Evelyn and Brittany stopped at a convenience store for coffee on their way to the Santa Barbara airport. Boarding the Cessna Citation Eagle, Brittany glanced at her watch. It was just 7:00am, plenty of time to make their scheduled noon appointment to view the houseboat in Miami.
Finishing the last of her coffee and cigarette, Brittany reclined her leather seat back to catch up on the sleep she’d lost. The trip to Miami was smooth, quiet and extremely quick. The Eagle sat down at Miami International airport shortly before 11:30am. A rental car was waiting outside the large hanger for the women’s use.
“I’ll drive.” Brittany stated, carrying her shoulder bag and attaché. “You’re much too excited.”
With Evelyn reading off the directions, Brittany drove through the heavy traffic to the marina along the inner causeway.
“You want me to flirt with this guy!” Brittany exclaimed, jokingly.
“Let’s both flirt with him.” Evelyn quipped. “I need the practice.”
The boat dealership was busy taking care of customers when Evelyn and Brittany entered the large showroom. While Evelyn searched out the dealership’s owner, Brittany browsed through the numerous boats on display. The dealership carried Fountain, Eliminator and Baja performance boats and well as fishing and sport boats. One boat in particular peaked her interest, a new Fountain thirty-eight foot Lightning powerboat.
“Can I help you Miss.” A male voice inquired from behind her.
“How much for this one?” Brittany asked, turning towards the salesman.
“It’s quite expensive.” He stated. “Even on sale, it’s almost three-hundred thousand.”
“What’s the bottom dollar?” She asked.
Instead of quoting Brittany a firm price, the salesman, a good-looking young man in his very early twenties, started giving her a sales pitch. After a few moments and a couple of mistakes, she interrupted the young man, giving him details about Fountain boats and in particular, the Lightning 38 that even he wasn’t aware of.
“Wow! You sure know your boats!” The salesman exclaimed. “Afraid this is only my second week on the job.”
“That’s ok.” Brittany responded. “Everyone’s gotta start somewhere. You might want to read the boat brochures when you get some time.”
Evelyn and the dealership’s owner approached Brittany and the young salesman as they continued their discussion on the thirty-eight foot Lightning.
“Britt, this is Rick Cranor.” Evelyn stated, introducing her to the man. “He’s the young man I talked with this morning.”
“My wife’s already out on the boat.” Rick said, shaking hands with Brittany. “She’s the real expert on our houseboats.”
Rick Cranor was in his late thirties, fairly handsome although he was slightly overweight for his five-ten height. Brittany and Evelyn followed him through the showroom, out onto the dock area. There were almost a dozen houseboats sitting moored along the long pier.
“Are all these saltwater houseboats?” Brittany inquired.
“Yep.” Rick Cranor replied. “They’ve all got double-wall stainless steel hulls with ten year warranties.”
Stepping onboard the Somerset houseboat, both Evelyn and Brittany were impressed with its many features. The exterior of the hundred foot long boat was white trimmed in black, gray and light blue. The interior was accented with blue and gray colors. Rick handed Evelyn and Brittany copies of the detailed listing, not mentioned in the advertisement. Starting at the bow of the houseboat, Cranor pointed out every attribute, answering their questions like an expert.
“We used this boat ourselves, just for a couple of trips down to the Bahamas.” He mentioned. “We just got the new 04’s in so Monica and I decided to take one for ourselves. They’re great for entertaining guests.”
Brittany kept silent as she followed Cranor through the lower level of the boat. The five staterooms were more than sufficient in size as were the three bathrooms. Entering the master bedroom at the rear of the boat, Brittany was pleasantly surprised by its size and furnishings. The houseboat’s immaculate condition and luxurious features definitely stirred both women’s interests.
“What about the engine compartment?” Brittany inquired. “Can we have a look at the engines?”
While Brittany and Cranor walked out onto the rear deck, Evelyn strolled back towards the bow, looking through each of the rooms for another time.
The engine compartment was immaculate. Stepping down into the bottom of the hull, Cranor directed Brittany’s attention to the twin 5.0L EFI Mercruisers with Bravo II drives. Stooping down to look, Brittany was careful to give him just a slight peak up her short skirt. He definitely took advantage of the view, his sales pitch hesitating briefly.
While he was in the hold of the houseboat, Cranor directed Brittany’s attention to the two 20 KW Westerbeke generators as well as the other utility equipment. After closing the rear hatch, Cranor and Brittany ascended the stairway to the upper deck of the twenty foot wide houseboat. Rick pointed out the topside wet bar and hot tub as well as the command center at the front of the deck.
“You can control the houseboat from either here or the cabin below.” Rick stated. “Both control centers have rearview cameras so you can see backing up.”
It was all Brittany could do to control herself, becoming more and more excited as she found herself falling in love with the luxurious houseboat. Climbing down the rear ladder to the main level, she and Rick walked through the narrow hallway towards the front living area. Brittany could vaguely hear Evelyn talking with someone.
Entering the salon, Brittany saw Evelyn and another woman sitting together on the couch, chatting away.
“Britt, this is Monica Cranor, Rick’s wife.” Evelyn stated, introducing the two women.
Brittany extended her hand to shake hands with the young woman. She was much younger than her husband, younger than even she. The woman was twenty-five at most. She was tall and statuesque with long blonde hair. Her bright green eyes set her beautiful face off perfectly. Wearing extremely short shorts and a red bikini top, Brittany was given a good look at her very shapely figure.
“As soon as I heard Evelyn’s name, I remembered the newscasts about the rescue missions.” Monica said. “It was on all the news stations.”
“I didn’t realize I’d get to meet the two ladies behind them.” She added.
“Well, there was alot more than just the two of us.” Brittany responded, blushing. “There were quiet a few people involved to make them successful.”
“Did Rick give you the grand tour of the boat?” Monica inquired, her hand still clasping Brittany’s. “Isn’t it just absolutely fabulous?”
“Yes, it’s quite nice.” Brittany responding, trying to sound disinterested.
“Did you notice the two waverunners on the lifts?” She asked. “They’re brand new. They still have the plastic wrappers on them.”
“Yes I did but I doubt if I’d ever ride one.” Brittany replied, still trying to stay calm. “But they are quite nice.”
The waverunners, 2004 Yamaha FX 140 Cruisers, were great looking watercraft and irresistible not to want to ride but Brittany didn’t want to show her enthusiasm.
“Well, whatta you two ladies think of the Showboat?” Rick casually inquired.
“Showboat’s what we named her but you could change that if you wanted.” He quickly added.
Evelyn looked towards Brittany to get her reaction but Brittany wanted to talk in private.
