Tommy

"This burger is amazing." Adam said between bites of his Wake and Bake burger he was eating. It had been one of the featured burgers at the Burger Shack on the main deck of the ship. Since we figured everyone would be rushing down to the main dining room, we wanted to avoid that crowd right now. Besides, after a day of being at the party under the sun with some beers, a burger just sounded right. Adam's had a fried egg on it with all the works, something that sounded absolutely disgusting to me. I went for the more traditional approach and picked a bacon cheeseburger. It was good, the meat being juicy and tender. The fries were also great, complimenting the beer I was sipping with it. We sat at a table on the right side of the ship, watching the sunset on the sea horizon. The sky filled with brilliant hues of oranges, pinks and reds. It was the best way to end our first day on the cruise.

"Want another beer?" I asked, gesturing to Adam's empty one. He nodded with a full mouth, causing me to smirk. Grabbing his empty, I headed over to the bar next to the pool and placed them on top. The bartender took them, tossing them into a bin before grabbing two more. I handed him a $10 tip before heading back to Adam who was shoving the last bite of his burger into his mouth. Setting down the fresh beers, I sat down and popped a fry into my mouth. Adam wiped his mouth with a napkin before taking a sip of his beer.

"Thanks." He said once his mouth was empty. "So, are you up for hitting that club on the upper deck?"

"A night club?" I scoffed. Adam nodded.

"Yeah. C'mon, Tommy! Let's live it up a little." He raised his eyebrows as he looked at me, doing his best to give me a convincing look.

"Look, I'm all for living it up. But maybe tomorrow. We had a long day and I don't think I could fit into the night club vibe right now." Adam sighed, nodding in agreement.

"You're right. We did have a long flight. Alright. What do you want to do then?" He questioned.

"How about we go find a hot tub and relax for a while before heading back to our rooms?" I offered.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Just let me run to the bathroom quickly. How about you grab a couple more beers?"

"Okay." He gathered our garbage in his arms and tossed it before heading off to the indoor part of the deck. I went back to the bar and got two more beers before heading back towards our table. Checking my watch, I noticed that it had been a few minutes since Adam had left. Another fifteen minutes passed and he still hadn't returned. He walked through the doorway again, walking rather briskly towards me. He had a shit eating grin on his face as he approached our table.

"I'm going to have to take a rain check on the hot tub, man." I looked at him in confusion.

"Why?"

"That girl I saw earlier just asked me to get a drink with her." He stated proudly. "I'll find you in the morning, okay?"

"Sure, man." I said, giving him a supportive smile. He clapped me on the back quickly before running back in the direction he had come from. Sighing, I glanced over at the now almost four full beers on the table. Grabbing them in my hands, I headed towards the upper part of the deck. I guess finding a quiet place to sit and drinking wouldn't be a bad idea. I was still looking forward to that hot tub idea.

Walking along the deck, I saw that the moon was now rising up in the sky. Stars twinkled above my head and began to litter the ink black night sky. Now and then, I passed some people heading towards the main portion of the ship. Some were groups of friends while others were couples, hand in hand while they talked in hushed tones to each other. One couple passed me without even giving me a second glance. They were too busy talking to one another, the woman's eyes glistening with what seemed like a love struck look. I watched as they passed until I couldn't see them anymore. I must have looked pathetic with my four beers I was carrying.

I kept walking, finding a small staircase. Climbing up them, I found myself in a more secluded area of the ship. No one was to be found around here. There were several hot tubs as well as a swimming pool, all of them empty. There were about a dozen or so chairs set up along the pool and I saw that there were some cabanas with what appeared to be beds in them. I spotted a chair off to the side near the railing and mostly out of view. Walking over, I set the beers on the floor before sitting in the chair. Propping my feet up on the railing, I sipped my beer.

A guy could get used to this.

I thought about what I would be doing back home if I hadn't come. More than likely, I'd be doing the same thing except on my couch with a game on the TV. It wasn't like I was living the most exciting life back in Reefside. It was more mundane than I cared to admit but I enjoyed it. I loved being able to do the trips with the club so hanging out at home to save a couple bucks wasn't a big deal to me. However, it was more of the being alone part that sometimes got under my skin. Coming home to an empty house every day tends to get old after a while. It made the place feel more empty than it was even though nothing had changed. I had considered getting a dog at one point but knew it would be no fair to them with my schedule. A goldfish might be more my speed at this rate. I could pay my neighbor kid to feed it when I am off on trips with the club. That sounded more depressing than my actual life though.

