Violet, Day 5, Early Morning

        Violet kicked her feet sharply and smoothly rose up through the surface of the water. She looked around briefly for the dark shadow that would be her sister and saw her still circling deep within the water. Lily had been a maddening enigma ever since they had boarded the ship. Violet had never felt more distant from her. She usually had pretty keen insight into what her twin was thinking, but the last five days had left her so confused that she had trouble concentrating on enjoying the vacation.
        Violet let her sister circle the depths in solitude and pulled herself out of the pool, the chill, early morning water streaming off her pelt. Somewhere nearby, she heard an intake of breath and smiled to herself. She and Lily had both taken to visiting the pool before breakfast. It was the only time of day the water and deck weren’t crowded with guests. There were a few, however, who’d taken notice of the pattern, and the last two mornings had seen more young and middle-aged men on the pool deck under the guise of finding a place for an early morning read. Among the small crowd, both Violet and Lily had their respective admirers. Violet didn’t mind the gawkers, though, provided they didn’t intrude into the empty water. She pretended she didn’t see the sets of eyes upturned from newspapers, Kindles, and paperbacks, and walked to her chair on the far side of the pool.
        Grabbing her towel, she turned away from her audience to vigorously dry her hair, letting her bikini-clad bottom wiggle in their direction shamelessly. She wasn’t about to let the boys watch her breasts jiggle like that. Still under her towel, she squeezed her thighs together, feeling warm and silently wishing she had a cute girl or herm to jiggle for. She hadn’t fooled around with anyone since the incident in the coffee shop, and her self-enforced abstinence was beginning to grow dull. She’d been especially careful not to let herself get entangled on the cruise thus far. There was no place to go if things got complicated. But her body was slowly convincing her that a little indulgence would be safe enough, as long as she kept everything consensual for once.
        She turned back toward the crowd, not caring too much that her nipples were poking prominently into her hot pink bikini top. Her pelt was already dry, one of the benefits of her heritage, and her hair was at least dry enough for walking around. She tossed her towel over one shoulder and slipped her feet into her flipflops, looking around for her sister. Lily was still a dark shadow at the bottom of the deep end, leaving Violet to find breakfast on her own. 

        ***

        Lily

        Lily emerged from the water with a quick kick, arching her head back so that water cascaded down her red hair just like all those cheesy commercials. She brushed the water out of her face and glanced around, expecting Violet to make a snarky comment, or for the two of them to whisper and giggle about the effect her move would have on their audience.
        She looked around. She was alone in the water. Half of their morning audience was gone, and so were Violet’s shoes and towel. Lily’s stomach lurched and she tried to swallow the abandonment she felt over her sister’s quiet escape.
        She chided herself. It wouldn’t have been any different if Violet were still there, she told herself. There would’ve been no giggled comments or playful barbs. They hadn’t bantered like that since last summer, since before Mr. Ferris, and the lack of that connection made her feel empty.
        Lily pulled herself up to sit on the side of the pool. That gnawing sense of loneliness had crept back over the last four days. She groped, trying to recall the levity and excitement she’d felt that first night on the boat after finding that little bunny to play with. But she hadn’t seen her new bunny lover since then, and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Sure, their amorous adventure had been. . .unannounced, but the bunny had sure seemed to enjoy herself. Lily had hoped. . .
        Hope. She stared at her feet as she trailed them in the water, smirking wryly at the word. That’s where she’d made her mistake: hoping. She was merely a thing, to be used and then discarded. What room did that leave for hope? Violet had made it perfectly clear that she had no use for Lily any more. And that bunny. . .
        Lily stopped, seeing a glimmer of black reflected in the water. She looked up. Would it be too unlikely of a coincidence, for her bunny to be right there, answering her hopeless longings? But there she was, sleepy hair tousled, a breezy skirt swishing underneath her cute cottontail as she walked along one of the walkways that flanked the pool, headed toward the back of the boat. Lily’s heart surged into her throat. She was real! She hadn’t been willing to admit it, but she’d begun to wonder if she’d invented the bunny entirely, some sort of desperate projection of her loneliness. But there she was, rubbing sleep out of her eyes just a couple dozen feet away. Lily opened her mouth to call out to her.
        Ginger turned just then, blinking her eyes against the sun. They made eye contact. The look on the bunny’s face killed whatever words Lily had been preparing. The otter snapped her lips shut, eyes going wide as she watched the bunny’s expression transform. Fear. No, not fear. Terror. The bunny turned and ran back the way she had come, bare feet slapping the metal walkway.
        Lily stared after her, her chest feeling like an empty pit she’d fallen into. She’d never seen someone so terrified. What had she done to elicit such a reaction? The girl hadn’t complained during their rendezvous. She’d barely even said no!
        Lowering her head, she distantly remembered the hope she’d been chiding herself for. It seemed even more foolish now, having been raised and shattered in an instant. Worse than foolish, even. What was worse than foolish? Metaphors escaped her as she watched the rain begin to patter on the surface of the pool. No, not rain, she realized. Her own tears. Stupid, useless otter.
        Terror and disgust. Those were the emotions she brought out in people. Even sweet Peri had been looking to her with confused, worried eyes lately. She was even useless to her little brother. Useless. Useless was worse than foolish. Foolish things were humored and set aside. Useless things were discarded.
        She stood, walking past her shoes and towel. Maybe the tears on her cheeks would be mistaken for water running off her hair. Discarded. The emptiness in her belly clawed at her. She needed to find her sister. 

        ***
        Violet

        The dining area Violet had wandered into was invitingly warm and open to the brisk sea air on two sides. It also smelled enticingly of bacon and biscuits, reminding Violet she’d only had a light dinner the night before. She stopped in one of the open archways, breathing in the smells of breakfast and thinking idly back to Lily’s weird, sulky mood that had put off her appetite last night. Half-turning, she considered going back to the pool to get her sister. Even with the quiet distance that had intruded on their sisterly relationship, they had still shared breakfast after their swim each morning. She couldn’t help but feel like she’d made some kind of mistake.
        Her stomach, however, agreed with her actions. She bit her lip, the back of her neck tingling uneasily, but turned away from the pool back towards the dining area. Someone was watching her. Well, not just one someone. She imagined the picture she made, standing there with the sea and the horizon at her back, her pink bikini a stark contrast to her dark fur. Quite a few eyes were turned her way, and it flooded her with warmth. 
        But one pair of eyes in particular followed her as she made her way to the buffet. The fur on the back of her neck tingled even more, making her uncomfortable. She turned slowly, stopping halfway between the door and the food, and met eyes with a cute little mouse sitting at a two-person table at the back of the dining space. 
        They stared at each other inside the breath of the moment, and Violet watched as the girl’s cheeks turned red. The snap of the moment breaking felt almost physical as the mouse wrenched her eyes away and stared resolutely at the wall.
        Violet shivered, despite herself. She’d made a game of turning heads since coming on board. She wasn’t the only one, either. Plenty of teens and young women were using the excuse to flaunt their bikini bodies. Violet had even spotted Kailee strutting about in overstuffed daisy dukes. But for all the heads she’d turned and all the disgruntled spousal arguments she’d left in her wake, she’d never found herself the center of attention for someone like this mousegirl.
        She was sleek and slender, probably Violet’s own age but with a body that hinted she ought to be younger, just like Lily. Unlike Lily, though, she filled out her black t-shirt in a way that made Violet’s fingers flex in anticipation. The girl hid behind a pair of nerdy glasses and tousled, tomboyish hair that reminded Violet of the barista she’d never followed up with. She was demure like Lily, too, obviously interested but overcome by uncertainty. Well, not like Lily any more, but like she had been. . .
        Eventually, Violet realized that the mouse wasn’t sitting alone. An equally slender sugarglider occupied the seat across from her. Heavy-breasted and straight-backed, the girl glanced between the two of them with the sort of grin that tickled an irrational ire in Violet’s belly. She had a certain confidence that bordered on smugness that might have been attractive, if she hadn’t been sitting across from such a perfectly cute little mouse.
        Violet realized she was standing still in the middle of the dining room, only about twenty steps away from the buffet. Others had to edge around her to get to the plates. Her brain felt like a stalled app, indecisive as her body sent warring signals. Her stomach urged her toward the plates. This was the first morning she’d found bacon to go along with breakfast, and it called to her temptingly. But certain other parts of her body were insisting she approach the mouse. If only she could find a way to get the sugarglilder out of the picture. Her fur bristled as she glared at the perceived rival.
        The sugarglider leaned forward suddenly, and the mouse’s ears swiveled forward though she was still looking away, shoulders hunched, eyes turned toward the wall. The glider whispered, and Violet’s ears weren’t up to the task of eavesdropping. She did hear the mouse squeak though, and she shook her head vigorously several times.
        Violet licked her lips, trying to force her mind to make itself up. Finally, she stepped forward, determined to interpose herself into the whispered, one-sided conversation. She didn’t have a particular plan, but it wasn’t the first time she’d stolen a cute thing away before. She was dying to know the little mouse’s name. And from there. . .well, her taut body drew all kinds of fantasies ‘from there,’ but nothing was going to come from them if she didn’t make her move.
        The sugarglider stood up abruptly, stopping Violet short. She had her hand on the mouse’s arm, as if trying to tug her out of her seat. Violet’s fur bristled again. She was trying to steal her away! But the mouse shook her head and jerked her arm away. She looked miserable and embarrassed at the same time. And desperately cute. The sugarglider made to take her arm again, but met Violet’s eyes just before she did so. She smiled, a smug, infuriating smile, then brushed the mouse’s arm gingerly and stepped away from her.
        Violet straightened her back, ready for a confrontation. Why, she wasn’t exactly sure. The sugarglider was all smiles. Violet might be inventing things from whole cloth. It was possible the two girls had barely noticed her at all, and that their whispered conversation was about something else entirely. Violet shifted nervously on her feet as the glider approached, and realized almost too late that the girl wasn’t headed for her, but past her. She had been merely inventing things. She hurriedly stepped to one side to let the other teen pass.
        A hand touched her shoulder, and Violet stiffened as the sugarglider leaned in on her way past, whispering in a lilting Australian accent.
        “Don’t eat her alive, eh? She’s shy and sweet and lonely.”
        Violet made a startled, strangled sound in her throat that may have been assent. The girl was past her in another heartbeat, heading out the door and leaving nothing but a noseful of some kind of fancy, herbal shampoo in her wake. Violet stared after her for a moment, confused.
        She turned back toward the mouse. She hadn’t been thinking predatorily when she’d seen the girl, but she knew herself well enough to know that things might have turned that way. The sugarglider’s words tickled her ear. Her buried predatory intent melted away as soon as she realized it had been lurking there. She saw the mouse girl for a second time, seeing her now for herself rather than a delectable substitute for her broken sister. Violet frowned to herself though. The back of her neck still tingled, putting her on edge, even though she was no longer being stared at. Ignoring it, she slinked through too-close-together tables toward the back wall.
        Violet had a veritable collection of smooth lines and thinly veiled innuendo she’d put together for situations exactly like this one. She’d tested them on Lily, filing away as best the ones that made her sister blush the deepest. She shied away from those now, seeking something a little more sincere, more likely to make the girl like her rather than lust for her. She slid into the seat the glider had occupied as she groped for something, anything, to say.
        “Hey,” she said awkwardly.
        The mouse girl looked up from poking at her eggs. “H-hey.”
        An awkward silence marked time between them. Finally, “I’m Violet.”
        “Wendy,” the girl replied. She seemed eager enough to reply, but she wasn’t volunteering anything. Violet squirmed. Was approaching a new friend with intentions beyond just sex always this difficult?
        “So, uh. . .” she started. Wendy’s eyes flicked down to Violet’s bikini top as she started to speak. Violet blushed a little, but the stolen glance made her feel more comfortable. Wendy’s eyes lingered a little, and Violet wondered if her nipples were as prominent as they had been getting out of the pool.
        “Was that your girlfriend?” she asked, hoping she already knew the answer.
        Wendy looked up at her, confused. “Who?”
        “The girl you were sitting with.”
        Wendy continued to look at her blankly for a moment, then something clicked in her head. Violet practically heard it.
        “Oh! You mean Shy! No, no. We’re not, uh. . . girlfriends. Just friends. In fact, she was trying to drag me over to talk to you.”
        Violet smiled at that, feeling a little silly for the ire the other girl’s attitude had awoken in her. She bit her lip, trying to figure out what to do next. Seducing came naturally to her, but this was something new. Glancing around self-consciously, she hesitated, then slid her hand forward, squeezing Wendy’s hand on top of the table. A date. That’s what normal people did. She’d ask this sweet girl on a normal date and they’d sit together awkwardly and maybe even get comfortable enough to cuddle before the night was out. She leaned forward, almost trembling she was so nervous.
        “Listen, I hope this isn’t too forward--”
        “Violet?”
        The word was barely whispered from across the room, but Lily’s voice could find her anywhere. Violet’s head jerked up. She doubted anyone else had heard it, but her sister stood there, a stark pale figure against the dark sea horizon, red hair lank and dripping into a puddle at her feet. She’d been crying. Violet could see the red of her eyes from here. She stared at Lily, then down at Wendy’s hand clutched in hers. Her heart sank. Lily wouldn’t react well. They’d never really discussed it, but there was something of a tacit understanding between them. Here she was, pursuing another girl, without even figuring things out with her own twin first. The hurt on Lily’s face broke her heart. 
        Wendy leaned forward, breaking the taut moment between Violet and her grief-stricken sister. “Do you know her?”
        “My sister. Wendy, I’m really sorry. I have to--”
        The slap of wet, bare feet interrupted her. She jerked her head up to stare at the door. She could hear her sister’s footsteps smacking the metal walkway.
        “Lily!” she cried, toppling her chair as she bolted after her sister.

