Author's Note: The following is the first chapter of a new series. I released it for Literotica to publish it on March 28, 2024.
Chapter 1
February 2023
Jim Abbott admired the imposing Celebrity Summit cruise ship docked at Fort Lauderdale. Normally, this would be a delightful sight as he and his wife, Amanda, arrived at noon for another cruise. She was missing this time. A victim of breast cancer, she passed six months earlier. Their passion was cruising. They had been on more than thirty over the last five years, all on Celebrity ships.
After her diagnosis, Jim took early retirement and sold his prosperous real estate business in Atlanta. He committed all he had to making her remaining time happy before she became too sick to travel. Every destination on her bucket list moved to his bucket list. Sadly, her health took a dramatic downturn about six months earlier than the doctor expected. When her only option was bed rest, there were still three cruises on the list, and they were fully paid. She passed only two months later.
Their daughter, Lisa, who worked for a music publishing company in Nashville, volunteered to take her mom's place on the cruises. Jim was delighted as it would give them more time to renew their father-daughter relationship. She was their only child and had been very close to her mom. She and her husband, Matt, had two boys, ages 6 and 5. Matt's parents had volunteered to keep the kids so she could come with her dad.
One day before Lisa was to fly to Ft Lauderdale, she was diagnosed with COVID. It was the bad kind and she struggled with breathing, losing her sense of taste and fatigue. There was no way she could go on the cruise.
Rather than lose the entire amount paid, he decided to go alone. He thought it would give him time away to reflect on his life and think about the future. At his age of 51, Jim hoped to have a lot of future to consider.
Arriving in his cabin, he found the invitation to the concierge class luncheon in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant on deck 4. This was always Amanda's happy time -- another cruise was beginning with great food, fantastic cocktails and nice fellow cruisers to meet. She coveted the social life and interactions they always found on each ship.
The dining room receptionist asked if Jim would share a table. He immediately agreed, just like Amanda would have done. A server escorted him to a large round table already occupied by six women. All smiled and welcomed him as he was seated.
Jim guessed they were retired, probably widows or divorcees except for a young woman, who he thought was about 30 years-old or so. Everyone introduced themselves. Five of the women lived in The Villages, a very large 55+ planned community in North Central Florida about four hours drive from Ft. Lauderdale. The younger woman was a daughter of one.
As always happened when seated with new fellow cruisers, it didn't talk long for each to talk about themselves, how many cruises they'd taken, where they lived prior to Florida, how many kids and grandkids they had, etc. It was almost like a ritual when first meeting others on the ship. Jim had lived in Florida while in college and was familiar with The Villages. He and Amanda had met many of the residents on other cruises.
Alicia Moore was 56, a divorcee, originally from Atlanta. She was a very attractive brunette in good physical shape. A workout freak, she looked forward to using the professional quality gym equipment in the fitness center on deck eleven. On prior cruises, she had met men in the gym who would follow her like puppies to her cabin for a quickie. She loved to flirt, and her sex drive was still in high gear. She studied Jim and smiled every time he glanced in her direction. She imagined him between her legs and immediately created mental strategies for making that happen.
Amy Zackery, age 57, was a widow. Her husband had passed three years earlier from a very aggressive form of prostate cancer. Following his death, she moved to The Villages with the hopes of finding a new husband. She needed companionship and had joined the other five on this cruise. Until Jim joined their table, she hadn't given much thought to finding a man on the ship. Now, she was intrigued by him and his background. He was a fine-looking man and probably wealthy, she thought. He was dressed nicely. Maybe she could get to know him better, much better.
Susan Miller, age 61, was a widow and had lived five years in The Villages. While not as beautiful as she once was, she didn't look her age. Jim thought she was in her early 50s. A delightful conversationist, Susan carried the table discussion into more substantive subjects. The others followed her as they each talked about their future travel plans, why they liked to cruise, and their hobbies. Susan liked the looks of Jim but didn't expect anything to happen between them.
Danisha Jackson, age 58, was the only black woman in the group. She was accustomed to being the only black and it no longer bothered her. The Villages population was less than five percent black. She was a retired Marine, and her self-confidence was fully intact. Her husband had been killed in an auto accident two years earlier. The hefty insurance settlement combined with their savings and life insurance proceeds, allow her to continue living among her new friends. She had been on two other cruises with these same ladies. While not normally attracted to white men, there was something about Jim that stirred her interest. He expressed his admiration for her military service and seemed to listen with full attention whenever she said something. Danisha needed companionship from a man. Maybe Jim would be interested in her.
Katrina Monroe, a lovely lady age 59, was divorced two years earlier. Originally from the Ukraine, she met her husband while working at the embassy in Iraq. He was a lieutenant in the US Army. She married and moved to Florida with him twenty years ago. His work put him in contact with many beautiful younger women and the temptation was too great. The divorce settlement gave her a nice living allowance and a home in The Villages. Money was not her issue; a man's companionship was her need. She loved being loved and she missed snuggling in bed with an erection inside her. She admired Jim and the way he smiled at her as they talked. Maybe, there was a spark that she could feed. She needed to be alone with him to find out.
Hillary Miller, age 32, was Susan's daughter. She'd been married to a lawyer for eight years in Denver, but another woman came between them. Her husband was not faithful, and Hillary discovered the truth. The divorce settlement favored her, and millions changed hands. She was also in the hunt for another man, an honest one this time. While Jim was older, she liked older men. He took care of himself and had that easy self-confidence she admired. Guys with big ego's were everywhere. A guy like Jim was rare. She needed to be alone with him to find out more.
