The Halo Series Boxed Set

by Kimberly Knight

  “I just want to say thank you for giving me this gift. If it weren’t for you, I would be at home, doing laundry and getting ready for the work week. No matter what happens, let’s just have fun. I’ll be your wing-woman and get you a shitload of phone numbers,” Brooke said, linking her arm through mine.

  “I knew I would have to force you to come. That’s why I paid for it before I gave it to you. And I hope to get more than phone numbers.” I winked.

  Once we finally made it on the ship, we were escorted by a Steward named Waldo to our room, but I didn’t care about our room; I wanted to go to the bar and have a few drinks to build up my nerve to talk to guys. As we walked, Brooke and Waldo talked about his name while I scanned the area for hot guys. I didn’t see any. I didn’t see any on the bus and I didn’t see any while we waited in all the lines. Where were they? Hopefully, since we took the last bus from the airport, they were already on the ship. If not, all I would get out of this trip was a nice tan.

  We made it to our tiny room and I looked around the cramped space. Two twin beds lined the walls with tiny bedside tables beside each, and an ocean-view window centered in the middle over them. The blue carpet with stars mimicked the carpet from the halls.

  “You couldn’t splurge and get me a suite for my birthday?” Brooke asked.

  “You’re lucky I paid for it at all,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her.

  “I’m just kidding. This is going to be so much fun. Which bed do you want?”

  “Doesn’t matter to me. I only care about getting a drink right now.”

  “Ladies, your bags will be here shortly. You don’t need to wait for them, but soon there will be a mandatory safety briefing once everyone is on board and we start to depart,” Waldo said.

  We thanked Waldo as he left. I was looking forward to all the activities they had to offer, all the food we could eat when we were drunk off our asses, and soaking in the sun during the day. I’d even tried to brush up on my Spanish since we were going to Mexico.

  Our bags were delivered a few minutes later and we freshened up, unpacked, and then headed to the bar to grab a drink. Brooke wasn’t drinking much because of her pain medication, but I wasn’t letting that hold me back. I needed liquid courage.

  As we made our way to the upper deck, we stopped at the first bar we saw. It had a brew pub vibe to it and low and behold, there were hot guys there. I didn’t know if it was protocol that the guys scoped out the waters first or what, so Brooke and I went up to the bar and ordered our own drinks.

  “Okay, so how am I supposed to be your wing-woman?” Brooke asked, taking a sip of her Diet Coke.

  “I don’t know. If a hot guy comes up to us, introduce me.” I shrugged.

  “So like a ‘Have you met Nicole?’ situation?”

  “Exactly.” I smiled. “I’m keeping my eye out for you, too.”

  “No,” Brooke said, shaking her head. “Don’t you dare.”

  “Nothing’s wrong with a little flirting. We want them to buy us drinks. Alcohol’s not free on the cruise.”

  “Fine, but I don’t plan on drinking that much anyway.”

  “I’ll drink’em.”

  I was halfway through my vodka cranberry when I saw a guy approaching from my right. He was decent, but I wasn’t attracted to him. Luckily, before he could approach, the Captain announced that it was time for the safety briefing.

  “You need to calm the fuck down before they think we have a you know what in your backpack, man,” I whispered to Easton.

  He wasn’t scared of flying, so I knew it was eating him up about leaving Cheyenne. He was on edge, but seriously, he needed a vacation. He needed this vacation. I needed this vacation. We promoted Bethy to manager and hired a few more staffers before we left for the cruise, so everything was going to be fine…at least I’d hoped.

  “Yeah, Daddy, I’m gonna be fine. Grandma and Grandpa P said they would take me to Disneyland and California Adventure this week.”

  “Tell him, C.C. Tell your dad that he’s being a little B.”

  Cheyenne laughed. Easton was being a little B.

  “Daddy, I’m ten going on eleven. I think I can survive without you for a week.” She rolled her eyes.