        ***

        Lily

        Tears blurred her vision as she tore down the walkway. Discarded. Useless. Violet couldn’t have made it clearer. Lily was broken, and Violet had tossed her aside, finding some little mouse tart, some slutty rodent version of the girl she had been to replace her. People cried out as she shoved past them. Distantly, she heard Violet cry out after her. Too little, too late, she thought. Violet didn’t want her anymore, she’d made that much clear. Disgust. Terror. That’s all she was made of now.
        Still running, the wind whipped the tears out of her eyes. For a moment, her vision cleared. She saw the railing of the walkway ahead of her. The walkway took a sharp right to follow the back of the ship. Empty sea opened up before her, lined white with the ship’s wake.
        Discarded. Useless, broken things needed to be discarded.
        She ran harder.
        She didn’t think about her objective. She might chicken out and stop herself. She focused on running. The irritated cries around her turned into shouts of alarm as people saw where she was running. She felt a hand grab at her upper arm, but too late. It didn’t get a grip as she kept running.
        Her body instinctively knew when to lift her foot. She felt her sole curl around the bar of the railing. Her thigh, though skinny, had plenty of frenetic energy to launch her from there. Belatedly, she remembered that most of the lower decks jutted out further over the water than the one she was on. She wondered if she could launch herself far enough to feel the icy grip of the Pacific. Maybe her body would be ruined by one of the railings below, instead. How long would it take before she exhausted herself enough to drown. How stupid was it for an otter to try to commit suicide by drowning? A thousand thoughts flitted through her mind, and none of them were pretty. But she didn’t balk. Her other foot hit the next rung of the railing and she pushed with both legs. There was nothing before or below her but the horizon and the sea.
        And a single, iron-muscled arm that clotheslined her stomach. The wind went out of her, and she was falling rather than soaring, toppling like a ragdoll back over the railing.
        Into warm arms.
        Warmth that cradled her and held her against a chest so firm it could have been made of brick. She couldn’t breathe and was retching hard to pull air back into her lungs.. She could feel her stomach bruising. Both were her own stupid fault. And both seemed insignificant next to the comforting stone statue that held her. She pressed both her hands against that firm chest, buried her face against its shirt, and sobbed.

        ***

        Violet

        Violet skidded to a halt, unable to voice the scream that matched the distress of a dozen other onlookers as her sister launched herself into the air.
        It seemed to last an eternity, her twin hovering there, figure bright against the dazzling blue of the Pacific sky. Violet’s stomach lurched in terror. What had she done?
        Then he was there. He hadn’t been, a moment before. The other passengers had scurried away from the railing, and though a few had made feeble attempts to stop Lily, most had shied away, terrified and confused. He must have come from around the corner, at the very back of the ship. All Violet knew was that in one moment, Lily was alone, launching herself out into the sea, and in the next, a very tall, slender teenage equine was catching her.
        Violet resumed her run as Lily crumpled into the boy’s chest.
        “Lily! What are you doing?!”
        “Stop.”
        The demand was so unexpected, she simply stared at the unknown horse. At the sound of her voice, Lily had curled more tightly into the boy’s chest, and he held her tighter. It took Violet a moment to regain her composure, but when she did, she leveled the boy with the most withering look she’d learned from Gran.
        “Look, I don’t know who you are, but that’s my sister you’re holding there,” she began.
        “Obviously,” he replied softly, looking at her as if she were stupid and he pitied her for it. She faltered. Gran’s looks had never failed her before.
        “Listen,” he said, his voice even and unexpectedly dangerous. “I don’t know anything about what’s going on here. All I know is this girl is frightened, and you’re not helping.”
        Violet gaped at him, struggling to find words. He kept on, ignoring her stammering.
        “She and I are going to sit down with a blanket and a cup of tea and you’re going to stay away from her until I say so.”
        “Just what--” she began, willing her lungs with indignant rage. But he cut her off, his calm voice slicing through her volume.
        “Until. I. Say so,” he repeated. He stooped, sweeping an arm behind Lily’s legs and lifting her with no discernable effort. The older boy didn’t look particularly powerful. He was long and lean, perhaps even lanky, but now that she looked, Violet could see that every line of his body was like stone. He wasn’t hugely muscled or intimidating, but there was a hidden power in his form that she couldn’t help but admire. She felt herself cowing before his will, and snapped her mouth shut, dumbfounded as she nodded.
        Lily wrapped her arms tighter around the stranger, face buried in his chest, refusing to look at Violet. Violet stared at the boy and he stared back. She didn’t see hostility there, just concern. It broke her heart. It was the concern she should have been feeling for Lily, and here was a stranger, showing Lily more compassion than she had. She’d been so worried about how abnormal her relationship with Lily had become that she’d abandoned the relationship completely. Shame filled her and she lowered her head as the young equine carried her sister away for a blanket, tea, and much-deserved compassion.
        A soft warmth trailed down Violet’s forearm and she jumped slightly in surprise. A petite hand curled in hers, squeezing it. She looked up to find Wendy standing beside her, her face painted in worry and confusion.
        “Are you okay?” the mousegirl whispered, eyes wide.
        Violet hesitated, staring off in the direction the young man had left with her sister, trying to decide how she felt.
        “No,” she finally said. To her surprise, Wendy just nodded sympathetically.
        The mouse’s other hand raised to gently touch her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Joel’s a stand-up guy. She’ll be safe with him.”
        Violet stared at her. “You know him?”
        Wendy nodded. “Yeah, but it’s not important right now. Come on,” the mouse said quietly, as the gawkers on the walkway began to gossip and mill about again. “Let’s get you some breakfast and talk.”
        Violet stared at the girl. The timid little thing who had been too shy to even approach her. Now, eyes filled with concern, the girl was gently taking control. Violet felt a tear squeeze out of the corner of her eye. She nodded meekly, never having felt more powerless, and deeply grateful that there was someone there to guide her. Briefly, she felt the empty desperation that Lily must have felt. Only Wendy was there for her. The way she was supposed to be for her sister.
        “Okay,” she said weakly, letting herself be led.

        ***

        Lily

        Lily leaned into the firmness of the stallion’s body, hands curled around a still-steaming cup of tea. She was trembling, but the tear streaks through her fur had dried. With a blanket nestled around her and the stallion’s solid arm around that, she couldn’t recall ever feeling more safe.
        Except that he was silent. He’d been silent for a long time now. She stared at the pale murk of her creamed mint tea, then sipped it just to break the quiet, wondering how he’d found a blanket so quickly. She barely remembered being carried from the railing into the coffee shop. He’d acquired the blanket somewhere along the way.
        And as soon as he’d nestled her into his side and pushed the steaming cup of tea into her hands, she’d vomited up her entire story. She couldn’t remember him asking. She just hadn’t been able to keep it in any longer. She’d covered everything, from the first night Violet had come back into her room with an excited grin on her face, to the pain she’d felt for over a week after her encounter with Fiona, to the shame she’d felt watching Ginger flee from her, to, finally, the betrayal of seeing Violet so intimate with that worthless mouse tart.
        She sipped again, silently wishing the tea was a latte. She couldn’t bring herself to peek out of the blankets up to the boy’s eyes. She was terrified of what she might find there. Disgust at the least, she was certain. He was probably only quiet because he was trying to figure out a tactful way to flee. She pictured him turned away from her, hooves ringing against the metal as he ran the way Ginger had. Her fur bristled and her heart sank, dark thoughts stirring.
        He must have felt her reaction. To Lily’s surprise, his arm tightened around her and she couldn’t stop the relieved sigh that escaped her. Maybe he wouldn’t flee. She rested her cheek on his chest and it felt like lying on a sun-warmed slab of marble. Maybe she could convince him to sit like this with her for the rest of the cruise. 
        Her hands had sucked the heat out of what was left of her tea when he finally moved. Lily’s eyes fluttered open. She wondered if she’d been sleeping or just daydreaming. He didn’t move much. Just his head. A tingle ran down Lily’s body when his muzzle gently nudged her ear. She blushed and made a soft sound, surprised at the gentle intimacy from her heroic stranger.
        “Wendy--the mouse girl?--she’s not a tart,” he said softly.
        Lily’s fur bristled. That was the sage, comforting wisdom she’d been waiting for? Defending Violet’s new toy. She shifted against him, intending to storm off, but he held her tighter.
        “No, hear me out, I’m going somewhere with this.”
        She stopped, considering his words, but still furious. Then she felt--really felt--his fingers on her arm. He could keep her there, if he wanted to. He could hold her there with one arm, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. She shivered at the thought. He was powerful, at least compared to her, and it made her think twice. He seemed gentle. He seemed, in fact, like the sweetest person she’d ever met. But that didn’t change the strength in his grip.
        She relaxed, letting herself be pulled into his chest again. His grip softened.
        “I think your sister is scared. And ashamed. I think she’s worried that she broke you. You used that word yourself. Broken. I think she. . .overreacted. Pushed you away so that she wouldn’t slip again.”
        Lily tensed. She wasn’t in any mood to hear excuses for her sister.
        “You need to let her be away from you a while, I think. To spend time with someone she’s not terrified of hurting. Wendy’s a sweet, troubled girl. If your sister is gentle with her, it could really be something. If she’s not. . .well, maybe the heartbreak will teach them both a lesson. Without you being in the crossfire.”
        Lily bit her lip. The stallion had a way of talking slowly and gently that made everything he said sound reasonable. She ached for her sister, and the thought of someone else being with her when she couldn’t. . .The words came to her lips unbidden.
        “Wh-what about me?” she asked in barely a whisper. She blushed at how selfish they sounded. The boy was quiet for a while longer.
        “I think you need someone to be gentle with you, too, Lily.”
        They were both still. The coffee shop seemed suddenly silent around her, like the room itself was holding her breath as much as she was. For the first time, she turned her head to look up at him. He was looking down at her, too. Blue. A pale blue that she fell into. There was concern written in those eyes, and care. No disgust. No pity. No terror.
        She licked her lips.
        “You?”
        He blushed and it made her feel warm to see it. “May I?” he asked. The formality of the question was ridiculous and sweet at the same time. She blushed, too.
        “You never told me your name.”
        “Joel,” he said, sounding a little confused.
        Lily smiled at that and turned her head down again. She set her half empty cup of tea on the table and pulled the blanket tighter over her bare shoulders. His other arm came and wrapped around her, pulling her tightly against his body. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his chest.
        “Don’t let me go, Joel,” she whispered.

