Apartment 306

4. "Let vacation begin"

When I heard we were taking a job on a cruise ship, I thought it would be some low-budget ass trip, but this is what I'm talking about. Noah and I were already ready to party, joking, scoring stares from those who walked past us. Women were already half-dressed in bikinis, leaving little to the imagination, and I didn't mind.

Noah hit my chest, pointing to the group of women walking the opposite way. My eyes dropped, following the midget that walked past me. For some reason, that's always been a fantasy of mine. When she disappeared, I slapped Noah's hand, grabbing his attention for us to find our rooms.

"How are your parents? Have you heard from them?" I said, gesturing my eyes around the deck of the boat. There were people everywhere, ready for a good time. I've been on a cruise before growing up, but nothing this luxurious.

As I turned around, Noah said, "I'll talk to them when pigs fly."

"Bro, stop being so negative." I yanked his head, roughing up his hair. Noah is the more negative one of us two, but he doesn't mean it. He has a tough relationship with his Dad and hates the thought of ending up like him. He's been in and out of rehab, marrying random women after his Mom died. And to top it off, he doesn't like his stepmom. They don't last long enough for them to get a title anyway.

Not paying attention, Noah pushed my hand away, causing us to bump into the girl in front of us.

I briefly scanned her facial features and her body, noticing her height and how conservative she looked to be on a cruise. Her hair was up bare-faced, and tanned skin. Damn, she was almost as tall as me.

"Oh, shit, sorry," Noah said nervously with his hands on her waist to prevent her from falling.

Then, I noticed two older adults on both sides of her, staring down at Noah. "Jailbait," I whispered, but he didn't hear me. He was too busy gawking at the girl in front of him before a smile crept on his face. I would've stepped away and let him do his thing, but I needed to be a witness if the parents tried to accuse him of assault or something. And they looked like the type, rich, and untouchable.

"Come on, man," I said, lightly tapping him as he looked away. Vacation has started.

I started to walk away but stopped when he spoke again, "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

Once he caught up to me, I said, "What was that?" I nudged his chest with my elbow.

"She's cute," My best friend said, checking behind him a second time.

"Yeah, she was alright. But the parents?" They didn't look like the type to be messed with, especially with guys like us.

Noah groaned with disappointment, throwing his head back. "Bruh, the parents! They looked rich, though."

"Looked? I heard the guy say that they had a safe for their shit," I joked, arching my thick eyebrow.

Noah lifted his head. "Yeah, get the code?"