"Do you think they've managed to catch anything?
"I hope so. They've been gone for hours." Summer muttered as she and Tricia walked through the ship's interior with tall glasses of iced tea in their hands. Both drinks were already half-drained by their thirsty consumers after spending all afternoon soaking up the sun in pursuit of the perfect tan.
"I hope that one of the traps caught a lobster, I'm craving seafood," Tricia stressed as she took another sip.
"You and everyone else onboard," Summer agreed as they arrived at the back of the ship and looked down just in time to see Ramon drive an ice pick through a fish's head that spasmed, flopping violently against the deck as its mouth opened wide as if to let out a silent scream.
"I don't think I'm hungry anymore," Tricia muttered as she quickly averted her eyes from the scene, while Summer looked on unaffected, "…is it weird I found that kinda hot?"
"Summer?!" Tricia called out in outrage, only for Summer to roll her eyes, "You got turned on by my dad's beekeeping once, I don't want to hear it."
"What about beekeeping?"
Tricia and Summer looked down at Ramon, who stared up at them from below, his eyes squinted as the sun loomed behind the girl, "Nothing, just another weird fetish of hers."
"Hey!"
"Anyways, do you think you've caught enough for the cooks to make something decent?" Summer pressed on, ignoring Tricia's glare that promised vengeance.
"Better than that," Ashe shouted back, "We've caught enough, and tiger here is gonna be the one cooking."
"That is much better," Tricia said with an eager grin, and even Summer had to nod along in agreement. Ever since the girls had tasted Ramon's cooking, other food hadn't tasted the same. Which wasn't that much of a problem, seeing as Ramon was always willing to cook for them, but the few times Summer or Tricia found themselves eating regular food, it only left them craving Ramon's dishes more.
"Speaking of cooking, we should wrap things up here and pull up the traps. I need to get started soon, before you girls start getting hungry," Ramon advised.
Summer smirked and leaned against the railing, "Too late for that, also just a fair warning. My mother opened up a bottle of wine less than an hour ago and is already cackling like a witch."
"I'm honestly shocked that it didn't take longer," Ramon muttered as he stood up with his fish in hand, moved it over to a bloody bucket, and took out a knife. "It's best that the two of you go to look after her. I doubt you wanna stick around for what comes next."
"Omg he's not about to," Tricia started, only to go deathly pale as Ramon slid his knife across the fish's gills, causing a small torrent of blood to gush out and join the crimson sea in the bucket, "oh my god I'm gonna be sick.."
As Tricia retreated back into the cabin, Summer couldn't look away. The blood itself wasn't what enraptured her, but there was something carnal about seeing Ramon hunt something that he would eventually present to her on a platter. Like a wolf bringing its kill back to the den where its mate awaited.
Ramon paused for a second as he felt a flare of heat that didn't come from the sun overhead, and he looked up to find Summer staring at him with a very peculiar gaze, "Something the matter?"
Summer grinned, though; instead of reassuring, the expression almost looked predatory. "Nope, everything is just fine."
Then, without another word, Summer turned and walked away, leaving Ramon rather confused, but having watched the entire interaction, Ashe just laughed, "Looks like you found yourself a tigress."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ramon muttered, though he already had a good guess.
Ashe's only response was to grin, "I imagine you'll find out soon enough. Now, enough distractions, let's get these traps out of the water and you into the kitchen."
--[1st POV]--
"I think we should have called it a lot sooner," I muttered as I stared at the bounty spread out along the countertop, "We also may have decimated the local population."
"You asked me to wrangle up a couple more bass," Ashe replied as she held up her hands, clearly taking no guilt.
"A couple being a keyword," I stressed as I stared at the nine sea bass, three hake, and several pounds of fat blue crabs currently confined to a bucket, "It looks like I won't need to pick what dish I want to make, seeing as I have more than enough to make every single one."
"Oh no, what a shame," Ashe clicked in her tongue in fake disappointment.
"Alright, that's enough out of you," I admonished, "Go sit your ass down and let me work in peace."
"Easy tiger, I was just playing," Ashe smiled charmingly, even as she turned around and walked away. But before she could get out of reach, my hand shot out and smacked her across the ass.
Ashe missed a step from the spank, and she looked back at me with a look eerily reminiscent of the one Summer had sent me earlier, "Just so you know, if I weren't so hungry, your clothes would already be on the floor right now."
With that rather enticing threat, Ashe left the kitchen, though that wasn't much, as she just walked around the other side of the counter and grabbed a seat.
The yacht's kitchen was similar to a sushi bar's, allowing those waiting to be fed to watch their food being cooked with only a short pane of glass providing any separation. The setup created a rather intimate dining experience, which I definitely wasn't complaining about, especially as the rest of the girls started to make their way over.
"This has to be some form of torture," Megan shook her head, "We can look, but we can't eat."
"We should have stopped and had lunch," Patty agreed, "Part of me just wants to take a bite out of one of those fish like I'm a freaking bear."
"Fish, oh no, I can't have a red with fish," Beth muttered before promptly downing the rest of her wine glass, "Someone get me a Pinot Blanc."
"How about some water instead, so you don't end up passing out!" Summer admonished as she promptly stole her mother's wine glass and replaced it with a bottle of water.
"Fine, but only because I've got work tomorrow," Beth agreed, if begrudgingly, as she picked up the water bottle, "But you know what would really help me sober up…some good food."
I shook my head with a rueful smile, "Alright, I get it, y'all are hungry. Guess it is a good thing that we caught so much."
"So just what exactly are you making with all this fish?" Lois asked with a curious gaze.
"A little bit of everything," I replied as I draped an apron over my neck and took out my knife roll. Unfurling the leather case, I picked out my sharpest chef's knife and set it aside, "I honestly don't even know how many courses there'll be. My plan is to keep cooking until you all are full."
"Amen to that," Beth cheered, her cheeks still very much flushed.
After a bit of organizing and prep, I was ready to start on the first dish, which happened to be the simplest. Grabbing a striped bass, I gingerly placed it down on the countertop in front of the girls before picking up my knife.
Using the cut I had made across the gills as a guide, I slid my knife into the bass before cutting down to the belly while paying special care not to pierce the organs and stomach and risk tainting the meat.
My knife carved down all the way to the anal fin before I set down my knife and reached into my hand to pull out the organs with a firm pull.
"Yuck," Tricia couldn't help but comment as she watched me throw the organs away into the trash.
Taking the eviscerated bass, I thoroughly washed out the body cavity, making sure there wasn't any blood or ofal bits left inside before I resumed my knife work.
Starting just behind the head, I used the very tip of my knife to separate one of the fillets from the backbone. Once the filet was separate I turned the fish flesh side up before making a small notch at the very end, while leaving a small bit of flesh for me to hold onto.
Then, after getting the right angle with my knife, I slowly but firmly pulled the filet along, skinning it with one smooth motion.
Setting the skin aside, I quickly cut the filet into almost paper-thin slices, gathering a small pile that I then laid out in a fan-like pattern on a large plate. With a brush of ponzu sauce, a small pile of ginger, and freshly ground wasabi, the first dish was complete, much to the girls' chagrin as I set the massive platter down in front of them.
"Striped Bass Sashimi, please enjoy."