by Matt Zachary
The night before the cruise was the first time Billy had seen his dad in practically two weeks. As he walked in the front door after his latest shopping trip, Billy heard yelling coming from the library. He couldn’t make out what was being said, but he only heard one voice…his dad’s, so he figured the argument was taking place over the phone.
“You’d better take care of this, NOW!” Billy heard his dad yell into the phone as he passed by on his way upstairs. He jumped slightly as he heard the sound of his dad throwing his phone across the room.
Billy knew better than to talk to his dad when he was angry, so he continued to his room to put up the things he bought for the cruise. Afterwards, though, he searched for his dad to check in and make sure everything was alright.
“Is everything okay?” he asked. He had found his dad still in the library, sitting in his favorite high-backed chair by the window with a highball of scotch in his hand. At first, Billy wasn’t sure his dad even heard him. He seemed to be lost in thought as he gazed out the window. “Dad?” Billy tried again.
“What?” his dad answered, somewhat out of it. “Yes, yes, I’m fine!” he snapped. “Everything will be fine.”
Billy wasn’t sure how to take it. His dad was a very important and influential man so he assumed he should just trust when he had said everything would be fine. Something in his voice scared Billy though. He had never seen his dad like that before.
A few minutes later, Billy’s dad took off, not even bothering to tell Billy goodbye, or say when he would be back. Billy was used to that, though. Still, he wished he and his dad would’ve been a little closer, like they were before his mom died. He tried to throw himself into his packing, and making sure he had everything ready that he would need for the cruise the next morning, but he couldn’t stop replaying the sound of his dad’s voice in his head.
As usual, Billy tossed and turned that night, partly because of his concern for his dad and partly out of excitement for his cruise. By morning, though, and, after a cup of coffee, he was alert and ready for his adventure to begin.
“Hey, are you all ready?” he spoke into his phone as he took another sip of his overly sugared and creamed coffee.
“Yep,” Stuart answered. Billy could hear the exuberance in his voice. Though Billy had been on several cruises before, this was to be Stuart’s first one. He was kind-of excited to experience it with him. It almost made it like it was his first time too.
“And, you have your birth certificate, and boarding passes for the plane and the boat?” Stuart questioned. He didn’t want anything to ruin their trip. After making sure Stuart had everything he would need, Billy hung up the phone and packed his jeep.
An hour later, he had picked Stuart up and made it to the airport. He and Stuart found the area where the class, teachers and chaperones were and waited for everyone else to arrive before finally making their way, single-file to the security line.
Stuart was forced to undergo a pat-down and the swabbing of his hands at the security station, probably because he looked so nervous to the TSA agents. He had never flown before and didn’t really know what to expect. “Calm down,” Stuart laughed. “It’s gonna be fine. I’ll be right with you.”
Behind them, Stuart could swear he had heard Jessica Leigh snort sarcastically as Billy was trying to comfort him. He knew she didn’t like him, or all of the time Billy had been spending with him, but he didn’t care. Billy was practically an adult…he could spend his time with whoever he wanted.
At the gate, Billy did make a better effort to spend a little more time with Jessica Leigh and the rest of his friends. He tried to include Stuart in the group but it was awkward for pretty much everyone.
Even more awkward was the seating arrangements on the plane. Billy was assigned a seat right in between Stuart and Jessica Leigh.
The hardest part of the flight was the takeoff. Stuart wasn’t prepared to feel his stomach go up into his throat and to have his ears clog up and then start popping. He instinctively grasped onto Billy’s hand. He looked over and saw Jessica Leigh scowl at him so he tried to let go. Billy grasped his hand tightly though.
Seeing the tight spot Billy was in, though, Stuart pretended to sleep after the plane had leveled out so that Billy could spend a little time with his girlfriend. He didn’t mind. At least he got to share a cabin on the boat with Billy. As the plane landed, Billy took the initiative to grab onto Stuart’s hand himself, for which Stuart was grateful. From that point on, Jessica Leigh made an show of hanging all over Billy as a way to prove to Stuart and everyone else that Billy was hers and hers alone.