  I’d known Cheyenne her whole life and I knew her mother. She was starting to turn into a little Dana. It wasn’t a bad thing, but if she had Dana’s attitude, Easton was going to have his hands full.

  “Since when did you become such a big girl?” Easton asked, rubbing the top of her head.

  “Oh my God, don’t mess up my hair!”

  Easton laughed. “I know you will be fine without me for a week, Peanut. I just wish you were coming with us.”

  “Uncle A told me that there won’t be any kids on the boat. I don’t want to go with a bunch of old people.”

  “Thirty-one is not old.” Easton and I both laughed.

  We were not old.

  “Yeah, huh!”

  “Keep it up and I’ll be too old to play catch with you and teach you how to hit a softball.”

  “I love you, Daddy,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

  I felt my heart clench. Even though Cheyenne was like my daughter, I wanted my own. I wanted the wife, the kids, the house, the dog—I wanted it all.

  After we’d said goodbye to Cheyenne, we boarded a bus to the docks. It was a thirty passenger bus and there weren’t any women around our age on it. I was starting to doubt this trip. What if it was for divorced men and women and widows and widowers? Technically, Easton was a widower, but I was talking about the ones with grand and great-grandchildren.

  I wasn’t into cougars, but if it came down to it, I might have to be…at least while at sea for seven days. I wanted to meet the one, but if she wasn’t on the ship, I might just have to sow my oats.

  It felt like hours before we were in our room on the ship. I hadn’t realized everything we’d have to go through…it was worse than the airport.

  “How the fuck are we supposed to get laid in a twin?” Easton asked, eyeing the tiny twin size beds.

  “Just tap into your teenage years and make her be on top,” I said, slapping him on the back.

  “Your bags will be here shortly,” Alex, our Steward said, giving us a knowing smile. He knew what was up. “If you need anything, just use the phone there,” he pointed to a phone on the small desk below the tiny ass TV that hung on the wall in a corner, “and have them page me. I will bring whatever you need.”

  “Thanks, Alex.” I pulled out my wallet and handed him a ten. “We will.”

  The small room did remind me of my college days. It was small and only really had room for the two twin beds. The TV was even mounted on the wall because it couldn’t fit anywhere else.

  “I’m going to laugh so hard when you fall off the bed in the middle of the night.” Easton laughed.

  “Fuck you! Like you’re used to a twin.” I paused, remembering what I had already planned after seeing the pictures online. “I was thinking…we could push the two twins together when one of us brings a chick back.”

  “I’m not sleeping in a bed that you just fucked a girl in,” Easton said, shaking his head.

  “Fine, here’s the deal. There is housekeeping twenty-four/seven, so we’ll just have them change the sheets and push the beds back, or the other one can sleep up there for the night until the sheets are changed,” I said, pointing to a piece of the wall that stuck out. “You just pull it down and it’s a twin, too.”

  “What if we both bring a chick back? We need rules. I don’t want to see your dick.”

  “I don’t want to see yours, either!” We did need rules. I didn’t want to mess up his game and I definitely didn’t want him messing up my game.

  “We should just work it so we go back to their room, and then we don’t have to worry about kicking them out or anything.”

  “Good plan!” I snapped my fingers and pointed at him while nodding my head. Easton was a genius.

  “Let’s do
this—”

  Easton was interrupted by the Captain’s voice sounding through the speaker.

  “Hello! This is your Captain speaking. I hope everyone has found their rooms and is ready to meet some single people. We only do this cruise once a year, and it’s my favorite one…”

  Easton laughed. I bet single women loved the Captain, hoping to get perks.

  “Before we start the fun, there is a mandatory Safety at Sea briefing on Deck 7 on the Promenade in twenty minutes. Again, this is mandatory for all passengers. Once it is completed, you will be free to roam the ship and hopefully meet that special someone!”

  “You fucking owe me big,” Easton said.

  “Dude, you’re going to get laid. What are you complaining about?”

  “Nothing. Let’s go.”

  “You really fucking owe me,” Easton said—again.

  “Dude, relax. Trust me.”

