SS Valentine

Penny turned to face Frank and he could see more cleavage now and realized that the lines and lumps he had seen before were now gone. The only thing he noticed differently was that her nipples did seem to be hard under the thin fabric of the dress. He did not want to stare, but offered that the dress did look better, hoping she would not take his comment the wrong way. Penny offered an uneasy smile and said she would be ready as soon as she combed her hair and put on some lipstick.

*****

They left the cabin and headed toward the dining room, Penny putting her arm around Frank's as they walked. Frank was a bit uncertain at this, but it did feel good to be close to Penny and soon he relaxed and just enjoyed her warmth next to him. As they got closer to the dining room, they started seeing more passengers headed in the same direction. Each got that feeling of being outnumbered, but pushed on knowing that they had been able to overcome such fears earlier and that they would soon meet up with Niccole and Jerry, giving them more strength in numbers.

Inside the dining room, Frank saw that the place had been decorated with hearts and flowers on the walls and center pieces on the tables. He and Penny were directed to their usual out of the way table and sat, waiting for their friends. Frank took a look around at the other passengers getting to their seats and noticed that although most of the men were wearing suits or sport coats, few of the women were very formally dressed at all. Most wore blouses and either a skirt or pants. He saw very few actual dresses and those he saw did not seem fashionable, although women's fashion was a complete mystery to him.

Soon, Niccole and Jerry arrived and sat down with Frank and Penny.

"Damn, Girl! You look hot!" Niccole started, checking out penny. "I'm not sure I want you dancing with jerry tonight."

Jerry jumped in with "I don't mind!" laughing as he said it.

Frank knew he was kidding, at least sort of, but somehow he felt a bit of jealousy at the remark. He did not understand why and fought to suppress the feeling. The talk turned to what the other passengers were wearing and doing and soon it came time to eat.

They had a nice dinner together, mostly small talk as they ate. Unfortunately, their table was needed for the increased number of diners and soon they were sitting at a full table. The seniors kept their conversation among themselves and the younger diners did the same. Neither group made any attempt to draw the others into their own talk. Once the meal was over, an announcement was made that the diners would have to leave for half an hour until the room could be rearranged to allow them back for the dancing portion of the night's event. Some of the seniors did some grumbling, but soon all had departed the dining room and the ship's staff went to work transforming it into a larger replica of the night club.

The 2 couples spent the time just walking around the deck since the moon was out and night was warm. After they reckoned that the necessary time had passed, they made their way back to the dining room. Inside, the tables had been moved to the outside of the room and the center was open to be used as a dance floor. The decorations from earlier had been supplemented with lots of balloons and streamers and each table had candy hearts at each seat. Frank led them to an empty table that was more difficult to get to, he hoped the location might be a deterrent to some of the old folks who might not want to chance the hazard to get back to that table.

A DJ came out and with a few words, let the attendees know that he would be playing the usual big band sounds and that he would take requests from anyone who wanted something special. Soon the music started and a number of the older passengers got out onto the floor to start the festivities. The dinner wait staff was circulating, now offering liquid refreshments to the participants. The night's special was a champagne cocktail and all decided to try it. Just as she had last night, Niccole took her husband's hand and pulled him out of the chair and headed for the dance floor. Penny followed behind, Frank more willing to participate this time than he had been last night. Once on the floor, each pulled the other closer than they had danced last night and both felt the electricity of being this close to the other. It was much easier to get into a rhythm tonight and soon they were dancing without much effort, the conscious thoughts replaced by instinct. Penny put her head on Frank's shoulder as they moved with the music, somehow it just felt right. Frank moved his hand from her hip to her back, almost onto her backside. He pulled her closer to himself and Penny was glad to pull herself in closer in response to franks action. They danced through half a dozen more songs before deciding to return to the table to take a break and get another drink. Niccole and jerry followed their lead and reordered drinks for themselves.

The lights had been turned down some to make for a more romantic atmosphere, but even in the low light, Frank and Penny were each aware of the flushed look on the other's face. Not wanting to admit anything else to themselves, they attributed it to the effort of the dancing and the drink. Soon, Niccole again decided it was time for another round, so they got up. Again, Niccole took Frank's hand before penny could so she went with jerry as they made it to the dance floor. Frank took a minute to get readjusted to Niccole's style, but did not take much time tonight. He pulled her in close, even closer than they had been dancing the night before. If she noticed the change, Niccole did not object and soon they were dancing just as closely as Frank had been with Penny earlier. Jerry and Penny had also found themselves pressed against the other, Penny seemingly more aware of it than jerry. They did not make any effort to move further apart so continued dancing as though with their other partner.

