Nicole had her eyes closed while facing the Caribbean sun, which meant that the world was reduced to the brilliant reddish haze of her inner eyelids. She was trying her hardest to imagine herself back in chilly Wisconsin doing something enjoyable, like filing taxes. Anything besides the horrible singles cruise her friends had dragged her on.
Oh, she didn't go kicking and screaming. It actually sounded like a good idea at the time. Now- not so much. For starters, the ten pounds she lost in anticipation of the trip had been replaced courtesy of the ship's numerous all-you-can-eat buffets. And her luck with men was in as equally bad a shape as her diet. She got to talk to quite a few, but always the wingman sent in valiantly to take one for the team so the other guys could chat up her hotter friends. Great.
The bright redness of her semi-translucent eyelids dimmed as if the sun went behind a cloud. She opened her eyes to check and saw the eclipse was instead caused by a tall athletic man standing in front of her deckchair. Apparently he was talking to someone in her area. But she didn't dare remove her earphones just yet. She needed to use this as a stalling tactic so she could run down her emergency checklist. 1). Her friends were not around, so this could not be another self sacrificing wingman. 2). There were still tanned and attractive eligible women around the pool; they had not all been tossed overboard by a freak gust of wind, leaving her as the last (and least likely to be affected by a paltry wind gust) woman alive. 3). There were no hidden cameras around hoping to capture some hilarious blooper.
Strike that last item. If there were hidden cameras, they would probably be hidden, so it was kind of stupid of her to check. Taken together, none of these signs made sense, but the man had stopped talking and was smiling down at her. Nicole removed the earbuds to her mp3 player, sat upright, apologized for her rudeness, and asked if she could be of assistance. Perhaps he was lost and she looked to be the one with the best knowledge of the location of the dining room.
Instead he was more interested in making her acquaintance and carrying on a conversation. And not just a "hey, how about that weather" type of conversation, one that included everything including politics, music, natural philosophy, and the scientific name of the orchid in her hair. One that made her forget about all of the not-fun she was having trapped on this boat. One that made her oblivious to how ridiculous she thought she looked in her bikini. One that transformed the cautious expression on her face into a beaming smile.
I always make an effort to read the story before seeing the pictures, and may I just say I was struck with quite a surprise at how beautiful that girl is! The little story made me feel for the poor lass, but , upon viewing the picture, I wasn't surprised she found someone interesting (and interested!) at the end; hell, had I been on that cruise, it would have been me! As always, a great picture, woot; your creativity and capability always impress me, and this does naught but continue the trend!
Since Nicole has such a low opinion of her own appearance, when she says 'her hotter friends,' she really means: her more conventionally attractive friends.
Oh, she didn't go kicking and screaming. It actually sounded like a good idea at the time. Now- not so much. For starters, the ten pounds she lost in anticipation of the trip had been replaced courtesy of the ship's numerous all-you-can-eat buffets. And her luck with men was in as equally bad a shape as her diet. She got to talk to quite a few, but always the wingman sent in valiantly to take one for the team so the other guys could chat up her hotter friends. Great.
The bright redness of her semi-translucent eyelids dimmed as if the sun went behind a cloud. She opened her eyes to check and saw the eclipse was instead caused by a tall athletic man standing in front of her deckchair. Apparently he was talking to someone in her area. But she didn't dare remove her earphones just yet. She needed to use this as a stalling tactic so she could run down her emergency checklist. 1). Her friends were not around, so this could not be another self sacrificing wingman. 2). There were still tanned and attractive eligible women around the pool; they had not all been tossed overboard by a freak gust of wind, leaving her as the last (and least likely to be affected by a paltry wind gust) woman alive. 3). There were no hidden cameras around hoping to capture some hilarious blooper.
Strike that last item. If there were hidden cameras, they would probably be hidden, so it was kind of stupid of her to check. Taken together, none of these signs made sense, but the man had stopped talking and was smiling down at her. Nicole removed the earbuds to her mp3 player, sat upright, apologized for her rudeness, and asked if she could be of assistance. Perhaps he was lost and she looked to be the one with the best knowledge of the location of the dining room.
Instead he was more interested in making her acquaintance and carrying on a conversation. And not just a "hey, how about that weather" type of conversation, one that included everything including politics, music, natural philosophy, and the scientific name of the orchid in her hair. One that made her forget about all of the not-fun she was having trapped on this boat. One that made her oblivious to how ridiculous she thought she looked in her bikini. One that transformed the cautious expression on her face into a beaming smile.