All Ashore Ch. 04

"You are incorrigible," she said to Tara. Paul also received a kiss, then he and Tara locked lips.

"I'd love to stay, but I have to get up way early in the morning," Paul said grumpily. He liked waking up with these two women.

"I'm sorry," Tara said, giving him a hug. Then they kissed again as Tara slid her hands down and grabbed his ass. "And we didn't even get to play with this," she said, giving his butt another squeeze. "Maybe tomorrow!"

"Incorrigible," he said with a grin as he got dress, watching Keira and Tara curl up on the bed.

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A week later . . .

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It had been a great week. Work had been pretty easy going, and Captain Cooper and Nick Mason had been hanging out with them all week. Some of the time, they had discussed business and the rest of the time they just bullshitted. William and Nick had a lot of stories to tell. Sunny, Keira and Tara had all begun flirted a bit with both men, and it soon turned into a contest. Keira wore cleavage-revealing outfits all the time and spent a lot of time leaning forward when listening. Sunny was the California hard-body, so she wore midriff-revealing outfits and tube-tops. Tara went with skintight, hip-hugger blue jeans with the sides of her thong poking out the sides, as well as snug baby-doll tee-shirts. Tara one-upped her friends the other night. The Captain and Nick had been sitting at the bar, and she had gone over to tell them that the gang had arrived. She looked over at the bartender.

"Matt, I'm just going to get some nuts, okay?" Without even waiting for a response, she bent over the bar and reached for the bags of cashews she knew the bartender kept there. In the meantime, her cute behind was put on prominent display for the two men, to the point that her ass crack briefly came into view. She grabbed her snack and started to move away. She had looked back at the two men and asked, "Are you coming?" She noticed that both men took a moment to "compose" themselves before they joined their young comrades. Keira had laughed about that later on.

But the cruise wasn't to be without a blemish. Late one night, Tara was walking back alone to her room. She had eaten some shrimp earlier that day that just didn't seem to be agreeing with her. Paul had looked worried and had offered to walk her back to her room, but she had told him she'd be fine. The Captain and Nick hadn't been able to join them that night due to some meeting, so she didn't think she'd be losing out on any good flirting time. Then coming down the hall was Carlos.

He was still as physically alluring as always. But Tara knew the kind of slime-bucket he really was. She moved to the side of the hallway. He was grinning as he approached, and moved directly in front of her. She glared at him and tried to step the other way, but he moved in front of her again.

"What's the hurry?" he asked with a deliberate drawl. "I've already had some fun with those bitch friends of yours." He grabbed the sizeable bulge in his shorts. "I'll bet you'd like to have a go to. From what I here, you'll fuck anything that moves. Why not have a shot at the best before you get put out to the ‘little-whore' pasture like those bitches you hang out with?"

Tara was amazed by the hatred that was barely disguised in his voice. Keira had dumped him, and it was eating him alive. Now standing in front of him was the reason he had been dumped. Suddenly he pushed her up against the wall and placed his hands on the wall to either side of her head.

"If you want," he hissed, "I'll let you suck my dick right here, but only if you beg me for it. Just make sure to swallow. I don't want any stains on my shorts."

Tara was actually becoming a bit afraid. She was alone and not feeling good to begin with. And the proximity of Carlos's body was actually making her skin crawl. The very idea that she had once lusted after this . . . thing . . . disgusted her.

"Get away from me," she growled. "I'd rather never have sex again than ever touch you!" She probably should have just tried slipping away, but she had something else she really wanted to say. "You really think you're all that? Keira dumped you like a bad habit. You were almost a pity-fuck to her. And Sunny was over you in a couple of hours. You think you've got all this power, but you're just a brain-dead dancing-queen with delusions of . . ."

Carlos lifted his hands and then slammed them down next to her head again. "Don't you talk to me like that you little slut! I'm the one with the power here. I got to fuck Keira whenever I wanted! I don't know what you said to her, but she should be with me, not you!"

Tara was afraid, but she wasn't going to back down. "The only reason she ever touched you was to keep you away from me. She was just distracting you. You meant NOTHING to her. That's why it was so EASY to dump you. Because she knew that I would NEVER want to fuck a pig like you!"

