FicWad

The cabin door opened with a soft click, revealing a luxurious, spacious room, decorated to the highest of standards imaginable. Sat upon the grand king-sized bed was a young dark haired woman, clothed in her linin nightdress and reading a particularly boring novel. The opening of the door startled her, and she held the hard covered leather bound book up in self defence, feeling rather foolish when she realised who the so called intruder was.
“If I am not wanted here, I shall leave.” Gerard chuckled, but as he did so he elegantly shrugged off his finely made jacket, a fine layer of nervous sweat coating his face and neck, causing his jet black, wind ruffled locks to stick to him uncomfortably.
This did not go unnoticed by his sleepy fiancé. “What happened to you, Gerard, Darling?” She slides off of the feather soft bed and over to her husband to be, worry replacing her earlier embarrassed grin.
Gerard freezes, unwilling to tell Catherine about his attempted suicide and how he had been saved by a chestnut haired angel named Frankie. While he didn`t love her as a wife, he did care for her and the last thing he wanted was for her to worry. But if he didn`t tell, the raven haired woman was sure to hear from someone in the morning. Despite it being an enormous ship, word travel fast and the first class passengers especially were prone to gossip.
“I am waiting Gerard.” Catherine says sternly and very uncharacteristically, with her delicate hands placed on her slender hips. “You worried me Gerard; I know that something is wrong with you.” Her face softens. “I just want to help, you can tell me anything.”
No, no I can`t, he thinks sorrowfully, wishing that he could, no wishing that there was nothing to tell.
“Nothing is wrong, Sweetheart.” He lies meekly.
“You come in here covered in sweat, hair all ruffled and you expect me to believe there is nothing wrong?” Her pretty young face falls. “Were you with someone, another woman? Tell me.” it wasn’t that she was jealous, as nice as Gerard was, Catherine was not in love with him, she just wanted to know the truth.
“No!” Gerard mentally cringes at the thought of being with a woman in that manner and shakes his head madly, “Nothing like that.”
Catherine studies him for a moment, then decides that he is telling the truth.
“I was walking along the deck and I thought that I saw something in the distance, another ship probably.” Gerard thinks on the spot, “I leant over the railings to get a better look and another passenger who thought I was jumping or falling or something of the like helped me back up.”
Catherine blinks once, for the second time that evening feeling rather foolish for assuming those things of Gerard. She felt terrible; Gerard was a lovely, charming man, definitely not the kind to be sneaking around behind her back with another.
“I hope you do not mind, but I invited the man to dine with us tomorrow, as thanks for helping me when he believed I was in danger.”
“Of course not!”
Gerard bites his lip. “Well he is not a first class passenger you see, so I thought that might bother…well not you so much but-“
“You mother.” Catherine finishes for him.
“Well she shall just have to put up with it then, won`t she?” she smiles warmly and yawns.
“Go to bed if you are tired Darling, I shall join you in a moment.”
Gerard kisses her chastely on the cheek and heads to the bathroom in order to wash away the fine layer of sweat and comb his scruffy hair before bed, images and echoes of Frank`s earlier words still replaying in his confused mind.
…
“Frankie!” Apollonia shrieks loudly, earning her disapproving looks from other passengers as she rushed forward and embraces her friend in a hug that was more like a choke hold.
“Easy Apple, I haven`t gone anywhere.”
“What happened, you said you would be back ages ago.” She wriggles one dark brow suggestively. “Did you meet someone? Was he nice? What did he look like? How was he?”She fires rapid questions, each of which Frank shrugs off and dismisses.
“I didn’t have sex with anyone, Apple,” He tells her sternly, to which the mischievous woman answers with a childish pout, “I just saved some rich guy from throwing himself overboard and having a long, wet nap with the fishes."
“Good Wickle Frankiekins.”Apple teases, “I`m so fucking proud of you. Then what happened?”
“Well we talked, exchanged names and after he invited me to dinner tomorrow with his family.”
“Awww…that is so romantic, in an incredibly depressing, icky kinda way. What`s his name?”
Frank sighs and shakes his head sadly, “it doesn`t matter, A. He has a fiancé.”