“Point taken,” Kris conceded. “But we don’t really know him. What if he’s a serial killer or something?”
“Bitch, please.” Izzy sighed. “He’s a cute waiter. The only thing that says ‘killer’ about him is his smile. Now let’s go in and talk to him.”
Kris had gone to pull open the door when Drew walked out. “Oh, hey. I saw you two standing out here, so here I am.” He opened his arms wide.
“Why don’t we grab a drink or something? My treat,” Izzy said. The Lenox Hotel was just across the street, so they headed to the City Bar there. It generally attracted more of a crowd after six o’clock, so they easily found seats at the corner of the bar.
“Okay, before we get into it, I’m Izzy, this is Kris, and you’re Drew, right?” Izzy began.
“It’s actually Andrew, but yeah, everyone calls me Drew. And it’s nice to meet you both. I mean, I know I’ve waited on both of you several times, but it’s always nice to put names to the faces.”
Kris smiled, trying to stay positive about this whole thing, but he wasn’t yet convinced it would work.
“So, here’s the deal,” Izzy continued. “Kris has agreed to go on a Christmas cruise from December sixteenth until the twenty-third. It’s a big family thing that his mother is arranging and paying for. But the rest of Kris’s family is in Atlanta, not here in Boston, and they don’t really talk a whole lot …” She paused to shake her head at Kris as if to say “I have no idea why that is.”
“It’s fine, Iz,” Kris said. “My folks didn’t freak when I came out, and they’ve really tried to be supportive, it just somehow feels different now. I’m not sure how to explain it. We get along fine, but sometimes it’s just easier if I don’t go into lots of detail about my life.”
“That’s okay,” Drew said, nodding his head. “I get it. It actually sounds a lot like my family. It’s okay that I’m gay, but they really don’t want to know a lot of the particulars.”
“So anyway, as I was saying,” Izzy picked up the thread of the conversation, “Kris failed to tell his mom that he and Paul broke up ages ago. Mom is expecting Kris to show up with a boyfriend, but Kris doesn’t have one at the moment, and we were wondering if you wanted to be his boyfriend for the cruise.”
“Me? Um, I’m flattered, but why me? I’m sure you could find someone better suited.”
“First of all, the few friends that Kris has all are coupled up, and his mom knows a couple of them anyway.” Izzy stopped to sip her martini. “Second, have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You’re adorable.”
Drew blushed. “Thanks,” he said shyly. “I dunno …”
“Look,” Kris interjected. “I wasn’t really on board with this idea at first, but Izzy’s right, you are cute, and it’s not like I’m asking you to sleep with me or anything.” He stopped and realized what he had just said. “Oh, um, well, I guess I am asking you to at least sleep in the same room with me, but um, not to, like, do anything or anything.”Jeez, stop babbling!
“Um, Kris,” Izzy said sternly, “you’re babbling. Stop already.” Turning to Drew, she explained, “As Kris tried to say, this isn’t a sex thing. We’re just asking you to pose as his boyfriend on a free cruise for a week. Everything is included—food, drinks, flights—just be arm candy for a few days, and since you’ll be missing work, I’ll throw in two hundred and fifty dollars since you won’t be making tips for the week.”
Kris looked at Izzy like she’d lost her mind.
“Hey,” she told him, “I had no idea what to get you for Christmas this year, so this is my gift to you.” She winked.
“Wow.” Drew looked at the two of them. “This is a really strange request, but I must say, I’ve waited on you enough times that I don’t think you’re crazy or anything.” He picked up his Manhattan and shrugged. “I’d like to think about it for a few days, but I’m leaning toward saying yes.”
“Really?” The amazement was clear in Kris’s voice. “Thank you.”
“Okay, cool,” Izzy said, nodding. “You give it some thought, and we’ll be in before the end of the week for lunch. Hopefully, you’ll have an answer by then.”
CHAPTER2
Drew
What the hellwas I thinking? I’m no actor! Why did I think I could pull something like this off?
Drew had just finished packing and was going over the few notes he’d taken when he and Kris had met to discuss details. Of course, they had planned to meet at least once a week so they both had time to get their stories straight, but fate had other things in mind.
Drew’s schedule had changed at the last minute one week because he had to cover for someone. Then Kris had an emergency meeting at work with a client who wanted a complete redesign of a project that Kris was supervising. Still, they did manage to meet a couple of times, and they would have a few hours on the flight to Fort Lauderdale, so maybe it would work after all. And if Drew was being honest, Kris did seem like a really nice guy, and he was nice to look at; getting to know him better certainly wasn’t a hardship.What am I saying? This is a job, nothing more.
He read though his notes one last time, then set his alarm for four the next morning. Kris was picking him up in a rideshare at five, so he needed to get some sleep.
* * *
Drew’s phone buzzed,so he pulled it out of his pocket to see who was texting him at this ungodly hour. Oh, just Kris to say they’d be there in about five minutes in a black SUV. He was already standing outside of his apartment building on this frigid winter morning, so he shoved the phone back in his parka pocket and stamped his feet in an effort to restore some circulation to his extremities.
When the vehicle pulled up, the driver helped him put his suitcase in the back, and Drew jumped in the back seat with Kris.