When the DJ took his break, they all sat and the waitress came by to offer another round of drinks. By now, all were looking a bit flushed though the room seemed warmer than when they had first arrived.

"How late do you want to stay, hon?" jerry asked his wife.

"A bit longer. Maybe one more group of songs and then we can go." She answered.

Frank got the idea that jerry might have something on his mind besides dancing, but kept the thought to himself.

20 minutes later and the DJ announced that it was time to get back on the floor. Frank was ready to go, even before penny stood, he wanted to be sure to have her as his partner. He had enjoyed dancing with Niccole, but did not want to have any of the feelings he was experiencing with another man's wife. Why he was not bothered having those feelings while dancing with Penny was a mystery to him. When they got onto the floor, Frank did not take Penny's hand but rather put his arms around her, putting his hands on her lower back and pulling her hard into him. Penny hardly noticed the change, just followed his lead and held his body close to hers as they started dancing again. She noticed that Jerry was holding Niccole the same way and there was a look of anticipation on each of their faces.

After 5 songs, Jerry moved close to Frank and Penny saying that they were going to go back to their cabin.

"See you for breakfast in the morning?" he asked.

"Frank looked to Penny, but responded that they would be there.

"Do you want to leave too?" He asked Penny.

"Not yet. I want to stay for a few more songs. You don't mind, do you?"

Frank was more than happy to stay as long as Penny was this close to him. He had never thought dancing would be anything more than a necessary chore, but right now was glad he had learned. Quite a few of the seniors had left but enough were still there that the floor did not look too empty. Finally, Penny said she was ready to go, so Frank reluctantly released her and they walked to the door, then back toward the cabins.

Frank walked Penny back to her cabin and was going to leave for his own, but Penny asked him to come in for a minute.

"Thanks for a nice evening, Frank." She started.

"I had a good time too." He answered.

Frank was ready to head for his new cabin when Penny asked "Can you unzip me before you leave?"

She turned away from him and he got closer to get hold of the zipper, and then carefully pulled it down to the bottom of her back. Penny turned to face him and shrugging her shoulders, let the dress fall to the floor. She was standing before him only wearing the black panties Frank had seen earlier.

"One of my girlfriends told me I should sleep naked on this cruise. I think I will take her advice tonight." Penny said huskily.

She then bent and pulled the panties to her feet where they joined the dress on the floor.

Frank was taken by surprise, but took a minute to check her out, not worrying that she might be offended by his attention. There was no question this was not simple flirting or an unconscious flash of skin.

"I know you have your own cabin now, but you really don't have to sleep there, do you?"

Frank pulled Penny tight against himself, almost as though they were dancing.

"I have been sleeping in this bed for the past few nights without problem, I don't see why tonight has to be any different.

Penny pushed herself away from him, saying "If I sleep naked you have to sleep that way too."

Frank wasn't going to disagree, starting to take off his jacket and the rest of his clothes.

Penny waited until he had removed all of his garments. She took a good look at his body before turning out the light.

As he got into bed, Frank offered "I don't have any condoms."

"You can get some tomorrow. Right now I feel pretty lucky. Want to get lucky yourself?"

Frank did not have to answer, he pulled Penny close and they danced in the bed all night.

*****

The next morning at breakfast, frank got the impression that he was not the only one who had gotten lucky the night before. The 4 of them had formed a bond and spent their time during the day together, mostly trying to stymie the attempts of the seniors to disturb their vacation fun. The observation area Niccole and jerry had found proved to be a good place to get sun and have a good amount of privacy. They went ashore in each port and every night they spent time in the night club dancing. Frank had picked up a 6 pack of condoms the next day and they were not enough to last until the cruise ended. Frank did not mind buying another 6 pack.

Back in port in Miami, the 4 said their goodbyes and all agreed to keep in touch. Frank and Penny would be able to keep in touch easier since they only lived a few blocks apart and worked in the same building. Frank now knew just how many condoms to buy for any given week and Penny thought that she might now be able to think about that family her mother was always bugging her about.