𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞

𝟏𝐤 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 | 𝐣𝐚𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

"Stop moving!" My mom yelled as she smacked my arm slightly.

"Ow! Fine..." I mumbled and plastered a fake smile on my face as the bald guy in front of us snapped a couple more pictures.

"Here you go," the man said as he handed my mom's phone back to her.

"Thank you so much, sir!" My mom responded, enthusiastically.

"Thank you so much, sir!" Ethan mumbled as he mocked my mom.

We both bust out laughing before our mom slapped us both upside the head.

"Shut it. You should both be thankful for an opportunity like this. We're on a cruise! An actual cruise! It isn't everyday we get to do something like this," she scolded us.

"Yes, mom, I realize that. But do we have to stop and take family pictures every time some stranger is willing to take them?" Ethan countered.

"He's got a point you know," I mumbled.

"You guys are a pain in my ass. Why don't you go run around and find something to occupy you? Lord knows I need a break from you two..." She mumbled the last part.

Ethan and I turned and walked away from our parents and began looking around. We were on the highest level you could get to from the elevator. There was a bar at one end with a large pool in the center and two hot tubs on either side of the pool. On the other end were pool chairs for people to sit on. Ethan and I were standing a good couple of feet away from the bar.

"Where do you wanna go?" Ethan asked me.

"I'm not sure, let's just walk," I told him.

We started walking away from the bar as I heard a voice call out from the bar.

"Ellis! Come over here! Let's get a drink!"

I subconsciously turned my head to look at the woman. She looked middle-aged, maybe in her forties. Another voice called out in response.

"Coming!"

I turned my head again at the sound of the smooth voice, and what I saw matched perfectly. She was walking over to the older woman, who I assumed was her mom, her ponytail swinging behind her as she did. The girl was short, maybe around 5'4. She had blonde hair that was tied up into a ponytail on the top of her head. She was wearing a pair of running shorts, a white T-shirt, and white Vans. Though I couldn't see her whole face, I could tell she was gorgeous. Her smile was so wide and you could see her eyes sparkle as she talked to her mom. Her mom handed her a drink and they walked over to a set of pool chairs and sat down, with a couple of boys following.

"Hey, Jayden! Let's go!" Ethan called to me from across the deck. I must've been so distracted I hadn't even realized that he had continued walking, when I had stopped.

I jogged forward to meet him and clapped him on the shoulder when I got there.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just thought I saw someone I knew," I played it off. That girl definitely wasn't someone I knew, but I knew she was someone I wouldn't forget.

***

"Boys, are you guys going to go down to the teen club tonight?" My mom asked once we met back up with them on the pool deck.

After Ethan and I had finished walking around the ship for a while, we met back up with our parents on the pool deck. They had gone to the room and changed into their swimsuits and were now sitting on pool chairs.

I hesitated slightly, not 100% sure if I wanted to go meet a bunch of random people.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Mom exclaimed when she saw my hesitation.