Jenna sat on the lounge chair on the deck of the cruise ship trying to get into the book. But she couldn't. She sighed and put it down. She had only come on this book club tour because her neighbor and best friend Helen had insisted she needed to get away and relax. Jenna thought over the last four years of her life and couldn't really disagree. Her parents had been killed in a car wreak when she was 16 years old leaving her with a newborn baby brother to take care of. If Helen their next door neighbor hadn't have stepped in the social services were going to take her and Toby and put them in foster care. Helen got custody even though she was really considered to old to raise them. She was 60 years old. Helen had helped her with Toby and helped her keep her mothers catering business going. Jenna had done this and finished school and when she turned 18 had moved back into their house across from Helen. She had also started a computer repair business and she was doing good well able to take care of her and Toby and Helen still helped her out a lot. But life was stressful for a twenty year old trying to run two businesses and raise a 4 year old. So when the book club she had belonged to sent her a flyer about this cruise that would have authors and book signings, Helen had really pushed her to go. The problem was Jenna was shy. Her parents had been strict and she had never even dated or wore make up. Jenna was a quite shy book worm and in her opinion not that attractive. She had hair which the color couldn't really be defined. There was brown, auburn and red in it. She had large grey eyes which she hated she thought them to be very plain. And the worst of all her skin was fair and she had freckles across her nose and cheeks. She hated them. She was 5"4 and about 98 pounds. She looked like a child. Jenna figured she would never attract a man and even if she did Jenna wouldn't know what to do with him. Helen had told her she needed to meet a nice young man and fall in love. Jenna scoffed at the thought. She would probably be a old maid and never have anyone. She sighed and went back to her book trying to concentrate.
Mark walked out onto the deck. This cruise had been a good idea. It had been Glens. He said that all these nerds probably didn't even watch wrestling and wouldn't even know who he was. He was right. Mark hadn't been bothered all week. Even though he had been retired for a year it was hard to go anywhere without being recognized. The only drawback was that the women on this cruise were not his type. Most were old and the rest well they wasn't his type. He had been divorced about 3 months and he was finally getting over it, but he needed a good lay to get him back in the game and there was not a prospect in sight. He sat down in a chair looking around. This was the last day of the cruise they would be docking in the morning. His eye was caught by a girl setting a few feet away from him. She looked really young. What was she doing on this cruise he wondered? She had on jeans and a too big t-shirt. She had a baseball hat pulled low on her head. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and she was reading. To tomboy for him and from the looks of her much too young. She laid the book down and pulled off her hat. A cascade of wavy hair fell from the hat down her back to rest just above her butt. He couldn't describe the color he had never seen hair that shade before, Browns and reds he couldn't tell you but it was breathtaking. He could finally see her face. She had fair skin that had been tinted by the sun and a natural pinkness to her cheeks. He grinned she had freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks and big beautiful eyes which were a shade of grey that almost looked violet. Okay Mark this is definitely not your type. You go for flash and boobs he thought laughing to himself. She looked like a fresh faced farm girl, defiantly not his type. But damn she was cute as a button. Okay Mark ya aint going to marry her, wont hurt to go over and talk to her. Mark stood up. Just ask her age first Mark reminded him self.
Jenna braided her hair and tucked the hat back on back wards. Suddenly a showdown fell over her. She looked up and gasped. It was the biggest man she ever saw. He had on tight black jeans and a tight white t-shirt strained against his muscles. He was huge close to 7 foot she figured. He has auburn hair cut short. A mustache and a goatee and the most piercing green eyes she had ever seen. The most overwhelming thing was his arms were covered with tattoos. Jenna was actually scared to death this is the kind of guy parents warned you about. He was about a good foot and a half taller than her. She swallowed hard. He sat down beside her grinning. She looked like a frightened deer he thought. "Hey Darlin. Mind if I join ya?" he asked. She looked at him for a minute and finally spoke. "No sir. I don't mind." She said turning red. Mark frowned she looked scared to death. "Hey I know I'm a pretty big guy But I just wanted to talk I didn't mean to scare ya." He said. Jenna relaxed a little. "How old are ya darlin?" he asked. "Twenty." She said looking at her hands. "Well damn I would have thought about 15." He said smiling. Jenna frowned. She hated looking so young. It was those freckles. The only guy that had ever given her a second look and he noticed she looked like a baby. Mark saw the frown. "So what ya doing on a cruise full of old folks?" he asked. "I belong to the book club." She answered quietly. Mark looked at her it was obvious she was painfully shy. He should probably just leave her alone. But he found he didn't want to. "I think I hear a North Carolina accent." He said. She looked up surprised. "How did you know?" she asked. "Oh I know a couple people from there. I recognized the accent." Mark said. "Where about you from there?" he asked. "A little place called Pleasant Garden right out side Greensboro." She said. "Yea I have been there a few times." He said. "What's your name?" he asked. "Jenna." She said. Mark held out his hand. "Well Jenna I'm Mark. It's nice to meet ya." He said. She slowly eased her tiny hand into his huge one and shook it briefly and pulled it away turning red again. "Are you in college?" he asked. "No sir. I run my own business." She said still not looking at him. Mark looked at her she was polite to a fault. It was obvious she was raised well not like so many young people today. "What kind of business?" He asked. "I run a catering business and a computer repair business." Jenna said. "Wow you're very industrious for someone so young." Mark said. Jenna blushed at the compliment and peeked up at him. Gosh he was handsome. Why was he talking to her she wondered? "Can I ask ya something Jenna?" Mark said. "Yes sir." Jenna said. "You want to go take a swim with me, there's a pool on the third deck that nobody hardly uses." He said. Jenna sat there for a moment in silence. "I cant I didn't bring a swimsuit with me." She said looking down. Okay Mark thought who goes on a cruise without a swimsuit. "Cant ya swim?" he asked. "Yes, My daddy taught me in a lake behind our house when I was little." She said. Mark heard the sadness in her voice. She was just too shy and Mark figured he would just leave her alone. "Okay kid. I'll see ya around." He said giving a teasing tug on her baseball cap. Jenna watched him get up and leave. God she was so dumb she had no idea how to carry on a conversation with a man. He probably thought she was so stupid. The first time a guy approaches her and she chases him off by acting like a total nerd. She looked down at her clothes she looked like a boy, plus she wasn't even pretty. The real reason she hadn't brought a bathing suit was she was to shy to go around people in a bathing suit. Jenna blinked back tears and gathered up her stuff to head back to her room.