Chapter 4

Day Four - Tuesday - At Sea

Dave woke up and realized that Britney was lying on his chest, hugging at him possessively. Britney sighed and then snuggled in closer. Dave watched her for a while. She looked so peaceful and happy. A warm feeling washed over him as he realized that he was the cause of her happiness and contentment.

Britney woke slowly, running her hand over Dave's chest lightly. Dave hugged Britney tightly and Britney sighed deeply.

"Good morning, beautiful," whispered Dave.

"Mmm, good morning," purred Britney.

"How're you feeling this morning?" asked Dave.

"Wonderful, waking up in your arms is wonderful."

"I didn't mean that," said Dave. "I meant, are you hung over?"

"Oh that? No. I never get hangovers."

"Lucky you," said Dave. "I managed to drink enough water last night that I'm okay."

"Listen, about last night..."

"I'm sorry about that," said Dave, his cheeks blushing with embarrassment.

"I'm not upset at all," said Britney. "You more than made up for it by holding me all night in your strong, protective arms."

"I can make things up to you now," said Dave softly.

"Mmm, I think I'd like that. After I pee first."

"I agree," said Dave with a chuckle.

Britney went in the bathroom first and then Dave. Britney watched Dave cross the room with rapt fascination. Dave climbed into bed next to Britney and took her into his arms. He kissed her with fiery passion which ignited Britney's desire. Suddenly both of them were actively groping one another; getting their hands on whatever body part they could. They both tried to feel every bit of each other at once, yet there was a frustration that their hands were only so big to only touch a small part at any given time.

Britney sighed deeply as Dave slipped a hand between her legs and plunged a finger into her womanhood. Dave noted that Britney was already wet with desire, yet he didn't know how she would react if he just climbed on top of her and fucked her without more foreplay. His doubts were quickly answered, however.

"Fuck me, Dave," gasped Britney.

"I won't do that to you," said Dave softly.

"Huh?"

"I won't fuck you," said Dave. "I'll make love to you, though."

"Mmm," purred Britney. "God, I'm so in love with you."

Dave gently rolled Britney on to her back and then climbed on top of her. Looking into her emerald green eyes, he pushed into her, causing her to gasp audibly.

"God, I love you," hissed Britney.

"I love you, too, Lisa," said Dave.

"You love who?" asked Britney.

Then it hit Dave. He had said Lisa. He didn't think his heart could sink any lower. How could he do this to the woman he was falling in love with? He just wanted to shrivel up in a ball and die.

"Jesus, I'm sorry, Brit," said Dave, his voice trembling.

"Get off," said Britney.

"But, I..."

"GET OFF!" screamed Britney. She was now sobbing uncontrollably.

Dave pulled out of Britney and rolled off of her. Britney got out of the bed quickly, as if Dave was pure poison.

"Brit, I don't know how this happened. I really love you for you."

"You think I'm Lisa," shouted Britney. She started putting her clothes on.

"I told you already, I really love you for different things than I loved Lisa for."

"Your words were pretty clear," said Britney, fire in her eyes. "It was bad enough that you had an emotional breakdown yesterday after having sex with me, but this is too much, Dave."

"Please don't leave," pleaded Dave.

"I'm sorry, Dave, but I have to. For me."

Britney stepped into her shoes and then walked out the door. Dave ran out into the hallway, naked.

"Please don't go!" pleaded Dave one last time. It was too late. She was already at the stairs and heading to her room. There were a few people standing by the elevators that looked over at Dave.

"What the fuck are you staring at?" yelled Dave. He went back into his room and slammed the door. He suddenly had an urge for the ship to sink and for him not to make the call for lifeboats.

Amber rolled over in bed as she woke up, expecting Britney's warm body to be there. Even though she was adverse to letting her romantic feelings for Britney take control of her, she felt that a little wake up kiss wouldn't be a bad thing. Amber opened her eyes and looked around the cabin for Britney. She was nowhere to be seen. She listened carefully, to try and hear if there was activity in the bathroom.

"You go girl," whispered Amber with a smile. She may have had romantic feelings for Britney, but she'd be happy if Britney could find love with Dave. Amber thought Dave was a really nice guy and a good change for Britney.

Amber stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom for her morning pee. After peeing, she flipped on the shower and waited for it to get hot. While she waited, the door to the cabin opened. Amber's heart froze when she distinctly heard sobbing. Amber shut off the water and padded out to the main cabin.

Britney was on the bed, still in her dress from the night before, sobbing uncontrollably. Amber sidled up next to her, still naked, and took Britney into her arms wordlessly. Amber held Britney's head to her chest and shushed her a few times and muttered that things would be alright.

"Why did I let myself fall in love with that man?" sobbed Britney.

"What did he do to you?" asked Amber, seething with anger.

"We were making love this morning and he called me Lisa," cried Britney. This brought on a renewed bout of uncontrollable wailing.

Amber didn't say anything. She just held Britney and comforted her as she cried.

"Why? Why? WHY?" screamed Britney. "I thought he was too good to be true."

"He's not a bad man, Brit," said Amber softly. "He's in a lot of pain yet. More than I think he realizes."

"He let me fall in love with him, though," sobbed Britney. "He promised me that he loved me for me and not because he saw his late wife in me. It was all a lie."

"I don't think he realized himself that he wasn't ready," said Amber quietly. "I know you don't want to go back to him, but don't hate him."

"I love him," cried Britney. "I love him and I want to marry him. I just know I can't be someone else."

Britney broke out in another fit of sobbing. Amber held her close. The two laid out on the bed, Britney laying on Amber's chest, while Amber ran her fingers through Britney's hair to soothe her. After an hour, both of them were asleep in one another's arms.

