The loud blast of the ships horn caused everyone to jump in surprise as the cruise prepared to get underway; Shawn scanned the gangway again beginning to feel a bit of worry creeping into his thoughts.
"Maxine and Amanda better hurry or they're going to get left behind," said Shawn turning toward his wife.
"They sent me a text just a few minutes ago, they will be here, their just running behind," replied his wife, Linda.
Shawn nodded his eyes still scanning the moving crowd below from his observation point on the deck. This cruise was a welcome break from his hectic work schedule at the law firm and a welcome reward for his making partner earlier in the year. He hoped to make senior someday and add his name to the letterhead.
"Swain would look good next to Ryerson and Masters," thought Shawn with a sense of pride. He glanced over at his wife of fifteen years, Linda still held up well for a woman pushing forty, her dark brunette hair fell in a thick cascade around her long face reaching down past her shoulders in soft waves. A shade over five-foot-six her dark brown eyes flashed with excitement, it was her first time on a cruise, and she was looking forward to the trip perhaps even more so than her husband. He watched as she turned from her observation of the crowd to give her husband a smile, her soft lips, painted a dark berry color pulled back to show her gleaming white teeth. His eyes moved downward taking in her body, a slender woman with small, perky upthrust breasts that sat high on her chest, pressing against the fabric of her white blouse.
"Hey Mister, you're supposed to be watching for our friend," said his wife laughing.
"Sorry, but the view up here was very enticing," replied Shawn drawing a blush that reddened his wife's fair skin.
"Wait! There they are!" exclaimed Linda as she turned back to the gangway just in time to catch sight of their quarry.
Shawn's gaze followed his wife's pointing finger and settled on a pair of women hurrying up the ramp even as the crew prepared to cast off.
"Better late than never," said Shawn to himself as he moved to help the ladies step aboard.
Maxine Prentiss had been friends with his wife since college, a short, dark-haired woman who barely reached five-feet in height she kept her hairstyle close-cropped in an almost pageboy cut, the raven black edges framing her round face. Her dark green eyes lit up as they fell on Shawn and Linda coming forward toward her, her full lips spreading into a smile to answer Linda's as the old friends came together in a hug. Shawn stood off to one side admiring the contrast between the two, especially Maxine's rather broad chest, her round breasts pushing against the top of her pale blue sundress as she reached up to hug her taller friend. Though she lacked height, Maxine was still quite a shapely woman who regularly ran marathons and so had muscular legs to go with her overall athletic frame, not for the first time Shawn wondered at why her husband would have ever cheated on such a sexy and sweet woman as Maxine. The two had divorced earlier that same year when her husband's infidelity had become known, Shawn had handled the proceedings for her and made sure she received a generous settlement much to Linda's delight.
"Linda! It's so good to see you!" said Maxine.
Shawn was so caught up watching the two women hug, with more than a few naughty fantasies springing to mind about what they would look like doing it without the restriction of clothing, that he almost missed the young woman standing a few feet behind Maxine. It took his brain a moment to reconcile the figure with the young girl he had known in the past. Amanda was Maxine's only child and had been away at college during the unpleasantness of the divorce between her parents, it had been nearly three years since Shawn had seen her last and in that time she had grown into a very striking woman in her own right. Favoring her father she was much taller, nearly five-foot-eight with a waterfall of long honey blond hair that fell straight and true down to the middle of her back, her small almost pixie-like face accented with thick dark eyebrows that rose above her eyes, dark green like her mothers. Her mouth was not as full but still sensuous looking, her very kissable lips covered in light pink lipstick. As the women continued to chatter away at each other, Shawn stepped toward Amanda reaching for her bag.
"Um...Hello Amanda, it's been a long time," said Shawn as she surrendered her carry on to him and smiled slightly.
"Uncle Shawn, it's good to see you too," said Amanda falling back on the nickname she had called Shawn all through her childhood though they obviously were not related.
Shawn couldn't help himself as he took a moment to take in Amanda's form from close up as he shifted her bag onto his shoulder, it was clear she spent a lot of time in the sun, her skin was a golden brown sporting a nice tan that extended from head to toe. She was wearing a short, cotton summer dress like her mother's though she didn't fill hers out in the same way, her breasts were certainly much smaller though she was definitely not wearing a bra and treating Shawn to the outline of what must be some very puffy nipples lifting the front of her outfit.
"So glad you could make the trip, I'm sure we will have a lot of fun," said Shawn.
"Oh yeah this is exactly how I wanted to spend my summer," commented Amanda with a sour expression and a hint of sarcasm. It was evident that the idea of spending several weeks on a cruise with her mother and her mother's friends was not high on her agenda of summer fun.
"Well, maybe we should go find our rooms," said Shawn turning his back on Amanda's frowning face.
The two chattering old friends threw their arms around each other and headed across the deck with Shawn and a reluctant Amanda in tow.
"I hope this isn't an omen of things to come," thought Shawn with a worried glance back at Amanda, he didn't want his vacation ruined by an unhappy sorority girl.
THAT EVENING -
The well-polished mirror reflected back Shawn's features as he wiped the last bits of shaving cream from his face, he had been careful not to damage his carefully trimmed Van Dyke beard as he removed the dark stubble from his cheeks. For a guy just about to celebrate his forty-second birthday he thought he was holding up very well, just a few stray grey hairs in his dark brown head and a handful of laugh lines around his eyes would betray that he was well past his thirties. He slapped on some aftershave before slipping back into his cabin where his wife was about to climb into her long pale green dress for dinner. She stood at the foot of the bed fiddling with her bra in preparation for putting it on. Her small, perky tits were exposed for Shawn to admire, her silver dollar sized aureoles were as dark as red wine with thick nipples a good half inch long poking out from their centers, Shawn licked his lips as he moved around behind his wife and slid his hands up her flanks to cup her soft breasts in his hands.
"You know, maybe we could be a little late for dinner," he whispered in Linda's ear while leaning in to kiss her shoulder.
"Maxine and Amanda are waiting for us, plenty of time for that fun stuff later," said his wife in an impatient tone as she stepped away, wrestling her bra into place as she moved around the bed.
Shawn let out a breath of exasperation as Linda went to step into her dress, "I get that this may not be the best time but, man Linda it's been over a month since we did, well anything."
Linda smoothed her dress into place as she answered, "Oh and that's my fault? We both have busy schedules, and this is an important time of year to gather donations for the fall."
Linda ran several charities, and Shawn was proud of her commitment to helping the less fortunate, but lately, he had started to feel like his penis was being as neglected as the poor folks Linda worked so hard to help. He walked to the closet fishing in the interior for his suit while Linda brushed her hair out and added some jewelry to improve her look.
"I get that we have a lot on our respective plates, it's just, I miss the time we used to spend together, alone if you get my drift," said Shawn with a raised eyebrow.
