A/N: So we've come to the end of this little story. I hope you've all enjoyed it! I know it was a short one. Once again I want to say thank you to everyone who reads, comments, leaves kudos, etc...it all means a lot to me! To my fellow writers who lend their support, it's very much appreciated as always.
As always, if you'd like to be notified when I post my next story, please add me as a favorite author on the site. I do have another one already in the works!
Fourth Day of Charter
"Allie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Bridget had tracked down the stew in the galley where she was making morning coffee.
"Yeah, sure." Allie continued her work, thinking Bridget just wanted to ask for something to drink or for something for breakfast.
"Outside?" Bridget glanced quickly over at Fletch who was busy preparing their meal.
"Oh, of course." Allie wiped her hands on a towel, and opened the door that led out to the walkway on the side of the boat. "Everything alright?" She asked once they'd both exited and she'd shut the door.
"Yeah, I uh, just wanted to ask you something." Bridget had been thinking ever since she'd talked with Franky early that morning, but she still wasn't sure exactly how she was going to word her question. "The rule about not…fraternizing…with the guests…does that end once the charter is over?"
Allie smiled. She knew exactly where this was going.
"Yeah, it does." She answered with a small smile. She watched as Bridget tried to find her next words. "Is this about Franky?"
"I, uh…" Bridget had been confident about her plan on her way here to talk to Allie, but now she was worried about getting Franky in trouble somehow.
"Look, I know the whole thing about getting involved with guests is frowned upon, but at the end of the day we're all just human, yeah?" Allie was willing to help her along with this. "I'll help with something if I can."
"Could you give her this after I leave?" Bridget held out a small piece of folded paper.
"Yeah, absolutely." Allie reached out for the piece of paper just as Bridget pulled it back.
"Promise you won't give it to her until after. I don't want her to get in trouble." Bridget was already having some second thoughts. Not about Franky, but about how she was going about this.
"I promise." Allie reached out for it again. This time Bridget didn't pull it away. Allie placed it in her pocket.
"Thanks, it means a lot to me." Bridget gave her a small smile, then turned to walk away.
"You know," Allie was hoping she wouldn't regret this, "we usually all go to the bar at the end of the pier on our nights off, called Tides. Just saying." She gave Bridget a wink, and headed back to the galley.
"I still say there's a body in here." Franky grunted as she lifted Bridget's suitcase into the van that would take them to the hotel.
"Quit whining and finish up. It's almost time for them to go." Jake was his usual pleasant self again today.
"Aye, Aye." Franky normally kept most of her sarcasm to herself but it's not like she was going to get fired on the last day for that, and she was in a bad mood.
Franky had laid awake in her bunk until about a half hour before she had to get up. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. Franky had kissed a lot of people in her life, but none had been quite like this. She couldn't explain it, but it had just felt right. It felt like somewhere she wanted to live in forever, and that scared her. That was not how her life went. She didn't stay.
Everyone on deck in five for guest departure.
Franky winced at Will's unexpected voice in her ear. She loaded the last suitcase into the van, then did a quick check of her uniform before she got back on board to join the rest of the crew on the aft deck. She hooked her sunglasses on the front of her shirt, and waited for the guests to come out.
One by one each of the women went down the line of crew members and shook hands, thanking them for their hospitality. Bridget hung back until the end. She gave each of the crew a quick hug, and said thanks, then she got to Franky.
Bridget held out her arms, and couldn't help but smile. She could tell that Franky was upset, but she didn't want to make it any worse by calling attention to that fact. Plus, she knew that Franky didn't know yet that she'd left the note with Allie.
"Come here." Bridget stepped forward, and put her arms around Franky. She felt Franky hold on to her tightly. "I had the best time with you," she said softly next to the brunette's ear.
Franky couldn't do anything besides nod slightly, and give Bridget an extra little squeeze before she let her go. She knew if she opened her mouth to try to say anything, she wouldn't be able to hold it together. As soon as Bridget stepped away from her, and moved on to Vera, Franky put on her sunglasses. She could feel that her eyes were getting watery, and she didn't want the others to notice. She kept her eyes on Bridget as long as she could; until she was out of view around the corner of the pier.
"Alright, get changed out of your uniform then let's get everything cleaned." Will was a man of few words, and so with that he headed back to the bridge.
Franky felt Allie's hand on her back as they walked down the narrow hallway to their cabin to get changed. She appreciated her friend's concern, but it wasn't making her feel any better.