        ***

        Violet

        Violet walked alongside Wendy in a strangely comfortable silence. The mouse still held her hand, dainty fingers entwined with hers.
        “Can we, uh, can we stop by my cabin, first?” she asked.
        Wendy looked at her sideways, an eyebrow cocked above the rim of those cute glasses.
        “Anything you want,” she said softly, and Violet believed her. Violet led her deeper into the ship rather than back toward the breakfast buffet, though her stomach rumbled in protest.
        The silence drew out longer. Violet glanced shyly at the girl who was walking with her, and Wendy caught the look and smiled back. 
        “I feel like I should put some real clothes on,” Violet said, feeling like she owed her an explanation.
        Wendy made a cute pout. “Really? You bounce in all the right places in that bikini!”
        Violet blushed brightly and, looking out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wendy blushing too, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just said. Violet groped for a reply, but couldn’t find one. Silence fell over them again.
        “Sorry,” Wendy said softly.
        “What?”
        “I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve never even said something like that before! And here I say it at, like, the most inappropriate moment ever, and--”
        Violet squeezed her hand, cutting off the girl’s cute ramble.
        “It’s okay. You can tease me. I promise I’ll slip into the bikini for you again sometime. Just, not right now, okay?”
        “Sometime?” Wendy asked, her voice both teasing and hopeful.
        “You know, before the end of the cruise.”
        “Are you asking me out?” The girl was teasing her again. Violet loved it.
        “No, I think I’m asking if it’s okay for me to completely monopolize every moment I can steal you away for the next seven days.”
        Violet licked her lips, surprised by her own response. Just a few minutes ago, Wendy had been a tantalizing possibility, conjuring fantasies of a rough, passionate half hour in a closet somewhere. Now, Violet didn’t feel like being anywhere except by her side.
        Wendy’s hand squeezed hers. Violet stole another glance. They were both blushing.
        “Deal,” the mouse said, just as they arrived at the Royal Family Suite.
        Violet turned toward her, about to tell her she’d be right back. The mousegirl’s mouth was hanging open.
        “You’re staying HERE?”
        Violet glanced at the cabin. She hadn’t even opened the doors yet, and the mouse was gawking. Well, she guessed most other cabins didn’t have french double doors leading into them. 
        “I’ll give you a grand tour later, I promise,” Violet said, giggling as the mouse finally shut her mouth. “Let me just go change.”
        Wendy nodded and Violet swiped her keycard, deliberately teasing the mouse by slipping inside without letting her get too much of a glimpse of the cabin.
        “Th-that tickles!”
        “Stop squirming so much!”
        Violet stopped just beyond the door, eyes wide. Her brother was in a chair in the great room, naked with his back arched. Another boy, some kind of striped lizard with a bright blue tail, was on his knees in front of her brother, long tongue wrapped around his cock, precum dribbling from the tip. She stared. Not only could she not believe what she was seeing, but her brother’s pink shaft was enormous.
        “PERI?!”
        Both boys stopped giggling and lifted their eyes to stare back at her. The lizard boy retracted his tongue, and Peri groaned despite himself as it had to slither around his cock before snapping into the boy’s mouth. 
        Blushing, she covered her mouth and ran into the room she shared with Lily. She had intended to change completely, but instead, she just tossed a skirt and tanktop on over her bikini. The neon pink of her top glowed through the white cotton, and without a bra, her nipples would still find a way to show off from time to time. Well, hopefully Wendy would appreciate that. She wasn’t about to stay in this cabin a second longer than absolutely necessary.
        Her brother and his. . .his. . .lover? She shuddered at the thought of those words in the same sentence together. They were still in the same spot when she came out, as if frozen in time. She shielded her eyes with one hand and all but ran to the front door. She opened it and slipped out.
        “Holy fuck, was that your sist--”
        Violet slammed the door closed behind herself.
        Wendy squeaked with surprise and looked up at her, concerned. “Is everything alright?”
        “This is going to be a long day.”

        ***

        Violet had been wrong. The day hadn’t been long at all. She couldn’t remember a day that had gone by faster. She’d spent every moment with Wendy. After breakfast, they’d spent the entire morning in the library talking. Violet hadn’t even know the ship had a library, but Wendy had seemed excited to take her there, so she hadn’t argued. It had been small, quiet, comfortable and perfect.
        Wendy had coaxed her into talking, and she’d talked until she was hoarse. She’d tried to skirt around the more sordid details about her relationship with her sister, but almost everything she’d left out, Wendy had guessed. The girl had been quiet, but not judgemental. They’d found lunch after the library, and coffee after lunch, spotting Joel and Lily curled up in a booth together, looking like they hadn’t moved in hours. Violet couldn’t deny how adorable the pair had looked together, but seeing her sister had turned her stomach into a guilty knot, so she’d dragged Wendy with her tall double-caramel latte with whipped cream away from the coffee shop as soon as she could.
        Wendy had tried to drag her to the pool, but she’d refused, and they’d opted for rock climbing instead. With her bikini still on under her skirt, she’d managed to draw a few more lewd, teasing comments out of the mouse by climbing faster than her. Her heart beat faster as she thought about the mouse gazing lustily up her skirt, but she tried to scold herself into keeping things slow.
        Now, the two of them curled together, entangled on a plush, U-shaped bench around a low table as explosions lit the outdoor theater and Robert Downey Jr. had a panic attack on the screen in front of them. They’d both seen Iron Man 3 before, but a movie was always a perfect excuse to cuddle together in the dark. Violet was trying to decide how soon would be too soon to try and make out with the girl in her arms, when a thought struck her.
        “Oh god,” she whispered, head on Wendy’s shoulder. “I’m a horrible sister. I’ve been avoiding Lily all day. I didn’t even text her to make sure she’s okay.”
        Someone shushed them nearby and Wendy slid an arm around her waist, holding her. Violet shivered, then felt even more guilty for enjoying the sensation while ignoring her distraught twin. 
        “Hush,” Wendy said in her ear, then shoved something in her hand. Violet frowned and looked down. It was Wendy’s phone.

        [Joel H: Tell your girlfriend I’m sorry for yelling at her. Lily is ok. Wants some time alone.]

