Chapter 2

The Only Girl Who Ever Turned Him Down

July, 1967. Morning.

Marianne had come on board again to visit Carl (they've been going strong together ever since they started broadcasting from a boat again), and she decided to sit with Abby and talk for a while.

"How's life on the boat treating you, Abby?"

"Not bad."

"How about the incident with Angus? Has he forgiven you yet?"

"I think so," Abby smiled as she thought back to about a month ago when Angus had asked her to show him how hard she could punch. She refused at first, but then he egged her on, saying that girls couldn't hit. Poor Angus got a blow right to the stomach, sending him to the ground and moaning in pain. "The guys are all great and we get along famously, but sometimes I get sick of how they look at me; like I'm the most repulsive woman in the world."

"Who thinks that?"

"Well Mark, at one of the rare times he speaks, called me 'disgusting' and he scrunches up his face when I walk by, even after all the time I've spent on the boat."

"I think I can fix that."

"How?"

"With Felicity's help. You're going to need as much feminine training for this as you can."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Abby asked, slightly offended.

"Just don't worry about it. You'll have all of them eating out of your hands in no time. Especially Mark. Trust me, I'll teach you how to handle him." Marianne said excitedly as Abby's brown eyes shone with excitement at the challenge.

"Hey, Harold?"

"Yeah, Marianne?"

"Can you do me a favour and play that new Jimi Hendrix song for me? And make sure the entire boat can hear it. Loud."

"Uh, sure thing." He stood in the booth confused as Marianne left with a giggle and ran down to Abby's room. She had the whole thing planned out for her. In order to get up to the deck, Abby practically had to walk through the entire boat, passing each of the DJ's rooms on the way, the dining room, until finally taking a seat at the front of the boat to 'show herself off' to everyone. Abby, however, was still a little reluctant about the whole thing.

"Just, pretend that you're the sexiest thing out in the world. And I'm telling you from the looks of you, you are," Marianne told her confidently. Abby looked at herself in the mirror. She was clad in a very tight (and short) black dress, complete with high heeled black shoes. Her hair was loose down past her shoulders and in waves, but she had shaken it around to give it the 'just rolled out of bed' look that truly suited her. Her eye makeup was light, but her lips were given a colour that was just a few shades darker than their natural colour. She looked like a completely different person, and she liked it. It felt like she was playing a part. She could do that.

"Remember, Carl is going to start the whole domino effect. He'll tell everyone that you're going their way, and when you get to Mark-"

"Oh, I know what to do when I get to Mark," Abby said mischievously. She heard Harold's voice announcing the next track. "Thank you," she said to Marianne with a quick hug. Just as the music started, she strutted out of her door.

Foxy.

Foxy.

She saw Carl peep his head out of his room and smiled at his reaction; he looked pleasantly surprised. He obviously didn't think she was going to look that good. He called out to Thick Kevin, who gaped when he saw her. Carl purposely began to make cat-calls to get everyone's attention.

You know you're a cute little heartbreaker,

Foxy.

Dave was next, since his room was right across from Carl's. He stared at Abby as she continued her strut down the hall, making growling noises as she approached. She ignored him as she continued her parade.

You know you're a sweet little love maker,

Foxy.

Gavin and Angus emerged from their rooms, their curiosity aroused by the commotion coming from outside their doors. Abby smiled; she was satisfied with the effect she had on them as they stood speechless at the girl who flounced by them as the rest of the residents came out to look at her.

I wanna take you home.

I won't do you no harm, no.

Abby felt herself walking in pace with the music, so she sped up. That's when Mark appeared looking half-asleep, cigarette (as usual) in his mouth. She smiled a suggestive smile and walked straight to him with purpose, eyes locked with his.

You've got to be all mine, all mine.

She took the cigarette from his mouth, her eyes never leaving his.

Ooh, foxy lady.

She watched his face as she took a long drag from the cigarette and blew the smoke in the air between them. It was as if he couldn't believe his eyes. She tossed her head and made her way up the stairs, leaving the men below her, staring at one another.

"Who the fuck was that?" Angus asked, bewildered. Marianne snuck her head out of Abby's room and Carl smiled at her, signalling to her that the plan was a success. Different voices surrounded him as everyone (apart from Mark, who still stood motionless) tried to figure out who the 'foxy lady' was.

"She looked familiar."

"I've never seen her before."

"I would've remembered a girl like that!"

"She looked a little bit like Abby, didn't she?"

"Abby? Have you lost you're fuckin' mind?"

"It was Abby," Carl announced. The men looked at each other and then made a mad dash for the stairs and scrambled up to the deck. There they saw Abby, cigarette still in hand, and her hair floating softly in the night breeze.

"Hello, all," she said, smiling down at them. "Nice night, huh?"

"What happened to you?" Dave asked.

