The final few days before the cruise was hectic. Too many of the little details that come with even a short, four day trip, had been put off until the last minute. But it all gelled together in time.
Kyle had been on only two before; once as a high school graduation present that was four days to the Bahamas; and again when his parents had convinced him to join them and his younger sisters on a week-long family voyage to Puerto Rico. That one happened while he was home on summer break almost two years ago, and he thought it had been really planned as kind of a celebration and reward for being accepted to med school. With those trips under his belt, he knew enough of the ins and outs of cruising, to help Josh prepare. It wasn't just the physical clothing picks; the 'yes or no' answers about phones, cameras, MP3's, and lap tops; and getting him to squirrel extra cash away for tips, a little on-board casino action, and the full day they would have in Key West.
It also included the mental side of things too. Between the vivid visuals he created for Josh of giant water slides and pools and hot tubs; the gastric teasing of endless buffet breakfasts, hundred foot long smorgasbord lunches, the five star quality meals in the formal dining rooms; and the calming of any fear of being the only gay couple on what they both were starting to see as almost a honeymoon cruise; he had Josh more than ready. It sure didn't hurt any either, when they curled up on the white leather couch in the living room the night before they set sail, and watched 'Titanic' again. Even with the devastating scene of Jack slipping under the ice cold waves, the pure love and romance of the film makes it a forever favorite for anyone that has ever experienced both emotions. The passion in their spontaneous lovemaking on the floor in front of the television after the credits rolled, would have made Casanova and Don Juan jealous.
* * * * *
Kyle wormed the large truck into a tight stall at the Port of Mobile with just over three hours of boarding time left before the Carnival Elation was due to depart. It was the medium sized boat the world wide cruise line used for its shorter four and five day trips to Mexico, the Keys, and the Caribbean from its home dock in the Gulf Coast city. Even though it was smaller than the much larger Carnival Conquest Kyle's family had taken from New York City to San Juan, the Elation was just as eloquently appointed and full of resort-like amenities as its big sister ship. They had dropped their biggest luggage with one of the curb-side porters at the departure building, before joining hundreds and hundreds of others in the check-in queue line inside.
They managed to finally snake through the rat maze of large ropes attached to chrome posts, that organized everyone and kept moving the embarking passengers slowly but consistently, in just over an hour. That still gave them enough time once on board, to do a quick exploration before joining in the traditional passenger waving to everyone on the docks when the ship would pull away at 1PM.
They started with finding their cabin; dragging their already delivered suitcases inside; and taking the time to push the separate twin beds together to create one large one instead. Josh was really fascinated by the giant swans fashioned from white bath towels, that were sitting on each one when they walked into the compact room. Overall, it wasn't too much bigger than the huge bathrooms found in a high dollar per night, Hilton or Sheraton suite. Even so, it was fully appointed with plenty of closet and drawer space; a full bath that was just a hair bigger than being able to shit, shower, and shave all at the same time; and a wall unit that served as a small desk, shelf for the 27" television, and a place for the mini fridge to hide. "It's not like we will be in here very much of the time, anyway," was how Kyle answered the still questioning look at the tight space, when Josh's one upturned brow caught his eye. He finally grabbed Josh's hand and pulled him back into the hallway with, "Come on baby, I want to show you the top decks."
They wandered for more than hour looking over Mobile Bay; checking out the center ship recreation area with the large pool, water slide, and the small stage and coliseum style seating that was next to it; found the casino and one of the night clubs on the way to the smaller pool and large hot tub at the rear of the same deck. Inside the ship, they peeked into one of the luxurious dining rooms, and stared down to the stage of the cavernous indoor amphitheater from the nearly three stories up entrance to the nose bleed seats. Josh had let out 'Wow!' and 'How cool!' so many times during their quick self tour, that Kyle gave up counting the expressions after the fourth or fifth one. All he needed to know was, that his lover was impressed and happy and ready for their mini-vacation to begin.
* * * * *
By the time the sun was lowering itself into the Gulf waters on the western horizon, they had already enjoyed a superb dinner of thick and juicy prime rib, with chocolate laced, cherry cheese cake for dessert. No matter how many times Kyle reassured him, Josh remained in half-disbelief that all the food on board was 100% free. They left the eloquent restaurant and were soon busy losing a few dollars in adjoining slot machines in the casino. As the big ship continued to languidly wander its way easterly towards Key West in the growing darkness; Josh stopped feeding the one-armed bandit he was seated in front of, looked over at Kyle, and suggested they take a casual lap around the top deck and maybe check out the disco he had caught sight of earlier.
Once on deck, they drank in the emotions the moon created as they held hands while they walked and talked. Josh melted when Kyle moved in to kiss him softly on his right cheek and stroke his blond hair while they leaned over the rear railing watching the dark waters far below churn behind the boat as it moved along. Their show of love was every bit as natural as the young straight couple doing the same thing a few yards away, and all four smiled at each other in acceptance.
* * * * *
It was just before midnight when they exited the still half packed lounge two decks down inside the ship. They had proudly taken to the dance floor together a couple of times without even a single strange glance from anyone. They felt so totally special when the DJ asked the straight people in the crowd to empty the flashing, multi-colored, lighted floor for one song he dedicated each night for just the cruise's gay guests to slow dance to. Josh and Kyle were quickly joined center stage, by another attractive young male couple, a set of thirty-somethings, an older pair of distinguished looking gentlemen, and three lesbian couples. Most of the throng of people quietly applauded from the sidelines while the seven twosomes held each other and slowly swayed to the Bee Gee's classic disco ballad: 'How Deep Is Your Love.' Many more than just the fourteen of them on the dance floor were kissing in the big room as the song ended.
They both were completely starry-eyed and playfully pawing each other by the time they got back to their small cabin. The intense foreplay and lovemaking that first night, lasted for better than an hour. When their physical lust took over their passion, Kyle's cock was deep inside his blond man and Josh's tool simultaneously went between the lips of his dark haired lover. Kyle had managed to double over and have his mouth on the tip of Josh's cock during the last half dozen hard thrusts of his hips and caused massive mutual explosions. The gentle rolling of the large ship moving through the waves as they kissed and cuddled quietly afterwards only heightened the peacefulness they felt and lulled them slumber easily.