Dave was devastated. He didn't know what had caused him to call Britney, Lisa, but he knew that it had cost him the woman that he was truly falling in love with. He didn't even know where to start to try and make things right. In fact, he knew that things would probably never be right between him and Britney. Still, Dave managed to drag is butt out of his cabin and go get lunch at the South Beach Club. The South Beach Club was an informal buffet towards the aft of the ship.

As he was passing through the Lido deck on route to the South Beach Club, he saw a familiar body in a very revealing bikini. It was Amber and she was with her friend, John. Both of them were on deck chairs, taking in the sun.

"Hi, Amber," said Dave, timidly.

"Dave," replied Amber coolly.

"Hi, Dave," said John standing up and offering his hand. "Good to see you again."

"John, do you mind if I talk with Amber alone for a minute?" asked Dave.

"Sure, not a problem," said John. "You want something to drink, Amber?"

"Pina Colada," said Amber.

"Sure thing, Love," said John. Amber and Dave watched as John went to the poolside bar.

"I really fucked up," said Dave.

"You're telling me," said Amber, her voice full of ice.

"I swear to you, I didn't do it on purpose," pleaded Dave.

"I know you didn't," said Amber with a sigh. "She thinks you lied to her, Dave. She thinks that you only see Lisa in her."

"I don't, though," said Dave. He was doing his best not to start crying. "You didn't know Lisa so you don't know how different Britney really is from her. Sure the eyes and bits of her face are the same, but it ends there."

"Do you have a picture of Lisa?" asked Amber.

Dave fished out his wallet and flipped it open. It opened to a picture of a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair that was in curls. The picture had been taken at "Glamour Shots" and Dave had received several of the pictures as gifts.

"I can see the resemblance," said Amber.

"Do you take me as someone that's shallow?" asked Dave.

Amber appraised him for a few seconds and then shook her head. "No, Dave, I honestly don't think you are. I know you're one of the good guys. The thing is, you weren't the one that held her best friend for over an hour while she cried hysterically because she fell in love with a man that fell in love with his late wife."

"Jesus," whispered Dave. He knew that Britney would have been devastated, but to hear the details really made him feel worse. "Look, maybe I should tell you what I've fallen in love with. Maybe it will show you that I'm not with her because she's another Lisa."

"Sure," said Amber, again with ice.

"First of all, she's so sure of herself. She's got a confidence that Lisa never had."

"Lisa must have been a wreck then," said Amber, her voice bordering on frigid. "Britney's got a terrible self-esteem."

"For a model, maybe," said Dave. "It seems to me that she's someone who knows what she wants and is willing to walk away if things aren't just right. Look at our first date."

"She wasn't always like that, you know," said Amber. "I was so proud of her walking away from you that first night."

"When she's talking with complete strangers, she acts like she's been their friend for years. I saw her wheel and deal with this guy at this horse farm in Cozumel. She knew what she wanted and she wasn't going to back down."

"It's called experience," said Amber with a sigh. "She's been to Mexico a thousand times. Hell, she practically lives in Mexico, being that she lives in Southern California."

"The thing is, Lisa wasn't like that," said Dave. "She couldn't do anything without me working out the details. When we went to buy her a car, I did all the talking. Lisa didn't even like calling people on the phone. You could say she was shy, but I think she just didn't think that highly of herself. That leads me to my next point. Brit's got a sense of adventure that Lisa never had. Lisa would never have gone snorkeling during this cruise. She was afraid of horses, so I know the horseback riding thing would have been out. We would have been sunbathing on the beach during the entire cruise."

"It sounds like you didn't think to highly of Lisa," said Amber.

"I did, I mean I do. But those are things that Lisa had that Britney doesn't. See, it's not all about looks. These two girls are completely different. It's like night and day."

"Then why did you call her Lisa?" probed Amber.

"For God's sake, I don't know!" exclaimed Dave, turning a few heads around him. Dave managed to choke back a few tears, not wanting to make a real scene in front of everyone on the Lido deck.

"You're not over Lisa, are you?" asked Amber.

"I know I want to be," said Dave. "I'm sick of the nightmares. I'm sick of not living my life. It was all her fault. I should be able to move on."

Dave was now crying and he didn't care anymore who saw.

"You're really bitter about the way she died," observed Amber.

"How'd you guess?" said Dave, his tone as sharp as a dagger.

"You blame her for that accident."

Dave nodded and then blushed.

"It's okay, Dave. It's okay to be angry. I'm just wondering if you're ready to be dating again. Maybe you need more time."

"And lose the opportunity of a lifetime?" said Dave. "That's what Britney is to me."

Amber gasped. "I didn't know it was that serious."

"Amber, I love Britney, and I swear to you that I will win her heart back before the end of this cruise. I don't care if I have to go through you to do it."

Amber shook her head as she watched Dave head off to lunch. She honestly felt sorry for Dave. She knew he didn't call out Lisa's name on purpose during a moment of heated passion. Still, he had hurt her friend deeply and couldn't give him her blessing. She looked at it as fate dealing a good man like Dave a bad hand and left it at that.

Amber forced a smile when John came back with the drinks. Amber, by instinct, gave John a chaste kiss on the lips as a way of thanks. What she didn't expect, however, was for John to actually return the kiss and for him to lean in so that the kiss wouldn't end. John parted his lips slightly, as did Amber in response. The kiss deepened and became more passionate. Just as suddenly as he started, John broke the kiss.

"I should put these drinks down," said John. He was blushing. Amber, of course, found him even more adorable.