Back to her room.

Mackenzie ran across the ship's deck until the entire pool area was out of sight. Finally, she stopped to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding like crazy and her face was still a deep red. A few people were walking in various directions around her, but none even batted an eye at the redhead in the bikini. Mackenzie felt a bit more reassured at that and let her arms come down from covering her chest.

Mackenzie's gaze was drawn to the sunset and the beautifully colored sky illuminated by it. She felt comforted by the sight somehow, and gave a sigh as she relaxed again. Already a few drinks in, Mackenzie wondered if she should find a different spot to continue her night on a less embarrassing note. The evening was just beginning after all, and the cruise ship advertised itself as having quite the night life for adults on board.

That's more than enough exposure for one day though, she thought to herself. First, I'm heading back to my room and getting dressed in something a bit more suited to barhopping.

Mackenzie headed over to the stairs leading down to the rooms. She began her descent, only to be abruptly yanked to a halt by her hip. The redhead quickly regained her balance, and glanced down at what had caused the pulling sensation. One of the strings that tied her bikini bottoms together had gotten wedged between the handrail and its support! Mackenzie panicked for a moment, but was able to gradually work the tie free. She sighed in relief, making a mental note to avoid letting the ties dangle too close to the railing in the future.

She made her way down to the carpeted halls without any further incident, and was soon face to face with the familiar topless mermaid statue. Familiar and yet...

Is it in a different pose than before? Mackenzie thought. The busty mermaid stood on the same pedestal, breasts still equally on display, but now it was crouching slightly with its arms lowered gently before it. I could've sworn it had its arms up before...

"Pardon us, miss." a deep voice said, snapping Mackenzie out of her thoughts. She turned to see a group of nearly 30 people making their way down the hall. They were all heading for the stairs Mackenzie had just used, but thanks to the narrow confines of the below deck hallways, they were pressed for space in squeezing to get by the tipsy redhead.

Mackenzie backed up as much as she could, pressing herself against the mermaid statue. She couldn't help but blush a little as she felt her ass cheek press right up against the slightly cupped hand of the statue. It was as if the statue was copping a feel! It didn't feel nearly as stiff or cold as Mackenzie would've expected. A few moments later, the crowd of people finally finished passing by and Mackenzie stepped away from the statue. Or rather, she tried to, before feeling a familiar tugging sensation from her hip. Her head whirled downwards, only to find her bikini string had somehow ended up wedged between the mermaid's fingers!

"What?!" Mackenzie cried in disbelief. "How is that even possible!?"

At a bit of an odd angle with her ass still facing the statue, she gingerly tried to tug the string free, but it wouldn't budge. Mackenzie gritted her teeth and yanked a bit harder, only for the statue itself to lurch slightly. That startled Mackenzie into stillness. She didn't want to be responsible for breaking some big expensive statue like this! Whether it was the adrenaline, the ****, or even a combination of the two, in her frazzled state, Mackenzie failed to notice that there was something... off about the statue's movement.

Unsure what to do, Mackenzie looked around the deserted hallway. She figured her room was only about 30 or so doors away. Bolstered slightly by the booze, Mackenzie gulped and did the only thing she could think of. She hastily untied the side of her bikini stuck in the statue. And then, before she could talk herself out of it, Mackenzie untied the other side of her bottoms too. Not wasting a moment, she took off at a sprint down the hall, completely bottomless. The only things obscuring the pale skin of her curvy ass and the pink treasure between her legs were two hands and a room key.

An agonizing few moments later, Mackenzie came to a stop in front of door 245. She hurriedly inserted the key into the slot, baring her pussy in the process, only to be met with a blinking red light. Mackenzie gasped in despair as she remembered her faulty door lock.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" she stammered quietly as she tried the key again and again. "You've got to be KIDDING me!!"

Mackenzie kept glancing left and right, worried that at any moment someone might enter the hall from their room. The light flashed red again and Mackenzie heard the noise she had been dreading, a door opening not fifteen feet to her right. She didn't even bother to look that way, desperately hoping she wouldn't be noticed. Finally, after about a dozen tries, the light blinked green and the lock clicked.

"HOT DAMN GIRL!" a woman's voice called from down the hall, just as Mackenzie yanked the door opened and hurried inside.

She slammed the door behind her and leaned up against it, finally feeling safe from view. Mackenzie's heart was pounding as she slowly caught her breath. She had managed to lose both her new sundress and the bottom half of her bikini! But at least she would hopefully be able to retrieve the latter.

"Well..." she said between deep breaths, "That could've gone smoother."

Mackenzie tried to push the embarrassing moments of her day out of her mind as she pulled open her bag and got out a change of clothes. As much as she wanted to stay hidden away in the privacy of her room right now, she was eager to try to liberate her bikini from that statue before too many people walked by.

Mackenzie kicked off her sandals before pulling on a pair of black panties. She slid her only pair of jeans on after them, and affixed them with a stylish black belt. It being a warm weather cruise and all, Mackenzie had only brought a few pairs of pants, opting to bring more skirts and dresses instead. For the sake of speed, she grabbed a pale blue tank top out of the bag and threw it on over her bikini top. After double checking that she had her room key, Mackenzie slid her sandals back on and re-entered the hall.

She turned towards the end of the hall with the statue and stopped short. The statue was gone! Mackenzie ambled over to the remaining pedestal in utter disbelief. Had someone stolen the entire statue? In the few minutes she had been inside her room!?

At that moment, two older ladies slowly made their way down the stairs beside the pedestal.

"Oh dear, is she already done for the day?" asked one of them.

"Done for the day?" Mackenzie asked in confusion.

"The woman posing as the mermaid." the other woman said. "What do they call them again, Linda?"

"Living statues." her friend replied as they traipsed down the hall. "It's amazing what they can accomplish with makeup and such these days."

"Ooh yes, of course. I nearly thought she was real, first time I laid eyes on her!"

"But can you imagine the dedication it takes to stand there for god-knows-how-many hours each day?" They continued, likely heading towards their room.

Mackenzie stood there in disbelief, head spinning, but slowly putting the pieces together. The eerie lifelikeness of the statue, it's soft touch, and how only part of it had moved when tugged. "Huh..." she finally managed. "Well whoever that girl was, she owes me half a bikini!" she said with a pout.

Already feeling tired from the day's escapades, Mackenzie figured she would probably be best off calling it a night and returning to her room. But between the 6th and 7th attempt to unlock her door, Mackenzie tipsily decided, "Fuck it! Can't even get in there, so I may as well see what else this ship's got in store."

Deciding to stay below decks this time, Mackenzie tried to recall what she remembered being below decks. She knew there was a variety of restaurants, though she had already eaten. There were a few bars too, though she was perhaps dressed a bit too casually now. Somewhere down here Mackenzie knew there was a theater or two, and even an arcade if she recalled correctly.