Stranded

Stranded

Chapter One

I sat silently in the car, watching out the window as the scenery blurred by too fast. My sun glasses did little to block out the bright sun, high in the sky. Joel drove way too fast for my liking, but on the plus side we were never late. With his hat backwards and aviator sunglasses on, he bobbed his head to his blaring rap music. Music I didn’t even like.

It was hard to look at him the same as when we first met and fell in love. Those feelings were long gone. Replaced by resentment and rage. We have been together for two and half years now. Not that it seemed to mean anything to him. Six months ago I caught him cheating on me with a blonde hair bimbo who seemed as daft as he was. Maybe they were meant for each other. Either way, after I had made a scene and tried to leave, he begged me to stay. He went through the charades of promising it would never happen again. Swearing I was the only one for him and it was a huge mistake. Blah, blah, blah. I rolled my eyes at the memory. I still haven’t forgave him for it. I’m not sure why I stayed exactly.

Maybe it was because I had no one else in the world. Maybe it was because I hated being alone. I hated myself for it either way. This trip he planned in secret was his way of trying to make it up to me. I went along with it, thinking maybe it was what we needed to try and mend this. Or maybe I was just here for the free drinks and nice views. If there even were nice views. I still wasn’t even sure where we were going. He was good at keeping secrets, unfortunately.

“Ari, look over there,” Joel finally said, pointing out the windshield to the left. I glanced up with mild curiosity to see we were coming up on a huge ship port. Several large luxury cruise ships glistened against the dark ocean. He really pulled out all the stops this time, desperate to win me back. I have to admit I was slightly impressed that he pulled this off, seeing as how he was a narcissistic douche bag. I internally chuckled.

Swarms of people were all waiting to board the giant ship, from all different walks of earth. Kids ran excitedly up and down the docks as frantic parents chased after. Elderly retirees snapped pictures in their flashy Hawaiian shirts. Loving honeymoon couples wrapped around each other, locked together in their own little worlds. I faked gagging. When Joel looked up to see what I was staring at he rolled his eyes and gave me an exasperated look. “Come on babe, that could be us someday,” he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I pulled away instantly, as was my normal response to any affection he tried to give me the last few months. “I highly doubt that Joel.” I knew he was trying, but I still couldn’t shake the memories of finding him in bed with someone else.

“Well anyway, now that the surprise is out, we’re headed to the Caribbean!” He exclaimed excitedly. “Seven days of luxury, all exclusive. Anything for my baby girl,” he winked. I tried not gag again. I put on my best fake smile and tried to feign my appreciation. “Thanks Joel, this will be great.” At least there will be alcohol.

