Chapter 3
“Oh Em Gee, what a day!”
Terry glanced up from his food tray as Dan, his roommate, dropped into the seat across from him at a small table in the staff mess hall. Dan's dark hair was still wet from the shower, making him look bedraggled and far younger than the twenty-five Terry knew him to be.
“You think all that starch is going to help?” Terry asked, raising a brow and pointing his fork at Dan’s tray.
While Terry had concentrated his selections on the protein-heavy offerings, Dan’s own meal consisted mostly of carbs, his plate piled high with mashed potatoes slathered in gravy and three slices of garlic bread.
“Hmph. I’ll work it off. I’m DJing at the Drag Show tonight.” Dan picked up his knife and fork. “So how was your day? Are you on for this evening?”
Like Dan, and most of the crew, Terry had multiple roles on the ship. Dan was both a DJ and a dance instructor, while Terry worked the Shore Excursions desk in addition to being a lifeguard. It made for busy days, which Terry loved. He certainly wasn’t ever bored.
“No, I’m done for the day.” He looked down at the rest of the grilled chicken breast on his plate, pushing it around with his fork and considering if he wanted to share the situation which had been uppermost in his mind all day.
He glanced around, and to his relief, the cafeteria was pretty empty.
It was late in the day, so most of the crew were going about their evening jobs, but he still lowered his voice and leaned closer to Dan across the table.
Gossip on the ship spread faster than wildfire, and Terry always did his best not to get caught up in it..
“I saw a passenger today who blew me away,” he admitted. “Like, he has to be the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life. For once, I wished I was a passenger, too, because then I could chase him from one end of the ship to the other.”
Dan’s eyes widened, but he leaned closer and lowered his voice. “After you turned down Tony? He’s that hot?”
Terry felt his face growing hot. Tony was one of the main show dancers, who was widely considered by both men and women to be the sexiest man on the ship.
Yet Terry hadn’t been impressed, since Tony was also far too aware of his own charms and seemed to take Terry's interest for granted. In fact, Terry had been propositioned so often when he’d taken his first contract on the ship that he’d been alarmed, until he realized that any attractive new crewmember was the object of pursuit by the more adventurous souls among his coworkers, which included Tony.
Terry wasn’t a prude by any means, but he was more choosy when it came to his partners, and he liked to get to know someone before jumping into bed with them.
“Yeah. To me, at least.”
“Well now I have to see this guy.” Dan shook his head in wonder. “You are the only gay guy I know who has ever turned down Tony the Stud, so Mr. Pride Cruiser must really be something special.”
“Maybe so.” Terry had seen more than his fair share of handsome men on the ship, but the man from the pool had stood out in a way he couldn’t define.
Good-looking, yes, but there had also been the calm reaction he’d exhibited in an awkward situation.
He could have yelled and started making demands.
In fact, that was the reaction Terry had expected, since it was the one most people would have had.
But he hadn’t. He’d been as gracious as anyone could have been in that situation, which was a change from the Cruise Karen mentality Terry had dealt with far too often.
Then there was the way he’d kept peeking at Terry over the edge of his book.
Their gazes had met several times over the course of Terry’s shift, enough so that Terry had been working himself up to actually going over to talk to the man after his shift was over.
Of course, it would only be to check on how he was after the mishap, since anything else was strictly prohibited.
But the handsome man left the pool area before Terry could do it, which was probably for the best since it removed any temptation to violate the rules against the ship’s staff getting involved with guests.
Dan changed the subject, describing with envy the costumes the drag performers were going to be wearing, then after finishing his meal went off to his DJ gig.Terry made his way back to their room, since was on duty early in the morning and he knew he should take the opportunity to get as much sleep as he could.
By 7:30 the next morning, Terry was up, fed, dressed in his uniform, and standing behind the counter at the Shore Excursions desk. There had already been a line when he arrived, though everyone was in a good mood and chattering about the sights they wanted to see.
“At least everyone is cheerful,” his coworker Mindy said, as they booted up the computers and initialized the excursion software prior to opening the station. “And a lot younger than our typical crowd.”
Terry nodded, looking out at the people.
Most of their cruises seemed to attract older cruisers, the average age probably somewhere in their fifties, but he thought the current group was closer to their thirties.
“Maybe we’ll book more of the high activity excursions today.
I’d love that.” Part of Terry’s job at the desk was to go ashore with certain excursions to help supervise and act as a liaison for the cruise line.
He much preferred the higher activity outings to ones like the walking tours or pub crawls.
In fact, there was a new dolphin swim excursion available when they reached the Bahamas, and he was hopeful there would be enough bookings made to justify him tagging along.
Once the desk opened, the stream of people was steady but cheerful.
Terry answered questions about almost every excursion they offered, most of which he was fortunate enough to have firsthand experience with.
As he had thought, the younger crowd was interested in activities such as parasailing, reef diving, and horseback riding, though he sold a decent amount of beach cabanas and booze cruise trips as well.
Business slacked off a bit after the lunch buffet opened, and he used the lull to organize paperwork while Mindy went on a break.
“I thought you were a lifeguard.”
A familiar voice interrupted his focus, and he glanced up to see Handsome Pool Guy standing in front of the counter, appearing puzzled.
“Or am I at the wrong place?” The man backed up a couple of steps and glanced around as if to reassure himself he hadn’t stumbled on some kind of secret off-duty lifeguard enclave instead of the Shore Excursions Desk.
