1. Chapter 1

Adam

"This has to be the most insane scheme you've ever come up with, Harper. I can't believe I agreed to it." I looked around the current disaster that was my bedroom, but I couldn't help but smile at the tiny little pixie of a woman who sat in the middle of the mess, grinning at me.

"It isn't a scheme, brother dear, it's a vacation, and one you desperately need. It's not my fault you don't have appropriate cruise attire."

"I don't have appropriate cruise attire because I never planned on going on a cruise." We'd spent most of the day going through my wardrobe because she insisted that if I were going to do this, I had to do it right, which meant I had to have the right clothes. "And this isn't any ordinary vacation. It's more like one giant blind date, which you know I hate."

"Don't think of it as a blind date. Think of it as a big playdate like the ones I take Sammy to. Except instead of being at the local park with tons of other little kids, this one will be on a ship filled with yummy boys for you to hang out with and possibly get to know."

"Except I'm not Sammy," I insisted. "I'm not four years old, and I don't need you setting up playdates for me. I'm a grown-ass man, Harper."

"You're just grumpy cause you need to get laid."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. When Bree and I saw the flier for this trip, we knew it was the perfect birthday present for you. You've been alone too long, Adam. It's time you moved on, and this is the perfect way for you to do it."

I knew she meant well, but from the moment she and her wife, Bree, had presented me with the Daddy/boy cruise for my birthday, I'd been trying to find a nice way to get out of going. It didn't help that we both worked for the family business, which made it impossible to use work as an excuse since she knew I had time off. Plus, she and Bree were going as well. Not as part of the Daddy/boy cruise, of course. But because she knew if they didn't, I would have found some way out of it.

It wasn't that I didn't want a boy of my own. I did, but I wanted to meet someone in a normal way, not on some matchmaking cruise put together as an advertising stunt for a dating app.

"I agree with you. It's time. I'm just not as sure as you are that this is the way to go about finding someone."

"Because your current method is working sooo well. Of course, for it to work, you'd have to actually have a method, now wouldn't you?"

"Whatever. I guess I'll just go shopping."

"I think that's a perfect idea! You need some more casual clothes anyway, something besides jeans and t-shirts." She motioned to the stack of jeans that sat on the bed. "And good lord, Adam, I swear you've had most of those t-shirts since college."

"I never go anywhere where I need anything else. I'm either at work, or I'm hanging out here at the house, and Rupert doesn't care what kind of clothes I wear."

"That cat's more spoiled than most children, and he's such a damn diva that I'm pretty sure he's appalled by your normal attire."

"Ru is not a diva." I turned to look at the beautiful Siamese cat that was lying sprawled out in the middle of our mess. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head, looking at me lazily when I said his name. He stood and stretched out his long body, then plopped back down and went right back to sleep. Okay, maybe he was a bit of a diva. "Now, are you coming with me to help me buy cruise clothes or not?"

Ollie

"I can't believe we're doing this," I told my best friend, Carey, as I put the last of my clothes in the bag. "Buying ourselves this cruise as a graduation present was the bestest idea ever."

"It was, wasn't it? And the timing couldn't be better. We'll just grab your stuff here, then swing by my apartment and get my stuff. We'll have just enough time today to make the drive to Fort Lauderdale. Then we'll only have to find a place to sleep for one night before we can board the ship."

I was on a full scholarship, so my room and board were covered, which is why I was a sad senior still living in the dorms, but needs must, and it made no sense for me to waste the money on an apartment as long as I was in school, even if living in the dorm sucked. That was how I'd been saving almost every penny I'd earned over the last year from the server job I'd had all through college. I knew I would need money to support myself while job hunting.

But then Carey and I had come across the ad for the cruise on the BDSM dating app we both used, and for once in my life, I felt the need to treat myself. My parents hadn't taken my coming out well, which meant I'd been on my own for the last few years. It hadn't been easy, but I'd done it. I'd pushed through, and I'd graduated, and damn it, I deserved this week.

Besides, it was a cruise specifically for people who were part of the BDSM lifestyle. One of the reasons Carey and I had become such close friends was because we were both looking for the same thing. We both wanted a Daddy, and now that we were done with college, it was time for us to move on from occasional hook-ups and start living our best lives.

"I can't believe we did it, Carey."

"I know, Ollie, and we're going to celebrate in style."

"Yep, one week to party and then back here to job hunt. Are you sure you don't mind me staying with you until I find a job?" At first, I'd insisted I couldn't afford the trip because I needed to hold on to my savings to cover my living expenses until I found a job, but he'd insisted I could stay with him until I found a job, removing some of the burden and allowing me to feel okay with spending the money on the cruise.

"Are you kidding me? I've been telling you for a year you could move out of this dorm and stay with me, so a few weeks won't hurt. Maybe you'll find a local job and just stay here. That would be amazing!"

"We'll see. Who knows where I'll end up?" I didn't honestly expect to find anything local. This was a college town, not a big city, and because I majored in web design with a minor in business, there really wasn't much for me here. Besides, I'd never planned on staying here forever, there was a whole lot of world out there, and I wanted to see it.

Starting with this cruise.