        The text was from several hours ago. 
        “I wouldn’t have let you go if you had tried. I agree with Joel. You two need some time apart.”
        Violet stared at the message, chewing her lip, until the screen timed out and went dark. Even if she was okay, she should have gone to her. She’d shied away from even seeing her sister all day. She’d been a coward. A selfish coward. She hadn’t even asked. . . 
        “Stop it,” Wendy hissed in her ear.
        “What?” Violet asked, feeling a little hurt by the mouse’s tone.
        “You’re beating yourself up for enjoying yourself. She’s okay. You’re okay. Stop.”
        Violet hid her face, surprised at the mouse’s vehemence, but thankful for it, too. She slid her arm around the girl’s narrow waist.
        “So. . .” she whispered against Wendy’s neck. “Girlfriend, huh?”
        Violet looked up just in time to see the girl blush, her face lighting up from the reflected glow as the movie changed scenes. She grinned, enjoying watching her go from stern to timid in the space of a breath.
        “You’re the one who laid claim to every second of my time on this boat.”
        Violet giggled softly, fingers trailing absently along the girl’s side.
        “I did, didn’t I,” she said. She paused for a little while, chewing on her lower lip. She moved her hand slowly to Wendy’s belly, gently rubbing her through her shirt. She shivered when she heard the girl’s soft sigh in reply. The mouse arched gingerly into the touch, and the reaction sent a thrill down Violet’s spine.
        “So, do girlfriends usually spend a whole movie making out?” She said it to be teasing, but she honestly wasn’t sure. What she’d done with others in the past could hardly be defined as ‘dating.’ She felt Wendy stiffen a little, the hand on her side squeezing a little tighter as the mousegirl blushed and then looked down into her eyes.
        “Usually,” Wendy said in a tiny whisper, nervous.
        Violet made a small, pleased sound in her throat and lifted her muzzle. Wendy’s lips were parted when her lips found them. They kissed slowly, both timid at first, as Wendy wrapped both her arms around Violet’s body. The mouse was sitting up while Violet was draped out along the curve of the seat, her upper body in Wendy’s lap. It made the angle of the kiss awkward, but neither of them cared, especially since it pressed more of their bodies together.
        Wendy’s mouth was open and willing, but she was shy and submissive in the kiss, so Violet took the lead, sliding her tongue inside the mouse’s mouth and exploring slowly. She marveled at how different the kiss was, every taste, every sensation different from any other kiss she’d shared, though most of those had been with Lily. She slipped her arms around the mouse’s body and held her tight as the kiss went on for minutes. She could feel the mouse’s nipples stiffen, poking into her collarbone, and knew that her own were jutting firmly into the mouse’s belly.
        Though still submissive in the kiss, Wendy’s hands were the first to grow bold enough to start exploring. Violet arched her back as little claws danced under her tanktop and her new girlfriend began to stroke her bare back. In her mind, she dared Wendy to untie the bikini top she still wore underneath, but even though the mouse scraped her claws down Violet’s flesh over the thin pink string, she didn’t take the dare. 
        Violet shifted a little, her hands slipping away from Wendy’s back, prepared to untie the string herself, when she felt something new poking her, warm and stiff, pressed against her side. She gasped quietly through her nose, her tongue faltering in Wendy’s mouth and the hands on her back freezing. She could feel the heat of Wendy’s blush without looking, and gingerly drew her tongue out of the mouse’s mouth. 
        “You didn’t tell me about that,” she said softly, looking down at the tent in Wendy’s mid-thigh shorts. 
        “I-I know! I’m sorry! I was going to te--”
        Violet lowered her hand, gently tracing the firmness through the cotton and effectively stalling Wendy’s stammering. The mouse swallowed audibly and sank down on the bench, hiding behind its tall, circular back and blushing so hotly that Violet could see it even in the darkness.
        “D-don’t. . .” Wendy began, but Violet interrupted her.
        “Oh good, it’s not too big,” Violet said speculatively, her hand cupping the mouse’s hidden masculinity. 
        “What?”
        Violet chrrred softly, delighting at how cute Wendy was when she was embarrassed and nervous like this. Violet, on the other hand, was finally in familiar territory.
        “Lily is a bit of a size queen. Things could get awkward if you had something for her to be jealous of.” As she talked, she slowly drew down Wendy’s zipper. The mouse girl made a quiet protest in her throat, but her hands didn’t move to stop her. No, those delicate little claws were too busy digging nicely into Violet’s back. Her own slender hand slipped inside Wendy’s fly and drew out her cock. Pretty, pink, petite, and hard as a rock, it fit perfectly in Violet’s curled fingers. She smiled, unable to believe her luck, and turned her lips up to Wendy’s again.
        If anything, Wendy was even more conservative in the kiss now than before, the slender girl--no, herm, Violet corrected herself mentally--trembling with both arousal and nervousness. Violet giggled against her lips and pressed their bodies together more firmly, gently beginning to stroke the throbbing member in the mouse girl’s lap. Violet tried to go slow, to put her at ease, though she wasn’t sure how much slower she could go. If the day had played out even a tiny bit differently, Violet would be sitting down with Gran for dinner right now, daydreaming about how she had forced Wendy to blow a load in her ass that morning. Her whole body shivered at the thought and Wendy squeaked into her mouth when she unintentionally gripped the girl’s cock harder. How many days before anal sex was considered socially acceptable, she wondered.
        Violet let the kiss draw out long again as Wendy gradually relaxed underneath her. Violet stroked her at a slow, teasing pace, making the girl’s hips squirm desperately and being rewarded by a steady dribble of precum that coated her palm.  A full scene passed on the screen in front of them, Violet’s tongue exploring deep in Wendy’s mouth, before the mouse finally began to move her hands again. Violet arched, hoping the hands would slide up and free the breasts Wendy had been staring at all day, but they moved down instead. Violet inhaled through her nose as Wendy’s fingers reached the waistband of her skirt and hesitated. Knowing the decision the girl was hesitating over, she rolled her butt back in what she hoped was an inviting way, eager for the hands to move on.
        They kissed deeply for a moment longer as Wendy struggled with her decision. A tingle shot down Violet’s back when the girl’s fingers insinuated themselves under her skirt. They didn’t slip under her bikini bottoms, though. That was alright. Slow, right? Violet moaned approvingly into Wendy’s lips as ten little mouse claws clutched at her bikini-clad rump.
        Violet increased her pace, squeezing Wendy’s cock as she pumped her fist on the member. The mouse broke the kiss on accident, letting out a soft moan that drew another shush from other moviegoers. Violet couldn’t help but giggle as the sound reminded Wendy of how perfectly public their affection was. She looked down at Violet desperately, but Violet just smiled, pumping faster. Wendy had to bite her lip to keep quiet, and her hands tightened on Violet’s rump, making her shiver with delight. 
        Wendy clenched her eyes shut, burying her muzzle in Violet’s hair and clutching her ass as if she might float away. Her hips were jerking, bucking up once for every six or seven strokes of Violet’s fist. Violet lowered her head, nuzzling her cheek against Wendy’s breasts as she moved her eyes down to watch. The pink head of Wendy’s cock swelled impressively.
        “V-violet. . .” Wendy whispered, urgent.
        Violet ducked down, lips wrapping around the girl’s engorged tip tightly. A second later, Wendy bucked her hips up, shoving the tip of her cock right to the back of Violet’s throat. Violet whimpered and gagged slightly. She’d eliminated Lily’s gag reflex over a year ago, but her own lingered, despite the way Mr. Ferris had used her throat that one time. 
        Violet didn’t have time to cough or breathe though. One of Wendy’s hands had slipped out of her skirt and was currently clutched in Violet’s hair, keeping her in place.  She felt the petite thing swell in her mouth and the mouse underneath her arched, then exploded. Hot seed shot down Violet’s throat, subduing her gag reflex as thick ropes pumped into her. She sucked hard, her tongue wrapped around the pulsing member, milking the shaft that filled her mouth as Wendy thrashed. Violet grinned around the cock. Her new girlfriend didn’t have much muscle control, and she thrashed and bucked in the booth in obvious throes of orgasm that surely didn’t go unnoticed nearby. She managed to keep quiet, though, and Violet wondered if she literally had to bite her tongue to stay so.
        Wendy pumped her shaft a few more times into Violet’s receptive muzzle, weaker spills of her cum filling Violet’s mouth rather than her throat, letting her taste her seed for the first time. She chrrred and swallowed, savoring the experience before teasing her new lover with a slow, deliberate tongue bath that tortured the now-oversensitive shaft in her mouth. Wendy twitched, a little more cum dribbling out of her, then pulled on Violet’s hair to free her cock from the torture. 
        Violet propped herself up on an elbow, wiping the cum off her chin as she gingerly tucked Wendy’s cock away, ears turned to listen to the girl’s panting. As Violet zipped the shorts back up, Wendy slid bonelessly to one side, sprawling on the round bench as she still tried to catch her breath. Violet slipped her body in alongside, and Wendy wrapped her in weak arms.
        “You didn’t have to. . .” Wendy began, too breathless to finish her sentence.
        “You couldn’t have stopped me,” Violet retorted, kissing Wendy’s lower lip.
        “But. . .” she said, taking a shuddering breath. She sounded worried, and Violet frowned, looking up at her. Wendy blushed.
        “Violet,” she whispered, arms tightening around Violet’s lithe body. “I don’t want this to be like. . .like a one-night stand. I really like you. Like, a lot.”
        Violet blushed hotly at that. Words failed her. She hugged herself against Wendy’s body and hid her face against the mouse girl’s neck.
        “I like you a lot, too,” she whispered. “I, um. . .I wasn’t really sure how else to show you.”
        Wendy giggled softly into her ear. “I’m not complaining,” she said softly. “I just wanted to make sure you knew that I still want to stay with you. Be with you.”
        Violet smiled at that and held Wendy tightly. The words lingered in the air though, growing heavier and heavier. A silence drew itself out between them. Violet wondered if the same thought had occurred to Wendy.
        “Where do you live?” Wendy asked, sounding frightened of the answer, confirming Violet’s thoughts.
        “Roosevelt City. Well, a suburb. Um. . .y-you?”
        “Marblecliff.”
        Violet frowned, thinking. “Maine?”
        “New Hampshire.”
        “Oh, sorry.”
        On the screen, the credits rolled. The two girls lay together, very still. Then Wendy surprised her, moving in for another kiss. This time, it was the mouse’s tongue that darted past their pressed lips. Violet sighed sweetly through her nose, letting herself be kissed. It was a new experience for her. Wendy’s tongue was still exploring her mouth when the last scenes of Bruce Banner and Tony Stark disappeared from the screen. As soft lights lit up around the theater space, Wendy pulled her tongue back with a wet pop.
        “I don’t care,” the mouse said resolutely.
        “Uhm,” was all Violet could say in reply. Wendy bit her lip at the reaction, grinning shyly. Then she frowned.
        “I should really get back to my cabin,” she said reluctantly. Then, “Wanna meet up for breakfast tomorrow?”
        Violet propped herself up slowly, and the two of them untangled their limbs to stand up. She leaned in against Wendy, one hand resting daintily on her backside, their bodies just barely touching. “It’s gonna be hard to wait that long,” she said honestly.
        Wendy blushed and leaned in to peck her lips. “Walk me back to my room.”

        ***
        Lily

        “Come on, you two. We’re closing up.”
        Lily looked up in surprise as an aproned barista swept the floor in front of their booth. Closing up? She leaned against Joel to look out the window, confused. It was pitch black outside. She’d spent all day in his arms. They hadn’t moved. She hadn’t eaten or even excused herself to the restroom. She hadn’t even dozed off. She’d simply spent the whole day curled up against him, blissfully thinking about nothing but how nice his firm chest felt against her cheek. He hadn’t let her go. Just like she’d asked.
        He had, however, fallen asleep. She leaned up, hands braced against his chest, and kissed the corner of his mouth.
        “Hmm?”
        “We should go,” she said reluctantly. “They’re closing up.”
        Joel blinked at her, then glanced outside, the same confusion clouding his face as he put together the course of the day the same way she had. She melted at the way his eyes softened when he looked down at her.
        “You want me to carry you back to your cabin?”
        Lily bit her lip, tempted.  She hesitated longer than she wanted to admit, but eventually shook her head. “I can walk.”
        They stood together and were ushered out the door by the impatient barista. Lily shivered at the bite of the evening air and drew her blanket closer. She hesitated there as the lock clicked shut behind them.
        “You don’t have to babysit me,” she said quietly after a little while. “I can make it back on my own.”
        “I know you can,” he said evenly. “I’m not babysitting you. I was before. Now I’m going to walk you back to your cabin just because I like being with you.”
        She glanced up at him, surprised. He smiled an awkward smile at her. He was worried, she realized with a start. Worried that she didn’t want to be with him.
        “Well, I need to go by the pool first. I left some stuff there this morning. So it’ll be a long walk.”
        He smiled a bit broader. “Good.”
        They walked side by side together in silence. Lily felt excitement warm her body despite the brisk air. This handsome boy wanted to be with her. He wasn’t just a gawker like the stupid men by the pool, or someone to use her like her sister. He was just just sweet and sincere. He cared for her. She could scarcely believe it. She let her fingers trail down his forearm and slipped her hand into his. He squeezed it, and she warmed even more.
        The pool glowed with lights below the surface, and it steamed slightly from being heated, the two effects making it look eerie and uninviting even though the intent was the opposite. She and Joel shone and wavered with the pale, reflected glow. The pool was deserted, and Lily’s stuff lay in a heap on a chair where she had left it that morning.
        She turned toward Joel, placing her hand on his lower stomach, trembling with excitement. In the coffee shop, all day, Joel had been nothing but a safe, warm pair of powerful arms. But ever since that awkward smile, she’d been daydreaming. Cute, young colts were famous for sporting perfectly thick coltcocks. He wanted her. He’d said so himself. The deserted pool would make the perfect place. . .
        His fingers curled around her wrist. She gasped as he gripped her. It hurt a little as he carefully pulled her hand off him before she could trail it lower.
        “Joel,” she said softly, turning her eyes up to him, biting her lip and widening her eyes. She tried to press forward against him, to let him feel her stiff nipples against his chest, but he stepped away, agile and light-footed like a dancer.
        “No, Lily,” he said softly. She could see the struggle in his eyes. She could break him. She could get what she wanted. Violet had shown her how it was done with Mr. Ferris and Kailee. She stepped forward and succeeded in pressing against him, but he caught her other wrist before she could find what she was seeking.
        “Lily,” he repeated her name, his voice strained.
        “Joel, I just want to thank you. For saving me. . .”
        “If you want to thank me, then don’t do this,” he said desperately.
        She stopped struggling at the pain in his voice and looked up at him, confused.
        “Don’t you. . .you said you wanted me,” she said quietly. She felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Joel, too?
        “I do, Lily,” he said quickly, confusing her even more. “But we can’t. I can’t let you. I can’t let you complicate this before we’ve even started figuring it out, okay? There’s other ways to show affection, Lily. There’s other reasons to want to be with someone. Can we just. . .” he struggled with his words, and Lily knew her wide-eyed look wasn’t helping. But she wasn’t playing the sweet, coy, wide-eyed thing for his arousal any more. She was genuinely confused, genuinely worried.
        He stopped talking and gently released her hands. They fell to her sides as he raised his own hands and gently placed them on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. “Just let me show you, okay? Trust me. Control yourself. Can we do that?”
        She trembled under his hands, ashamed of the tears that had escaped. Her darker thoughts from this morning threatened at the edges of the warmth Joel made her feel. Broken. She was broken. Too fucked up to fuck. That’s all he was saying. Broken and useless. His fingers tightened on her shoulders, the strength of his grip bruising her. 
        “Trust me, Lily,” he said softer than before. “Trust me and I won’t let you go. I promise.”
        She looked up at him. The tears were gone, but her vision was still blurred by them. She didn’t believe him. How could she? Despair and self-pity assaulted her so hard she shook. Her vision cleared slowly, showing her the concerned blue eyes that pierced the night, their light hue made preternatural by the glow of the pool lights. She didn’t have to believe him to trust him, she realized. Trusting him was a far better prospect than trusting herself. She’d made it perfectly clear she couldn’t be trusted.
        “Okay,” she said softly, wondering how long they’d stood there in silence. When he wrapped his arms around her, the dark thoughts from this morning fled, replaced by the security of his iron arms. She sobbed against his chest.

