Maybe, this was what I needed, maybe I could get some rest. Maybe, that would allow me to come back refreshed, recharged, and be better for my mom. Because God knew, she needed me.
“Alright, Lila,” I laughed. “I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll go.”
Chapter Two
Josie
The cruise was out of San Diego, which meant we didn't have to go very far to get to the terminal. It was one benefit of living in a beautiful, coastal area, I suppose. Not that I got to enjoy it much very often. Lila explained it was a short cruise. She knew I’d have to get back before classes started, and I’d need to study. But she’d made me promise I wouldn’t bring any homework on the trip. It was hard for me to promise because I had so much to do in order to keep my grades up, and I needed to keep my grades up because I needed to keep my scholarships.
There’d be time when I got back, though, so I told her I’d do nothing but relax. It was my first cruise, and the first vacation I’d taken as an adult. I was a little apprehensive about it at first, the anxiety of everything going on and everything I had to do weighing down on me, but as the day of departure grew closer, the more excited I felt myself getting.
Being that it was early April in Southern California, the weather was about as perfect as it could get. It was a tad chillier than normal on the coast, thanks to the cool ocean breeze, but it felt amazing. I could bask in the sunlight all day, and while we were boarding, I had a big smile on my face as I imagined laying out on the deck, letting the sun warm my body, while feeling the gentle roll of the ocean beneath us.
“Feeling better already, I see,” Lila said, a satisfied smirk on her face. “Aren’t you glad you came now?”
“I am, actually,” I said. “Thank you, Lila. I guess you knew what I needed better than I did.”
She squeezed my hand. “I know you, girl. And I know you need to relax now and then,” she said. “You’ve been so tense and stressed lately, you just needed to unplug for a while.”
“That I do,” I laughed.
Lila and I stopped off at our cabin and I felt my eyes grow wide and my mouth fall open when I saw where we’d be staying. She’d paid extra for a suite that was larger than my studio apartment. Two separate sleeping quarters, a balcony that overlooked the ocean, and a nice sized bathroom to boot. I had no idea rooms that large existed on a cruise ship, but of course, Lila only did things up big. Only the best would do.
“Birthday girl gets pick of the rooms!” Lila exclaimed, dropping her suitcase in the small living area.
I glanced at the two nearly identical rooms, and finally picked the one closest to the water, with a window that opened so I could fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean waves in my ears and the scent of the sea in my nose. That left Lila with the room closest to the door. The walls were colored in a rich, deep burgundy and had intricate designs done in a lighter shade. The bedding was mostly white with hints of burgundy and trimmed in gold. It was all very fancy, especially to a broke college student like myself. And when I collapsed upon the bed, I felt myself sinking into it, and I sighed with contentment. It was pure heaven.
“I'm going to get so much sleep in here,” I exclaimed, feeling my eyes already getting heavy.
“You are so not going to sleep the whole time,” Lila called from her room. “We're going to have fun too.”
I rolled over on the bed and found a brochure sitting on the nightstand. I picked it up and flipped through it, rolling my eyes at all the beautiful people photographed within. Many of them were mostly naked, frolicking about in skimpy bikinis, lounging in hot tubs and tanning by the pool.
Then something caught my eye—the title of one of the clubs on board the ship.
“Hedonistic Heaven,” I read aloud and then, intrigued, continued reading the description of the place. “A club for only the naughtiest, most open-minded of guests. Come get your kink on.”
I giggled, thinking it was crazy that a cruise would have such a place, but then again, they had to accommodate everyone. I flipped to the section listing the numerous pools on the ship and it felt like my heart stopped in my chest.
“Lila?” I called out.
“Mhmm,” she muttered, popping her head into my room.
“What kind of cruise is this exactly?”
“What do you mean?”
Her gray eyes twinkled, and she couldn't quite keep the small smile off her face, though she tried really hard. I knew she knew exactly what I meant and knew exactly what kind of a cruise this was. But she kept smiling at me, giving me that innocent stare like the kid who'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Why does it say that most of the pools are clothing optional?”
Lila shrugged. “Because we're adults, silly. This is a no-kids-allowed kind of cruise,” she said, brushing me off as if that explained everything.
“And why is there a kink club on board?”
“Oh, there is?” Lila asked, her eyes wide as she rushed into the room and plopped down beside me on the bed. “I must have missed that.”
She snatched the brochure from my hands and read from it, allowing me to see the front cover, which I hadn't see when I first picked it up. The name on the cover of the brochure caught my eye now, though.