After the pre-health screening and checking our bags, we finally boarded the giant ship. Giant is an understatement, this place was a maze. So many different hallways led to banquet halls, restaurants, bars, lounges. This place had it all. We made our way to the elevators to find our room. We exited when we got to level 4 and Joel followed the signs till he found room 4114. He slid the key card in and the door unlocked with a click, swinging open. I have to say, I was yet again impressed. The room had to be first class, with space to boast. Instead of a hotel like feel with nothing but a bed in the middle of the room, this place had multiple rooms. Walking through the little kitchen we saw a welcome basket filled with fruit and wine on a circular mahogany table. Beyond that I could see sliding doors that exited to a balcony with lounge chair, and rather nice view of the ocean. He really had gone all out. I went into the bedroom and found Joel giddy with excitement as he threw our bags down and jumped onto the large kind sized bed. “You’ve outdone yourself,” I proclaimed. He smiled at my genuine response and patted the bed next to him. I sat down and laid back against the pillows, looking up at the blue LED lights around the ceiling. I turned to Joel, about to ask what the plans were for the day when he suddenly smashed his lips against mine. I returned the kiss and that seemed to please him, seeing as how we haven’t shared so much as a hug the past few months. His fingers raked through my hair as he pushed me down against the pillow, hungry for more. His hand made its way down my neck, lingering for a moment on my breast, then sliding down my stomach. I knew where this was going, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready or not. We still haven’t touched each other since his affair happened. I didn’t know how I felt. But now his hand slid down from my stomach and he squeezed past my belt until he found my clit, where he started to rub in a circle, faster and faster. Why do they always think faster means better? Hit bit my lip, no doubt trying to be sensual but to me it came off as sloppy and annoying. He moaned in my ear as his hand went lower until he slid a finger inside me. I lurched with surprise, letting out a gasp. “Yea baby, you like that?” He said as he started thrusting his finger in and out of me. A memory came flooding back to me, triggered by his familiar words… I had gotten off work early that night, a few hours before I was supposed to. I stopped and picked up his favorite Chinese food and had the bag in my hand as I struggled with the lock of our apartment door. When I finally got inside, I noticed a pair of shoes at the door that were definitely not mine. Slutty looking black heels. My ears perked up as I heard voices coming from the bedroom. I set the food down on the counter and followed the sounds. As I stood outside the bedroom, I undoubtedly heard Joel’s voice saying “yea baby, you like that?” Followed by a girlish giggle. That’s when I barged in, finding him balls deep in the blonde woman I now hated so much. I recognized her as one of his coworkers, Jennifer. They stopped cold when they saw me, then quickly covered up. “Ari, what are you doing home early?” Joel had said. I saw red. I began throwing things, anything within my reach, at the both of them while Jennifer scrambled to put her clothes back on. Joel had rushed over to try and take the remote out of my hand, and as we wrestled, Jennifer slipped out the door. “HOW LONG?!” I screamed at his face while tears streamed down my face. “How long have you been sleeping with that slut?” He looked almost offended and replied “Jennifer isn’t a slut babe, it just happened. We’ve been working so close on that new project together and things just went too far. It was a mistake I swear!” I stared at him with mock sadness for a second before I belted out, “not a slut? NOT A SLUT? Jennifer knew you were dating me! I met her at the Christmas party! Only sluts go after taken men!” I was furious that he had tried defending her. That night was one of the worst night of my life.