        ***

        Violet, Day 5/6 , very late

        A warm dream was interrupted by the soft rustle of sheets. Violet opened her eyes, but the room was just as dark as it had been with them closed. Lily had already been asleep when she had finally gotten back to the stateroom. She and Wendy had found a nice, dark corner to spend another hour making out on their walk home.
        “Violet?”
        Violet rolled onto her side towards Lily’s voice.
        “Yeah?”
        “Can. . .can you hold me?”
        The worried crack in Lily’s voice broke Violet’s heart and twisted her stomach with guilt. She shifted back on her bed and tugged the sheets back in a wordless invitation. Though the room was pitch black, Lily must have heard it, for she slipped in beside her a moment later. Violet wrapped her arm around Lily’s belly and held her as tightly as she could. Her sister sighed.
        “I missed you,” Lily said softly.
        “I know. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t. . .”
        “I know.”
        Violet buried her muzzle in Lily’s hair. It still smelled faintly of chlorine. Her own hair must be a mess, too, she realized. She’d been so caught up in her day with Wendy that she hadn’t even run a brush through it after the pool.
        “I love you,” Violet whispered in her sister’s ear. She was so still, Violet wondered if she’d already drifted back to sleep.
        “I love you, too.”

        ***

        Ginger, Day 6, evening

        Ginger bit her lip as her mother finished her fifth glass of wine. She glanced at Daddy but he didn’t say anything. Ginger squirmed, feeling tense. No one at the table spoke. Her mother and Daddy had barely spoken the whole trip. So much for patching things up. Ginger had been planning this dinner together since their first day on the boat, and positioning both Daddy and her mother to a place where they’d both agree had been tricky. Now it just felt like a lot of wasted effort. She tried, again, to start up a conversation.
        “This cruise is really nice, Daddy.”
        Daddy beamed at her. “Hm, it sure is, isn’t it sweetheart? Being an executive has its perks sometimes. The company paid for this whole trip.”
        “Right,” her mother said coolly, twisting the stem of her empty glass between her fingers. “Far be it for you to think of something nice for the family by yourself.”
        Ginger cringed, watching Daddy bristle at the comment. Ginger felt like crying. Her mother had been nothing but wicked towards Daddy ever since he’d got back from his first business trip. She could barely remember what her family had been like back then, but she knew she wanted it back.
        Ginger groped desperately for a new topic. “M-maybe when we get home, we could all go on a picnic? The parks are so pretty in the summer!”
        Daddy smiled at her sadly, and Ginger’s heart sunk. She knew what that smile meant. She’d seen that smile over a dozen times in the last year.
        “Daddy can’t, sweetie, I’m sorry. I got an e-mail this morning. We’re acquiring a new facility in Brazil next week. Johnson was supposed to be taking care of it, but he’s just been assigned to the offices in Japan. I’m going to have to fly there out of Honolulu after we dock.”
        “Of course,” Ginger’s mother said, throwing her hands up. The glass slipped from between her fingers. To Ginger, it seemed like it flipped end over end in slow motion as it fell to the floor. When it struck, the glass wasn’t the only thing that shattered. Her mother’s patience went with it, as did Ginger’s hopes of knitting their family back together. “Brazil? What, not Thailand, again? Not Cambodia? Brazil! You disgusting pervert! Dashing your little girl’s hopes like that so you can go on your twisted little trips! You’re disgusting, Frank! Brazil! You FUCKING PERVERT!”
        Ginger gasped, staring at her mother along with the rest of the restaurant. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks. She’d heard her mother scream those things at Daddy before, but never in public. She cringed. This was the part where Daddy started screaming back. But he kept his seat, hanging his head. He looked up at Ginger. “Go back to the room, sweetheart.”
        “Daddy. . .”
        “Go to the room.” 
        Ginger stood up, shaking. Her chair toppled backwards to the floor, the only sound in the room. Daddy stood up slowly, trying to place his hand on her mother’s shoulder, who shook it off angrily. Ginger fled, hoping she wouldn’t hear the rest of the argument, and passed a pair of worried, stern looking servers who were headed toward her parents, just as the yelling started again.

        ***

        Ginger, Day 7, early morning

        Ginger shivered as the chill of the room pervaded her dreams, tugging her back to reality. She winced at the cold and groped for her thin sheet, but couldn’t find it. Her mood blackened as she raised up on her elbows, sleep fleeing more as she shivered again. The room was pitch black, which didn’t mean much in their little interior cabin, but it felt like predawn considering how early she’d gone to bed. The cold had really sunk into her bones, even though she’d gone to bed in her. . .
        She frowned at the darkness, brushing her fingers over her bare belly. She would’ve sworn she’d gone to sleep fully dressed. She could distinctly remember slamming the cabin door behind her and jumping onto the rickety shelf that served as her bed, burying her face in her pillow to cry herself to sleep. Had she woken up and undressed at some point? No, she was still dressed, in a way, but her shirt was bunched around her chest and her shorts and panties were around her ankles, and she rarely slept in the nude. She must have gotten tangled up and kicked them off while she slept, along with her sheet.
        She blinked, her eyes crusted with sleep, trying to peer through the darkness to find the thin cover. It wasn’t by the side of the bed. She sat up on the edge, kicking her shorts the rest of the way off as she pulled her shirt down to cover her torso. She stood, the floor chilling the pads of her feet, and bent over to pull her panties up. They were bright red, one of her favorite pair of the growing collection from Chloe.
        Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness slowly, but her vision wasn’t clearing. She blinked a few times, then reached up and rubbed both her eyes with her fists. Something dry and crusty flaked away from them in large clumps. Frowning, she scrubbed at her face with her hands, much more of the odd stuff flaking out of her fur all over her face. She sneezed, then rubbed her nose on the back of her arm, sniffling. She froze. She definitely recognized that smell.

        ***

        Violet, Day 7, morning

        Violet woke slowly, her head buzzing with the remnants of disturbing dreams featuring her little brother, Lily’s broad-chested new beau, and more tongues than could be accounted for. She shivered, trying to relax as she banished the lingering images from her head. She blushed as she felt a familiar warmth in her hands, which were clenched tight. Lily’s body moved slowly against hers as her sister began to wake up, too.
        She felt Lily grow suddenly still as her sister also realized where her hands were. Violet blushed, feeling Lily’s nipples warm and stiffen against her palms. Her sister arched and slid her hands upward to hold Violet’s against her chest.
        “Don’t let go, Violet,” Lily said softly. “I won’t do anything over the line. I. . .well, I promise I’ll try. I’d like it if you still grabbed me sometimes.”
        Violet sighed softly into Lily’s tousled red hair. How could she say no to a request like that? She gently squeezed her sister’s nearly flat breasts, making Lily sigh in a different tone. “Just grabbing,” she said sternly. There was a long pause, and Violet could count Lily’s heartbeats by the throb of her stiff nipples against her hands. 
        “And kissing?” Lily asked in a tiny voice. Violet couldn’t help but giggle. She nuzzled into Lily’s hair and placed a kiss on the curve of her neck.
        “And kissing,” she agreed.
        Lily responded with a pleased little ‘mmm’ that made Violet’s loins burn. She shivered, grabbing Lily’s breasts more firmly. This was going to be hard.
        “So that girl I saw you with. She’s a herm?”
        Violet opened her eyes, a little surprised. “How’d you know that? Even I only found out on accident.”
        “I could taste her cum on your lips when I stole a kiss last night. . ”
        “WHAT! Lily! I mean--You couldn’t have! We. . .” Violet stammered, releasing her sister and sitting up in the bed, the sheet falling away from her shoulders. She stared down at her sister in embarrassment, blushing, and groping for a reasonable excuse. She wasn’t sure why she was blushing or trying to make excuses. Especially with her sister. Considering their history, a single blowjob after a day-long ‘date’ was chaste and prudish in comparison. She was still trying to put together a sentence when Lily collapsed into giggles.
        “Gosh. I’m just kidding! Joel told me. But you sure are easy to fluster. This dating thing might turn out to be really funny.”
        Violet snapped her mouth shut, glowering down at her sister, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Lily kept giggling until Violet grumpily settled back down onto the bed, not bothering to pull the sheet back over her shoulder. Lily nestled in against her side, draping one leg over hers. Violet closed her eyes, trying to pretend that she couldn’t feel Lily’s smooth labia on her hip.
        “So you blew her, huh?” Lily asked casually.
        “Yeah,” she replied softly, listening for sounds in the rest of the cabin, wondering if it was too early or perhaps too late for breakfast. “I honestly didn’t mean to. Things just kinda. . .popped up.” They both giggled at the joke. “What about you?”
        Lily shifted against her quietly. She was quiet for long enough that Violet started to worry. Just when she opened her mouth to apologize, Lily spoke. “He held me. All day. And all night. That’s all. Violet, aren’t we going to talk about what happened? About what I tried to do?”
        It was Violet’s turn to be quiet and uncomfortable. She turned away from her sister, a weird kind of shame twisting at her stomach. It wasn’t her fault, she told herself. And yet, it was all her fault. It hard started being her fault almost two years ago.
        “I was trying not to.”
        “I was really hurt when I saw you. You were leaning forward, looking at Wendy the way you used to look at me. You don’t know how that felt, Violet.”
        “I know,” she said softly. “But Lily. . .”
        “I know,” her sister said back. “Part of me really wants to go back to that. Like, really badly. I feel it all the time. Wanting it. Wanting you.”
        “Lily. . .”
        “Shut up,” her sister said quietly but insistently, and Violet did. Lily licked her own lips, taking a shaky breath, and continued. “I think. . .I think knowing you want it sometimes, too, is enough. Like when I woke up and you were grabbing me. I know what we were doing wasn’t right, Violet. I don’t think it was wrong, either. Not really. I know what we had has to change. But the grabbing. The kissing. Looking at me the way you looked at Wendy yesterday. I want to keep that.”
        Violet lay there in her darkness, thinking about every touch of her sister’s body against hers, letting her sister’s words, her need, sink in slowly. Their breathing was the only sound in the cabin.
        “I feel it all the time,” she said finally.
        “What?” Lily asked.
        “Wanting you. I feel it all the time. If you want me to kiss you and grab you, you have to stop me, Lily. Things will get really bad if I can’t stop myself. Not touching you at all was the only way I could stop myself. I didn’t push you away because I didn’t want you. I pushed you away because I couldn’t stop wanting you, and I’d only just figured out how dangerous that was for both of us.”
        Violet could hear Lily’s nervous swallow in the darkness. She could also feel the flush of warmth on her hip as her quiet admission aroused her sister. They were still for a long moment, both of their bodies tense. Quite suddenly and with perfect clarity, Violet knew that if her sister tried to take her right then, she wouldn’t say no. Part of her burned, ached for Lily to cross that line. People would be hurt. Gran would be furious and devastated both. But in that moment, she didn’t care.
        Lily placed a shaking paw on Violet’s stomach. Violet closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, trying not to arch into the touch. Every muscle and thought inside her willed that hand to slide down. . .
        “Maybe. . .” Lily whispered, her voice just as taut as Violet’s body. “Maybe our new friends can take care of those needs for us.”
        Just like that, the moment was gone. Violet’s senses returned and the tension fled from her body. She turned onto her side to face Lily, and when her breasts smooshed against her sister’s nearly flat chest, it was the source of more humor than desire. Lily glared down at her more endowed chest with an expression of jealousy that was nearly invisible in the darkness, but so familiar to Violet that she could see it painted on the shadows. They both giggled.
        “Mine maybe,” Violet teased. “Yours hasn’t even touched you yet.”
        “Yeah,” Lily said with a tentativeness that made Violet’s teasing seem cruel rather than affectionate. Violet cringed, and coached herself to tread a little softer with her sister’s new beau from now on. “He wants to go slow. He wants to show me other ways people show affection.”
        Violet smiled at that. “Good,” she said, leaning forward to brush Lily’s cheek with her own. “Wendy said he was a real gentleman. It sounds like he actually is.”
        “Yeah,” Lily said, and Violet could barely see the unsure, somewhat dreamy smile on Lily’s lips. “I think he is. I’ve never met one before.”
        Violet paused at that. She was pretty sure Mr. Ferris was a gentleman. Nathaniel, too. Sure, with their grandmother being a politician, most of the men they’d met in their lives had been real sleezebags, but there had been gentlemen, too. It made her sad to think that, while she’d controlled Lily, she’d made her sister see only objects of lust rather than sincere men. She silently wished Joel luck.
        “Oh my god,” Violet whispered, eyes wide.
        “What?!”
        “I saw Peri getting a blowjob from another boy yesterday!”
        “WHAT?!”
        “Yeah, like, right in the sitting room out there. A skink his own age.”
        “Gross,” Lily said as they both giggled. “How could he even fit it?”
        Peri’s endowment was no secret to them. Even with their tacit agreement that their little brother was strictly off-limits, sharing a bathroom had offered up any number of accidental glimpses. Violet had never seen him erect until yesterday though. He might not be on par to sate someone like Lily, but relative to his little size, the kid was enormous.
        “He didn’t. He was just using his ton--god, Lily I don’t want to talk about the details!”
        Lily giggled at her discomfiture and Violet just made a face in the darkness, trying to excise the memory. 
        “You think he’s gay?”
        Violet thought about that for a while, then made a disgruntled sound as it forced her to replay what she’d seen.
        “I dunno,” she finally concluded. “They could’ve just been playing, you know? Exploring. I mean, we’re not gay.”
        “Ummmm, you’re kiiiinda gay.”
        “I am not! Herms don’t make me gay!”
        “They kinda do!” Lily countered, laughing and rolling away from her as Violet tried to smack her for the comment.
        “Well,” Violet huffed. “Then they kinda don’t, either!”
        “Yeah, which just makes you kinda gay!”
        “Argh!”        They both laughed as Violet leapt out of the bed at her. She caught her sister and gave her a sound swat as they both tumbled into Lily’s bed, laughing. Lily leaned up and favored her with a chaste kiss. Violet smiled and returned it. She made it a little less chaste, sucking her sister’s tongue into her mouth, biting it in retribution. Her sister moaned playfully, but then the exchange ended with surprising ease.
        “I’m gay for you,” Lily said teasingly, nuzzling her chin.
        “Ditto,” Violet replied, kissing her nose. “C’mon. I’m sure we missed our swim, but I bet we can still make breakfast.”
        Lily squeaked with excitement, bouncing up to flip on the light, then ducking into her suitcase, which remained half-packed, half-destroyed rather than put away. Violet let herself stare at her sister’s bare, wiggling ass. She sure as hell wasn’t going to give up looking. Lily popped up, holding a hanger in each hand and grinning from ear to ear. Matching white bikinis. If they got into the water in those, they’d be downright scandalous. They’d bought them for the pool last summer and never ended up wearing them, which meant they were probably a little bit snugger than they ought to be, too. Violet shivered at the thought of walking around in those. It would be the next thing to being nude. She licked her lips, knowing she ought to say no.
        “With a shirt,” she concluded. Lily’s face fell, then brightened again.
        “Unbuttoned?”
        “Of course.”
        “Awesome!”

