Chapter 2

Finn

D aniel said nothing, and I noticed a hint of drool on his chin. Grabbing the clipboard out of his hands, I turned to the man and did my best to keep my eyes on his face.

"Um, here." I handed him the clipboard and pen. "You sign up here."

The man's sapphire eyes met mine. Then he glanced down at the clipboard. He hesitated for a moment and scribbled a name down, then handed the clipboard back to me.

"How much time before the competition begins?" The man asked. "Oh, and the internet service in my room isn't working."

I blinked, wondering why he told us that.

"You do work on the cruise, right?" The man crossed his hairy arms over his chest. "I assumed, since you were standing here with the clipboard that you did."

At that moment, Mickey, the cabin steward, strolled over and snatched the clipboard out of my hands. Then he turned to the handsome stranger, glanced down at the sign-up sheet, and grinned.

"You're Knox Steele?" Mickey's eyes dropped to the man's waist, then slowly traveled up his body until their eyes met. An amused smirk played on the man's lips.

"Well, yes." The man placed his hands on his hips. "My name is Knox."

Jeez, not only did he look like a porn star, he had a porn star name, too. Perhaps I should do a little cyber stalking later to see if he actually was a porno king?

"The competition is about to begin." Mickey bit his lower lip, and I noticed his eyes kept darting down to Knox's crotch. "The team you're playing for is called the Sea Grizzlies." Mickey reached into a bag hanging from his shoulder and pulled out a cheap disposable paper plate with the team name on it. It had a pink string running through it, and Mickey stood on his tiptoes to place it around Knox's neck. "Your teammates are over there." He pointed to a group of bears on the other side of the deck.

"Thanks, man," Knox murmured, and he strolled over to them.

"You two are on the Tide Tuggers team." Mickey pulled two of the paper plates out of the bag and handed them to us. "Jesus, that guy is like a walking, talking sex dream come to life."

"Tell me about it," Daniel glanced over toward Knox, and his cheeks turned pink. "He's so out of my league."

Normally I'd tell my bestie that no, he had an excellent chance with the sexiest man on the cruise. Instead, I kept my mouth shut. Why encourage Daniel, especially when I wanted Knox all to myself? I slipped the paper plate sign around my neck and Daniel did the same.

Mickey sauntered over to the vat of jello, his hips swaying as he moved. With a playful twinkle in his eye, he cleared his throat and addressed the crowd.

"Alright, you burly bears, otters, and cubs, gather ‘round for a quick rundown of the rules. We're about to embark on a tug-of-war adventure that'll have you flexing those muscles and showing off your strength like true grizzlies!"

He winked at a few of the participants, sending a ripple of excitement through the crowd.

"Now, listen up, because here's the honey-coated scoop: each team will grip their end of the rope like it's their favorite tree branch. The goal? Pull your opponents across the line like you're hauling in a prized salmon from the river!"

Mickey gestured dramatically, and I stifled a laugh. Man, he was really into this.

"But beware, fellas, this isn't your average picnic basket grab. Oh no, this is a battle of bear-sized proportions! Keep those paws gripping tight and don't let up until you've claimed victory for your team and earned the title of deck dominators!"

"Is this dude for real?" Daniel whispered in my ear, and this time I barked out a laugh. Neither of us could accuse each other of having team spirit. We just wanted to meet guys.

When I glanced up, my eyes met Knox's gaze from the other side of the deck. Jesus, the man was sex on a stick. And if my senses were to be believed, I think he thought I was attractive, too. Blood raced up my neck, then I felt someone tugging on my arm.

"C'mon," Daniel pulled me over to the vat of jello. "Don't be a wuss. Now get in."

"Shit, I don't want to…" My words died in my throat as I saw Knox step into the jello and grab the rope. He was at the beginning of the line of men on the opposing team. Without thinking, I jumped into the icy jello, grabbed the rope, and stared into Knox's eyes. Standing just four feet away, he gripped the rope tightly in his large hands and stared directly at me. It was as if he was challenging me to defeat him.