"What? You guys don't like it? It's just how the girls normally dress back home." She loved every minute of this game she was playing. Dave swaggered up to her and held her hand in his, stroking her skin. Just like Marianne said he would do, she thought.

"May I just say, you look exquisite tonight, my dear Abigail." He kissed her hand and she mentally rolled her eyes, playing the part of the dumb groupie they were all so used to. Gavin pushed Dave out of the way and linked Abby's arm through his, bringing her back down to the dining room. She was fully aware of the crowd that followed behind them.

"So this is what America really exports? I must make my way over there sometime," he whispered the last sentence in her ear as she felt his hand trail down her back. Before he could go further, she ran to the bench and waved her hand in front of her face.

"What's a girl gotta do to get a drink around here?" she said. Immediately, there was clinking and arguing over who got to serve her. Men really are pathetic, she thought. One pretty face and they're falling all over themselves.

She nearly jumped when Mark flopped down beside her, his arm draped behind her and a new cigarette in his mouth. He stared at her intensely, making her feel very uncomfortable. She looked back at him boldly, wondering what in the hell he was doing. Neither of them was saying a word.

…and when the tension becomes too much to bear, you just say 'how about it, then?'

Abby realized he was trying to use his 'trick' on her (thankfully, Carl managed to slip her that bit of information before this plan even came into fruition) and decided to play along. She batted her eyes and pretended to breathe heavily, as if his stare was getting to be too much for her and everyone stopped what they were doing to look at what was happening between them. Mark smiled at her and she immediately knew what was coming.

"How about it then?" he asked. She coyly looked down and smiled, then finally looked back up at him, making sure she was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I don't think so."

If Abby could've laughed out loud at that moment, she would have. The look on Mark's face was too priceless for words. The group in the kitchen seemed just as stunned as he was, their mouths hanging open. Suddenly, Count burst through the door.

"Abby! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" His eyes were nearly bulging out of his head.

"What?" she said innocently.

"Look at what you're wearing! You're practically naked!"

"We know, and we like it," Gavin leered. Count violently shook off his coat at wrapped it around Abby, making sure she was covered before heading to Gavin's direction.

"Don't you ever talk like that about her."

"I'm sorry Count, but as far as I'm concerned she's fair game. That dress of hers revealed quite a bit, and I didn't see your name stamped on her gorgeous body." Count's fist shook and his knuckles turned white.

"No, my name isn't stamped on her, but it may as well be."

"What are you talking about?" Dave said, approaching the two arguing men.

"She's my daughter you fucking idiots!" The entire group stood in stunned silence as he stared each one of them down. "Now, if I ever hear you talking about her like that again, I will personally tie you to a barrel and set you adrift in the fucking ocean. Got it?" He huffed and turned to Abby. "And you. Quentin warned you about these guys, and I did too. What the fuck were you thinking?"

"Oh, c'mon. I was just having some fun-"

"Go to your room, take that shit off and put on your regular clothes, Abby," Count said with his eyes closed, trying to contain his anger. Abby murmured a 'fine' and stomped off, but she still couldn't help the way her hips swayed as she walked away. The Count turned back to his shipmates and glared at them.

"Well? Does anyone have anything else they want to say?" he asked, looking at each of them with all of the anger he could gather.

"Count, we had no idea that she was your daughter. We thought she was…" Carl was cut off by the Count's sigh as he removed his hat and ran his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I get it. I shouldn't have overreacted; it's just that…well she's my baby girl. I know you guys don't have kids, so you don't understand what it's like to have one, especially a daughter. As soon as she turned 15, I turned paranoid and had to keep a gun handy in case some guy looked at her the wrong way, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat her like a groupie. If you do, I'll have to kill you and then we'd be short a few deejays," he said, running his hand through his hair again. "But listen, don't treat her too special while she's on here. I know her, and she'd rather be treated like one of the guys than be alienated because she's my kid. So, the same way you act around Felicity, act around her. She's a good girl," Count shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the men. "And this is my new chance to get to know her again."

"You should have seen Mark's face!" Abby laughed as she told Marianne and Felicity when she saw them the next morning.

"He must've been in shock. I don't think something like that has happened to him before," Felicity told her. Although Mark was a good friend, she couldn't help but feel slightly amused at what Abby had accomplished.

"It's a taste of his own medicine. He shouldn't have said what he said about me being disgusting."

"Well, good for you. But can you honestly sit there and tell me that you weren't the least bit tempted?" Marianne pressed. "It is Midnight Mark, after all. My uncle said so himself: he's the sexiest man on the planet."

"Well…" Abby was hesitant to admit that she did find him attractive. "Okay, just a bit. But nothing's gonna come of it. Mark's the type of guy I hate: he thinks he's better than everyone, and I feel like getting sick whenever I see him." A secret smile crossed Felicity's face as she watched a light blush cover Abby's face when she mentioned his name.

This was only round one between Midnight Mark and the only girl who ever turned him down.