When he moved to her feet and sucked her toe into his mouth, the gush of wetness between her legs was something she was never going to admit to herself. Just as she’d never speak of how loudly she moaned.
***
There was one more night with the captain: of squabbles, debate, petty insults, laughter, and Eugenia refusing to sleep with him no matter how he laughed and the exorbitant amount of tickets he teased her with. And then it was Laura’s turn. After that, Hellen. Faith. Lydia…
Returning to her rooms wasn’t hard. Eugenia’s daily schedule robotic, hour to hour, the same. Day in and day out. Breaks for menstruation. All free time spent reading Nelson’s Textbook of Pediatrics—pages she had all but memorized.
No point in counting the weeks, the show of a guard after the buzz from ‘the captain fucking her’ died down. She was no longer considered fresh. His hypothetical cock so
me form of magic. The men stopped coming on so strong. Their belief that the captain had plowed that field taking a bit of shine off the apple.
Especially because there was a new girl far more enthusiastic about her life of luxury on the ship. So happy, in fact, she could not stop going on about how great it was.
Air conditioning, regular meals, clean sheets, a real mattress, pretty things...
And some of the other women were beginning to agree with the feel-good positivity.
Even agreeing that they enjoyed the attention of eager men who’d spruced up and saved just to see them.
As for prompted sex? The pretty, new brunette came when they mounted her from behind at the tables. Porn-star loud.
The captain commended her and upgraded Juanita to the best room a girl could have. She was an example to live by. And an enigma Eugenia could not wrap her thoughts around.
She didn’t like her. Everyone else did though, because Juanita was sweet, bubbly, playful, and genuinely nice.
Eugenia didn’t like her, because Juanita was simple.
Because the newcomer was happy.
And it was starting to settle in that no matter what, Eugenia was never going to be. Maybe never had been.
So the escape attempts she’d been calculating for months began to unfold. The first was simple, find the stairwells and just walk off the boat.
That led to another kicking and screaming ride on another male shoulder only to be dumped at the scowling captain’s boots.
Next option? Climb down railings where life rafts used to be. Torn bed sheets, cursing, and sorry loss of upper arm strength led her to be caught only three floors down.
So she took to standing at the railing of Level 15, looking down and calculating the physics.
No one would survive that fall.
Well, they might survive the fall… but they would not survive the damage done to their body upon breaking the lapping water’s meniscus.
“Look, Miss. I really have better things to do than follow you around all day and make sure you don’t kill yourself.”
“For fuck’s sake, Stewart! Do I look like I’m prepping to kill myself? How the fuck would I live a life off this boat if I’m dead?” Red curls flying, she abandoned the math to stare down her babysitter. “I don’t have to play nice with you until dinner. And I’m only going to do it then, because your jokes are decent and you are legitimately skilled at chess. Meanwhile. Be quiet.”
Sincere, gentle, that prick said, “You’re not getting off the boat.”
“Shut up. Of course I am.”
So earnest it made the fine hairs on her neck stand, he asked, “But why? Don’t you like the life we give you?”
“Give me twenty-million tickets and I’ll explain it in grand detail.”
There was no reason for a random man to look at her that way. “We all like you. You like us, right?”
Blinking, Eugenia cocked her head. New math forming in her head. He was a strapping man, young enough to be useful. Gay as the day was long. “I could show you how to live. Hunt for us. Teach you what to look for. Why not come with me?”