I snapped back into the present. I suddenly felt sick. I pushed him away from me and his finger slid out of me. “Don’t do this again babe. Look, how many times do I have to say I’m sorry before you believe me? I planned this whole trip for us to be alone together and reconnect. Don’t be a prude.” “A prude? You’re the one who slept with someone else Joel. I have a right to be mad.” I replied. I crossed my arms and stared at the ceiling again. “Baby you’re the only girl for me. I made a mistake and it won’t ever happen again. I’ll even look for a new job if that makes you happy.” He looked away when he spoke the last sentence. I could tell it wasn’t genuine but I have to admit it did make me feel better. “You mean it?” I asked curtly. “Of course babe, anything for you. If that’ll make you stop being mad at me. You need to stop shutting me out. Look at what I’ve done for you,” he said as he waved his hand around the room. I sighed, feeling slightly guilty. He slid back over to me and said “come on babe,” as he started kissing me on the neck. I still wasn’t feeling the attraction to him though. I laid there while he began groping my breast, squeezing always too hard. He climbed on top of me on with his knees on either side of my waist and lifted my shirt up over my face. “Joel!” I protested as I squirmed to put my arms down. But he held the shirt firmly with one hand while the other massaged my nipples. His mouth came down onto my breast and I gasped as he sucked and bit my nipple, twisting the other with his hand. I laid there with my eyes shut tight and tried to not think of his infidelity. He was starting to lick all over my chest when I heard his text chime go off on his phone. I wasn’t sure how he got service here, but he must have added wifi to the room. I struggled against him to try and see his phone next to us on the nightstand, but he held me down firmly. He slid my shirt off all the way and stared undoing my belt. He yanked my pants off and threw them to the floor. I was going to protest when he flipped me over onto my stomach and started unhooking my bra. “Who texted you?” I asked against the pillow. “Probably just my mom, don’t worry about it babe,” he replied. He slapped my ass cheek hard and I jumped. “Joel!” I exclaimed. He was taking his pants off now and climbed onto the bed over me. “Shhhh, you used to like it rough, remember?” He whispered into my ear, licking it slowly. He put all of his weight on top of me and felt his hard cock against my ass. He rubbed it against me and I stifled a moan. He slid my thong down to my ankles and wrapped it around them, tying my feet together. He was back on top of me, pushing the air out of my lungs with his weight. He dove his hand under my ass and began rubbing my clit again. It took him a while to produce any wetness, but when he did I heard him spit on his cock. He spread my cheeks apart and found my entrance, teasing me for a moment by stroking his head against me. Then he grabbed my arms and crossed them behind my back, holding them against me so I couldn’t move. He plunged himself inside of me quickly and I screamed out. It had been so long since we were intimate, that I wasn’t used to it. He took my scream as satisfaction as he started thrusting in and out of me, pounding against my ass with loud smacks. “Joel, take it easy,” I tried to say with my head against the pillow. But he didn’t reply as he continued pounding into me over and over. I was starting to build up to a climax, having not been pleasured in a while, it wasn’t taking me long. He released my arms and wove his under me, grasping my shoulders from the tops. This way he could thrust all his weight into me with each smack. I screamed a little with each thrust. He kept going harder and harder until I felt myself spill over the edge. My muscles locked up and my eyes rolled back as I shook with pleasure. But he wasn’t done with me just yet. He slid his arm under my stomach and lifted my center up so my ass was up in the air, face still smashed into the pillows. He always preferred to not look me in the face when we had sex. A detail I long overlooked before the affair. He got on his knees behind me and grabbed my waist, scooting me back to him. He pushed his way into me again and continued smacking into me with hard, pounding thrusts. I tried to reach back and grab his waist, to control his motion and slow him down, but he grabbed my hand and bent my arm behind me again. Finally, he let out a howl as he thrust into me one last time so hard and deep I felt I might split open.

As soon as he was done, he collapsed on top of me. Both of us were breathing heavily, sweating all over. “See, wasn’t that great babe?” He smirked with confidence. “Yea, sure,” I said, wounding his ego. He rolled his eyes and slid off the bed, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Just then, his phone lit up again and I glanced over from the bed. I started to move to grab the phone when the door to the bathroom clicked open again. I quickly sat back down, pretending to stretch out. He walked over and grabbed his phone off the table before returning to the bathroom where I heard the shower start up.

I went out to the living room and flipped on the flat screen to see what we could watch. An overhead page alerted us that we were taking off now, sailing out to sea. I plopped down on the couch and began flipping through the channels. I quickly got bored, finding nothing to watch. I decided to go sunbathe out on the deck to pass some time before Joel was done showering. I grabbed my tanning oil and a book from my suitcase and slid open the door. It was warm in Florida where the start of the cruise was. A balmy 86 degrees today. I laid down and found the page where my bookmark sat in my old copy of The Silmarillion. Tolkien was one of my favorite authors of all time. After getting lost in the fairytale like story, the sliding door banged open, pulling me from my trance. Joel stepped out in nothing but boxers and stood above me clicking his tongue. “Reading that garbage again are you?” He muttered. “It’s not garbage,” I replied, “it’s brilliant.” “Sure it is, Ari. Read a comic book or something. Way more interesting.” I rolled my eyes and tried to go back to reading. He grabbed the book from my hand and tossed it aside, losing my place. I stared at him with bubbling anger when he smiled and said, “Another surprise for my lady, I’ve booked you a massage in the spa downstairs. They’re supposed to be really good here.” I looked up at him surprised, “you hate massages though.” “Oh I’m not going. This is just for you to go and get pampered. Go and have a good time babe.” I studied him for minute, but figured he was still trying to make up for everything. The least I could do is enjoy him spoiling me since he never did before.

