Hey, this is my second story, and it's based on the book Caribbean Cruising by Rachel Hawthorne. So, if you like my version, I suggest you read the actual book. Okay so here we go!
Chapter 1
"I can't believe it! Everything is totally amazing!"
I couldn't believe it either as Jo Taylor and I gazed around one of the atriums of The Rush. The name suited this ship. I was definitely feeling the rush. It was huge and luxurious. I figured it would take all ten nights of the cruise simply to walk from one end of the ship to the other.
"Come on," I said, nudging Jo's arm. "Let's check out my cabin."
Jo was my best friend. Like me, she had blonde hair. But her eyes were brown, while mine are green. And she was a lot taller than me, which meant I had a difficult time keeping up with her when she's in a hurry. Good thing I'm in the hurry though, so we're walking at a normal pace. I just wanted to see everything as quickly as possible. There was so much to take in. My time here would be short, and I didn't want to waste a single minute.
"Let's go, Kendall," Jo ordered. "Who knows what hot guys we might be missing!"
Okay, I'm just going to go out and say it. I'm gay, yeah…gay. But no, not only am I gay, I'm the kind of fruity gay. I enjoy shopping, I wear makeup, and I'm sorta self-consious, but who really cares? Anyway, I was anxious to see my cabin, to get settled in. Jo and I are practically running down the long corridor, which resembles a boulevard. Stores and restaurants lined both sides. Plants, statuettes, artwork, festive lights, and a domed ceiling created an openness that I hadn't expected within a ship. It was like touring a gigantic mall- one of my favorite places to hang out. With so many people mingling around, it was like a bustling city floating on the ocean. I was a little overwhelmed by the crowds and the vastness of the ship.
"It's just not fair that I have to work and can't go on the cruise with you," Jo lamented.
Those words have become Jo's mantra ever since I told her I was going on my trip.
" I'd give anything if you could come," I said.
We'd shared everything since kindergarten. I couldn't imagine not sharing this too.
"I know. You have to send me a postcard from every port," she commanded.
"I will. I promise."
"And since you are so into making lists, I expect a report listing all the yummy details about every guy you meet."
I laughed. I was a little obsessed with lists. I liked organization and had compiled several different lists as soon as I found out I was going on a cruise- everything I needed to buy before I came onboard, all the items I needed to pack, and everything I planned to do while I was on this cruise.
"Maybe I'll just send you as list of their names. I'm hoping there will be so many that I won't have room on the postcards to tell you about all of them."
"That's a definite possibility," she said. "Have you ever seen so many cuties in one place?"
"Nope." From the moment I'd checked in and we'd started out quick tour of the ship, I'd seen a dozen guys who I thought I'd like to get to know better. Each one was smiling, laughing, or talking with someone.
"I think it is so romantic that Griffin is going to marry your mom on a cruise ship," Jo said.
"He's definitely gone all out."
Griffin Johnson was quiet and reserved, but when he spike, people listened and did as he asked. Mostly because his name appeared on a famous list of the top one hundred wealthiest people in the world.
Hence the cruise. A special honeymoon for him and his new bride- who just happened to be my mom- and anyone else who wanted to tag along. Of which I was undeniably one.
They say that most people are introduced by a friend to the person they'll marry. That's how Mom met Griffin. Her friend had worked for Griffin's company so Griffin had gone to the funeral as well. He and Mom met, hit it off, and now my life was on the verge of changing forever in ways that I'd never really anticipated. And truthfully, it's something I was having a hard time comprehending. For as long as I could remember, it had always been just me and Mom. Now it would be me, Mom, and Griffin.
Still, Griffin was nice and I liked him. I thought he'd be good for my mom. I was heading off to the Yale in the fall, and I'd been a little worried about Mom dealing with the empty nest. So, I was definitely in favor of her marrying Griffin.
And I was going to be the best man for the first time in my life. I had no doubt that I was embarking on a summer of firsts. And I planned for most of them to take place on this cruise.