As the charter bus carrying the senior class pulled into the docks, Stuart had forgotten all about Jessica Leigh’s jealous behavior. The sight of the boat blew his mind. He had never seen a boat so big. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but before him was a ship that could’ve easily held an entire town.
“Pretty big, huh?” Billy chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Stuart and made his way to the check in line, ready to let the adventure begin.
Chapter 11
Within thirty minutes of arriving at the port, Billy, Stuart and the rest of their class were being escorted onto the ship. “Remember, after you find your rooms, we will need to meet at three o’clock on the lido deck,” one of their teachers yelled.
“The following people will need to follow me,” one of the chaperones stated and then listed about twenty names. Stuart’s and Billy’s names were on the list as well as a bunch of other boys.
As the chaperone led the way to a string of cabins on the eighth floor, Billy and several other guys realized they were being segregated from the girls. Many of the boys could be heard groaning in disbelief.
“Where are the girls’ rooms?” one of the boys called out and a bunch of his friends gave him high-fives.
“As you can see,” the chaperone answered, “the girls are not on in this section. All of the rooms for each section are grouped together and there will be a chaperone monitoring each section at all times, just in case any of you get any bright ideas.”
Several of the boys made disparaging comments, but Billy wasn’t worried. He knew that it wouldn’t be that hard to sneak past a few chaperones. After all, there were only a total of about fifteen chaperones and teachers combined and almost two hundred students. There was no way they were going to be able to monitor everything all the time.
As the chaperone stopped at each room and called out the names of the boys to be sharing each cabin, he reminded them about the meeting on the lido deck. “It is mandatory, gentlemen.”
“Wow, look at this sweet room,” Stuart cried out when he and Billy had entered the cabin they would be sharing. Only a few of the rooms got windows or balconies and but theirs was one that had both. Other than that, the room was fairly tiny. Billy had warned Stuart about that though. The cabin contained two twin beds, a small desk with a flat screen TV, and two night stands. The bathroom was even smaller, containing only a toilet and shower and sink. There was very little floor space in either the bathroom or the main part of the cabin, but that was alright. Stuart was used to living without a lot of space. Besides, it was only a four-day cruise.
“Which bed do you want?” Billy asked Stuart. In the past, the privileged part of him would’ve just taken his choice without any regard for his roommate, but he was trying to be a better person. He knew Stuart didn’t come across opportunities like the cruise every day, and wanted to make sure he helped it be a memorable experience.
Both boys took their time to unpack and change into some swimming trunks and shorts before heading out to grab some lunch. Stuart couldn’t believe you could just eat whenever you want at any of the restaurants without having to pay. “Yeah, even the room service is included for free,” Billy told him and laughed. For lunch, they just chose a burger place on the lido deck that way they’d be able to eat without worrying about missing the mandatory meeting. As they were eating, Jessica Leigh and a few of her cheerleader friends
came to join them. It didn’t take long for a group of boys to try to join in as well. Fortunately the table wasn’t that big.
The meeting with the teachers and chaperones was just more of what they had already been told…a list of rules and the handing out of a schedule of times the entire class would need to be together. Following that was the muster drill which also took place on the lido deck. As soon as that ended, the class cheered loudly. Finally, they were free to do what they wanted.
Billy grabbed Stuart and took him to the top deck for the sailaway. Special umbrella drinks were passed out to all of the kids on the trip. Thought they were non-alcoholic, many of the kids had water bottles on them containing vodka and other clear alcohols. “Want some?” Billy asked Stuart as one of his friends offered to spike their drinks.
“Nah, I’m good,” Stuart answered. He didn’t want Billy’s friend to think he was un-cool, but he also didn’t want to relive how he felt at the party Billy had taken him to the previous week.