For some reason, just the sight of Mr. Handsome made Terry strangely happy.
“You’re in the right place if you’re looking for something fun to do in port,” he replied.
“And I am a lifeguard. Also a Shore Excursions Specialist. Also a part-time diving instructor. I used to coach my little sister’s swim team, too, but that was a while back. ”
“Do you get paid for all that, or does the cruise line try to pull the old ‘do more with less’ routine with their employees and make them double up on job requirements?” Mr. Handsome asked.
Terry raised an eyebrow. It sounded like Mr. Handsome had some business experience, and maybe a little axe to grind.
“I get paid. It’s all in my contract,” he said easily.
“I enjoy being able to switch things up. There’s nothing for just a lifeguard to do if the pools are closed, and I enjoy keeping busy.
But since you don’t seem in need of a lifeguard at the moment, can I help you find something amazing to do in port? ”
Mr. Handsome nodded, as if the answer was acceptable, and he glanced down at the countertop, scanning the array of brochures on display.
“I was thinking I’d like to go on an excursion, but I’m not sure which one.” He glanced up and met Terry’s gaze. “Do you have any recommendations?”
Terry found himself falling into Mr. Handsome’s blue eyes, as clear and deep as the Caribbean Sea.
He had to force himself to look away before things got awkward.
Nodding, he picked up the brochure for the dolphin swim.
Mr. Handsome was in great shape — as had been made obvious when he took off his shirt — so hopefully he’d be more the adventurous type than the ‘sit-around-and-drink-margaritas’ type.
“We have a brand new excursion available when we hit Great Exuma. It’s a swim with wild dolphins, who cluster around the area since it’s not one of the major cruise ports.
You take a catamaran out into Elizabeth Harbour, then sail around until the dolphins come out.
I’ve talked to several people online who’ve done the excursion while staying in Exuma, and everyone says it’s fantastic. ”
Mr. Handsome’s sea-blue eyes lit up as soon as he heard the word “dolphins,” and it seemed like that one word had melted years away, turning him boyishly eager. “Sign me up, please!”
There was no reason why Terry should feel elated that Mr. Handsome was eager to take the excursion Terry recommended, but he did.
“Absolutely,” he said. He realized he was about to find out Mr. Handsome’s name, which was more exciting than it should have been.
“If you’ll give me your Cruise Card, I’ll book you at once. ”
The man fished the card out of his pocket and handed it over, still smiling. “I’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins. I didn’t realize I’d get the chance to do it here, though.”
“It’s a great experience,” Terry assured him.
He looked at the card, then swiped it through the reader.
Mark Vandergoss. Well, that was a distinctive name, not one Terry was going to forget anytime soon.
He set up the booking, and he smiled in delight when he saw there were enough people from the ship that a crew member would be sent along.
He didn’t care who he had to bribe or how much it cost him; he was determined to be chosen.
The printer hummed and spat out the ticket, and Terry handed it, as well as the cruise card, back to Mr. Handsome. “Thanks for booking through us, Mr. Vandergoss. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Anything at all, his brain urged him to say, but he throttled the impulse.
Mark tucked away the card and ticket, appearing on the verge of saying something, but then he patted the counter a couple of times and backed away with an awkward smile.
“I’m good.” He paused before adding, “Thanks for your help yesterday, too.”
Terry smiled. It was kind of Mr. Vandergoss — he had to stop thinking of him as “Mr. Handsome” — to express gratitude when Terry had merely been doing his job. It was nice to be appreciated, and even nicer when someone didn’t consider you part of the furniture because of your job.
“You’re very welcome. I’m sorry you had such a rough introduction to your cruise, but I hope things got better from there.”
Mark’s smile widened into a delighted grin. “I’m going to swim with dolphins, so I’d say it's a hundred times better.”
Terry’s breath caught. If he’d thought Mark was good-looking before, it was nothing compared to how he looked now, almost seeming to glow with an inner light. Terry was staring, and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop, not when he was certain he’d never seen a more beautiful man in his entire life.
He wasn’t certain how long he was gaping at Mark like a deer in headlights, but just then Mindy returned from her break and jostled his shoulder as she took the keyboard to sign back in.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, looking between Terry and Mark with a puzzled expression.
“Um, fine, everything is great,” Terry said, snatching up the brochure for the dolphin swim and holding it out to Mark. “Please, take this and look it over, see if you have any questions. I’ll be in contact with the excursion contractor, so I can find out anything you might want to know.”
Mark accepted the brochure and offered Mindy a polite smile. “I’ll do that,” he said. “Thanks again.”
With that, he headed away, already engrossed in the brochure as he left.
“He’s a stunner, isn’t he?” Mindy murmured, nudging Terry again.
Terry turned to look at her, about to tell her to keep her eyes in her head or something equally sharp, feeling weirdly possessive.
But she was grinning at him, her green eyes full of mischief, and he deflated, realizing how dumb it was to feel territorial over a good-looking man just because he’d seen him first.
“You got me,” he said, chuckling. “And yes, he’s a stunner.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she replied, then winked. “Or at least don’t get caught, mate.” She patted him on the shoulder and turned to smile at an approaching passenger.
“It’s not like anything will happen,” Terry murmured. He had the feeling that Mark Vandergoss was out of his league, so a shore excursion with the dolphins was likely all they would ever share, and that only if Terry was very lucky.