Carlos's hatred was no longer even partially concealed. It was plainly visible on his normally attractive face. "Well, she isn't here to protect you now, is she?"

"Is there a problem here?" came a familiar voice from down the hall. Carlos instantly moved away, even before Nick Mason came into view. He had finished his late meeting and had been on the way to the lounge to meet with the gang.

"No problem," Carlos said and started to back away. He shot Tara what was supposed to be a menacing glance.

Tara moved until she was just behind Nick. "He was threatening me," she whispered.

"I was not!" Carlos said defensively. "I was just trying to get some answers about some things and the conversation got a little out of control, that's all." Carlos was using the same voice he used when trying to seduce women. But Nick Mason wasn't buying it.

"Maybe you should cool off in the brig then," Nick said. Tara noticed that the HR rep was actually trembling. He was mad!

"What, is she fucking you too? That little bitch has had it in for me since the moment she came on board!" Carlos took a step forward, pointing his finger angrily at Tara's face. That would turn out to be a big mistake.

Tara barely even saw what happened, but Carlos found himself pressed face-first against the wall with his arm twisted behind his back.

"Tara, there's an emergency phone just down the hall. Go use it to call security down here," Nick said with an almost eerie sense of calm. Tara moved quickly to do as he asked. The way he had moved and the way he was containing Carlos made her realize that there was more to him than met the eye.

A few minutes later, ship security showed up and took Carlos away. The young man was at least smart enough to stop yelling and struggling, both of which would have made his situation worse. The chief of security asked Tara some questions. She was thankful than Nick stayed nearby the entire time, but didn't interfere. Then he offered to walk her the rest of the way back to her room, but she declined the offer, choosing the company of the security chief. Between her already upset stomach and the fearful situation she had just been in, she knew she was going to vomit as soon as she got back to her room. Sure enough, as soon as she was safely back in her own space, she thanked the security chief, locked the door behind her and headed to the bathroom.

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Ten minutes later . . .

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Tara had just crawled into bed after expunging most of her dinner when Keira almost busted down the door as she stormed into the room. Paul and the rest of the gang were right behind her.

"Nick told us what happened," Keira said, angry tears in her eyes. "Are you okay? I can't BELIEVE that son of a bitch did that!"

"Fucking coward," Paul growled as he sat next to Tara and took her hand. "You notice how much of a man he is when your friends aren't around."

Tara curled up with her head in Keira's lap and her hand still grasping Paul's. "I'm just glad Nick was there. I don't know . . . I think Carlos would've actually hurt me. Or worse."

"It's okay now," Sunny said, bending over and stroking Tara's hair. "We won't let him get to you again."

The guys in the group obviously wanted to wring Carlos's neck. Paul, Jeff, Jared and Thomas were all just short of forming a lynch mob, but Tara asked them to drop it.

"At the VERY least, he's going to get fired," Keira pointed out. "I don't know what kind of criminal charges might be pressed . . ."

"Nick said he'd talk to me about it when I was feeling better. Right now, I just want to rest," Tara said softly. "Okay guys?"

The rest of the gang wandered out. Keira grabbed Paul's hand and held it for a moment. He wanted to stay, but seemed to realize that his friend needed her space. Keira reminded him not to do anything rash and squeezed his hand. She knew how he felt about Tara. Before the door even closed behind Paul, Tara had fallen asleep in Keira's lap.

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The next morning . . .

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Tara awoke feeling a little refreshed. She looked up and noticed that Keira's back was against the wall. Her friend had stayed the entire night in a seated position. Tara removed herself from Keira's lap and laid the older woman down. Keira must have been exhausted since she didn't wake up when she was being woman-handled. Shortly, she heard a rapping on the door. She went and checked the spy-hole. It was Nick Mason.

She opened the door and slipped outside. "Sorry, Keira's asleep."

"That's okay. I actually wanted to tell you that I spoke with your supervisor, and I want you to take the day off. Keira too. Go spend some time in the sun . . . play some shuffleboard. Come by my office this afternoon so we can discuss what you want to do."