They watched the shore as the cruise ship pulled away from port, waving periodically to the people along the beach of on the balconies of the various condos they passed. The rest of the night was spent dancing and swimming and eating. And, to his surprise, Stuart found that Billy’s friends actually made him feel included…even Jessica Leigh.
By the time Billy and Stuart returned to their room for the night, they didn’t even mind their lame curfew. They were both wiped. It had been a long day and neither one had much else on their mind other than crashing and getting a good night sleep.
“Hey,” Stuart whispered after lying in bed for a while. “You up?”
“Yeah, what is it?” Billy replied.
“Thank you,” Stuart answered. He hoped Billy could hear the appreciation in his voice. He was having a great time and he owed it all to Billy.
“Thank you,” Billy echoed.
“Why are you thanking me?” Stuart whispered, confused.
“Because you make me a better person,” Billy answered softly. “Now go to sleep.”
Neither one could see it, but both boys were smiling as they turned over to go to sleep.
Chapter 12
“Rise and shine, Sunshine,” Billy told Stuart as he hovered above him.
“W-what time is it?” Stuart asked as he looked up through one half closed eye.
As he answered, Billy yanked Stuart’s covered onto the floor, leaving his roommate lying in bed with just a small tight pair of blue boxer-briefs that barely covered the raging morning wood Stuart was sporting.
“W-what the…,” Stuart cried as he instinctively covered his bulging crotch with his hands.
Billy raised an eyebrow. He was impressed not only with the size of Stuart’s hard cock, but also of the chest and ab muscles he was sporting. “Hey,” he told his friend, “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, dude!”
“Just give me back my covers!” Stuart cried. Billy obliged the request and told Stuart he’d meet him in the buffet for breakfast.
Stuart didn’t breathe until the cabin door closed and clicked behind Billy and he was finally alone. Since he knew Billy was waiting on him, he hurried to take his shower and get dressed. After fixing his hair the way Billy had taught him and brushing his teeth, he made his way up the one floor to the buffet.
After eating breakfast with Billy, Jessica Leigh and a few of their friends, Stuart said he wanted to go run the track.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Billy asked, not sure what to make of Stuart’s choice.
“No, you guys can hang out,” Stuart answered. Before taking off, he agreed to meet Billy back in the cabin just before lunch time.
Billy had no idea that Stuart had wanted the alone time so he could figure out his feelings. He loved spending time with Billy, but now that they were sharing a room together his true feelings had become clearer. He was beginning to admit he was in love with Billy, and that scared and depressed him. They had such a good thing going, and he didn’t want his unreturned feelings to screw it all up.
As he walked around the track, he struggled with what to do. A part of him thought maybe it was better to pick a fight with Billy and break off their friendship before the truth of his sexuality came out. He barely had come to terms with it himself, and didn’t think he could handle being outed before he was ready.
Before he knew it, Stuart was drenched in sweat and had been walking and jogging around the track for almost two hours. Fatigued, he decided to just return to the room and get a shower before Billy came back.
As he threw his clothes in a pile in the corner of the room, he caught sight of the shirt Billy had worn the day before. Stuart picked it up and brought it to his face, inhaling heavily. The scent almost made him weak in the knees. He was intoxicated by the scent of manly sweat mixed with the smell of Billy’s deodorant and cologne. There was even a hint of sunscreen.
Without thinking, Stuart climbed onto his bed and opened his shorts. He rubbed his already growing penis as he took another whiff of Billy’s shirt. Once his dick was rock hard, he began jacking it as he closed his eyes and envisioned Billy there, in bed with him. Kissing him. Caressing him. Within minutes, Stuart dick erupted with stream after stream of cum. He used Billy’s shirt to clean up his mess before realizing in panic what he had done. He hoped to God that Billy never found out.
By the time he made it out of the shower, Billy was already back in the room, lying on top of his bed flipping through the list of daily activities. “So what do you want to do today?” he yelled into the bathroom as Stuart fixed his hair for the second time that day.