I got into the elevator a little while later and made my way through the corridors (and having to ask for directions once) until I found the spa. The woman at the front desk smiled at me as I walked in and I gave her my name. “Ah yes Mr. Hewes has you booked for the two hour special miss Hawthorn.” “Please call me Ari,” I replied as she led me into a dimly lit room with a zen aesthetic. “Of course Ari, your massage therapist will be in shortly. Go ahead and take your clothes off and get comfortable under the sheet.”

The massage was quite enjoyable, even if it was long. They removed all the knots from my muscles and even added hot stones. I soaked in a luxury bubble bath with all kind of oils added. By the time I was done, I felt like a new woman. I left the spa and headed back to our room on the 4th floor. I used the key card to enter our room and tossed my purse on the counter. I could see Joel out on the deck again, talking on the phone. I walked through the kitchen to go talk to him when I noticed the gift basket had been opened. I skidded to a stop and stared at the half drank wine bottle. Confusion swept over me as I lifted the bottle to examine it. Joel didn’t care for wine that much so it surprised me that he drank it. I went back to the kitchen and found no dishes in the sink. I searched through the cabinets to find no dishes missing, but stopped when I saw two wine glasses that were still wet, obviously recently washed. I stood there frozen for a second. Was I being paranoid? This was definitely odd. I stomped over to the sliding door and looked out at him. His back was turned and I couldn’t hear who he was talking to because the door must have been soundproof. I opened it and he jumped slightly before saying into the phone, “Alright mom I’ll check in later when we’re there. Love you, bye.” And hung up. He looked up at me saying, “hey how did the massage go?” He stood up and rubbed my shoulders. “It was good, thank you. Hey so, what’s up with the wine?” I questioned. He side stepped me and went into the living room. I followed behind him, waiting for answer, getting slightly annoyed. “Oh I decided to have some while you were out. You know, get the vacation started,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. “You hate wine,” I protested. “And why were there two glasses used?” He stared at me for a second before saying, “I was using one and it looked dirty so I grabbed another one. Are you seriously accusing me of something again? Already? We’re on a cruise ship for fucks sake.” I was taken aback by his curtness. Maybe I was being paranoid. As much as I was mad at him still, I wasn’t trying to be very forgiving. I need to start giving him the benefit of the doubt. People can change, right? “Ok I’m sorry. You just don’t normally drink wine.” I said. “Don’t worry about it, let’s just go get some food,” he suggested.

We sat along the windows of a fancy restaurant on the upper deck that looked out over the ocean. Everything here was so extravagant. As much as I hated to say it, I was enjoying myself. At least, I was until I noticed Joel on his phone the entire time throughout dinner. For wanting me to not be paranoid, he didn’t do a great job of reassuring me. I tried to question him about one time and he brushed it off, saying it was work stuff. I sighed and ate my filet. I went ahead and ordered another glass of wine since he wasn’t paying attention to me. I had a lot to think about. Should I stay with him? Should I have left him when I caught him? Could we ever fix this? I had no answers just yet so I stared out over the ocean. And ordered more wine.

