Chapter 12 Goodbye, Iris

The sun sailed high over the horizon when she left Adam’s suite. On her way back to her room, she bumped into Jo at the lounge.

“Hey, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you at the games last night.” Jo said.

“Sorry, but I just spent the night in heaven.” Iris replied dreamily.

“Ooh, so Alex gave you another good one, didn’t he?” Jo teased.

“Um, it wasn’t Alex… and it wasn’t just another kiss this time…” she showed off the new bracelet she wore filled with charms. “I got this in a single night.”

“Way to go, girl! But I’m telling you, this stupid infatuation doesn’t bode well. You can get hurt, Iris.” She warned.

She brushed off the warning. “Don’t worry about me, it was just another fuck. What about you? Did you join in the games?”

“Remember Evan and Marco? Well, I ended up fucking them by the pool, and joined them at game night.”

“How did it go?”

“The fuck? Or game night?”

“Tell me everything.”

“The fuck was okay, but game night wasn’t as exciting as the first one. It was a relay with two teams competing. We had to guess the names of the guests in a lineup and strip if we didn’t get it right, until we were all stark naked. The other team won though, they got more names right. I wish they did something more exciting.”

“I’m glad I didn’t go. Last night with Adam was wonderful.”

“Good for you, but hey, the ship will be docking in a few hours, I gotta go pack my stuff. See you later at the deck?”

“Oh crap, me too… okay, I’ll see you in a while.”

“You’re all packed and ready, Iris. You can relax a bit more though, we have more than a couple of hours before disembarking. I’ll be back to see you off.” David said and turned to leave.

She thanked him and trooped to the bathroom for a relaxing bath. She poured some bath oils and took in its calming aroma as she dipped in the warm water.

Her mind wandered off to everything that had happened to her on the Pleasure Cruise. It had liberated her mind of old beliefs and way of thinking— about herself, about sex, about the world of pleasure. She truly enjoyed the freedom of giving and receiving pleasure without judgement.

She thought of her new-found friend, Jo, and planned to continue their connection outside the cruise. Alex, her hot knight, and Adam… she might never see them again, but will always keep the memory of their moments together. She’ll have to thank Valerie for this precious gift.

The thought of Valerie transported her back to the office. Will she get to be CEO of Aglow? She didn’t care anymore.

Dressed in loose white harem pants and a sleeveless floral blouse, with undergarments this time, Iris strolled out to the deck in search of Jo. She found her with a tall drink seated at their favorite spot.

“Hey, you’re all packed?” Jo said when she saw Iris approach.

“Yes, I am, and had my last relaxing bath aboard the Pleasure Cruise.” She said and sat across her.

“You should join the cruise again next year.”

“I hope so. We’ll see.” Iris called the waiter. “I’ll have what she’s having.” She pointed at Jo’s drink.

“It’s just iced tea.”

“Fine, it looks refreshing.” She said. “Jo, I want to see you again and hang out when we get back. What do you think?”

“I thought you’ll never ask.” She smiled. “Give me your number.”

Iris asked the waiter for a pen and wrote her number on Jo’s wrist. “There— remember to save it on your phone before you shower.”

Jo laughed. “Of course.”

“I hope you had an enjoyable trip, ladies.” It was Alex.

“Hi Alex, thanks, it’s been marvelous as always.” Jo said.

Then he turned to Iris. “What about you, Iris?”

“You know I had a blast, Alex, thanks to you.” She smiled.

Alex looked pleased and gave a wave before retreating back and walked away.

Iris thought Alex would ask for her number and perhaps a date after the trip. She felt a bit unnerved that he only had a simple goodbye and a wave for her, not even a kiss on the cheek.

Maybe everything that happened between them were really just a fuck and nothing else. Adam did the same. No future plans with her, whatsoever. But she had a great time with him on her last night and that’s good enough. Iris sighed. Stop being so emotional, Amanda. It was all just a fuck and nothing more.

She double-kissed Jo on the cheeks as they disembarked and was met by Valerie’s driver Alfred. David helped load her suitcases in the trunk as he saw her off.

“Thanks for everything, David. I really wish I could have you with me forever.” She kissed him on the cheek and waved. She took one last look at the ship and got in the limousine.

“Goodbye, Iris,” she whispered.