“It’s up to you,” Stuart answered, trying to sound as normal as possible.
As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, though, Billy asked him a serious question. “Why did you go to the track alone?” Billy didn’t mean to make Stuart feel as though he couldn’t do whatever he wanted. He just sensed that Stuart had other motives for going off alone.
“I just wanted to give you some time with your friends, without me tagging along,” Stuart lied. It was partly true. He had felt like he was monopolizing Billy’s time.
Billy studied Stuart’s face to see if he was telling the whole truth. Rather than press the issue, he simple replied with, “Stuart. You don’t ever have to give me space. There’s no one here I’d rather hang out with than you.”
Stuart was touched. He didn’t know what to say back. As he opened his mouth to speak, he felt a lump in this throat. He felt exactly the same, but for far different reasons. He wanted to tell Billy the truth, but didn’t know how. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew the truth,” he finally uttered back.
“The only truth I need to know is that you’re my best friend. Now, come on. Let’s go have some fun in the sun!” Again Billy flashed his patented smile at Stuart and he couldn’t help but to smile too. He needed to tell Billy about his feelings but he supposed it could wait a little longer.
The rest of the day went by without incident, at least until that night…
Chapter 13
Just as the sun went down, the ship commenced with their deck party. There was a DJ, conga line, limbo-ing, and lots and lots of alcohol. It seemed like every guest on the ship was out around the pool partying and dancing, which made it very easy for the high school seniors to drink casually without being noticed by any of their chaperones.
Billy had already had a few spiked drinks, but was taking it easy since Stuart wasn’t drinking. The two of them, Jessica Leigh and about ten of their other friends all gathered in the pool and started playing a game of Marco Polo.
Before long the game changed from Marco Polo to just wrestling and goofing around. “Hey, that’s not fair! You’re looking” Stuart yelled when he caught Billy peeking during the game.
“No I’m not, I swear!” Billy yelled back, but he couldn’t even keep a straight face as he said it.
To prove Billy was looking, Stuart attempted to pounce on Billy. As Stuart suspected, Billy was looking and he j
umped out of the way just as Stuart lunged for him. Before Stuart could turn around, Billy had him pinned to the wall.
“Let me go!” Stuart laughed and struggled to get by. The more he struggled, the tighter Billy pressed against him.
“Sorry…ya gotta say pretty please, with sugar on top.” Billy wasn’t trying to humiliate Stuart, he was just having fun.
Stuart was starting to panic, though. Having Billy’s body so close to his was giving him an erection, one he knew Billy would be sure to soon feel if he didn’t get lose. “L-let me g-g-go!” Stuart yelled again, this time with panic in both his eyes and voice.
“Okay,” Billy answered back and stepped back, not really sure what had caused so upset. Before he could find out, Stuart hopped out of the pool, grabbed his towel and held it over his stomach so it would cover his erection and ran inside. “Wait up!” Billy said as he quickly jumped out of the pool and followed.
“I-I’m g-going back to the r-r-room,” Stuart said, not even able to look into Billy’s eyes as he spoke to him. “I-I d-don’t feel well.” Without giving Billy a chance to argue with him or press for more details, Stuart turned and headed to the elevator where he hoped he wouldn’t be followed.
Billy wasn’t sure what had gone wrong, but he decided to give Stuart some space and returned back to his friends. His heart wasn’t in it though. He couldn’t get Stuart out of his mind.
“Hey, you wanna go back to my room?” Jessica Leigh asked Billy as the party on deck was still in full swing. It definitely got his attention.
“Yeah?” he asked, hoping she was having the same ideas that he was. Finally, he was going to score with her.
“Yeah,” she replied seductively, placing her finder on his lips and then trailing down towards his crotch.
That was all it took to get Billy on board. If he could, he would’ve ripped off all of her clothes right there. Since all of the chaperones were up at the deck party, it was easy to get back to Jessica Leigh’s room unnoticed.