"I hate these fucking…!" Franky started to pull at her shirt when her fingers fumbled with one of the buttons.
"Hey, hey, hold on. We have to give these back." Allie reached up and gently took Franky's hands, moving them down to her sides. "I know you're upset. Just take a minute and breathe."
"I'm not…" Franky couldn't even finish her sentence.
"It's pretty clear that you guys were into each other." Allie thought she saw a flicker of a smile at the corner of Franky's mouth, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had shown up.
Franky thought back to the events of the past few days; the jetski rides, going down the slide, hanging out at the beach party, the evening playing board games and the late night talk on the bow.
"Talk to me." Allie had known Franky for some time now, and they had built a trust. If anyone was going to get Franky to open up, she felt it would be her.
Franky and Allie had first met a couple of years ago when they'd been assigned to the same boat. They'd become quick friends, and since then they'd worked together on and off, and had always kept in touch.
"I kissed her," Franky said quietly so as not to be overheard. She knew the others would be in their cabins changing as well. "Or she kissed me, it doesn't matter. Last night on the bow. I broke all my rules, and now she's gone."
"Maybe not completely." Allie reached into her pocket and pulled out the note Bridget had given her earlier. "She asked me to give this to you after she left."
Franky took the piece of paper, and opened it.
Franky, you'll always be the Jack to my Rose.
I hope to hear from you (03) 9309 2664.
Bridget
PS. I would have even let you get on the piece of wood with me. :)
"It's her phone number." Franky said to no one in particular.
"That's great!" Allie knew that Franky had a soft spot for Bridget. "Are you going to call her?"
Franky stood, looking at the note in silence.
"Nah," Franky shook her head. "Her and I wouldn't work in the real world."
"She doesn't seem to think that." Allie knew the side of the brunette that was emerging now. It was the side that made up excuses to convince herself she'd rather be alone than let someone in.
"Things are different when you're on board here versus when you're back home." Franky tossed her dress shirt onto her bed and rummaged through the drawer for a tshirt. "Besides, she left. It's done."
Before Allie could say anything more, Franky pushed past her out of the room, and headed up to the deck to start her work.
Later That Evening
"Franky, you ready to…" Allie opened the door to their cabin, and saw Franky laying on her bed, clearly not ready to go anywhere. "Come on, we're leaving in like ten minutes."
"I'm not going out tonight." Franky wasn't usually one to pass up a night out, but she wasn't feeling it right now.
"It's our last night to all hang out together. You have to come." Allie also remembered that she'd told Bridget where they'd be that night.
"I'm not going out." Franky turned onto her side, her back now facing her friend. "You guys have fun."
"You never know who'll be there." Allie hadn't intended on telling Franky what she'd told Bridget, but she might have to yet.
"She won't be there, so don't try that. I heard Stacey say they were all flying back to Melbourne earlier this afternoon." Franky looked over her shoulder behind her. "Please just go."
Allie knew how stubborn Franky could be, so she closed the door, and left.
"Hey."
Allie felt a hand on her arm as she waited at the bar for her drink.
"Oh, hey." Allie turned to come face to face with Bridget. "I didn't expect to see you here. Franky said your flight was this afternoon."
"It was. I have some unfinished business though." Bridget gave her a small smile. "Is she here?" She looked out over the crowd of people, but failed to spot the one she was looking for.
"I couldn't get her out of bed. She's been kind of down since…" Allie didn't want to share too much. She knew Franky was private and didn't show emotion easily.
"Right." Bridget knew what she was going to say…since you left.
"The boat is still at the dock where we dropped you off." Allie was trying to stay out of it as much as possible without really wanting to stay out of it at all. She wanted this for her friend.
"Ah, right." Bridget was picking up what she was saying. "I might just go for a walk then."
Bridget left the club, and began to walk down the dock. She could already see the lights of the boat in the distance.
As she approached, she saw Liz sitting on the aft deck.
"Permission to come aboard?" Bridget greeted her. Liz had been lovely to them during the trip.
"Come right on. Did you forget something, love?" Liz stood, ready to escort her back to her room to get whatever she'd left behind.
"No, uh, actually I was looking for Franky. I saw Allie at the club, and she said she'd stayed behind tonight." Bridget saw the small grin on Liz's face.
"She's up on the bow deck." Liz smiled as she watched Bridget walk away. She'd sensed there was something going on between them, and now she knew she was right.