        ***

        Wendy

        Wendy pushed the remains of her eggs around on her plate disconsolately, a nervous, sinking feeling in her stomach. Violet hadn’t shown up yet, and Joel had texted her that Lily hadn’t either. She was glad now that Shyara had turned down her invitation to join them for breakfast. She’d spent much of the morning trying to drag her friend out of bed to join her, though that was mostly because her self-doubt had reasserted itself overnight. Still, she never would’ve met Violet without Shyara’s encouragement, and she was eager for the two of them to meet. But the sugarglider had chosen to spend the morning buried under her blankets, too caught up being homesick and missing Sienna to be dragged out. It had been so bad, Wendy had nearly called Violet to cancel. But Shyara would’ve been furious if she’d tried to do that. She imagined Shyara’s sad eyes and sweet comfort at the thought of Wendy being stood up, and was happy the glider hadn’t accepted the invitation.
        She sighed. What had happened? Yesterday had gone so well. Unbelievably well. She hadn’t been able to believe her own luck, starting the day with a girl like Violet eyeing her with that sort of interest. Just remembering that initial predatory gleam in Violet’s eyes made her shiver.
        Had she messed something up? Violet was wild and adventurous. Maybe Wendy had already bored her. What could she possibly do that was more risky and insane than a blowjob right in the middle of an open air theater? Anyone could have seen! She was sure a dozen people knew. She hadn’t been able to keep still when she’d cum and the grins or glares at her afterward had been enough to make her hide her face against Violet’s shoulder.
        But Violet hadn’t left her then. They’d spent another hour making out in the corridors. Violet had held her hand and seemed so sincere about making plans for today, and the rest of the cruise, and even beyond that. Her head swam at the possibilities, and she swelled in her shorts at the half-imagined thoughts, too. Violet was like her wildest fantasy come true, only now she was starting to worry that it really had been too good to be true.
        A waiter came by and snatched her plate up from in front of her before she could protest. She blushed, letting him leave. She’d been planning to fiddle with her eggs some more, to look like she still had a reason to be taking up a booth all by herself. But she’d dropped her hands to her lap while thinking about Violet.
        Blushing, she glanced around discreetly as she readjusted herself in her shorts. If she didn’t get her imagination under control, it’d be a while before she could stand up and leave. 
        Maybe Wendy wasn’t reason Violet wasn’t showing up. After what happened with Lily yesterday, maybe an incident with her was keeping the otters from breakfast. Had Lily tried something again? From the few texts they’d exchanged, Joel had seemed pretty confident in his ability to console her and calm her down. Then again, Joel had also seemed pretty confident that Phoebe was the love of his life, and everyone knew how that had turned out. Maybe Joel was far stupider with girls than he pretended to be. Maybe Joel had no clue that he’d actually done more harm than good, and. . .
        Or maybe the sisters had turned back to each other for ‘comfort.’ Wendy shivered at the idea, unable to keep a mental image from popping up in her head. Violet hadn’t been specific, but she’d made it perfectly clear that she and her sister had spent over a year being intimate with each other. Or more specifically, Violet being intimate with Lily. Wendy’s imagination rushed in to fill the details the ashamed sister had left out, and she painted a picture of busty Violet with narrow little Lily pinned to a bed in a lush, extravagant suite. Blood surged into her cock, stiffening in record time down the leg of her shorts and she bent forward over the table, grunting and blushing. 
        Where were they?!
        She squirmed in her seat. As hard as she was, her cock threatened to poke out of the leg of her shorts, even though her shorts weren’t that short, and she wasn’t all that big, either. She marveled at the effect Violet could have on her, physically and mentally, and hoped she was just creating problems out of nothing.
        Glancing up, she saw Joel in the door to the breakfast buffet. Keeping one hand in her lap, she waved at him to get his attention with the other. The buffet was nearly empty now, with the morning food service ending in half an hour. Joel grabbed an apple off the cold bar and walked over to join her. He looked worried, and she didn’t say anything as he sat.
        “We were going to meet by the pool for her morning swim,” he said.
        “Yeah, you told me that over an hour ago.”
        “She still hasn’t shown up.”
        “Obviously.”
        He shot her a glare and she shut her mouth. She got that reaction a lot. She didn’t mean to be snarky, but so many people repeated themselves or pointed out obvious things. Communication would be so much more efficient if people were logical about it.
        Not that she was feeling very logical at the moment. She squirmed. Joel’s presence hadn’t had an effect on her body’s reaction to her daydreaming. Worrying wasn’t supposed to make you aroused, was it? Maybe she was weirder than she’d ever suspected.
        Wendy looked up in time to see two angels descend to earth in front of the door. The sight literally took her breath away. Holding hands, Violet and Lily appeared at the door together in matching outfits. The scene painted the perfect comparison of how exactly alike they were and how perfectly opposite they were as well. Wendy had never noticed it in so stark a contrast before. Violet was a dark, voluptuous beauty with blonde waves of hair that cascaded in effortless perfection down past her shoulders. Their hands could have been joined through a mirror to an alternate universe, because at her side was Violet’s perfect complement. The same face looked out from the same height on top of the opposite body. Where Violet was dark, Lily’s fur was soft blonde. Where Violet was round and enticing, Lily was slender and taboo. They even had complementary spots, a detail that Wendy had overlooked the day before. In the exact same places on their arms, bellies, and legs, each had small splashes of their sister’s color.
        Wendy could scarcely believe what they were wearing. She knew some people, even herms, had been comfortable walking around the ship in their bathing suits, even long after the sun had set. Wendy herself would never feel comfortable doing such a thing. She barely felt comfortable swimming in her swimming suit, much less strutting around in one in public all day! But Violet and Lily stretched the limits of propriety even further. And stretch was definitely the word for it.
        Violet’s bikini the day before had been stringier, sure, with a bottom piece that barely qualified as decent in the rear. But this bikini was tighter and covered much less of her breasts. And it was white. From across the room, Wendy could see the shadow of Violet’s nipples on the pale fabric that strained to contain her breasts, and when she walked, there was more than a subtle suggestion of cameltoe.
        The effect was, if anything, more scandalous on Lily. Lily’s light fur didn’t mask her nipples the way Violet’s dark coat did, and the pale blush of pink flesh was barely visible through the fabric. Wendy stared, trying to determine if that was pink she was seeing between Lily’ thighs as well. With fewer curves about her hips and thighs to hide things, Lily’s cameltoe was always visible, and Lily’s apparent age, a few years less than her actual age, made the effect much more scandalous.
        They both wore white buttondowns for ‘modesty’ with tails that reached down to their knees, but they both wore them open, and a stray breeze could make them billow out behind their bodies, leading to the angel illusion Wendy had witnessed. Plus, Wendy wasn’t sure if Lily’s nipples would be completely hidden even with the shirts buttoned. The fabric looked awfully thin.
        Wendy made a strangled sound and leaned over the table, both hands in her lap, her body trembling slightly. She glanced up, worried that Joel would be concerned over her, but he was staring harder than she had been a moment ago. She wondered if he was as hard at the sight of them as she was. She doubted it, though, because what little she had seen and imagined of him--which wasn’t hard, considering his diving uniform was a speedo--he’d be breaking the table if he was.
        The twin sisters each glanced over the thin pickings of what remained on the hot bar, then grabbed an apple and a glass of milk, reluctantly releasing each others’ hands to carry their breakfast over to the booth Wendy had been saving all morning.
        Wendy swallowed nervously, watching Violet’s hips swing as she approached the table. She could hear her own heartbeat thumping wildly in her ears, and the erection she was trying to control was painful. Suddenly, she could hear Shyara’s voice as clearly as if her friend and sometimes lover were whispering in her ear.
        “Act a li’l more confident. Take it up a few notches.” Shyara’s advice from two days ago popped into her mind. She blushed as she thought of what that advice had lead to, and blushed deeper at the wild ideas that danced into her mind for right now.
        “Sorry, boys,” Violet began jauntily, setting her glass on the table as Lily dropped into the booth to nestle alongside Joel. They both appeared bright and cheerful, dissolving away Wendy’s dark worries about where they had been. Her stomach clenched and her pulse raced. She was really going to do it. Be confident. Take it up a notch.
        Wendy stood up suddenly just as Violet turned to slide her backside into the booth. Both yelped as they collided and Wendy closed her eyes as the awkward positioning jammed her too-stiff erection up under Violet’s tail, who yelped.
        “I’vegottaruntothebathroom,” Wendy blurted. Then, not daring to let her courage flag, she grabbed Violet by the wrist to drag her along.

