In Search of Fantasia pt 2

Several weeks at sea and no flower as yet. The crew was still in high spirits due to the captain’s demeanor Vivian suspects.

She has been watching him since the day they set sail. The way he treats his crew as if they were family seems to earn him respect.

Darrius’ cabin was beneath the upper deck where the wheel is situated. Vivian’s cabin was opposite his, towards the back of the ship.

They had spoken several times very cordially. At times, the conversation seemed to turn intimate with no encouragement from Vivian. But she could not deny the attraction she was feeling.

He would walk by, and her breathing would increase, or her palms would become sweaty. She would mentally scold herself to act as an adult and not like those ninny’s on land. Fawning over every gent who had a sweet smile.

“Miss. Spade, excuse my interrupting your thoughts and all, but the captain would like to invite you to his cabin for supper.”

The Sahara did not come close to how dry her mouth became.

“Tell the captain I accept.” The crewman walked off with a slight limp, causing him to lean to his right.

Darrius and Vivian have been at sea for a while and this is the first time they would actually share a meal together.

‘I wonder what game he was playing at.’ She thought as she walked into her cabin.

She decided this was not a time to be extravagant. She would wear a smart white crisp shirt and khaki pants. To top it off, she will wear knee-high black boots. She looked at her image and she looked a bit washed out. No color whatsoever was showing? So she picked up her favorite red rouge lip stain and put it on.

‘Something about red’, she thought. Vivian was about to leave when a little birdie reminded her to splash a little perfume on. Not too much, she didn’t want to choke the man. She wanted him to remember her scent.

Vivian walked to Darrius’s quarters and was greeted by a wonderful smell. She knocked, and the door was answered by Darrius, not one of the crew, which she thought was nice of him.

“Please come inside.” As she walked in, she saw what smelled so delicious. He had roasted chicken with potatoes.

“Before you start badgering me about how it is wrong for us to be eating this meal while the others had little to eat. The crew is enjoying a fine meal as well.”

“Is there a special occasion that I was not privy to?”

“Yes. It is my birthday. Every year, if I am out at sea, I make sure that the crew and I celebrate. It is a custom my mother instilled in me, and since she passed, I kept it alive.”

She smiled at the way he mentioned his mother. There was a softness in his voice that he had never revealed before.

“Please sit and enjoy.” Vivian smiled at him and sat at the small table that was in his quarters.

They ate and conversed about how the expedition was going so far. Darrius even told a funny joke that surprised her.

She noticed that she was looking at him a bit longer than normal, and when he spoke, her heart fluttered. She knew it was time to leave. She was feeling something towards him she could not put into words, but her body was showing evidence of attraction, causing her to feel as if the heat had risen and she was having a hard time breathing.

“Well, happy birthday, and I wish you many more.” Vivian rose to leave.

Darrius stood up and blocked her exit. “Why are you running?”

“I’m not running. I just feel that I have stayed to long and the crew will think that something inappropriate has happened.”

“Inappropriate, you say. You mean something like this?”

Darrius pulled her close and kissed her deeply. Vivian wanted to push him away immediately, as if her body were not connected to her limbs, but they would not let him go. When she broke the kiss, her breathing was so erratic that she could not speak.

“Is that what you mean by inappropriate?” He asked as he leaned in and kissed her neck.

“You are not acting like a gentleman.” Realizing she sounded very breathy.

“No, I am not. The crew and I have noticed how you’ve been watching me as if you’re the lioness out on a hunt. Stalking prey. I made no move to tell you that I have seen the look of longing in your eyes.”

“You’re wrong.” She commanded herself to move out of reach, to no avail.

“Your lips deny it. But your very constitution betrays you. You’re breathing is rapid. Your parted and moistened lips. Skin tone a shade of heated pink and dilated pupils.”

Vivian felt trapped.

“Please let me go.”

“Tonight I will let you go.”

“Tonight?”

“What has started tonight will not end until it is meant to.”

“Mr. Hooker you are a scoundrel.”

“And you, my dear Miss. Spade, are wonton.”

Vivian ran out feeling ashamed that everyone knew. She ran into her quarters and cursed herself for being caught looking at him as if she were one of those women that her father talked about to his friends when he thought her to be in bed sleeping. She decided not to leave her room until they reached land.