Page 32 of Cocky Cruiser

I pushed the inappropriate thoughts aside. I would definitely show her who was the boss that night.

We had to pause the game about halfway through in order to make it in time for our class. We headed back over to the glassblowing area and checked in for our session.

There were several options to choose from for our finished product, including a starfish paperweight, a small orb ornament, different sized vases, and a decorative heart dish.

I decided to go with the starfish paperweight so I could have a nautical reminder of the trip, and Adele chose the heart dish.

Once we made our choices, we had to pick what two colors we wanted our pieces to be. I went with blue and green, and Adele went with pink and white. Then we learned a little bit about the hot glassblowing studio.

There were three large pieces of essential equipment: a glass melting furnace, a glory hole, and an annealer.

First, the glass melting furnace melted the glass at twenty-one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Then the glory hole molded the glass into the shape, keeping it at a constant temperature of two thousand and fifty degrees. To end the process, the annealer allowed the freshly blown glass to cool slowly for twelve hours.

An instructor worked with each of us to make our glass art after giving us safety goggles. We placed the glass on a preheated steel rod, then heated it in the furnace before moving to shape it in the glory hole. Then we added the color chips to the molded, hot glass, removed the completed piece from the rod, and placed each in the annealer to cool overnight.

The instructors told us we could pick up our finished pieces in the morning. Adele and I were both sweaty from being in the sun and working near the heated equipment, but we both had a great time.

“I never knew that’s how glass was made. It was so quick but took a lot of finesse and work,” Adele commented as we walked away from the hot glass studio.

I nodded. “I knew the gist of it but had no idea it was so involved and technical. You let the glass cool too much, and you have to completely start over.”

Adele smiled. “Another experience I’ll always remember.”

Draping an arm around her shoulders, I grinned. “Me too, guppie.”

Adele’s arm came around my back as she looked up at me. “What next?”

“Sex break?” I suggested with a cocky smirk.

Adele playfully rolled her eyes. “Is that all you think about?”

I chuckled. She was just as insatiable as I was, even if she wouldn’t admit it. “When it comes to you, it’s hard not to. I mean, look at you.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “I’d like to participate in more activities on the ship if that’s okay. I’ll probably never go on a cruise again, and I’d like to get the full experience.”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

We decided to check out one of the trivia games and then played bingo. We didn’t win either, but we both had a lot of fun.

We grabbed a late lunch and looked at the newsletter for the next day to see the schedule for the onboard activities.

“There’s a galley tour with a cooking class,” Adele pointed out. “Thought you might be interested in that since you’re a chef and all.”

“I do like to see other chef’s techniques. Does it say what the dish is?”

Adele glanced back down at the paper. “Looks like pappardelle with a venison ragu.”

I raised my brows. “Nice choice. Yeah, I’d like to check it out.”

“Okay,” Adele said with a smile. She traced her finger farther down, then stopped toward the bottom. “Ooh, this sounds cool- a taste of film: an outdoor movie under the stars served with light food and drinks inspired by the film. Can we do that, too?”

“Sure. Does it say what the movie is?”

“Yeah, the name isChef.” She glanced up at me. “Have you heard of it?”

I nodded. “Never seen it, though. Have you?”

She shook her head. “No. Another first for us both.”

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