It hasn't always been just me. A few years ago, I had a girlfriend named Katherine. She even lived with me for a short time before I bought my house. We dated for a few years, starting in high school. However, she was more serious about our relationship than I had been. When she kept pushing for an engagement, I found myself unable to pop the question. I wasn't sure why. It wasn't like I didn't like the idea of marriage. I wanted the whole wife and kids as much as the next guy. I just didn't see her in that picture in my mind. Once she figured out I wasn't going to give her a ring, she packed up and headed back to Australia. We've kept in contact though as friends. She recently just had her first child, a little boy that she named JJ. I was thrilled for her that she had found what she was looking for and I didn't feel like I had let her get away.

At least not with Katherine.

Sighing, I finished the first beer and moved on to the next. I should have known that the day of drinking would lead me here. Alcohol always guided me to the place in my mind where I kept Kimberly hidden. It was like it brought it out of me on a sick and twisted journey down memory lane. She had been the girl I pictured when I thought about marriage. I always saw us with a big beautiful house with a white fence, golden retriever on the porch, and two kids playing in the yard. She was the endgame in mind from the moment I saw her in ninth grade. I had been dreading the move to Angel Grove but my tune changed when I met the petite brunette standing in the hallway. I fell in love with her in just a matter of seconds, something that still clings to my heart now all these years later.

I don't think it was a secret to anyone how I felt about her. We had been together for about three years until she was given the chance to move to Florida to follow a dream. Like any good boyfriend would do, I gave her my blessing and encouraged her. She left and we clung to the idea of a long distance relationship for sometime. However, being 17 and 3,000 miles away from your significant others takes a toll on you. We drifted apart and she broke up with me once she felt it was right. I didn't blame her for it but I also wasn't over the heartache it had caused. She had been the one who had gotten away, someone that I still thought of every single day. Often, I find myself thinking about her as I drift off to sleep. I wondered what she was doing right now. Was she at home, snuggled up with her boyfriend? Maybe a kid? Or was she alone? All I knew was that I missed her and wished that she hadn't fallen out of my life.

I heard some movement behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that it was someone sitting on the edge of the pool. It was a woman with long brown hair who had her back to me. She had her feet in the water and I saw that she looked glancing up at the sky. I watched her for a moment, wondering if she was alone. I didn't see anyone with her or anyone else in the area. As I watched her, I wondered for a minute just what it would be like if I tried to meet anyone on board. There had been plenty of attractive women, that's for sure. I had seen my fill on deck during the party, some of them dressed in bikinis that left little to the imagination. But there was a big jump from being attracted to someone to wanting to be with them. Dating has never been my thing. Both the relationships I have been in were long term that blossomed from proximity and something we had in common. I don't think it would happen like that here at sea. But maybe Adam had been right. Maybe I could dust off my flirting skills and try to pick up some women. The thought made me squirm. Hooking up with random people just wasn't my thing. I would rather find someone to be with that had the same long term goals as me than just a single service one night stand that left you feeling just as lonely the next day.

My eyes went back over to the girl at the pool as I started the third beer. Maybe her friends had ditched her as well. Was this the place on the ship where losers came to hang out? If so, I might be here a lot if Adam and this mysterious girl he spotted on our balconies worked out. He had raved about her for about an hour after he saw her. I didn't get the chance to see her but she was apparently two doors up from us. She was gone before he could ask her her name. Hopefully, he was having a good time. Though I was feeling a bit down in the dumps in my loneliness right now, I wanted him to be able to be happy. He deserved it just as much as anyone and maybe a week getting to work on his skills with women would help him find that self confidence he had been lacking since his break up with Tanya.