Bridget walked softly, hoping to keep some element of surprise, and not alert Franky too early that she was there. She rounded the corner, and saw that Franky was laying on one of the cushioned benches staring up at the night sky.
"You know," Bridget began, and Franky's head whipped around, "I'd rather hoped you would use that phone number I left you."
"How did you…?" Franky looked around as if the answer she was looking for would magically appear out of thin air. "I thought you were leaving this afternoon."
"Allie told me this morning where you guys like to hang out after charters. When I showed up there, she said she couldn't get you to go out tonight." Bridget took a few steps closer. "And yeah, I was. Then I realized that I didn't want to say goodbye to you, and in a moment of either monumental bravery, or complete insanity, I canceled my flight and came back here hoping," she sighed, "hoping that maybe you felt it too."
Franky quickly covered the few steps left between them, and took Bridget into her arms. Bridget reached up and threaded her hands in Franky's hair, pulling her down for a kiss. It wasn't as slow and gentle as the one the night before, but for Franky at least, the same feeling was there; that feeling of easily getting lost in everything that was Bridget.
"Maybe you could show me your cabin again?" Bridget wasn't in the mood to pretend she didn't know what they both wanted right now.
"I've got a better idea." Franky took her by the hand and led her inside the boat.
Bridget followed her down the familiar hallways until they reached the master guest cabin.
"After you." Franky held open the door, and allowed Bridget to walk in ahead of her. "Is this alright?"
"Mhm." Bridget pulled Franky inside, then reached behind the brunette to close and lock the door. She didn't want any interruptions.
Franky connected their lips again, and felt Bridget guide them towards the bed. Franky was used to being in control, but she sensed that Bridget also knew how to step in and take over if she wanted.
Bridget lifted the hem of Franky's t-shirt as she felt the brunette's fingers searching for a button or zipper in the back of her sundress.
"It just comes off over my head." Bridget mumbled as she grinned against Franky's lips.
Franky smiled as she pulled back, allowing Bridget to remove her t-shirt, then reached down for the hem of the blonde's dress, and carefully worked it up her body, and over her head. She felt Bridget shiver slightly as she ran her hands up over her sides. Franky laid the dress in a nearby chair. The gesture wasn't lost on Bridget.
Soon they were standing in front of each other with just their underwear left on; their bras discarded somewhere on the floor.
Franky lowered her head, and placed a soft kiss on the side of Bridget's neck. She glided her hands over the blonde's hips and bent down slightly, sliding her underwear down to the floor. Franky placed a kiss on her stomach as she stood.
"You're beautiful." Franky saw the immediate blush in Bridget's cheeks.
Franky reached down and pulled back the covers, then gently guided Bridget backwards. When the backs of her legs hit the bed Bridget wrapped her arms around Franky's neck, and the brunette lowered them down to the bed.
Bridget quickly flipped them over, surprising the brunette. She was now straddling Franky's hips, and she leaned forward, placing a kiss just under her ear.
"I thought about this every night during the charter." Bridget placed another kiss a little lower, and felt Franky squirm a bit underneath her.
"Did you?" Franky grinned when she saw Bridget nod. "What did you think about doing to me?"
"Everything." Bridget kissed her hard. She felt Franky's hands moving over her thighs.
Bridget worked her way down the side of Franky's neck, and over her collarbone. She placed a kiss in the middle of her chest between her breasts before she took the brunette's right nipple into her mouth.
As Bridget gently sucked and massaged with her tongue, she snaked a hand between them and into Franky's underwear. She could feel the wetness both on her fingertips, and the back of her knuckles where it had soaked into the fabric. She began drawing slow circles around Franky's clit, letting her finger move over it every so often.
"Fuck." Franky let out a shaky breath. It had been awhile since she'd been with anyone, and she could already feel a flutter in her stomach.
For a couple minutes she was content with letting Bridget do her thing. Usually as long as her and her partner both got off, Franky was happy; she didn't really care how it happened. This time however, she wanted something different.
"Hey, come here." She gently placed a hand on Bridget's cheek and guided her back up so that they were face to face. "Can we do this together?"
"Mhm, yeah." Bridget smiled, and brushed the tip of her nose against Franky's before she kissed her softly.
Bridget removed her hand from Franky's underwear, and helped her shed the garment. Once it had been discarded onto the floor, Franky flipped them over once more, settling partially on top of the blonde. Their legs intertwined as she reached for the sheet to cover them.