The next morning I awoke without remembering how I got into bed. I was still in my dress from the night before. Well shit, I must have had more wine than I realized. I noticed a headache forming and considered rolling over and going back to sleep. But I got up and ransacked my luggage for some Tylenol before heading to the shower. Joel must have already gotten up a while ago. My phone said it was 10:37 am, and he usually gets up early. I washed my hair and body while letting the warm water relax me. I definitely needed to eat something so I begrudgingly got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself, letting my long black hair air dry. I walked out into the living room where I found Joel lounging on the couch, watching tv. “Nice of you to finally join me. Overdue it last night?” He looked at me from under his lashes. “It was better than watching you stare at your phone all night,” I accused. I turned on my heel and headed for the kitchen, needing to quench my thirst. I found some bottles of water in the fridge and downed an entire one in seconds. Then I pulled out some orange juice and fruit and set it out on the counter. I was about to find a plate and glass when I felt Joel press up against me from behind, pinning me against the marble countertop. He wrapped his arms around me and spoke softly into my ear, “I’m sorry baby, I had emails from Joe that had to be returned immediately. I don’t want to lose my job before I find a new one. I promise, you have my full attention now.” He dropped his arms and started sliding them up my thighs, past the towel I still had wrapped around me. I pushed him away and grabbed a plate for my fruit and poured myself a glass of orange juice. I could feel him staring at me and I wondered when he’d give up. I was placing the juice back in the fridge when he grabbed me around the waist and pushed me back up against the counter. He ripped the towel off of my and threw it behind him. He pushed my head down and bent me over the cold counter, my nipples now hard as he smashed my breasts against it. He tangled his hands into my hair and pulled lightly making me moan. He bent over me and found my ear. “Let me show you how much of my attention you have,” he whispered. His hard cock was pressing against my ass as he ran his hands down my bare back, stopping to squeeze my cheeks. I heard him drop his grey sweatpants onto the floor and kick them away. His hand found my entrance and he rubbed it slightly, checking to see if I was wet. Then he got on his knees and pressed his face into my ass, his tongue finding my clit hungrily. He licked up and down until my knees were shaking. Before I could climax, he stood up and plunged his cock inside of me, filling me up. My toes barely touched the ground and swayed back and forth as he rocked into me. I could feel every inch of him since I was pressed up against the cabinets. Once again he grabbed my arms and held them behind my back, always having to be in control. He slammed and slammed into me over and over until my ass was red and stinging. He grunted as he unloaded himself into me and I left the warmth running down my leg. So much for letting me finish. He pulled his pants up, popped some of my fruit into his mouth, grinning as he walked off. I rolled my eyes and went back to my breakfast.

We decided to go up to the pool in the very middle of the top deck that afternoon. I lounged on a deck chair while Joel swam. More than once I caught him checking out other women in their bikinis as they strutted by. My eyes would be permanently rolled into my head by the end of this cruise. I closed my eyes and let the sun tan my skin, relaxing as much as I could. Maybe this relationship was doomed from the start. But boy did I love red flags apparently. Especially when they were tall and handsome. I was so naive, and should probably take my own advice sometimes. I heard my phone go off in my bag and was surprised I got reception. I dug in my bag till I found the phone. I looked and it was a text from my best friend, Claire.

“Hey dude, you need to call me ASAP” it read. If she wanted me to call instead of just texting, it had to be serious. I pushed the call icon next to her name and held the phone to my ear. Silence. I looked back at the screen and it said call failed. I tried again. Nothing. I wondered if the wifi in our room would be enough to get a call out so I told Joel I was headed back to the room. He didn’t seem bothered by this which gave me a weird feeling, since we were supposed to be spending time together and mending things, but I ignored it and walked off to the elevators.

Once in our room I took my phone out and tried calling Claire again. It went straight to her voicemail. I sent her a text, “Hey girl, I don’t get any service on this stupid ship. Just text me, what’s so urgent?” It took a while to send but it finally went through. Not long after I got a reply, a screen shot with a message saying “look at this shit.” I tapped the photo and almost dropped my phone. The screen shot was of Jennifer’s facebook. A photo she has posted, of her….on a ship. I wasn’t friends with her on social media of course, but my friend was the best lurker of all time. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. That son of a bitch. Was it merely a coincidence? Was she on a similar ship? Was this an old picture? All these questions flashed through my mind in an instant. I was furious. I grabbed my bag and headed back down to the pool. I looked around and couldn’t find Joel anywhere. I looked at the bars, the buffet, and a couple restaurants and no luck. I tried texting his phone, asking where he was but it wouldn’t go through now. I stalked back up to our room, not knowing what else to do with myself. Ok, calm down Ari. This was a misunderstanding. He cut off all communication with her after I caught them. I mean, they still occasionally saw each other at work probably but that meant nothing, right?