The girl at the pool shifted and she pulled herself to stand. She wobbled through and I saw her foot slip. She fell forward and I heard the metal clank of her head hitting the railing next to the steps. I jumped to my feet as she fell in head first, water splashing everywhere. Quickly, kicking off my shoes, I sprinted over to the pull and jumped in next to her floating body. The pool was about seven feet deep, forcing me under when I jumped in. I grabbed her before swimming back up to the surface, her dress flaring under the water. When we broke the surface, I spit the water out of my mouth I had swallowed. I swam towards the stairs, pulling her along with me and making sure her head was above the water. When my foot hit the steps, I stood up straight. The mixture of the alcohol I had been drinking and the sudden weight from being out of the water made me stumble slightly. I held her in my arms tightly, not wanting to risk dipping her in again. I had no clue is she had taken in any water or if she was breathing. I didn't want her to go back under the water in any case. I managed to steady myself and I climbed fully out of the water. The woman felt like dead weight in my arms as I walked around the railing. I was finally able to turn her head to see her to see if she had any injuries from her swan dive.

It was Kimberly.

I nearly fell over where I stood as I looked down at her unconscious form. She was beginning to form a bump on the left side of her forehead where she had collided with the railing. Moving quickly, I carried her away from the stops and set her on the ground next to the pool. I spotted an employee walking through with a stack of fresh clean towels in hand. He was whistling and the keys at his belt loop jingled as he walked.

"Help! She hit her head and fell in the pool." I called out. The man stopped, looking alarmed. He had an olive complexion and dark hair, his dark eyes widening when he saw Kimberly on the ground.

"I'll radio for the med team." He answered back, grabbing his radio from his waist. I turned my attention back to Kim, checking to see if she was breathing. My heart sank when I saw that she wasn't.

"Kim, wake up." I said, patting her face. She didn't move, her face motionless. Kneeling next to her, I put my ear on her chest. I didn't hear any noise coming from her lungs but there was a heart beat still. Sitting up, I started doing chest compressions. The employee returned, a first aid kit and his radio in hand.

"Help is coming right now." He said, kneeling across from me. I moved from doing the compression to breathing into her mouth, pinching her nose. She suddenly let out a sputtering cough, water coming from her mouth. I moved to give her space. She coughed a bit more but her eyes never opened. I was relieved to see her breathing though. The man covered her with a towel as I heard the sound of feet running towards us. Raising my head, I saw three men dressed in the cruise line's uniform running towards us. One carried a large medical bag. Looking down at Kimberly, I still couldn't believe my eyes. What was she doing here? How could the universe put us on the same boat together? And why the hell did she decide to almost die right in front of me?

"Sir, can you step back please so the medics can examine her?" A voice asked me, pulling me from my thoughts. I nodded, standing back up. Water was dripping off of me as I watched two of the men kneel down next to Kim. They checked her pulse and her airway, one putting a blood pressure cup on her arm.

"She seems to be stable right now." The older man working on her said. "Her pulse is strong and she's breathing well. Chances are the knock on her head just knocked her out. We'll take her to the medical cabin to observe her and give her a more thorough examination. If it's any worse, we will medflight her back to the states." One of the men walked over and grabbed a backboard from the wall. Together, they moved her and strapped her to it.

"Do you know her name?" The first man asked me. I nodded.

"Yeah. Well, I think so. Kimberly Hart." I responded. The men stood up, carrying her away. "Can I go with her?" I asked, starting to follow. The man grabbed my arm.

"Are you next of kin or traveling with her?"

"No."

"Then I'm afraid not. She's in good hands, sir. You did a good thing. She'll be alright. C'mon. You'll need to answer some questions for security." I watched as they carried Kim away, her still motionless until I could no longer see her.

"Security?" I asked, turning back to look at the shorter man. He nodded. "Why?"

"Just precaution. That's all. When an incident occurs that a staff member didn't see for themselves, we just like to question all those involved."

"But I told the other crew member what happened." Behind him, I saw two security guards walking towards us.

"Sir, it's just a procedure." The man said. The two security officers stopped next to us. The reality of the situation suddenly came to mind. Kim and I were the only ones up here and no one had seen what happened. It didn't take a genius to realize what everyone was thinking.

"Come with us, sir." The bigger security officer said before grabbing my arm and leading me towards the front of the ship.