The girls' cabin onboard the cruise ship
Stacey's pov
"We're having dinner with the Captain at seven o'clock tonight as guests at his table, so don't be late, girls." Shane lingered in our doorway, waiting for us to acknowledge his latest bit of news.
"But we were going to have dinner at the buffet tonight and then meet up with some kids afterwards," Lisa whined.
"You can meet up with your friends later, AFTER we dine with the Captain." Shane tried to offer up a compromise.
"No! Dinner with the Captain will take forever, then we won't have any time to spend with our friends," Lisa replied, in an even whinier tone than before.
"This is not up for discussion, ladies. We are dining with the Captain tonight at 7pm sharp. Do I make myself clear?" Shane was no longer calm, he was now quite visibly agitated.
"UGGGHHHH! This is so annoying! Why don't you and Mike just eat with Captain Crunch like you want to and we can eat at the buffet like we want to?" Lisa was close to having a meltdown that could easily turn into a full blown tantrum.
Recognizing this, Shane grabbed Lisa's chin and growled, "His name is not Captain Crunch and when I ask do I make myself clear, the only response I want to hear out of your mouth is yes sir. Now let's try this again." Shane tightened his grip on Lisa's jaw and repeated slowly, "Do I make myself clear?"
Lisa rolled her eyes and sighed.
Letting go of her chin, Shane slapped her ass hard, really hard.
"Answer me!" he commanded.
"OWWW!" Lisa rubbed her bottom. "What did you do that for?"
Shane grabbed Lisa by the arm and smacked her bottom harshly again.
"LISA MICHELLE! If you don't answer me properly in the next five seconds, I will escort you to my cabin where we'll finish this conversation in private."
I haven't seen Shane get worked up since this vacation began. We actually made it five days without pissing him off. I think that's a new record. My sisters and I should be proud, we really are growing up, I thought to myself.
"Yes sir," Lisa finally responded respectfully to the Admiral but then she said something stupid. "But I still don't see why we can't just eat at the buffet."
Seeing the veins in Shane's neck and forehead start to bulge, I quickly ran interference between him and my soon to be even sorrier sister.
Rushing to push Shane out the door, I hurriedly said, "We'll meet you for dinner with the Captain at 7pm," as I shooed him out, quickly closing the door behind him.
Turning to confront my dumbass sister, I asked, "What the Hell is the matter with you, Lisa?"
"Nothing, why?" she responded matter of factly, as if the events of the last five minutes never happened.
"You were very close to getting your ass whipped and ruining our chances of socializing with anyone under the age of forty tonight," I said, in a duh tone of voice.
"Isn't this supposed to be a trip to celebrate OUR graduation? We should be able to do what we want, not just have to blindly follow the Admiral's and doctor's orders. Right?" Lisa continued to preach to the choir.
"Lisa, when has it ever been that way? You know damn well it doesn't matter where we are, we still have to be obedient little soldiers," my cousin replied, mimicking my duh tone.
"Yeah, but..." Lisa tried to argue her point some more until I interrupted her.
"But nothing, sis. Just accept that this is our reality, now and forever it shall be."
"Aaaaa_____mennnnn," my cousin sang, as if finishing the doxology.
"PREACH, SISTERS!" Carrie shouted, making us all laugh.
7:12pm at the Captain's table
Lisa's pov
We grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take the four of us to get ready for dinner, considering the miniscule bathroom we all had to share but somehow we managed to make it there less than fifteen minutes late. I believe that still qualifies as falling within the fashionably late time frame.
As soon as we approached the table, all the men stood and the waiters pulled our chairs out for us. Such gentlemen. It's really nice to be treated like a lady.
"Our apologies for being late," Stacey spoke for all of us.
Shane made all the introductions and then the beverage waiter took our drink orders. I couldn't help but notice how young and hot some of the Captain's officers were and goddamn if they didn't look sexy as fuck in their uniforms. Mmmmm, come to mama. Forget meeting up with the boys tonight when we have such hot men to keep us company.
"LISA!" Shane snapped me out of my R-rated fantasy. He gestured to the very patient young man beside me holding an array of various breads and rolls.
"Oh, uh, this one, yeah," I said, pointing to a wheat roll.
When he moved around to the other side of the table, Shane leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Please and thank you. Use your manners, young lady." He frowned at me before turning his attention back to our tablemates.
My cheeks blushed in embarrassment to be reprimanded like a small child, even though I don't think anyone else heard what Shane said.
Apparently we were invited to eat at the Captain's table because word got out that Shane, the youngest man to earn the rank of Admiral in the British Royal Navy at the age of twenty-three, was on the passenger manifest and the Captain really wanted to meet him. I guess his reputation precedes him. Shane was in full dress uniform tonight, complete with his Admiral's belt.
"When are we gonna get our menu?" I asked Mike in a semi-irritated tone, as the wheat roll wasn't quite enough to satisfy my hunger.
"We're not ordering off the menu tonight, Lisa, the Captain is having his favorite dishes prepared for us," Mike explained.
"UGGHHH, what's the main course then?" I really had my heart set on a New York strip medium-rare and a Caesar salad, which are always available as alternative choices on the menu for the day.
"We'll be having grilled swordfish with a vegetable medley and mushroom risotto on the side and then cherries jubilee for dessert," Mike replied.
Sighing loudly and slumping down in my chair, I whined, "Seriously? I really wanted steak tonight," I harrumphed, crossing my arms and pouting.
The Captain barely lifted his hand and the waiter was immediately at his side ready to assist.
"Bring the Admiral's daughter a menu straightaway and take her order please," he commanded.
"No, that won't be necessary," Shane quickly interjected. "She'll have what we're all having. She doesn't need a menu." Shane squeezed my leg just above the knee quite forcefully, underneath the table.
Ignoring his warning, I replied snottily, "I had a whole 'nother answer all picked out, Shane, and I believe this doesn't concern you."
"I'd like a word with you outside," Shane said sternly, as he stood from his seat and laid his napkin on his chair.
"I'm good, Shane, we can talk later," I replied dismissively.
"Now!" Shane grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the table.
"Please excuse us. We'll be back in a few minutes," Shane said angrily, yet politely.
Once we were out of the restaurant and alone, he squeezed my arm so tightly, I yelped.
"How dare you speak so disrespectfully to me and act so inappropriately!" Shane was seething. "You better be on your best behaviour for the remainder of dinner. Do. You. Understand. Me?"
The ice cold look in Shane's eyes almost compelled me to drop the attitude. Almost.
"Look, I told you I wanted to eat at the buffet tonight to begin with so this is really on you." I stood with my hands on my hips, displaying this false sense of bravado for an unknown reason. I wasn't mad at Shane and I honestly didn't care where I ate dinner tonight. The ship's officers we were dining with were hella fine, so much so that I didn't give a crap about hooking up with the random boys we had met earlier in the trip. To be honest, I didn't know why I was giving him such a hard time tonight.
Shane let go of my arm and took a step back. He stared at the floor for a minute, pinching the bridge of his nose, while he considered his next move.
Sighing and taking a deep breath, he looked at me and said, "You will spend the remainder of the evening in your cabin. When I'm finished with dinner and ready to retire for the night, I will be down to discipline you."
Shane was so eerily stoic, I was petrified. I just stood there silently trying to process everything. He looked me in the eye once more before turning and walking back into the dining room.
What the Hell just happened? I thought, as I stood there flabbergasted. Hmmm, that did not go as expected. I don't want to spend the rest of the night in my cabin. So what do I do now? I could go to the buffet but eating alone is boring and kinda sad, so I just walked back into the dining room instead.