Tara felt a little guilty that someone else would have to pick up her slack, but she felt she could offer to make it up on one of her regular days off. "Thank you. Thank you for being there last night." She hugged him quickly. Then she went back into her room.

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The last day of the voyage . . .

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It had been a strange week for Tara. She had taken the day off, and she and Keira had spent some time up sunning themselves on the deck. But Tara wore a slightly more conservative swimsuit than she had been previously. Later on, Mr. Mason and Captain Cooper assured her that Carlos would NOT be with the company much longer. Seeing as he hadn't done anything but yell and threaten, it was unlikely that any criminal charges would stick, though they encouraged her to press those charges. She agreed to go ahead and try. She didn't want to see what would happen to the next girl if she didn't have someone like Nick show up. At the very least, she was assured she could get a restraining order placed against Carlos.

After that, Tara had been more reserved. She had known that Carlos was still on the ship, but she was also more reserved in general. She didn't spend as much time at the lounge as she used to and she didn't like wandering the halls alone. She had stopped flirting with Nick and William, and her sex drive was virtually non-existent. She had gone from wanting it every night to not wanting it at all. Sex is what Carlos had wanted in the first place. Sex was what was used to distract him, and the absence of sex had turned an ordinary jerk into a borderline sociopath. Tara began to wonder if the pleasure was worth the pain. So she went about her job, doing the best she could and trying to keep her chin up when her friends were around.

On their last day at sea, Nick came by when Tara and Keira were clocking out for the day and asked if Tara could drop by his office. She began to wonder if something was wrong.

In Nick's office, he asked her to sit down on the couch and he sat down next to her.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked.

"No, at least not with us. Tara, your friends are worried about you. Keira and Paul and Sunny have all apparently tried talking to you but are afraid they aren't getting through. I was wondering if you might like to talk to a counselor? On the company of course."

"Why? I'm doing fine. I'm getting my job done."

"It's not your work that's in question. Your work has been exemplary as always. Tara, you're still eighteen years old. You wound up in a potentially ugly situation, so no one blames you for being scared."

"Who says I'm scared? I'm . . ."

"When I first met you, you weren't afraid to speak your mind. Recently, you've been looking over your shoulder and trying NOT to be noticed. If you're sure that you're going to be okay, I'll believe you. But I'm worried about you too. So if you want to talk to a counselor or if you'd rather talk to one of your friends . . ."

Tara's heart had swollen and leapt up into her throat. "Nick . . . if you hadn't been there . . . he was going to hurt me. I really believe he wanted to . . . to . . ." She couldn't bring herself to say it. "And I wouldn't have been able to stop him." She started crying. First she cried into her hands, and then on Nick's shoulder.

"Tara, don't let him win. I know you stood up to him in the hallway. Don't let him beat you now. You are a delightful and charming young woman, and it's been a pleasure getting to know you. I'm looking forward to sailing with you in the future. I'd even like to see you advance within the company. But you're not going to get far if you let what almost happened dictate your life." Nick was desperately trying to think of a way to encourage this young woman. Like most people who had met her, he had become quite taken with Tara. The idea that some wannabe molester had taken some of the light from the girl's eyes offended him greatly.

Tara sniffed and actually blew her nose on her own apron. "Oh, that was graceful," she said, then snickered at her own comment.

"I've got these a box of these things called ‘tissues' if you'd like to try one," he said with a smile. He grabbed a handful of tissues and handed them to her. She tried to compose herself a bit. "And don't you dare apologize for crying," he said, anticipating her next comment. "You probably needed to do it. Did you want me to call one of your friends up here?"

She thought about it. "Yes," she said. "I realize that I can't hide forever, but I'll be more comfortable when I know HE isn't on the ship anymore."

"That's perfectly understandable," Nick told her. He called up her room, and Keira was waiting by the phone. Tara's friend quickly made her way over to the HR office, gave Nick a very friendly hug, then took Tara back to their cabin. On the way, Tara told her everything that she and Nick had talked about and about how afraid she had been over the last week. Keira just listened. Tara had almost become the battery of their little group, and some of the charge had been drained since her run-in with Carlos. When they got back to the room, Paul was waiting outside and he was the recipient of a big hug. She had been a bit distant from him the last week, and she regretted it. She looked at her two best friends . . . her lovers.

