship, he really wasn’t. That had him carry a small bag over his shoulder that contained some basic medical supplies. They came in handy when someone would fall or in some way require medical care. The stethoscope, tape, EpiPen, bandages, a few RXs, and antiseptic were worth their weight in gold when there was a medical mishap. Rosa and the medical assistants thought that was a good idea and they copied what Brad was doing in carrying a bag with those items when they were off the ship.

Brad’s relationship with Marla if he were to classify it, would say that it was a brother-sister relationship. That changed one night when there was a knock on his cabin door after a Captain’s night.

Opening his cabin door, he could see it was Marla who was doing the knocking. She walked into his cabin saying, “We need to talk.”

He could tell she had a few drinks by the slight slur he heard in her voice.

“About what?” asked Brad.

“About us..., it seems to me that we get along fine but the thing is that I don’t like is that you treat me like I am your sister.”

“I will admit to doing that, but tell me, how would you like to be treated?”

She came close to him and putting her arms over his shoulders she said, “Like I am your lover,” and she kissed him.

It could be said that Brad was honestly stunned when she did that. His being that way didn’t last for long as his arms went around her and felt the shiny material of the dress she was wearing. The kissing lasted for a while and their relationship moved to the next level when a kiss ended and she told Brad to pull down the zipper on the back of her dress.

Hearing her saying that also gave him implied permission to unsnap her bra after he pulled down the dress’s zipper. Marla stepped away from him and did a sexy wiggle as she pushed the dress down and stepped out of it. Tossing the dress onto a chair, she lay down on the bed and asked Brad to join her. That he was going to do after he undressed. He was looking at the erotic picture she presented as she lay on the bed waiting for him.

Brad could say that Marla was a good lover and that would be true. The problem in saying that was that it would be an understatement. She was an excellent lover who while enjoying making love seemed to have an equal enjoyment in seeing her partner also enjoy making love.

Her breasts were of a nice size with stiff nipples that he nibbled on. Moving down her body he also nibble and licked her clit causing her to give a little moan along with her voicing encouraging words for him to continue doing what he was doing. Her telling him it was time, he moved up and his stiff shaft entered her warm and wet sheath for them to engage in the age-old act of intercourse.

After their first round of lovemaking with the both of them experiencing orgasms, he decoupled and lay alongside her. She cuddled up against him with him holding her in his arms and asked him what his thoughts were.

He waited for close to a half a minute thinking about how to respond before he said, “Now..., take this the right way when I say it, but while his approach was completely wrong, Scott did have good taste in women.”

Brad was waiting for some physical reaction from Marla but that didn’t happen. All that happened was that she said, “Do you really think so,” and he responded, “I know so.”

That remark earned him a nice kiss from her and it was the start of another round of lovemaking.

He was the first to wake in the morning. Lying in bed next to Marla he couldn’t help but notice the scent of her perfume that was in the air. He also noticed her back since the covers were down to her waist. He never thought the back of a female was sexy but in seeing Marla’s, he knew he needed to change that opinion.

Looking at what the time was he gave her a nudge for her to wake. She turned to him and opened her eyes. He told her she needed to be going or she would be late for her morning television show for the passengers telling them what was happening today as to this day ship’s activities.

Marla told him not to worry about that as those shows on the cabin’s television were tapes of prior shows she had done with an assistant cruise director. The show that would be shown today was one of three they had taped for this cruise day and depended on what the weather was forecasted to be as to which tape was shown.

Saying that was the case, she kissed him and her cool hand reached for his shaft. In not wanting to be late in going to the infirmary Brad had to choose between either making love or having breakfast. Truth be told, it wasn’t that hard of a decision for Brad to make as his missing a meal wouldn’t hurt.

This was the start of an affair that Brad had with Marla which lasted for the remaining weeks till his employment contract was to expire. It wasn’t that every night they were in bed together making love, but it was quite often that they were. They enjoyed being with each other in this relationship but neither of them ever said the “L” word. Brad wasn’t sure if he should and because of his not being sure, he never did say it. He couldn’t be sure if Marla felt that same way as him since she never said that word either.

With Brad’s four-month contract expiring, he was asked by the cruise line if he was going to re-up for another four-month stint. He asked if being reassigned to another ship after two months was an option if he was to sign on for four months of duty. The cruise line replied saying that was possible and that it would now be at the physician’s option if they wanted reassignment. With that option available, Brad said he would sign another four-month contract, but he was first going to take two months of vacation.