![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNectXWRJcXbaSs1KY9FdRXcDx3Lc5623kG8Cg3wDGapp/img_6254.jpg)


## Coffee Games




Andrè was aging. He looked at himself in the cabin’s mirror. An unfortunately placed window allowed way too much light into the room, highlighting all his flaws.



"Damn sunlight," he pointed his chin jauntily at the glass exposing the creases around his ice-gray eyes.

"Shit," he ranted. "I’ll have to wear collars and sunglasses. Avoid the pool during the day." He closed the curtains to block out the sun and dove into his luggage to find a suitably flattering outfit.



Andrè supported his expensive habits by collecting benefactors—lonely women of a certain age and persuasion. The pickings had dwindled with each passing year. Andrè had donned his thinking cap and mused until his mind alighted on an idea.



"Where better to find a crowd of rich widows and divorcees than on a cruise ship?" He almost salivated with delight at his deliciously clever notion. He juggled his savings and invested in his future with a confident smile.



He boarded with much anticipation.



At his first breakfast, he surveyed the talent. His experienced eye immediately alighted on a woman with silvery blonde hair; she radiated wealth. It rose like a pleasantly perfumed cloud around her.



Andrè steeled himself into ‘polite accidental connection mode.’ He was well practiced and always used the same pickup tactic. He sauntered across the dining room, purposefully entangled his foot against the woman’s chair leg, and made a great show of falling across her.



"Oh, my! Are you okay?" The woman shot out both hands to help him.



"So clumsy of me. I’m so sorry. I…" He cut off mid-sentence and focused on the woman’s face, as if mesmerized by her. It was a trick that always found success. When she blushed slightly, Andrè felt his heart skip on the path of accomplishment like a horse in sprint mode.



"Please let me make it up to you. Can I get something for you? A coffee, perhaps?"

"Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself?" She blinked a set of long black lashes at him. When he simply stared at her as if dumbfounded, She added, "Coffee would be wonderful. I tried to find coffee at the breakfast buffet earlier, but they hadn’t set it out yet. There was only an urn of tea.

"Coffee, coming up!" Andrè turned on his heels, excited that his plan was going smoothly.

He strode at what he considered to be a youthfully agile pace towards the buffet.

"Where’s the coffee?" He inquired from the egg-fryer. The entire buffet was scantily staffed.

"We don’t have any coffee, sir," the chef returned without looking him in the eye.

"What on earth! Do you mean that you don’t have any right now, or..."

The chef cut him off: "There’s absolutely no coffee on board. A logistics error, I believe." This time the man flicked a brief glance. 

"Dear Lord. Glad I’m not you, then!" Andrè looked around the dining hall.

"I thought that people looked a little agitated when I arrived. Now  I know why."

He turned back to the woman, determined not to look deflated.

"Um… It seems that the ship is coffeeless. Someone is going to be in an awful lot of trouble. Miss…?"

"I’m Celine. You?"



"Andrè." He cocked his head to one side and said, "perhaps we could come up with a plan if we put our heads together."



She nodded, and, not for the first time, he registered that she was, indeed, a very handsome older woman.



"Sit!"



Andrè complied willingly. more than a little flustered at her directness.



"I know," she squirmed in her chair, revealing a long, slim leg with perfectly plump ankles, "I’ll get my company to drop in some coffee for us by drone. Isn't that a wonderful idea?"



Andrè grinned. He grinned at the thought of her gorgeous leg draped over him. He grinned because he knew he’d hit his mark. He thanked his lucky stars that some fool in the stock department had failed to buy sufficient coffee.



"That’s impressive, but you’ll need to keep your plan under wraps if the expression on the passengers' faces is anything to go by. Now tell me how I can assist?" 



"Let’s go to your cabin and order from there."



Andrè followed her spectacular, swaying hips out of the dining room. Then he took the lead. They hurried along, failing to see how gorgeously blue the placid ocean looked in the slanting morning’s rays.



As the door closed behind them, she pulled out her phone and ordered a rich Colombian brew. Andrè heard her arrange for a drone to deliver.



"There," she said, shaking her long blonde lashes in the most appealing manner. "Now all I need to do is complete payment and wait on deck for our delivery." Andrè was truly mesmerized. He’d never witnessed anything as sexy in his entire life. Her aloof wealth vibrated in the air like a melodious song.



"Damn! I’ve left my card in my cabin. I have to pay. Can I use your card and pay you back later today?"



"I thought you said that it was your company?"



"It is, but the boss can’t be seen taking advantage. I always get my money back, one way or another, but upfront, I must be seen to pay like everyone else."



Andrè handed over his card, praying that he had sufficient funds.

He gave her his details.



"Oh, yay!" she clapped her hands in delight. "Now I’ll just go on deck and wait. We'll have a wonderful coffee-infused tête-à-tête later."



"Sounds wonderful. But don’t you want me to wait with you?"



"No, you go ahead and make the room comfy."



Andrè watched from the unfortunate window in his cabin. He watched until the light drained from the afternoon sky, turning it pink over a purple sea, but no drone appeared.



…none at all.

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[image1](https://pixabay.com/illustrations/woman-portrait-pretty-female-hair-1774021/)
[image2](https://pixabay.com/illustrations/coffee-drink-cup-hot-coffee-latte-1580595/)