        ***

        Lily gasped as Wendy dragged Violet away, the otter squealing with giggles as she was pulled away from the table. She looked up at Joel, her cheek on his chest, and watched him watch them go.
        The sleek equine shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Wendy’s. . .uh. . .not usually like that,” he said, sounding rather stunned. Lily felt a little relief that he knew what was about to happen in that bathroom. Gentlemanly was one thing, but she’s not sure she could trust herself not to take advantage of naivete.
        “Violet has that effect on people,” Lily said with a giggle. She could feel his warmth through his t-shirt, and he felt quite a bit warmer than he had yesterday. She hoped her appearance had something to do with that, not just the thought of Wendy and Violet banging in the bathroom.
        “I’m starting to realize that,” Joel said softly. He shifted again, then wrapped his arms around her little body. She sighed and nuzzled his chest. They were silent for a long time. Lily got the distinct feeling that both of them were trying to decide if they were jealous or not. She leaned up, deliberately letting her breasts press against his arm, and nuzzled his jaw.
        “I could jerk you off under the table,” she offered, half-serious.
        “What, before they get back?” he said, then blushed a deep red she’d never seen on a boy before. “I mean, no!”

        ***

        Wendy dragged Violet into the girls’ restroom, the door to the stall rattling as she kicked it shut behind them. Violet clicked it locked. Neither one of them paused to listen for other people in the bathroom. Wendy yelped softly as Violet pushed their lips together and the otter’s tongue rammed inside her mouth. Violet was rougher than she was used to. Forceful, demanding. Wendy loved it and sucked on the tongue hungrily, but it was merely a distraction from what she really wanted. The button to her shorts popped clean off, clattering to the floor as she fumbled with her fly.
        Violet didn’t hesitate when Wendy’s cock popped free. Wendy’s mouth was suddenly empty and her vision swam as she was twirled. The stall rattled again as she was pushed up against the door, Violet kneeling in front of her. 
        “I’m sorry,” she stammered, not caring who might be listening. “I’m usually shy and timid and. . .you just--oh!” She squealed as her hot flesh slid inside Violet’s smooth mouth. She could feel her cock swell, precum dripping onto the otter’s tongue, who swallowed it eagerly and rewarded her with a long, twisting lick around the head of her cock that made her tremble.
        “I. . .I just saw you both, and I couldn’t help myself,” she continued, squealing again as Violet’s head began to bob on her cock. She spread her legs. Her cunny was dripping, aching for attention. She rolled her hips, trying to suggest some attention there, but Violet just sucked harder on her shaft, making her groan. “Seeing you and your sister dressed like that. . .Did you. . .I mean--you said that. . .Have you two really, you know, fucked?”
        Wendy quivered as Violet giggled around her cock, an unusual and delightful sensation, with the otter’s throat spasming around her tip, milking a little more pre out of her. Wendy hunched over, gasping, and tangled her fingers in Violet’s hair.
        “Mmmf,” Violet replied. Definitely an affirmative.
        Wendy’s head swam with the possibilities. For an instant, she clearly pictured Lily on the floor, eating her sister out as Violet’s head bobbed quickly on Wendy’s cock. Wendy groaned, the stall shaking as she humped Violet’s face. Her imagery of the two girls was so vivid, so erotic. And Violet was very, very good at what she was doing. Wendy had never experienced anything like it before. She whimpered, trying to keep quiet, but the whole bathroom was filled with the wet sounds of Violet’s mouth, the raucous shaking and rattling of the stall walls, and her sweet little whimpers. Her hips twitched powerfully. No, not twitched. She was fucking Violet’s face. Hard, too. A beautiful girl was on her knees in front of her, and she was violently fucking that girl’s perfect, gorgeous mouth.
        She groaned and Violet raised her hands to Wendy’s ass, holding on tight. Wendy’s head slammed back against the stall door. She tried not to jam her cock into the otter’s throat again, the way she had last night, and shuddered as she exploded with her orgasm, her cock swelling and throbbing, filling the girl’s mouth with seed as pleasure burst through her trembling body.
        Violet swallowed readily and Wendy hunched over her head, barely able to stand up as a third and fourth powerful pump of her shaft filled Violet’s mouth again. When Violet swallowed the second time, the motion of her mouth around Wendy’s suddenly hypersensitive cock made her shudder powerfully, and she jerked her hips back quickly. Her cock throbbed a fifth time, and a gob of cum barely touched Violet’s nose before dropping to the floor with a wet splat, barely missing the otter’s white swimsuit. Wendy blushed, feeling like a vandal. 
        Wendy looked down, panting and blushing, feeling embarrassed. Violet grinned up at her with an affectionate, teasing look in her eyes. The otter reached out and gently tucked Wendy’s genitals back into her shorts, zipping her up as she stood.
        Wendy closed her eyes, trying not to moan when Violet’s barely-contained breasts pressed against her t-shirt, her hand still cupping her half-hard cock inside her buttonless shorts.
        “Please,” Wendy heard herself whispering, her own selfishness shocking her. “Touch me lower. . .” Her cunny ached for attention.
        “Mmm, not today, hot stuff. You see, boys are impatient. They get all riled up right away until they can’t think straight. Girls are different. A girl might ache, but you still let things go nice and slow, letting the heat build and build until she’s ready to explode. No, when I move on to your little girl, it will be right before you can’t stand it anymore. Slow, sweet, special. And excruciating.” Violet grinned. Its wickedness made Wendy shiver and grow even wetter. Which, of course, was exactly what the girl was going for. I’ve gotten myself in serious trouble, Wendy thought, her body aching deliciously.
        Wendy blushed, barely managing to remember something Violet had said.
        “H-hot stuff?” she asked.
        “Uh huh. You’re not just cute, you know. You’re sexy, and just my type.”
        Wendy blushed. Instinct made her want to say something self-deprecating, but Violet didn’t give her the chance. The otter grabbed her by the back of the head and kissed her. It was gentler than the one they had shared a few minutes ago, but Violet was still rougher than she was used to. She squeaked when the tongue was forced into her mouth and blushed deeply as Violet shared the taste of her cum. She grabbed at Violet’s back, having to steady herself even with the otter pressing her firmly into the stall’s door. Violet still held her head in a firm grip, pulling her hair a little in a way that made Wendy’s knees weak and briefly fucking Wendy’s mouth with her tongue. The kiss ended all too soon, and Wendy looked away shyly as she realized the lewd, eager way she’d been grinding her hips. 
        She panted for breath as Violet raised up on her tiptoes to whisper in her ear.
        “Tell me if I’m being too rough.”
        “I. . .I like it,” Wendy heard herself admitting. Violet grinned at her, nipped her lower lip sharply, and unlocked the stall.
        Oh right, Wendy realized. Lily and Joel. She’d forgotten about them completely. She pouted a little, realizing she’d have to go from mind-shattering orgasm to idle conversation. She would’ve been content to stay in that bathroom stall all day, letting Violet torture and tease her to the breaking point she’d been talking about. She shivered in anticipation.
        “Calm down,” Violet said with a giggle, taking her hand and squeezing it. “If you let your imagination run too wild, you’re gonna put on a show. You lost the button that keeps that beast contained.”
        Wendy squeaked, jutting her hips out to glance down at her fly. Violet was right. An erection at just the wrong time or place could put her on display all too easily. She bit her lip, wondering if she should go back to the cabin and change. No, it wasn’t worth the time away from the otter’s side. Plus, she knew Violet would be teasing her to try to goad her into such an embarrassing situation, and the thought excited her more than she was willing to admit.
        “It’s hardly a beast,” she said meekly as the two of them exited the bathroom.
        “Sure feels like one when it’s pounding the back of my throat,” Violet quipped quickly. She’d been ready for that one. Wendy blushed deeply, and Violet giggled.

