Shawn Walker had tears in his eyes, and he was smiling, "I appreciate your apology," he said. "You should know, though, that your rejection gave me strength. I was angry at that, and I used that anger to push myself forward. Now I have a very successful career."
There was a moment of silence, and then everyone began to cheer and chant Shawn's name. Not only had he turned his life around, but he had hosted the party on his boat, and they all appreciated it-everyone except for Joyce, whose heart had hardened to stone by then.
Joyce grabbed Crystal by the hair and yanked her backward, slamming her to the ground. Crystal shrieked in pain and outrage, and before she knew it, Joyce was standing over her with the sole of her shoe hovering over her face. "Lick my shoe!" Joyce roared. "You fucking bitch! Lick my Goddamn shoe!"
Unexpectedly, Crystal grabbed Joyce's ankle with both hands and pushed her away with all of her strength. Joyce stumbled backward and would have fallen if not for the people standing behind her. They caught her, and they helped her stand up. "You think you can stop this?!?!" Joyce laughed, but she suddenly realized that her breasts were fully exposed before she could do anything more. Her face turned beet red, and she quickly put her "babies" to "bed."
By the time Joyce had fixed her dress, Crystal was on her feet, and she had a giant grin on her face. "You are going to make a laughingstock of both of us," Crystal said. "I don't care, but maybe you do...!"
Crystal smirked as she took three glasses of wine from a nearby waiter. She handed one to Joyce, one to Shawn, and kept the last one for herself. "I propose a toast," she said. "To friends, old and new."
Joyce glared at Crystal as she took her first sip. "You had better not be playing any tricks," she said. "Don't forget that I still have your video."
"How could I forget?" Crystal drank from her glass and said, "But why not let bygones be bygones?" She turned to Shawn. "Master Walker, you are a businessman. You must know about networking."
After speaking, Crystal first finished her wine and then whispered to Joyce, "I can kneel and lick anyone's shoes. I don't actually mind. I was just giving you a hard time. But is it okay if I do it in private? The last thing I need is another video of me making a spectacle of myself!"
Joyce stood Akimbo and said, "You had better not play any tricks with me."
Crystal: "There are two of you and one of me. What could I do?"
Judy looked at Crystal from across the room and tried to remind her of the warning she'd given her earlier in the evening. Crystal got the message and shook her head. Why is Judy looking at me like that? - She wondered as she followed Shawn and Joyce into the lounge.
Meanwhile, Cecilia was chatting in the corner with Carlos. She wasn't actually interested in what he had to say, but she knew that the only way to keep him out of the lounge was to keep him occupied. Even without Carlos in the mix, things were going awry. They had hoped to get a video recording of Crystal licking Shawn's shoes, but this was proving to be more difficult than they'd anticipated.
Gigi approached Cecilia while she was talking. She led her away from Carlos, and then she said, "It is done."
"What did you do?" Cecelia asked.
"I sent the wine to the lounge," Gigi replied.
"Do you know how long it will take for the drug to begin to do its work? Joyce, Crystal, and Shawn are making a lot of noise. They don't know what they are doing."
"I have no idea," Cecelia admitted. "But thank you for the update. You are doing a good job. What about the other thing?"
Gigi nodded and said, "It has also been taken care of." Gigi had taken photos of Crystal and sent them to Eric. When he arrived and saw Crystal and Shawn making love in the lounge, she expected him to be pissed. After that, he would think that Crystal was disgusting, and he would hate her. At least that was the plan.
"Now that they are in the lounge," Gigi continued, "I have led our classmates to their hiding places outside the lounge."
Cecelia laughed and said, "This is going to be epic!"
***
Nathan knew that something was wrong the moment he stepped onto the ship. There was supposed to be a party going on, but things were too quiet. He took a few tentative steps and froze when someone shouted, "Master Bush, Nathan Davis is here! Master Davis is here!" He heard giggling, and he followed the sound down a long corridor and into a large room. It was full of people. They were all silent, but they were all looking at him, and their smiles were like those of sharks and Cheshire cats.
The crowd assembled in front of Nathan to impede his passage, but he would not be stopped. He slapped one man across the face and kicked a woman in the stomach. She fell to the ground, and he crushed her fingers with his shoe as he walked over her. Eventually, Shawn's guests got the message, and they began to step out of his way.
All around him, people talked in whispers. Finally, one man dared to yell out, "A good show is starting! It's staring at a cheating slut and her oblivious husband! You don't want to miss it!" Nathan shut him up with a look. Terror welled up inside the man, and he urinated down his legs. The acrid smell permeated the air and mixed with the foul smell of alcohol and sweat. People began to gag and find reasons to be somewhere else until only the most perverted amongst them remained.
After passing through the partygoers, Nathan came to a door. He was about to kick it in, but when he heard the frantic cries of a woman climaxing, he froze.. He recognized the voice as belonging to Crystal.