Friends Reunited

[Red Ranger 1]

Thank you for the comments, Zig and pembie!

CHAPTER THREE

Ryder sagged as he sat down behind his table in the near-empty casino.“That was intense.”

  Bella was enthusiastically flicking through the photos on her camera.“I got some great shots though. These should really impress your bosses.And anyone who fancies coming here for a flutter.”

  Denzel looked over from his own now closed table.“Yeah, it was a good night.”

  A tall blonde woman wearing a variation of Ryder and Denzel’s uniform with a skirt came over to Bella. “Did you get any good ones of me?”

  Bella flicked through the shots.“Er, maybe?Which table were you working at?”

  “All of them.I’m the cocktail waitress.Keep everyone well supplied at their tables.”

  Bella found a shot.“Ah, I think that’s you there.Serving that guy at Ryder’s table.”

  The woman looked at it.“I’m not in focus.”

  “Well, yeah, I was concentrating on the game…what’s your name?”

  “Wendy,”the woman replied tersely.

  “Right.I’m Bella.Um, I’ll be shooting photos all over the place during the visit so…maybe I’ll get some better shots of you another day.”

  From the stiff way that Wendy left, she didn’t seem mollified by the comment.Ryder grinned at Bella. “Still learning how to make friends?”

  “I made you, didn’t I?You’re enough.You want an after-work drink or something?”

  “Well, I would but you just scared off our waitress.”Ryder couldn’t help smiling at how crestfallen Bella looked.“I guess we could see if Chase is still there.”He looked over at Denzel.“You want to join us?”

  Denzel shook his head.“I’ll finish off here then I think I’ll try and get to bed at a decent hour for once. See you around.”

***

“Smile!”Bella announced.Ryder and Chase indulgently posed as she took a shot of Chase handing Ryder a drink.She checked the photo and then nodded approvingly.

  “Can you make that the last one?”Ryder asked,“I don’t fancy being photographed all night.”

  Bella considered the matter before nodding.“Don’t want to use up the memory card on the first night. You’ll have plenty more opportunities to model for me!”

  “Is she all right?”Chase quietly asked Ryder.

  “She’s not used to drinking much,”Ryder admitted,“Neither am I, actually.When we do, it tends to end in disaster.”

  “Good to know.So how long have you two known each other?”

  “Ages.We used to live in the same town.”

  Chase nodded.“So were you two ever, you know..?”

  “No,”Bella said quickly,“No, no, no, no, no.”

  Ryder nodded in agreement.“No, she’s like my…”

  “Do not say kid sister,”Bella warned him.

  “Like my…best mate?”Ryder offered.

  Bella looked appreciative.“Aww, you too.”

  “Maybe you should get her back to her cabin?”Chase suggested.

  Ryder nodded.“Good idea.”He put an arm round Bella.“Come on, best mate, time to turn in.”

***

Ryder had followed Bella into her cabin and the two of them had ended up sitting up on her bed, their backs against the wall.Ryder flicked through the pictures on Bella’s camera.“These are really good?”

  “Is that a note of surprise?”Bella asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

  “No way,”Ryder promised her,“I’ve always known you were talented.Just giving you some encouragement.”

  Bella seemed to accept this and snuggled up to him, resting her head against his shoulder.“I’m really glad I’ve got my best mate back,”she said, sounding on the verge of falling asleep.

  Ryder knew he should get back to his own cabin but it had been a long day and he was feeling tired.And actually, he was pretty comfy where he was.He leaned so his head was resting on the top of hers.“Me too.”

[pembie]

I went to a casino a few weeks ago and I was expecting to see a lot of Wendy’s there women dressed in fishnet tights serving drinks and flirting with me to spend more money but no they were all men  so it seems sexy casino women only live in our imagination

I think we are heading for a love story I could suggest other routes for how the story could go but I don’t want to rock the boat especially if there are sharks swimming around in that sea below 

[Zig]

I'm really enjoying this story, can't wait for more. PS I love drunk Bella

[Red Ranger 1]

On 22/06/2024 at 18:28, pembie said:

I went to a casino a few weeks ago and I was expecting to see a lot of Wendy’s there women dressed in fishnet tights serving drinks and flirting with me to spend more money but no they were all men  so it seems sexy casino women only live in our imagination

Never been to a casino and you may have just shattered my illusions...

On 23/06/2024 at 07:39, Zig said:

PS I love drunk Bella

I think we all have this odd fascination with getting characters drunk! Glad you like it.

[pembie]

46 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Never been to a casino and you may have just shattered my illusions...

I think we all have this odd fascination with getting characters drunk! Glad you like it.

Casino could up different in Norfolk 

[Red Ranger 1]

Thanks for the comments, Zig and pembie!

CHAPTER FOUR

Bella stirred slightly, finding herself lying alongside Ryder with sunlight streaming through a porthole.The sunlight had obviously woken Ryder too, since she saw him blinking into wakefulness.“Where are we?” she asked.

  Ryder took a moment to register the surroundings.“Your cabin, I think,”he said at last.

  “How did we end up here?”

  “We went back here to look over the photos you took.Guess we must have fallen asleep.”Ryder decided not to mention the fact that he’d stayed with her because she’d been drinking.Old habits.

  Bella nodded.Some of that was coming back to her.“So what are your plans for the morning then?”

  “Er, I have a shift in the bar.”Ryder checked his watch.“Which I should be getting to.”

  “I’ll come with you,”Bella decided.

  “What?But I need to get back to my cabin and get changed.”

  “Great!In that case, you do that and I’ll meet you out here.”

