Twenty-Six

Cory

After we'd eaten Jackson went back to the kitchen and I returned to the dining room, but this dinner was different. Because the party theme was Ancient Rome, the dinner would be served buffet style. Not the buffet you'd find in a casino, but what you'd imagine in a Roman palace. The crew had moved an enormous fountain into the center of one massive table and three smaller tables branched off it.

The kitchen crew was hard at work setting it all up. I noticed a few other bussers helping, so after asking I was tasked with bringing totes of ice out that they'd use as the base for the food. One other area was going to be all hot foods, and another would be meats. The bakery had made lots of specialty desserts and breads including an oversized bread cornucopia that made a beautiful display.

Even though it was less work for me, it was just as many dishes, and Jackson was hard at work every time I got a refill of ice, so I didn't get a chance to check in. As soon as we opened the buffet, guests flooded in, and the dining room was filled. Most were dressed in their finest interpretation of Roman partygoers, which was perfect with the massive buffet.

"Attention, everyone, the emperor has arrived," one of the dining room hosts announced. It wasn't only the guests that were dressed. For this night they had actors who would mingle with the guests to make it feel even more unique.

Eight men dressed as gladiators, complete with helmets and chest-plates, walked into the dining area, behind them was an actor with the leafy crown of the emperor. He was surrounded by men of all shapes and sizes that danced around him dressed in sheer togas wearing crowns of flowers.

"Wow, this is incredible," one of the guests said, and it was. The next two hours were a constant battle to keep the food stocked and to clear off tables so guests who hadn't eaten yet had a place to sit.

I happened to catch a glimpse of the married couple who had helped Jackson get on board. The older guy had a toga draped around his waist while his husband had the smaller version. "They are handsome," I mumbled to myself as I continued to gather dirty dishes while making sure there were still enough clean ones.

"Are you nearly done?" Jackson asked me when I wheeled the last of the dirty dishes into the kitchen.

"This is the last of the dirty dishes," I said and pushed them over where I now knew he wanted them.

"I should be done within an hour," he said, and immediately got busy on the dishes.

I stood and watched him for a moment because watching him was becoming one of my favorite things. He glanced up at me with a wink and I left with a smile.

"The party should be fun tonight," Johnny said.

"Are you done?" I asked.

"Yeah, they were serving wine tonight to go with the theme, so I think everyone was saving themselves for the party later," he said.

"I'm done after dinner, so I think we'll go watch the party if you want to join us."

"You really like this guy," Johnny said.

"I hate to admit it, but I do. He's so different than I thought he was at first, and—well he's fun. I really do like spending time with him."

"Well, that's saying something. I know how happy you were to have your own cabin this tour."

"I don't mind sharing with him. In fact, I wouldn't mind if we shared every tour."

"It doesn't hurt that he has no belongings to leave all over the place," Johnny said. The two of us stopped just before we walked out of the dining area, and a laugh burst out of me.

"You know me too well," I said just as Jackson walked up.

"Hey." He leaned in and kissed me, making me smile. I definitely didn't mind this. "I hurried so we could watch the party," he said.

"We were just talking about that. Come on, we know just the spot." Johnny and I both liked to watch people rather than be in the middle of the craziness. We had enough of that when we were working, but it was fun to watch the party from a distance. The upper deck where they allowed nude bathing was always empty this time of night, and it had the perfect view of the deck below where they held the dances. The three of us pulled deck chairs over and watched as the crowd started to gather.

The stage was set up and the band started playing. It might have been a Roman theme, but the band was playing club music complete with a light show. "These have to be the best seats on the ship," I said, but when I turned, Jackson's attention was on me, not the dance floor. He grinned and I took his hand.

"Oh my god, you two really are too cute together," Johnny said, making us all laugh.

"Do you feel cute?" Jackson asked me.

"I think you're cuter," I said. While Johnny faked a gag.

"I said cute, not disgusting," he said.

After about an hour he'd had enough and decided it was time for bed. Jackson and I stayed and when the music no longer held our attention, we stared up at the stars and pointed out constellations to each other. "Thank you," I said after we'd decided to try to share a lounge.

"For what?" he said.

"For not being the total asshole I thought you were." I tried to keep a straight face but couldn't and when I started laughing, he tickled me. "Okay okay, you are a total asshole."

"Well, now I'm just hurt," he said, but he didn't look hurt. His eyes were bright with humor and his smile . . . his smile lit up his face.

"You look happy," I said, and cupped his jaw.

"You make me happy. You and everything here."

"Really?" I murmured.

"Really." He kissed me then, and I fought to remember every detail from the brush of his lips to the look in his eyes when they met mine. But mostly I wanted to remember the way he made my breath speed up and how fast my heart beat in anticipation of his touch. Mostly I wanted to remember the exact moment that I fell in love with him.