Cruise Enclosure - The Eden Series #1

The ship slowly drifted away from the docks. The sound of wave’s crashed up against the sides, as it echoed the further it moved away. A young woman waved good-bye to her mother and father. She glanced around to see others bidding farewell to their families.

“We will miss you, Daisy,” the young woman’s mother called.

The wind blew Daisy’s long, blonde hair into her face; making it hard for her to see her family. She quickly brushed the hair to one side and behind her ear with her fingers and continued to wave. They were shouting I love you, watching their daughter sail away into the distance. The ship was picking up speed, gliding across the ocean.

The adventure was one of those last-minute bookings as Daisy and her friends decided a holiday away. They were lucky to get something for such a cheap price and as the weeks came closer, they couldn’t contain their excitement.

Daisy slowly searched down the corridor, looking for her room, three-oh-eight. She was glad to have her own room to herself. All her friends were sharing rooms with their partners, Daisy wasn’t quite ready to settle down with someone yet. Although her best friend, Joan Carroll, always sets her up on blind dates. Daisy was incredibly happy when Joan invited her on this holiday, the two of them together are inseparable.

Joan was sharing a room with her boyfriend, Gary Taylor. They had been together for four years. Daisy remembers when Joan first told her about, the big crush, she had on Gary before they started dating. It was an exciting moment when he finally asked Joan to go out with him.

Joan, Reece and Daisy are childhood friends. They have been together, ever since primary school; Reece Sharpe is the cheeky one of the group. Daisy used to fancy him when they went to secondary school, but he ended up with Adeline Martin. Daisy has an extremely high dislike to Adeline and vice-versa, they make it well-known.

Eleonora Muncie joined their group in secondary school. She was bullied by the popular girls, so Daisy and Joan asked her to hang out with them. She fancied Elliot Norman, who was a grade above them; he was always the one with top marks on his tests. Then one day he asked Eleonora out, and they have been dating since. Eleonora does have a hard personality, which makes it difficult to talk to her. And lastly, there is Daisy Newman who is the outcast – She doesn’t have a partner and has not been interested in having one. Even though the girls have set her up on blind dates, they just never seem to bloom.

Daisy stopped outside, three-oh-eight. She rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a key card she was given at the reception desk. She slipped it into the door handle and the light flashed green. The door unlocked, and she strolled inside the room, dragging her suitcase behind her. When she entered, she saw the reflection of herself in the mirror. Quickly, she readjusted her hair and wiping away any excess makeup before exploring the room. With her long, ash blonde, wavy hair and blue eyes like the sea, she was an attractive young woman, and she knew she was. Excitement beamed in her eyes as she walked further inside the room.

Daisy was born in England and lived there until she was five years old. Her father died of an illness and not long after, her mother met someone new. They had moved around from America to Australia and they finally settled in England. Her mother remarried to a very highly respected surgeon, who was exceptionally good at his job.

Daisy lifted her suitcase on to the king-sized bed. She shrugged her jacket off and hung it on the back of the door. She slipped her shoes off by the bed and pottered around the room.

The room was spacious. The king size bed was in the middle of the room. And to the left of the bed is an enormous wardrobe, big enough to walk inside it. At the end of the bed is a cabinet with a wide screen TV on the top, and a mini sofa that pulls out into a bed that was by the window.

She excitedly opened her suitcase and started to unpack her clothes. She hung them one by one into the wardrobe, which she really loved. After unpacking her clothes, she made herself a quick drink and slumped down on the mini sofa.

The cruise is all-inclusive. It’s worth the money, Daisy thought.

The day passed by quickly and Daisy was already on her way for dinner. She had planned to meet her friends in the diner on the ground floor. She strolled down the corridor, noticing people walking towards her. She glanced up slightly to see a young man dressed in a crisp black suit accompanied by a black tie. He had jet black, crew-cut, hair with piercing green eyes.

He is good-looking, Daisy thought.

The closer he got, the faster her heart thumped in her chest. He glanced up and his ever-green eyes fell upon her. He took her breath away.

He casually walked past her, brushing her shoulder as he does. She jolted from his sudden touch. Her palms were sweaty, and she couldn’t control her heartbeat. She received a quick whiff of him, the scent of cigarettes blasted her nose. As they moved further away from each other, she chanced a quick peek. As she peered round, she caught him glancing back at her.

Daisy carried on walking to the diner with her now jelly legs. Her heart finally calmed down from her close encounter, with the best-looking guy she had ever seen, in her opinion. She saw her friends waiting for her by the entrance of the diner. Daisy wanted to tell Joan about what happened with the good-looking guy, but more in private. So, she decided to wait until they were alone.

“This place is amazing. There are so many people here.” Adeline squealed with excitement.

The group was led to a table in the middle of the diner. It was busy, so most tables were taken. As they sat down, Daisy noticed a small family opposite her. There was a young girl who looked around the age of fifteen maybe sixteen. She noticed Daisy glancing over and sent her a gentle smile, which she returned.

She seems nice, Daisy thought.

A waitress appeared at the table. She was ready to take drink orders from them. She pulled out a small pad and pen and jotted down their table number.

