One

Cory Wynn

"Hey, Cory, are you ready for a day on the island?" Johnny asked as I slipped out of my room and the two of us hurried down the hall.

"Yeah, I'm hoping I remember to use more sunscreen. When we were here last week, I got fried." I showed him where my arm was still mottled, where my skin had blistered and peeled. Truth be told this had happened a few times since I'd started working for the NautiCaribbean cruise line.

"You'll get used to it eventually," he said and patted my back. Johnny was from somewhere south of the equator where the sun shone all the time. While I burned and peeled, he just got more tanned and beautiful. And he was beautiful. With dark brown hair cut close on the sides and left just long enough on top to let his curls show. He also had abs for days. My hair was dark blond and straight which I kept cut short on the sides and longer in the back. I was also not nearly as toned as he was. "Cory?"

"Oh sorry, just lost in thought." He laughed at that, and we hurried up to the crew's mess hall to eat before the ship docked. I'd been working here for a few months now, and so far, every day was exciting or at least different to how my life had been. Before starting work here, the farthest I'd traveled was the next county over, now I visited a different island every day or two. But we worked hard, and by the time my days off rolled around, I was more than ready to relax and have time away. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked as we got in line for the breakfast buffet.

"Well, as you know, this group has been all sorts of trouble. So, the captain wants to make sure that no one gets into anything while we're on the private island. We've added a few more guided activities in the hopes that if we break them into smaller groups, it will tamp down some of the craziness."

"He does realize it's a gay cruise and they're all here to party?" I asked, making both of us laugh.

"Yes of course he knows, but every cruise is a gay cruise with NautiCaribbean. This group has been a little crazier than most." The group he was talking about had ended up booking the whole ship. The cruise had been promoted by an online influencer as the party not to miss and apparently most of his millions of followers agreed. Well, thankfully not all of them. "This is the second day. Maybe yesterday was a fluke?"

He gave me the same look I had come to know as his I'm not dealing with this shit look, before filling his tray with food and two cups of coffee. "You know as well as I do, none of the cruises have started like yesterday. Try to keep them busy with activities and away from the alcohol."

"Like that's going to work." One benefit of booking the whole ship gave them the ability to pay ahead for alcohol. Where normally everyone was charged per drink, with this cruise, alcohol was included. They'd proven in one day they were definitely here for the party.

"At least if they're hitting it hard the first few days by the third or fourth day, they'll be hungover and will slow down," Alberto said as he slid his tray onto the table we'd just chosen.

"Were they tipping more since the alcohol was free?" I asked him, before taking a bite of eggs. Tips mattered. I was here to make as much money as I could and build up my savings account.

"Nope, just pounding the alcohol and asking for more." Alberto was a few years older than us and had worked at a few of the more famous bars in Florida. He'd applied to be head bartender on the ship around ten years ago and hadn't left. Well except for the two weeks off every eight weeks he worked. Most of us were on the same schedule and since this would be the fourth cruise we'd done together we were all very familiar with the routine. Usually, the first night aboard they all ate and drank but got up early the second day to either go on an excursion if we were at port, or they'd laze around on the pool deck soaking up the sun then later complain about sunburn. Which is what brought me to this line of thought to begin with.

"You can work at the island restaurant today, Cory. It's in the shade a little more than the beach bar. That should give you a break from the sun," Alexa said from another table. She was the person we went to with any scheduling conflicts or issues. She was twenty-five and had more management know-how than a lot of forty-year-olds. Her parents owned a popular restaurant in The Keys, where she'd worked from the time she was a teenager. Her specialty was scheduling, and she proved time and again how well she did her job.

"That would be great, thanks, Alexa. I should be okay by next week."

"Use your sunblock," she said, making everyone at the table laugh. Then nodded at me before going back to whatever she was talking about before she overheard our conversation. One look at my arms and I didn't need reminding.