        ***

        Violet, evening, Day 7

        Lily flopped down onto the bed with a frustrated groan. “God, I wish he would fuck me already!”
        Violet bent over sister and kissed her forehead, tsking her. “Poor, frustrated Lily. Be nice to Joel. He’s being so chivalrous and gentle with you. This is how normal people behave. I’m pretty sure I remember us deciding it was time for us to act like normal people.”
        Violet slipped out of her gauzy buttondown as Lily rolled her eyes at her. “Well, for one thing, I’m pretty sure you decided that for us,” she said. The sentence left a lot unsaid, and they both winced a little. Talking about what had occurred the morning before was painful to even hedge around. “And for another, YOU’RE NOT HELPING, VIOLET!”
        “I have no idea what you mean,” she said sweetly. She untied the white bikini behind her back and sighed as it let her breasts fell free. She’d been uncomfortable in the too-tight swimsuit all day. Though, the way Wendy had reacted had definitely been worth it. She shivered, grinning as she remembered the look in Wendy’s eyes. She’d been the object of someone’s lust before, but this had been something different. For a few minutes, she’d transformed her sweet, geeky girl into something primal. It’d had been intensely arousing.
        “Yeah right! It was so not fair for you to blow Wendy practically right in front of me! And getting Joel to show off his diving moves! God, did you see the way he was stuffed into those speedos? And I’d be okay if you really would just, y’know, help!”
        A soft whimper came from behind her and Violet turned to see Lily had stuffed her hands in the too-tight bottoms of her bikini. She was wet enough that the crotch was translucent, a fact that had made Violet tell her button up her shirt hours before. Violet had been able to smell her all day, but she hadn’t gotten truly wet until Violet had dragged Joel poolside to show off. She felt a little guilty for teasing her sister like that. She probably shouldn’t tempt fate. But what she was really doing was testing Joel. She needed to know that whoever was going to try to reign Lily in had a strong resolve. So far, so good.
        “Lily,” Violet began, but her sister’s squeak cut her off. Violet bit her lip and watched. The wet crotch of Lily’s bikini hid very little as her sister pumped three fingers into her little snatch.
        “He’s so big, Violet,” Lily whispered hoarsely, her hips pumping into the air. “I want him in me so bad! It’s not fair!”
        Violet untied the string on her hip, letting her own bikini bottoms fall away so that she stood there nude as she watched. Now she was being tested. She could feel her own wetness dribble down the inside of her thigh. She’d had her moment of weakness this morning, her body begging Lily to cross the line. Now Lily was returning the favor. Violet stood stock still, telling herself she’d be good. It was difficult. Lily’s fingers were pumping hard into her snatch, but Violet could see the pink hint of her tailhole through the white fabric of stretched bikini. Lily was leaving her other hole alone on purpose. Violet had said on many occasions how much she loved stuffing it.
        “Violet,” Lily whimpered. Then, “Oh, Joel!” It took only a few moments from there. Lily bit her lip and her hips bucked lewdly toward Violet. She watched, hungry, as Lily’s lips clenched around her plunging fingers. Violet’s body shivered in sympathy as Lily shook. She knew the rhythm of those shudders exactly. More wetness squirted into the bikini bottoms from Lily’s self-pleasure, and for a moment, her sister lay on the bed perfectly still, perfectly taut, arched up on the bed by only her toes and her shoulders. A moment later, she dropped back to the sheets and rolled onto her side, curling around the hand she kept clutched between her thighs.
        Violet let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She bent over and grabbed a pair of panties out of the suitcase, stepping into them before walking over to Lily’s slightly trembling body.
        “Feel better?” she asked, stroking Lily’s back.
        “No,” she answered stubbornly, pouting. “I still feel empty.”
        “Give him time, Lily. A nice stud like that. You don’t just want him for one night, do you? Treat him right--and more importantly, let him treat you right--and you could have that stallion all to yourself for a nice long time. In something that actually resembles a relationship. It’ll be good for both of you.”
        Lily put all of her frustration into a single, disgruntled sigh. “You sound just like him,” she accused.
        Violet shrugged. She’d pieced together that little speech from things Joel had said himself, so it was a fair accusation. “Well, am I wrong? Is he wrong? Believe me, Lily, you could go out on this ship right now and find some fella just as big to fix that empty feeling.”
        Violet cringed. The thought had popped to her lips before she could filter it. It was intended as a bit of reverse psychology, but she wasn’t confident that Lily wouldn’t do exactly that. Violet held her breath again, fully expecting her sister to stand up and go on the prowl.
        “No,” she said quietly, after a long silence. “No, I want him. I want what you said.”
        “Really?” Violet asked, before she could stop herself.
        Lily shot her a glare, but then softened immediately, even blushing a little. “Yeah.”
        Her sister sat up, slipping out of the overshirt and untying her bikini top. She blinked as she spotted Violet’s panties.
        “Panties to bed?” Lily asked, incredulous.
        “We used to wear panties to bed all the time,” Violet countered.
        “If I really want to rape you in your sleep, panties aren’t gonna stop me,” Lily said with a devious smile. 
        “I’m counting on it.”
        Both girls giggled and Lily kicked her wet bottoms to the foot of the bed. She tugged the sheets down, rolling to turn her bare back toward Violet. She didn’t need any more of an invitation than that. Violet clicked off the light and slid underneath the sheets behind her sister. Her arms wrapped around Lily’s narrow body as they spooned, and she slid them up to give her sister’s small breasts a firm squeeze. Lily sighed sweetly and leaned back into Violet’s embrace.
        “Other than not getting fucked, today was pretty good,” Lily said, her tone a little grudging.
        “Mmmm,” Violet agreed, nestling her face in Lily’s hair. They’d spent the whole day on a sort of double date with Joel and Wendy. In port for the day, the boat had been relatively quiet as many of the adults and families went ashore. There had been a lot of cuddling and casual talking, but the conversation had never seemed to get too deep or too personal. It had been pleasant, but a little like walking on eggshells. She had gotten to see Joel’s tongue slide into her sister’s mouth for the first time, though. Watching Lily struggle to move at Joel’s pace had been entertaining, and she hadn’t minded one bit when Wendy suggested, blushing, that the two of them show Joel and Lily “how it was done.” She licked her lips, surprised at how intense some of Wendy’s appetites were turning out to be.
        Violet didn’t realize she’d begun to drift off to sleep until Lily’s words made her eyes flutter open. “We’ve only got a few days left, Violet.”
        “I know,” Violet said into her sister’s shoulder. The thought had been a dark lining around her silver cloud all day. “Let me worry about that, okay? Don’t rush things because of that. I’m going to try to take care of it.”
        “You are?”
        “Yeah.”
        “Okay.”
        Lily nestled back against Violet’s body, and Violet could feel she was already more relaxed. Violet stared into the darkness as her sister fell asleep in her arms. What had she just promised?
        How exactly did she think she was going to take of that?

        ***

        Frank Murray, Day 8, very late

        Traitorous feet staggered Frank down the corridor toward his stateroom. Well, he was pretty sure his stateroom was this way. He’d been pushed this way three times now, after beating on the doors of other staterooms when his keycard failed to open them. He sagged drunkenly against the wall and looked up at the door beside him. Finally, he’d made it.
        He fumbled his keycard into the slot. It took him several tries. His fingers always seemed disagreeable after a bottle of Jim Beam, for some reason. Just as disagreeable as that bottle was likely to be in the morning. He swore softly and finally managed to stick the key in the slot. Nothing happened. With delicate care, he turned the keycard around the other way. He marveled at himself when he managed to do so without dropping the damned slippery thing. It slid in on the first try this time, and the green light flashed at him invitingly. Finally. Success.
        Frank stood in the door for a long minute, trying to be still and quiet, although the boat was swaying at an alarming pitch, making it difficult for him to keep his feet. Damned unsteady boats. The stateroom was dark, and his listened for his fucking ungrateful bitch of a wife’s piglike snorting from the other room. Nothing. Silence. The bitch was still out drinking, spending his goddamned money. Well, let her spend it. Better that that bitch get alcohol poisoning out of the money before the SEC confiscated it all. Maybe she’d get drunk enough to choke herself to death on the cock of one of her affairs.
        Ginger slept on the pulldown bunk in the main room of the cabin. He blinked, as his eyes found her in the dim light from the hallway. She was stretched out nude, sheets kicked to one side. So pretty. Pretty and perfect. No fancy, frilly panties covering her treasure tonight. Where was she getting those, anyway? It didn’t matter. She was everything he wanted. Cleaner than the girls in India. Prettier than the girls in Brazil. 
        Not as experienced as the girls in Thailand, though. That was okay. Inexperience could be fun. She would learn. Frank kicked the door closed behind him, but lifting one foot threw his balance off and he fell into the couch. His shoes were slippery, he realized dimly. No, he was wet all over. Had he fallen into the pool again? Or was it raining outside? He couldn’t remember. He fumbled with his pants, thankful for the light. With the door closed, it should be almost pitch black in here. Just barely light enough for his eyes to adjust to see Ginger’s nude body in the blackness. Just like last night and the night before.
        Wherever it came from, the light was enough to help him get his belt unbuckled. Still hunched over the couch, he shoved his pants to his ankles and managed to get them kicked off, his soggy loafers coming off in the process.
        Normally, when he’d been drinking this much, a splint couldn’t keep his cock erect. But then again, he’d only tested that with Clarice. She could barely keep him hard when he was sober, not that they spent much time together any more, drunk or sober.
        Ginger was different, though. The thought of her got him rock hard through even the foggiest of drunken stupors. She was everything that drove his fantasies. She was the reason he found a way to rope trips to places like Brazil and Thailand. She was the ultimate verboten, and the thought of her drove him wild.
        He staggered to his feet, cock in his hand. He was already drooling precum over his knuckles.
        “Oh, Ginger,” he whispered as he walked over to her.
        He wasn’t as quiet as he should’ve been. He knew that. But it didn’t matter any more. The SEC knew about everything. Someone was coming to arrest him. This might be his last chance.
        He had nothing left to lose.
        The light illuminated her dark body clearer than he’d ever seen. Her braced one hand on the wall behind her, leaning over her body to look, his cock in his other hand. Her legs were spread. He stared. There was wetness there. He blinked, trying to get his vision to straighten. He couldn’t tolerate drink-blurred vision right now, when he finally got to see everything he’d been wanting. Was she really wet? Or was that just his whiskey-addled eyes playing tricks on him. He lowered further over her body.
        No, she was definitely wet. And her nipples were hard.
        And her breath was ragged and quick, not the deep, steady breath of the unconscious. 
        He raised his knee onto her bed, nudging her leg aside to position himself. His cock dribbled his watery precum onto her sheets.
        “Don’t worry, sweetheart, Daddy wants this as much as you do. . .”
        He licked his lips. His foot slipped and he banged his other knee on the side of her bed. Her eyes fluttered open as he cursed violently.
        “D-daddy?”
        “Just a slip, little girl. Hold still. Daddy will be real gentle.”
        He pushed forward then. His hand on the wall above her slipped and he fell on top of her. He heard her squeak as his heavy body pushed the breath out of her. She whimpered and pushed at him. But he was so close. He wasn’t going to apologize. Sometimes things were clumsy or rough or painful. She was going to have to learn that sooner or later. He wasn’t about to stop now.
        He groped for her hip and pulled her toward him. The tip of his cock pushed up against the perfectly smooth, immature lips of her cunt.
        “Ohhh fuck, baby,” he growled. His hips twitched and he plunged into her. He gasped. She was no virgin. He penetrated her with no resistance whatsoever.
        He heard her intake of breath, a deep raspy thing as her lungs desperately worked to fill themselves after having the wind driven out of her. He pulled his hips back again, his mouth pulled into a sneer. The girl was just as much of a filthy slut as her mother was. He opened his mouth to tell her so.
        “Daddy, no! Not inside me!”
        “FRANK?!”
        He twirled. His wife stood framed in the doorway. The door that he hadn’t kicked all the way closed with his drunken kick. That’s where the light had been coming from. He saw the rage building in her eyes and new with a sudden certainty that there would be nothing left of him for the SEC to indict.
        Two powerful feet slammed into his chest. He felt his ribs crack, the wind driven out of him. As he toppled backwards, the room swimming around him in a sickening lurch, he saw Ginger, sobbing, darting out of her bed. By some miracle, he kept his feet underneath him.
        “Ginger, baby,” he croaked, but barely any sound came out. He had to find her. This was his last chance. His last chance. The thought kept running through his mind. He lunged forward toward her but the floor pitched wildly. He couldn’t tell if the deck bucked because of his drunkenness, his breathlessness, or from the treacherous nature of trying to walk onboard a ship at all. He bunched his legs underneath him, trying to steady himself, desperately trying to catch her. She was a dark blur of shadow in his vision, but she was his, he needed her, he needed to have her before everything ended.
        She yelped in fear and he turned, seeing her dash behind her mother. The sight filled him with rage. He tried to run toward her. His foot found the soggy loafer that he had kicked away earlier. It slipped out from underneath him just as his other foot tangled in his discarded pants. Both his feet betrayed him, slipping out from under his already unsteady weight. He saw the corner of the door rushing toward him. It was the one crystal clear thing he’d seen all night.
        His head struck. It must have struck, he thought. He couldn’t feel any pain, or see anything. Everything was black. He could feel his arm twisted at an unnatural angle, pinned beneath his body. He could feel a warm pool of water washing over his face, spreading out slowly. He could feel his broken ribs, feel where they were pressed into him by the floor. But there was no pain. Just stillness and the slowly tightening grip around his chest as he struggled to pull in each breath.
        Blood, he realized in a fog. Not warm water.
        His blood.
        It really was over.