"Are you comfortable?" Franky asked as she placed a soft kiss on Bridget's jawline.
"Yes." Bridget squirmed, pushing herself into the brunette's thigh, looking for any kind of contact.
Franky studied her face, watching all the subtle changes as she created a bit of friction between her thigh and the blonde's clit, then ran her fingers along Bridget's side.
"You're such a top." Bridget had opened her eyes a bit, just long enough to see that Franky was studying her; watching how she responded to her.
"Usually, yeah." Franky kissed her. She knew that Bridget was going to be different from the rest, but she wasn't willing quite yet to give up all of her old ways.
"Touch me." Bridget could be patient, but she'd already waited days for this, and now it was go time.
Franky reached between them, and gathered some wetness on her fingers before she slowly slid two into Bridget. She heard the blonde whimper as she curled her fingers slightly, and added her thumb, caressing Bridget's clit. Franky shifted her weight a bit, positioning herself to get some more leverage as she pushed deeper inside the blonde.
"You like that?" Franky asked as she gave her a quick kiss, then tugged gently on her bottom lip with her teeth.
"Yeah…" Bridget knew her voice was a bit shaky, and she couldn't help the tremor that ran through her body.
Bridget was getting very far lost in what Franky was doing to her when she remembered the brunette's request from a few minutes earlier…..can we do this together?.... Bridget reached between them, and was once again met with Franky's wetness, which had now mixed with her own. She slid her fingers easily inside the brunette, and felt Franky's own pace falter for a split second.
"Is this what you wanted?" Bridget asked softly with a small grin playing on her lips.
"Yes." Franky kissed her hard as she began to move her hips, and they found their rhythm.
"Oh god." Bridget could feel herself gripping onto Franky's fingers as she pushed her hips forward harder. She curled her fingers causing Franky to whimper against her lips.
"You're going to make me come soon." Franky whispered, letting her lips brush against the curve of Bridget's ear before placing a kiss on her earlobe. She had felt the shift in sensations, indicating that it wouldn't be long now at all.
"I'm close too, baby." Bridget hadn't meant for the term of endearment to slip out, but it certainly didn't bother her that it had.
They both sped up their pace. Bridget reached the edge a second sooner than Franky, and she felt her muscles contract hard around the brunette's fingers.
Franky's orgasm hit her hard when she felt Bridget's flutters around her fingers. She came with a low moan, and a feeling that every muscle in her body had temporarily turned to jelly. The arm she'd been partially supporting herself on gave up, and she ended up half laying on Bridget.
As they laid there catching their breath, Franky became aware of Bridget slowly running her fingers up and down her spine. Franky wasn't one for cuddling after sex, but she was in no hurry to move away from Bridget. She let out a sigh of content.
"Are you alright?" Bridget asked softly as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind Franky's ear.
"Absolutely." Franky forced herself to pull herself up enough that she could give Bridget a soft kiss. "Are you?"
"More than alright." Bridget said with a lazy grin on her face.
Franky laid back down, resting her head against Bridget's shoulder.
"Keep doing the thing." Franky mumbled, indicating a back and forth motion with her hand.
"This?" Bridget resumed running her fingers up and down Franky's back.
"Yeah." Franky smiled and draped her arm across the blonde's stomach, pulling her in close.
Bridget grinned. Big tough Franky likes to cuddle, she thought to herself.
It wasn't long before they both drifted off. If the others had already returned from the bar, they were being quiet. The boat was peaceful and silent as it gently rocked them to sleep.
At some point through the night they'd changed positions, and as Bridget awoke, she realized that she had become the little spoon. She wasn't complaining; Franky was strong from working on the deck, and she felt secure in her arms.
Bridget was glad she'd woken up early. One-night stands weren't something she normally did, and she needed some time to process everything. She laid there for a while before she began to hear the others waking up, and moving around the boat. She knew that she and her friends had been the last charter group of the season, and so Franky would need to get her stuff packed and ready to leave soon.
No matter how much she thought about what was going to happen next, Bridget was unable to accept that this would be the last time she'd see Franky Doyle. It was a scenario that her brain and heart refused to process. She felt the brunette begin to stir behind her.
"Good morning, Gidge." Franky placed a kiss on the back of her shoulder.
"Gidge?" Bridget looked behind her.
"Yeah…Bridget…Gidget….Gidge. I gave you a nickname." Franky grinned. "I hope that's okay."