"Since you're working at the restaurant, you'll want to get there a little earlier. They'll go over the menu and explain it all to you since you haven't worked there yet," Alberto explained before downing his coffee in one drink.

Johnny patted me on the back as he stood to put his tray away. "Let's get this show on the road," he said, clapping his hands together. Drinking down my own coffee—that I drank way more often now than I ever had—we left the mess hall and walked along to where we'd all get on a smaller boat called a tender, to be taken to the island.

Our cruise line offered multiple cruise locations, but we were currently cruising the eastern Caribbean. It was close enough to Florida to make it a quick cruise to the Bahamas, and since there were a number of small islands, we were at a different port every day except for two days where we'd be slowly sailing to the next port. I'd tried a different route but didn't enjoy so many days at sea. So, for now I'd stick with this one. Plus, the friends I'd made also added to the fun.

We walked to the side of the ship they'd open to ferry the passengers in tenders to the island. We'd go first to make sure their experience was the best it could be, so we were lining up just as the sun was rising.

I'd grown up around Sacramento and had seen many beautiful sunrises and sunsets. But seeing it rise over the Caribbean wasn't a bad way to start the day. Not at all. I adjusted my backpack on my shoulders and joined everyone else in line. Since we'd be on the island all day, I made sure to bring a change of clothes along with my phone charger, and of course some sunscreen and bug spray. It only took about ten minutes before we were on the dock and Alexa was pointing everyone to where they'd be working for the day.

"Cory, you'll be working here," Alexa said to me as well as five other crew members. Some I'd seen before but hadn't worked with while one or two were complete strangers.

"How long have you been on board?" a guy about my age asked me. His hair was all buzzed and what he lacked in height he made up for in muscles. His tank top hid nothing, and I had a hard time not staring at his muscular chest—something he didn't seem to mind at all. But I did wonder how he managed to get that approved as a uniform.

"Well, I've been working for the cruise line for a few months now. This is my second week back." With how scheduling worked on the ship, every week there seemed to be different people, which was both good and bad. You might work with a great crew for six or eight weeks, only to come back and most of them were no longer working for the cruise, or they'd changed their position on board and no longer worked in that department. It was always changing.

"Nice, this is my last week then I'll be back after two weeks. The name is Quinn," he said and held his hand out.

"I'm Cory. Nice to meet you. Have you worked at the restaurant here before?"

"Yes, every week so far. But don't worry, it's not bad, and it"s way less sun." He pointed to where I was still peeling, making both of us laugh.

"Yeah, I was on beach activities last week and got a little too much sun." We chatted a while longer before the manager from the restaurant walked over and assigned each of us the job we'd have the next few hours.

"Cory, you and Quinn will be bussing tables and making sure guests have everything they need once they're served," the manager, whose name I didn't know, said and walked us around the restaurant, so we knew where everything was. I'd been assigned a few different jobs while working on the cruise but most of it had to do with food, so I was glad to see this was more of the same.

The restaurant, with its thatched roof and open sides, gave the feeling of being outside without the direct sun. We were each given a crisp white apron and an area to focus on. We'd just finished setting up the tables and chairs when the first guests arrived. It was still early but most guests would have breakfast on the ship before taking a boat to the island. We'd be serving a brunch menu until it was time for lunch then the guests would go back to the ship for dinner.

"Gentlemen, right this way," the host said as he led a large group of men to the area I'd be working.

"Well, hello," one of them said. He was very cute with white-blond hair, cut and styled perfectly with just a touch of pink in the front. I tried not to stare at his short shorts, but he made it hard to ignore him.

After helping them all find seats and giving each of them water, I left them to the waiter who was taking their order knowing I'd be returning to their table later. I reminded myself one more time how much I loved my job. Because I really did, and meeting lots of cute boys didn't hurt it at all. I glanced back at the table just in time to see the cute boy looking in my direction, and wished it was okay for us to intermingle, but knowing it wasn't. It was perfectly fine to imagine though, and I imagined a lot.