Page 3 of Cruising for a Daddy

“Oh, it’s after.”

“You should join us for dinner, then.”

“I’m sure you and Harper don’t need me tagging along all week. You should go by yourself and enjoy your time away as a couple.”

“We’ll have plenty of time to be together just the two of us. So for tonight, at least join us.”

I nodded in agreement and then turned back to watch the young man dance, but unfortunately, he was gone. I scanned the crowd of dancers looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

Chapter 3

Ollie

Well, didn’t that just figure? The most interesting man I’d seen in…well, ever, and he was here with a woman. An absolutely stunning woman, because what other kind of woman would a man like him be with? If I were guessing, I would say he was in his mid to late thirties, with just that touch of gray starting on the sides of his dark hair that looked distinguished, not old, or at least that’s the way it looked on him.

I’d noticed him sitting there drinking his drink when the party first started, but I hadn’t even noticed the gorgeous Latinx woman with him until he broke our connected gazes to lean in close to her to hear what she was saying to him. Until that point, I’d been sure he was watching me pretty intently.

I didn’t know if he was bi-curious, or if they had an open marriage, or if he was just trying to learn a few new dance moves to impress his lady, but if there was one thing I didn’t need in my life, it was to get involved in any of that.

“I want another drink,” I said as an excuse, grabbing Carey’s arm and pulling him towards the other side of the deck.

“Sounds good. I need a break anyways.”

We found the girl with drinks just as I heard the loudspeaker again. “Here we go, ladies and gentlemen… We’re almost ready to blow the ship’s horn. Are you ready?”

Then she began a countdown starting with nine. “Come on, Carey,” I yelled, grabbing his arms and tugging him with me as I headed for the stairs that led to the open deck on the side. “We have to get to the side of the ship.”

“What? Why?” he asked, but he didn’t resist, which was good because we’d be lucky to make it.

“Because you have to wave at the people on the shore as you leave,” I called back over my shoulder.

“Ollie, you’re ridiculous. We don’t have people here seeing us off. There’s no one we know there to wave at.”

“Carey, I’m gonna need you to get in the spirit with me here. I’ve always wanted to wave at the people as I set out to sea. Now, move it.”

We made it to the top of the stairs just as she said one, and we rushed to the rail as the ship’s horn blew announcing our departure, and sure enough, there were people there, some even with towels or scarves or something waving at us as the ship began to move. “Here we go, everyone,” the voice announced. “We’re now sailing!”

I waved at the people watching us leave like some of them were actually there to see me off. It may have been stupid, but it was fun.

“So what now?” Carey asked when we were both all waved out.

“We could go back down to the party, or we could check and see if our rooms are ready. I bet they are. I’m really curious what it’s going to look like. I know we got the cheaper rooms, and they’ll be small, but I still want to see it. Plus, we have the meet and greet tonight.”

“Right, and I want to be fresh for that. I don’t know about you, but grabbing a few hours of sleep in the car doesn’t have me at my best right now.”

“Same, dude, totally the same. I say we go up to our rooms, catch a quick nap, and then we can head down for food.”

“And to meet the Daddies,” he added, and I laughed.

“Yeah, Carey, and to meet the Daddies.”

Adam

By the time we’d finished dinner, I was feeling more relaxed. Maybe Harper was right, and I did need a vacation. I wasn’t sure when the last time was that I’d had one. I’d taken time off from work, sure, but I hadn’t gone anywhere or done anything fun in longer than I could remember. That said, I still wasn’t sold on the idea that this was a way to meet the perfect boy for me.

Mostly for the same reasons that I wasn’t a big fan of meeting people online. It felt too calculated. But there was nothing saying that just because I didn’t believe I would meet the boy who was supposed to be mine forever on this cruise that I couldn’t have a little fun. Odds were whoever I hooked up with wouldn’t live anywhere near me, so it couldn’t be anything more than a week-long fling, anyway. And while what I really wanted was a boy to come home to after I worked all day, a boy to take care of, a boy who would be mine, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if, for just this week, I could find a boy to have some fun with.

I made my way down to the meeting room that had been set up for the group’s meet and greet and was met at the door by a representative from the service that had set up the cruise.

---