"Yeah, it's fine. I actually like it. For a minute there I thought you'd forgotten who you'd slept with." Bridget laughed a bit as she turned onto her back even though she was only half joking.
"I could never forget you." Franky lowered her head and gave her a long, slow kiss.
Bridget was momentarily distracted by the sound of someone walking by the door.
"Don't worry, we locked it." Franky placed a hand on her cheek, and brushed it with her thumb.
"It's not that." Bridget cleared her throat then swallowed. "What happens now? Like where do you go?"
"I don't have another job lined up yet so I'll probably just hang out in the city for a bit." Franky shrugged. "Something will come up either here or in the Med or the Caribbean. It always does."
"Come back to Melbourne with me." The offer was out of Bridget's mouth before she had a chance to reconsider it. She didn't regret making it, but she was worried it might seem a little too forward to Franky, and she didn't want to scare her off.
"I can't…I mean that's not really a place to find yachting work." Franky didn't want to hurt Bridget's feelings.
"I don't mean to find work, I mean come back with me. I wasn't ready to say goodbye yesterday, and I'm still not ready." Bridget took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know what this is, if anything, but I think it's something." She watched Franky for a moment. The brunette remained silent. "Please tell me I'm not completely wrong."
"You're not." Franky didn't know what it was either, but she was at least willing to admit it was something.
"You can stay with me if you want, you could have your own room, no strings attached, or I can help you find a hotel or a hostel or whatever." Bridget's brain was telling her to shut up but her mouth wasn't listening. "I just want to spend more time with you."
Franky looked out the window at the gentle ripples in the water. It sounded insane to follow someone you'd just met back to their hometown when you had no job and nowhere to live, but on the other hand, Franky reasoned, she had no job and nowhere to live no matter where she was right now. The scenario that Bridget was offering at least included the bonus of getting to know her better, which was something that Franky finally could admit to herself she wanted very much.
"Alright." Franky nodded as she turned her attention back to Bridget. "But if I stay at your place I'm paying rent. We make decent money doing this, and I don't take handouts from anyone." She wanted to be clear up front that she didn't expect Bridget to look after her. "I can't promise how long I can stay either. It might just be a stopover between gigs, or if I like it I may stay for a bit and get a job on land for once."
"That's all fine." Bridget was just happy she'd agreed to come at all. "We can figure stuff out as it comes along."
"Mhm." Franky kissed her once more. "We should get up. I need to pack my stuff. You're welcome to hang around and wait if you want. I shouldn't be long." Everything Franky owned was in a tiny cabin shared with Allie, and fit into a large suitcase and backpack.
"I will, thanks." Bridget gave her one more kiss before she climbed out of bed to find her clothes.
Franky packed her things and placed her bags on the aft deck. Most of the crew had already left but she wanted to say goodbye to Allie before she left. She took Bridget's hand and led her towards the galley.
"Hey, Al." Franky found Allie exactly where she expected her to be.
"Hey, how wa….ah so that's why you didn't make it back to our cabin last night." Allie had spied Bridget lingering back in the doorway.
"Yeah." Franky could feel her cheeks getting a bit warm. "I just wanted to say goodbye."
"I hate this part." Allie wrapped her arms around Franky in a big hug. "I'll probably see you soon though, we seem to get on the same boat quite often."
"It might be awhile before my next boat gig." Franky said as she let go of Allie and stepped back a bit. "I'm heading to Melbourne for a bit." She glanced back at Bridget. "See how I like the city life for a change."
"I'm sure it'll be good to you." Allie was sad to know that she probably wouldn't be working with Franky again any time soon, but she was happy for her. "Take care of my girl, you hear?" She called out to the blonde.
"I will." Bridget couldn't help but smile.
"You've got my number. Don't be a stranger." Franky wasn't one for mushy goodbyes, so she gave Allie another quick hug, then decided it was time to go.
Franky put on her backpack and grabbed the handle of her suitcase.
"After you." She held out her hand and let Bridget walk along the narrow ramp onto the dock first.
As they walked along the dock, Franky gave one last look behind her at the boats that were docked. It was the first time in years that she wasn't stopping at each one along the way asking if they needed a deckhand for their next trip.
"Having second thoughts?" Bridget asked when she noticed that Franky had looked back.
"Absolutely not." Franky smiled as she put her arm around Bridget's shoulders and they walked into the busy city streets together. She didn't know if things between them would work out or not, but she knew that if she didn't go with Bridget then, her only regret would be that she never took the chance to find out.