“My name is Lily Brown, and I will be your waitress for this evening. Could I get you any drinks?” The waitress introduced herself politely. She was in a black small dress with a white apron wrapped around her front, her hair was auburn and pulled back into a bun; she had lovely pure blue eyes. She started jotting down each of their drink orders.

“I would like a glass of lemonade please,” Daisy smiled gently at her. Lily nodded and smiled, as she totted off towards the bar once she was finished. She disappeared through the door behind the bar, which presumably led to the kitchen.

Daisy carried on observing the room as her friends all talked amongst themselves. She noticed a couple holding hands and drinking champagne.

Newly-weds maybe, Daisy thought.

The small family started to take their leave. Daisy snapped her head in their direction as they made their way out. The young girl noticed Daisy looking and gave her a small wave good-bye. Daisy smiled and waved back.

She continued observing the room and noticed someone. She knew exactly who he was, but why was he on this ship? He is a surgeon who works with her stepfather, Gregory Charles.

He must be here on business, Daisy thought.

Daisy took one last look around, in hopes that she might spot the good-looking guy. But he was nowhere to be seen. She let out a long breath of relief, noticing the waitress coming back with their tray of drinks. Lily started handing out their drinks one by one and then pulled out her notepad and pen. She was ready to take food orders.

“So, what can I get you guys?” Lily asked politely again with a smile.

“Could I get the chicken salad please,” Adeline answered. She always watched what she eats, worrying about her weight all the time.

“I will have the sirloin steak with fries and peas please,” Joan asked for. Daisy knew that Joan would order steak. She giggled lightly, thinking how well she knew her best friend.

“Err, I think I will order spaghetti Bolognese thanks,” Eleonora ordered.

“Could I have the same,” Elliot said smiling at Eleonora grabbing her hand as they glanced into each other’s eyes. Daisy cringed at the romantic gesture.

“I will also have a chicken salad please,” Gary ordered. He is feminine when it comes to his meals. Again, he worries about his weight as well.

Reece ordered the rump steak and Daisy ordered a Cajun chicken burger with fries.

“So, Daisy how is your room?” Joan asked, leaning over the table. Daisy smiled and leaned towards her.

“It is massive,” Daisy replied, grinning. “It has a huge king-sized bed with an enormous wardrobe too, and the TV is huge.” Daisy said, picturing how her room looked.

“You have to let me see it later.” Joan replied tapping Daisy’s hand.

“Whoa, check out that handsome man!” Adeline giggled as everyone glanced over in the direction she was looking.

Daisy glanced up to see two men in black suits enter the diner. Her eyes widened, the moment she laid them on one of the men. It was the one who brushed past her earlier. Her heart started to pick up speed as he moved closer to their table. They took the table the small family were at a few moments ago that had been cleaned by Lily after she took their order.

She couldn’t take her eyes off him. She shifted in her seat as he sat facing her. All the girls were squealing and whispering about him, but Daisy ignored them. Suddenly he glanced over to their table and Daisy stiffened, the girls all started gossiping. But his eyes were on her, she couldn’t look away. He broke the contact first, by carrying on with his conversation with the guy that accompanied him.

I wonder if he recognized me from the hallway. Daisy thought.

“We are sitting here,” Reece said stubbornly crossing his arms, slightly jealous.

“We were checking him out. I mean for Daisy, that is.” Joan giggled as she covered herself up, glancing over to Daisy.

The man had Daisy’s full attention. She was sitting there watching his every move. He would sneak a quick glance at her now and then, but she would look away pretending not to notice him.

“Yo, Daisy,” Joan interrupted Daisy, by waving her hand in front of her face. Daisy finally snapped out of her trance and looked back to Joan.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” She asked, peeping over at the guy now and then.

“Oh my, Daisy you’re attracted to him.” Joan fussed.

“You are dribbling over him over there. I don’t think you are his type anyways,” Adeline said sarcastically. Daisy ignored her. The last thing she wanted to do was start a fight with one of her ‘so called friends.’

“You should go over and talk to him,” Eleonora suggested.

“What while he is eating his food, no way,” Daisy replied, giggling.

She peeked back over to the table again, this time catching his gaze. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t. Daisy suddenly felt flustered.

“I’m going to go to the lady’s room, so I will be right back.” Daisy said as she pushed her seat from the table. It made a screeching noise on the floor and people looked over to her. She mouthed ‘sorry’ to people as she rushed her way to the bathroom, feeling embarrassed.

Daisy entered the bathroom and turned on the cold tap. She splashed water on to her face, feeling a little hot. She glanced up at the mirror to see her face looked red. She splashed another handful of water, hoping the redness would go away eventually.

She wiped her hands with a paper towel, throwing it into the bin. Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, she was happy with her appearance and exited the lady’s bathroom. Suddenly she bumped into someone as she turned the corner.

“Oomph, sorry,” Daisy apologized.

“No worries,” A deep husky voice replied to her. She slowly glanced up; her body froze the moment her eyes laid upon his. The good-looking guy was standing before her, a smile spread out on his face.

Daisy couldn’t help but blush. She gave him a quick smile and scurried down the diner, back to her seat. She glanced behind, to see him standing there watching her as she sat back down in her chair; she shyly looked away.

He’s a catch, Daisy thought.