Excerpt
Copyright 2022 @T.L. Anderson
The red lighting in the hallway of the cruise ship gives it an eerie glow instead of the romantic vibe I’m sure they were hoping for. I keep waiting for a man in a mask to come jumping out like an old 90’s thriller as we head towards our suite. “This place is unreal,” I grumble. “Isn’t it amazing!” Evelyn, my younger sister, says enthusiastically. Her blonde hair flies around her as she whips her head around taking everything in. Her blue eyes wide at every small detail. “Oh my god Colin, they have disco elevators!” She quickly pushes the up button and does a little dance in place as she waves to other random guests. Crossing my arms I lean against the wall taking it all in. “I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. It’s more like an expensive petri dish floating on water.” I watch as someone sneezes then touches the door handle into a room. Disgusting. She slaps me on the arm, “Oh stop. Can you not be your brooding self for once?” The elevator doors open and she rushes inside staring at the ceiling and at the blue bubbles lighting the walls. “Look at this place. We are going to have so much fun!” She pushes the button for deck 15. “Hmm,” I grunt. Refusing to even see the fun side of this trip. The only reason I agreed to come along was because her boyfriend broke up with her leaving her with an extra non-refundable ticket. Of course though, she was sneaky enough to not tell me it was a love cruise. Why the hell she would want to bring me is beyond me. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to be okay with watching you flirt and bring guys back to our suite this entire trip.” I narrow my gaze at her. She blows out a sigh while rolling her eyes. “Come on Colin, for once stop being the protective older brother and just let loose. Besides, maybe you’ll meet someone special here too.” She grins while rubbing her shoulder conspiratorially against mine. “Doubtful,” I say as I exit the elevator onto deck 15. I look for our cabin 15331Z, the rooms here are larger than the below decks. I see the Fab Suite listed on the door and raise an eyebrow at her. She waves me away. “Don’t give me that look. I have money, even if I only work at a craft store. I do save my money.” She holds her card up to the electronic key reader and the door unlocks. “Besides I didn’t expect to be ditched by he who I will not name before this trip. So I wasn’t going to waste a few grand on this excursion over some hurt feelings.” She ushers me inside. The room is gigantic. We enter through a hallway with a closet on the side for our clothes then a bathroom on the right. The entryway opens up into a large sitting room area with a television, gaming console, a guitar on the side, and a mini bar. “Damn, this had to set you back a bit of money.” I grab my phone out of my pocket and open my venmo. With a quick punch of my fingers I send her a chunk of money that should cover my portion of the room. Her phone dings and her eyes narrow. “Colin Brayden Turner you better not have done what I think you just did.” I slide my phone back into my dress slacks and walk into the bedroom ignoring her soft curses from behind me. She’ll complain, but she’ll accept it. The room is spacious, but I only see one large bed in the room. “So where exactly am I sleeping because this is not going to work for us.” She grabs her suitcase and plops it onto the bed. “My dear brother, you get the couch.” She smirks as she flops onto the queen bed and stretches. I glance back at the smaller looking modular couch and accept the fact that my six foot frame will not fit well on it. Maybe I should have just booked a separate room. Her laughter causes me to glance her way. “You should see your face right now.” She shakes her head while hopping off the bed. “Don’t worry big bro, the couch turns into another queen bed. The sectionals push together.” Thank fuck. I grab my bags and drop them in the closet and start hanging up my clothes. “What’s on the agenda for tonight? I’m sure you have something planned that I just can’t wait to hear about.” Sarcasm drips from my voice. She cackles again, “Oh, you have no idea.”
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