"So, we goin' out tonight or what?" Tara asked.

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Later that evening . . .

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Tara had been out on the dance floor for an hour. Normally she didn't dance so much, preferring to hang out at the table and talk. But she found herself with an excess of unspent energy that she needed to blow off. She would have been lying if she had tried to claim that everything was all settled in her head, but she was going to heed Nick's advice and not let Carlos stop her from doing whatever she wanted to do. And her friends were there for her. At least one member of the gang was always out there with her, and usually she had two or three people dancing around her. Her favorite dancing partner was actually Sunny. Although that girl didn't have any interest in sex with women, that didn't keep her from dancing sexy with her young friend. When the Captain and Nick swung by, even they were drawn onto the lounge's dance floor. Both were happy to see the young woman show signs of life. And she got livelier as the evening progressed.

Finally, the sweaty but altogether more cheerful Tara sat down at the group's traditional table and sucked down a diet soda. As soon as her cute butt hit the bench, Paul was right there with her. They were chatting away when Nick came over.

"You seem to be doing better," he said sitting down next to the young couple.

"I'm feeling much better," Tara replied. "Some of it might be some kind of compensation, but I'm having fun." She patted Paul on the inside of his leg, dangerously close to his private area.

"Tara!" Paul said, moving away. "We have company!"

Nick was chortling into his hands. "It's okay. I was young once."

"You're not that old," Tara said, letting her eyes drift appreciatively over Nick's fit form. Then she batted her eyes at him, and the older man actually blushed.

About then, the Captain wandered over. "So, how's our young friend doing?"

"She's fine," Nick said in an amusingly squeaky voice. "Just fine."

"Are you ready to go?" the Captain asked.

"Gimme just a second," came the response. Nick started slowly sipping on a drink of water. Tara glanced down at his lap and noticed a conspicuous bulge.

‘That thing looks huge!' Tara thought hungrily. While Nick was delaying and hoping his erection went down, Tara got up and gave the Captain a big hug. While the hug itself was friendly, she made sure to press her crotch lightly against his, almost instantly getting a reaction. She noticed that William was a little reluctant to pull away. So she rubbed her hip lightly against the same spot. Paul was grinning and shaking his head in disbelief. Nick had switched that girl back to "on," and she was throwing her A-game at these two older men. As both Nick and Paul watched on in disbelief, she leaned in and whispered something into Captain William Cooper's ear.

"I thought this was a cruise ship. So why do you need a torpedo?"

The Captain's face was more than a little flushed. "Young lady, while I appreciate . . . what you're doing, I don't think it would be appropriate to . . . "

Tara placed one hand on his lips. "I'm not doing this because I'm grateful for everything that you and Nick have done for me. And I don't want to do anything that would hurt your careers or affect my job. And I wouldn't expect any special treatment regarding my job. I found both of you attractive two weeks ago and I still do. And I love sex. I've spent the last week hating it, but now I want to get back on the proverbial horse." Tara pressed her hip against the Captain again. "And the best way to do that is to go for a ride. Now I'll understand if you don't want to for one reason or another. But I'm going to take Paul here back to my room, and maybe Keira too, and get back to doing something I really love doing. And if you want to come back with me or show up a little later so you aren't seen leaving with me, I'll show what that old song meant when it says ‘blow the man down.' Paul, we're leaving now." She grabbed her main boy-toy by the hand, got Keira's attention and tilted her head in the direction of the door, then led Paul away. Keira quickly caught up, though she stopped and looked appreciatively over Nick and William. Both men were stunned by what Tara had proposed, and Keira's lustful stare didn't help. What made matters worse was that Sunny rushed after them, slapping the Captain on the ass as she went by.

Captain William Cooper looked over at his friend Nick. "I have a very strange crew," he said, sitting down to hide his erection. Nick also sat down again. The two of them stared at each other for a moment.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"