  There were times, Ryder knew, when it was best to just agree with Bella.“Okay, but ten minutes at the most, right?”Bella nodded with the air of someone who knew he’d wait either way.“See you in a bit.”

***

When they arrived at the bar, Chase was there to greet them anxiously.“Where have you been? Archibald’s been looking for you.”

  Ryder checked his watch.“I’m on time, right?”

  “No, it’s not about that, it’s because…”

  “Ryder!”Archibald interrupted before Chase could continue,“I need you in the casino now.”

  Ryder was confused.“You want me to work another shift?But it’s not open for hours!”

  “Staff meeting,”Archibald said succinctly,“Come on, everyone’s waiting.”

  Ryder made to follow him and Bella fell into step behind him.Archibald noticed her.“We don’t need you.”

  “But there might be something for me to take photos of,”Bella argued, brandishing her camera,“And your head office did tell me I had full access.”

  Ryder had no idea if she was telling the truth.He suspected Archibald didn’t know either and didn’t seem to care.“All right, fine, you come too.You might even be useful.”

***

When they got there, they found everyone who had been working at the casino the previous night waiting for them…along with Captain Smith.Ryder went to stand with the other staffmembers, Bella still following him.Archibald went to stand by the captain.

  “Some time during the night, the casino safe was emptied,”Smith told them,“An estimated $30,000 was stolen.No-one’s left the ship, so chances are the thief’s still here and so’s the money.”

  “The police have been called,”Archibald added,“They’re going to send someone out here to carry out an investigation within the next few days.”

  “It would be helpful if we could tell them exactly what happened,”the captain continued,“So if anyone knows anything, they’d best speak up.”

  Wendy spoke up.“Are we suspects?”

  “It may have been one of the guests,”the captain observed,“But it’s more likely to be someone with knowledge of the casino workings.A member of staff.So if any of you have information that could eliminate you from our enquiries, now’s a good time to speak up.”

  “Ryder couldn’t have done it, he was with me!”Bella blurted out.

  Ryder shot her an awkward look before embellishing.“We left the casino together after it closed.We went to the bar, Chase served us there.We left there about 11.15 and went back to Bella’s cabin to look at the photos she’d taken, then we…fell asleep.”

  Smith accepted the explanation without comment.“Thank you, we’ll make a note of that.Anyone else?”

***

Ryder had had to head back to the bar to do his shift after the meeting.Bella had said a quick goodbye and then slipped away without explanation where she was going.He didn’t see her again until that evening, when he saw her standing by the side of the boat, taking photos of the sun setting over the water. He came up alongside her.“What have you been doing?”

  She glanced around and smiled.“Turns out my assignment means I can sit by the pool on a lounger, occasionally take a photo of something and call it working.”

  “Really?I think I’m in the wrong job.”Ryder laughed slightly before looking at her seriously.“Thanks for helping me out with the captain.”

  “Only fair.So, what was with you being so quick to fill in the details?Are you really that keen for everyone to go on thinking we’re just friends?”

  Ryder laughed.“Well, I didn’t want to ruin your reputation.”

  “Oh, you think I’ve got one of those, do you?”Bella sobered up slightly.“Anyway, if I did, it’d be worth risking it to help you.Do you remember pretty much the only proper falling out we ever had?”Ryder looked at her in confusion.“When I believed Jade’s stories about you.I really should have trusted you.Not sure if I ever apologised for that.”

  “There was no need.I know it brought up a lot of stuff for you.”

  “Mmm.Well, now that we’ve sorted out that bit of ancient history…would it really be that bad for people to think we spent the night in the same cabin and did more than sleep?”

  Ryder tried to think of a safe answer for this.“Well, if it was something we both wanted, and we weren’t hurting anyone else, and no-one was taking advantage of anyone, and no-one’s reputation was getting ruined, then yeah, I guess I’d be fine with people thinking that if you were.”

  “Well, thank you for such a flattering response.”She grinned at him.

  “My pleasure.”He grinned back.And somehow the grin got frozen in place.He looked her in the eye and had the oddest feeling that somehow, just bringing up the possibility had placed a thought in both their minds.

  Slowly, they leaned in and kissed, wrapping their arms around each other.

[John]

I don't normally read much fan fiction but just popped in.  Nice story start RR1.  Interesting pairing, I was always a fan of Bella.  She had so many story possibilities that were never explored.  You're doing something to fill the gap.

[Zig]

Another great chapter, loving this so much, my rella heart

[pembie]

Spoiler

Bella might have to check her photos more closely she could have caught the thief on camera 

Ah maybe not thinking about it she was with Ryder in the cabin I was going to say Bella could find herself at the heart of a murder mystery but I don’t think she can be in two places at once 

Archibald interesting name How did you come up with that?

[Red Ranger 1]

On 29/06/2024 at 02:52, John said:

I don't normally read much fan fiction but just popped in.  Nice story start RR1.  Interesting pairing, I was always a fan of Bella.  She had so many story possibilities that were never explored.  You're doing something to fill the gap.

Thank you! I had an idea to do something with Ryder and Bella for quite a while, because I liked them a lot both as individuals and as friends, but it took a while for me to hit on a plot that I thought I could make work.

20 hours ago, Zig said:

Another great chapter, loving this so much, my rella heart

Glad you like it!

19 hours ago, pembie said:

Archibald interesting name How did you come up with that?

I just thought that if you wanted to show that a character's a bit pompous, having them insist on being referred to as Archibald seemed a good way of doing it. (No offence to any Archibalds out there!)