I didn't think most cruise ships allowed wedding guests onboard, bit Griffin had made special arrangements so he and Mom could have their friends and family attend the wedding. He'd reserved the top deck for the ceremony. At midnight we'd have our official bon voyage and prepare to leave the port of Galveston. The guests would depart, and the ship would sail away into the night toward the Caribbean.
"I can't believe you are going to spend ten nights on this ship. Did you see all the stores we just passed on the boulevard?" Jo asked.
"I know. It's like a fancy mall or something. Plus there are tons of little shops on the islands. They're supposed to have some great bargains. Good thing I've been saving all my paychecks."
While Jo tore ticket stubs at out mall's movie theater, I worked the concession stand. Sometimes I thought I'd never eat another bag of buttered popcorn in my entire life. Just the aroma of buttered popcorn made me lost my appetite.
Jo glanced over at me. "If you run out of money, I'm sure Gracious Griffin will buy you anything you want."
"Yeah, but I'm not totally cool with that," I confessed. "I mean I know he's marrying my mom, and after tonight, he'll be like...my dad,but I'm a little too old to be needing a dad now."
My real dad had been killed in a car accident when I was three. I was too young to really have any memories of him, which makes me sad sometimes. I know it seems strange to miss someone I'd barely known, but often I did.
"I don't know why you're bothered about spending Griffin's money," Jo said. "I'd spend it in a flash."
I couldn't explain the reason I wasn't comfortable asking Griffin for money. He was paying for the cruise. He'd given me a special credit card to use whenever I purchased anything on board the ship: food, drinks, souvenirs, whatever I wanted. He was paying the bill with the trip was over. Even though I knew he could afford it, I didn't want to take advantage of him.
Jo and I stepped onto the glass-enclosed elevator. Before the door closed, three guys about our age joined us. They grinned at us, we smiled at them. I punched the button for the floor- correction, for the deck- where my cabin was.
"The fancy deck," one of the guys said as he leaned over and punched a button for a deck two below mine. "First cruise?"
I cast a glance over at Jo, then nodded. "Yeah."
"Us too." He broadened his grin and winked. "So far, so good."
The elevator stopped. "See you around," he said and his friends got off.
As soon as the door closed, Jo squeezed my arm. "He was flirting with you!"
I shook my head. "No way! He was just being nice."
She groaned. "No, he wasn't. Kendall, you should have given him your name, shown more interest. If you want this to be the best time ever, you've gotta stop being so shy around guys."
"I will. As soon as we leave the port," I insisted.
I'd dated a few boys in high school, but I'd never been serious about anyone. I'd spent most of my time studying, and I'd been rewarded by graduating to of my class.
Jo, on the other hand, had always been comfortable around guys. Probably because she had three brothers. She also had a steady boyfriend- Dak.
I saw this cruise as my opportunity to break out of my shell, to meet guys and flirt and prepare myself for dating in college.
I wanted to go places I've never gone. And I didn't simply mean traveling to islands. I wanted to explore all the different facets of myself...and other guys. I wanted to cut loose and do things that I'd never done.
The cruise seemed to perfect place to try new things, because even if I made a fool of myself, I'd never see any of these people again so it didn't really matter if I made mistakes. I could be wild and crazy. I could be unruly, stretching the limits, taking chances, completing my list of firsts. And no one would know that wild and crazy wasn't the real Kendall Knight.
The elevator stopped. As I stepped out, I shifted my backpack on my shoulder and pulled one of my small wheeled suitcases behind me while Jo dragged the other along with her duffle bag.
With plans to meet up later, Mom and I had parted ways right after we cam onboard and checked in. Mom and Griffin were staying in a honeymoon suite. I had their cabin number and could find them if I needed to, but I certainly had no plans to go searching for them. It creeped me out a little to think of my mom on her honeymoon.
"It is too cool that you're going to have a cabin all to yourself," Jo said. "You can do anything you want and your mom will never know!"
Those were my thoughts exactly. I had a feeling this new Cruising Kendall was going to do somethings that Mom definitely wouldn't approve of.
"I think Griffin made special arrangements," I explained. More examples of his power to pull strings. From the research that I'd done on cruise ships, Griffin and Mom were supposed to stay in a cabin beside mine since I was eighteen. Twenty-one was the magical age for solo cruising.