  “Do you see these broads? They’re Ma’s age!”

  “They have activities for our age group. Fucking relax, there are chicks here our age.”

  Packed like sardines, we listened to the safety speech and watched as the crew gave instructions and performed demonstrations for us. After the speech, I turned to Easton to suggest we grab a beer. I sure as fuck needed one. Before I could get his attention, I saw that he was talking to a young brunette. A young brunette. See, there was hope after all!

  “Like I said, my friend dragged me. Nicole, this is…” the brunette said, turning to…the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.

  “Easton,” he replied, giving a little nod. We all walked a little ways to the opening where the lounge area was. I would have introduced myself, but I was too busy staring at Nicole. “And this is Avery,” Easton finally said, remembering I was there.

  My eyes stayed locked with Nicole’s as we shook hands. My hand had a mind of its own and refused to let go of hers. “I’m Nicole,” she said, smiling and biting her bottom lip.

  Fuck me!

  “Avery,” I said, my dick twitching as my brain stored Nicole’s lip biting to memory. I didn’t care that Easton had just introduced us. I was speechless. I heard the brunette say that her name was Brooke, but I only needed to know Nicole’s name. I had to pry myself away from Nicole’s deep blue eyes and focus on trying to walk around the crowds. It was definitely not the time to make a fool out of myself by running smack dab into someone.

  Nicole made me speechless. Usually, I didn’t have that problem. I could talk to anyone who walked through the doors of Halo—even women like Angie that I had no interest in ever speaking to again. But I knew if Nicole had walked into my bar, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but stare. She took my breath away.

  She had all the characteristics that I found attractive: long blonde hair that I couldn’t wait to see spread across my pillow, blue eyes that were like the ocean we were currently traveling on, tits that were big enough for me to palm, and a body that made my mouth water. And that lip…damn that lip bite.

  “What’s the plan now?” Nicole asked, looking at me.

  I hoped that meant that she was feeling the same thing I was. I didn’t know what we were doing next, but I hoped it involved me getting to know her.

  “Our dinner time isn’t until the late seating—”

  “Us too!” Nicole said, cutting me off. I could watch her mouth move for hours as I pictured what she could do with it.

  “Perfect, do you ladies want to grab a drink with us then?”

  “I would like that,” Nicole replied and looked over at Brooke.

  “Sounds good to me.” Brooke smiled, looking over at Easton.

  He smiled back. “Perfect.”

  So this was how it was going to go down. It was perfect if you thought about it. The original plan was to go back to the girl’s room if we were to hook-up, but in this case, one of us could have our own room because the other would be in Brooke and Nicole’s room.

  But I wanted to do more than fuck Nicole. I wanted to see what was behind those baby blues. Hear her laugh. See her smile. See her bite her lip more. If things led to us in bed, then I wasn’t going to put on the brakes. It had been a long time since I’d slept with someone. And a long time since I’d wanted anyone more than I wanted Nicole.

  We walked to the lounge bar, the girls scoring us four seats while Easton and I went to the bar to buy us all drinks.

  “Do you want our room or you going to Brooke’s room?” I asked as we waited for the drinks. I knew how Easton worked. He would fuck Brooke, so I just needed to do my wingman thing and keep Nicole company.

  “I don’t think Brooke and I will be hooking up.”

  “Really?”

  “This is different. I feel different.”

  “You’re not attracted to her?” I asked, looking over to where the girls sat.

  “Oh no, I am. I just feel something different. I don’t know what it is.”

  I knew what it was, what he was feeling. It was the same thing I was feeling for Nicole, but I couldn’t describe it either. It was instant. It was electric. It was magnetic. It was fucking awesome.

  Before we could discuss it further, the bartender gave us our drinks. We walked over to the girls and Nicole smiled at me as I handed her a margarita. I smiled back, loving the feeling it gave me inside.

  “So, do you two come on single cruises often?” Nicole asked, looking directly at me.

  “No, this is our first time.”