I paced around our room waiting for him to come back. It started to get dark out and I had to turn on the lights in our room. That’s when I noticed a room key sitting on a small table next to the couch in the living room. He forgot his key? Maybe that’s why he hasn’t come back. He’s been searching for his key. Maybe he even tried coming back up when I was looking for him everywhere. I grabbed the key and headed for the door, maybe I’d head to the help desk and they could help me find him. But as I looked down at the key I noticed the room number printed on the back. 2134. Definitely not our room. How did this get into our room? More importantly, who was in room 2134?

I stood there contemplating my options for a minute. I decided I’d just find out myself. I almost ran to the elevator and punched the number 2 deck button and then repeatedly hit the door close button, impatient from the slow doors. Once they opened back up on the second floor, I glanced at the signs on the wall indicating where the room numbers were, then took off to the right. I made a few turns before I finally found the room I was looking for. I stood in front of it, waiting. Do I knock? Should I just enter? I did have a key after all. Was it left there by mistake from a cleaning lady? I didn’t know what to do. Do I risk scaring a random family, in hopes of catching my boyfriend in the act…again?

I slid the keycard into the slot and the door clicked open. I slowly pushed it open, sticking my head barely through the door to peer around the room. There didn’t appear to be anyone in here. I walked in and made my way to the bedroom, planning on checking for suitcases to try and tell who it belonged too. Suddenly, and to my horror though, I heard the door being unlocked. I looked around the room, panicked that I was about to get caught by some innocent family. I dove under the bed and put my hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing. I could hear voices out in the living room, a woman was laughing. Then the sound of a champagne bottle being popped open made me jump. The sliding door to their deck was opened and closed, then it went silent. They were out on the deck, so it was my chance. I crawled out from under the bed and hugged the door frame of the bedroom and peered around into the living room. I could see the back of the people out there, a couple it looked like. So I slowly tiptoed my way towards the front door, when I caught sight of the man when he turned. Joel. I stopped and my breath caught in my throat. The woman next to him was none other than the blonde bitch herself, Jennifer. This whole trip was a ruse. Nothing but a devious plot to be able to go on a trip with his side chick. I saw red again. My fists clenched and my teeth ground together.

Just then, Joel happened to look over his shoulder in through the glass and locked eyes with me. I glared at him from across the room, breathing heavily. The horror in his eyes was almost comical. He stood up, knocking over the glasses of champagne between them, spilling it onto Jennifer’s dress. She jumped up wiping her dress, yelling at him. When she saw his expression, she followed his gaze up to me. She froze, wide eyed with fear. Joel opened the door and put his hands up as if I held a gun. “Baby listen to me. This is not what it looks like. I ran into Jen on deck and we just came up here for a chat. Nothing happened, I swear.” He was like a toddler, trying to talk his way out of an obvious crime. I smiled and the color drained from his face. “How did you even know where I was?” He asked quietly. I held up the room key and flung it at him. It fell by his feet and he stared at it. “Ok, enough with this!” Shouted Jennifer. “It’s all on the table now! He obviously can’t stay away from me and were meant to be together! He even paid for me to be here just so he could have some actual fun on this trip!” I cocked my head to the side and looked back and forth between them. “You never stopped seeing each other, have you?” I accused. “No, he can’t keep his hands off of me, so do us a favor and get out of his life!” I lunged. My fist connected with her nose as I slammed into her, tackling her to the ground. She screamed and made desperate attempts to get away from me but I held onto her like a vice. I punched any area of her I could before I felt Joel pull me off of her. “DON’T TOUCH ME” I screamed at him. I managed to flail out of his arms and turned to face them both again. Her nose was bleeding very satisfactorily. “You crazy bitch!” Jennifer screamed. I was about to attack again when the boat shuddered loudly and lurched, causing all of us to fall to the ground. The sound of rending metal filled the air and we were shook violently. Everything shifted to the left and we clung to furniture trying to right ourselves. Something was terribly wrong.