"Let the games begin!" Mickey's voice echoed across the deck.

My heart raced in anticipation as both teams gripped the rope tightly and braced themselves for the battle ahead.

Mickey blew his whistle, and all hell broke loose. My muscles strained as I pulled on the rope with all my might, my eyes locked onto Knox's intense gaze.

I can't lose in front of this man. No way, no how.

But then something distracted me. My gaze dropped to the sizable bulge in Knox's olive green jock strap. My mind went blank as a rush of desire flooded through me. In that split second, my grip on the rope loosened, and I lost my footing.

"Fuck!"

The world went dark for a split second as I fell face first into the jello. It was slimy and cold, but even worse than that was how humiliating it was. Jesus, that dude Knox will undoubtedly think I'm an idiot. Hell, there was no thinking about it. I am an idiot, and instead of trying to get back up, I laid there feeling stupid.

"And the winners are the Sea Grizzlies!" Mickey's voice rang out, and I continued to lay face down in the slimy gunk. I wasn't planning on getting out until everyone was gone. But then I felt hands on my sides, and they were turning me over. To my horror, it was Knox. Jesus, I wanted to disappear, to melt into the nasty jello forever.

"You alright, dude?" Knox fell to his knees next to me and grinned. "What a sight. One minute you're pulling on the rope, and suddenly you were down." Knox grasped my hand, and I prayed to everything holy that I wouldn't get a boner. "Let me help you up."

"I uh, well…"

"I got him," Daniel grabbed my other hand, and the two of them pulled me to my feet. "Oh my God, you look, well, gross as fuck, Finn."

My face burned with embarrassment as I stood up, covered in slimy, fluorescent multi-colored jello. My hair was sticking to my face and my t-shirt and shorts were drenched and clinging to my skin. I could feel Knox's eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze.

"Thanks for helping me up," I muttered, trying to brush off as much jello as I could.

"No problem," Knox chuckled. "You sure know how to get a guy's attention."

I froze. Did Knox just say I'd gotten his attention? Was he flirting with me, even though I was covered head to toe in this fucking slime?

"Finn, are you coming to the Bear and Cub mixer?" Daniel stepped back, probably afraid some of the jello would magically fly off of me and onto him.

"Your name is Finn?" Knox casually reached down and adjusted his junk, while I did everything possible to keep my eyes on his face. "It's nice to meet you." He held out his hand for me to shake, then he thought better of it and his hand fell to his side. Damn it. It was the hand that had just reached inside his jockstrap. "You should go wash that stuff off. I'm going to the mixer." Knox turned toward Daniel, and I'd swear my bestie's olive skin turned white. "Are both of you going?"

I hadn't planned on it myself, but now that he was asking, why the hell not? Since Daniel apparently had lost the power of speech, I answered for both of us.

"Yeah, we're going."

"Whenever I hear the word ‘mixer', it reminds me of going to cotillion when I was a kid." Knox waggled his eyebrows.

The word "cotillion" immediately brought to mind images of fancy parties and elegant dances, but I couldn't quite place what it meant. My confusion must have shown on my face, because Knox leaned in and explained.

"Cotillion is like a formal training for teenagers, where they learn all about etiquette and old-fashioned dances that no one really does anymore. Like the pretzel and the waltz, for example," he chuckled.

"What's the pretzel?" Daniel finally found his voice again.

"It's a dance from way back in the 1960s," Knox continued, reaching over to grab my hands and pulling me into his chest. With a swift movement, he spun me around and wrapped an arm around my back. "Now we're both covered in jello," he joked.

My body reacted instinctively to the close contact with Knox, my cock twitching as his hold on me tightened.

"Actually, I think I'm going to hit the showers and change," Knox announced suddenly, releasing me from his grasp in a smooth dance move. He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked deeply into my eyes. He paused for a long moment, and I wondered if he was going to say anything else.

"A shower." I felt the jello melting on my skin, and realized it had real sugar. It felt sticky as the sun beat down on me. Knox licked his lips, then leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"I can teach you how to do it if you meet me there."