I wasn't really certain how Griffin bypassed that totally old-school "not without adult supervision" restriction. He probably pulled some strings or something. For all I knew, he owned this cruise line. Whatever it was Griffin did, I was glad he had done it.
Since Mom had always worked, I'd grown up fast and had acted responsibly for as long as I could remember. I never got into trouble, always did my homework, and as soon as I'd gotten a driver's license, I'd taken on a part-time job at the movie theater. So I really didn't think I needed anyone to watch over me on the cruise ship.
Griffin apparently felt the same way. He had managed to accomplish the impossible, and that was all that mattered to me. With the ship being as large as it was, once my obligations regarding tonight were over, I might never see Mom or Griffin ever again. It was all going to be perfect. Except I did wish Jo was coming with me.
I reached the door to my cabin and pulled my key card out of my pocket. I slipped it into the slot, cranked down the handle, and swung open the door.
My first though was that I'd somehow mistakenly gotten the key to Mom's suite. My second thought was Griffin had spared no expense to see that I was comfortable. My cabin had a king-sized bed, a large sitting area, and an awesome ocean view. Or at least it would be, once we were surrounded by nothing but ocean.
I pulled my suitcase into the cabin. "Jo, is this cabin not absolutely incredible?"
" A small family could live in here," she said. "I thought rooms onboard ships were supposed to be tiny."
"I'm sure there are many tiny rooms somewhere," I admitted. "Mine simply isn't one of them."
"I bet this room cost a fortune."
"You know, Griffin is more that money," I reminded her.
" I know, but geez, Kendall, it's like you're moving into a totally different world."
I heard in her voice that she thought maybe it was a world away from her. As soon as we returned from the cruise, Mom and I would live at Griffin's house. I'd have a big bedroom there too.
"You'll always be my best friend, Jo," I said softly.
"I know. I just wish I was going with you." She laughed. "I keep saying that don't I?"
"Yeah, you do. And I keep saying that I wish you were coming too."
"But I'm not, and I need to accept that. Although I will totally take advantage of the few hours I will be onboard. I'm going to hit the pool as soon as possible. Hey! Look at this! You've got a minibar. Can we have one of these tiny bottles of wine?"
"Sure. Have anything you want. Drinking age is eighteen on the ship."
"Cool! What about gambling?"
"Nope. You have to be twenty-one to get into the casinos."
"That's weird- they'd lower the drinking age but not the gambling age?"
"Maybe they think kids will get into more trouble gambling than drinking." Although I didn't know if that was possible. It seemed to me that drinking was the more dangerous vice.
I shrugged off my backpack and walked across the cabin. I unlocked the glass door,slid it open, and stepped onto the balcony. I felt the breeze and smelled the ocean.
I glanced around. Apparently no one was above me. Around me all the cabins on this level had balconies,each separated from one another by a waist-high wall that offered a little privacy. I could sit out here with a good book and be alone in my little world.
No! I chastised myself. That's what I'd do if I were at home. Here, I needed to be hanging around the pool, meeting guys, being completely different from my normal boring self.
Jo joined me on the balcony.
"Is this not great?" I asked.
"Absolutely." Jo handed me a tiny bottle of wine. "I want to make a toast."
"There's probably glasses somewhere in there."
"Nah, this'll do," she said. She lifted her bottle. "Here's hoping you have the best time of your life!"
"I'll drink to that!"
I clinked my bottle against her. This vacation was going to be perfect. I knew it without a doubt, because I was leaving nothing to chance. I'd made a list of all the things I needed to do in order to have a great time:
+Soak of the rays. (My skin is so pale.)
+Shop until I drop. (Vans and super skinny jeans here I come!)
+Drink margaritas by the pitcher( Just because...)
+Dance all night.
+Climb a waterfall
+Snorkel
+Kiss a lot of cute guys.(Can't wait for this one!)
+Sleep with a guy for the first time. (Ahhhh!)
Okay...that was it...I hoped you guys like it... please review!