  “Ours, too. I heard we should sign up for activities before they book up. Maybe we should do that after this drink?”

  “That sounds like a plan.” I smiled.

  “I heard they have a Love Connection game or something. Maybe we could go do that.”

  “Isn’t that where the person goes on three dates and then decides which one to be with?”

  “Yeah.” Nicole took a sip of her drink.

  “What if I don’t want you to go on dates with anyone but me?” I asked, eyeing her over the lid of my plastic cup that held my beer.

  She paused. “I might like that,” she said, touching my arm.

  I looked down at where her hand trailed up my forearm and I wanted to capture it, keeping it on my body. We’d only just met, yet I’d basically told her that I wanted her the whole eight days. I hadn’t even scoped out the ship, but I didn’t care. I was drawn to her.

  Right now, I only wanted to give Nicole the time of day.

  After our drink in the lounge, we decided to sign up for mixers instead of group activities. Avery was flirting with me and I loved it. The moment I laid eyes on him, my breath caught.

  He was gorgeous.

  He had broad shoulders, dirty blond finger length hair, soft blue eyes, and a smile that made my insides melt and my panties moisten.

  The way his hand lingered in mine when we shook hands, and the way he told me that I didn’t need to look for another guy on the cruise, made me hot and bothered. I never really liked cocky guys, but Avery wasn’t cocky. He was assertive. I didn’t want to look elsewhere for another guy. I wanted to get to know him. He was sweet, funny, and I had those butterflies you get when you start a new relationship. It felt good.

  After we’d signed up for the ten o’clock mixer, we toured the ship. Brooke and Easton were getting along. I wasn’t sure if it was for mine and Avery’s benefit, but I appreciated that Brooke had the sense to know I liked Avery, without me having to drag her off and tell her. So she had to hang with a hot guy. She’d get over it…or under it like I wanted to do with Avery.

  The four of us ended up by the pool, ordering another round of drinks. There were people our age tanning, swimming, drinking…basically a big pool party. I was worried when we’d first arrived because we hadn’t really seen people our age, but I should have known that they’d all be poolside.

  “Come with me for a second?” Avery asked, whispering into my ear.

  I shivered as his breath tickled my ear, causing goose bumps. I looked up at him silently questioning
where he wanted to take me, but really, it didn’t matter. “Okay.” I stood.

  “We’re going for a walk,” Avery murmured to Brooke and Easton. They barely registered what he’d said. Brooke was laughing with Easton—something that I hadn’t seen her do in a long time. Even her beautiful green eyes had a twinkle to them.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as we started to walk through the crowd.

  “This way.”

  He linked our hands as we walked to the lounge through the doors that led to the side deck. It was quiet, just a few people making out. We stood against the railing looking out into the open water. All I could see was the Pacific Ocean. No birds. No land—just calm blue water and the ship making little waves as we parted the water.

  The heat from Avery’s body radiated off him as his left arm pressed into my right. I wanted more than just his arm touching me. I wanted to know what his mouth felt like on mine. I wanted to know the way he tasted, and the way his hands felt on my body.

  “It’s crazy that we’re surrounded by nothing but water,” I said, the wind whisking around us causing my hair to fly in my face.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  I looked over at him as he spoke, his mouth moving closer with each word. I licked my lips, anticipating the moment his mouth met mine. The seconds felt like hours, and everything was in slow motion as he leaned down, brushing my hair aside with his hand before his lips finally met mine.

  It started off slow, like he was testing the waters, testing my reaction. I felt his tongue slip out between his lips, silently asking me to open to him. I moaned, doing what he asked and opened up, allowing his tongue to slip in and take a swipe to taste me. I’d never had a kiss be so slow. So passionate. So right.

  Avery’s lips were soft and they fit perfectly with mine. Like they were made for me to kiss…only me.

  My hands reached up, running through his silky hair, our bodies stepping closer to one another until they were flush. I felt Avery’s arousal and if he could feel mine, he’d know I want to do more than kiss.