What Happens on the Cruise

15. This Is How We Roll

"Hey, Tim!" Austin greeted as he walked up to his bandmate standing at a booth full of jewelry. "I didn't expect you to be down here. Whatcha buying?"

"I'm looking at earrings," Tim answered. "Is Adam down here?"

"Yeah. There's a booth with all these games."

"Ah, say no more," Tim said. He pointed into a case. "Can I see those, please?"

Austin peered over Tim's shoulder to see the pair of amber earrings with roses in intaglio. "Oh. Those are nice."

Tim nodded. "Yeah. I think these are definitely the ones."

"Oh, hey, can I see this bracelet?" Austin asked. "And are those dice made from gemstones? Those are awesome. Adam would like those, wouldn't he?"

"He would," Tim answered. "He's big into D&D."

"When's his birthday? I wonder if they have his birthstone."

"April," Tim answered.

"April's birthstone is diamond," the lady at the booth said. "Obviously, they don't make diamond dice, but we do have clear quartz."

***

"Hey, you know you have a bit of a hickey," Rob said as soon as they'd all loaded into the RV. He pointed to the side of his neck.

"What?" Austin asked, touching the side of his own neck.

"That Slytherin guy gave it to you," Adam reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. Drew. He was fun."

"Just what did you get up to in your room last night?" Chris asked, looking at his brother in shock.

"It was at the party across the hall," Austin explained.

"Wait, so you were making out with a guy in public?" Chris asked.

"He was making out with a guy and a girl in public," Adam corrected.

"Hold on," Rob said. "The guy was a Slytherin?"

"You know what they say about bad boys," Austin teased, his eyes sparkling.

"But aren't you, like, a Hufflepuff?" Rob asked.

"I'm a Gryffindor," Austin replied.

Rob shook his head. "You are so not a Gryffindor."

"Am, too!"

"That rainbow unicorn shirt you're wearing would say otherwise."

"Guys, could we stop arguing about who would be in what fictional house at a fictional wizarding school," Chris interrupted. "Austin, you were making out with two people in public -- a man and a woman?"

"Yeah. What's the big deal? Adam didn't seem to care."

Chris made several abortive attempts to say something, then shook his head.

"Anyone want to play some games?" Adam asked.

"Any movie games?" Rob asked.

"I've got Martian Fluxx. There's some movie references in there."

"Sure, I'll try it," Rob said, as Austin took the game from Adam and pulled out the cards.

"Tim?" Adam asked.

"I'm going to go try and get a little shut eye. I forgot how bad Matt snores."

"I don't snore," Matt shot back.

"Matt? Chris?"

"Sure," Matt said.

Chris shook his head. "I've got some emails to take care of."

"Okay, soooo..." Adam looked at the rules. "Everyone starts with five cards..."

***

"Hey," Austin said, sitting down on one of the bunks in the back of the RV. "You didn't mind that I got a little action last night?"

"Why should I mind?" Tim asked.

"I wasn't sure, with as fast as you disappeared..."

"It's fine," Tim said.

"Tim--"

"Look, it doesn't make any sense to not pursue a relationship with each other, but expect the other person to not seek other relationships."

"That's your head talking," Austin said. "Your heart and your head disagree sometimes. At least mine do."

"Okay," Tim nodded. "I'm just a little... weirded out by how casual you are about... everything."

"You mean same-sex stuff?"

"That especially. How do you even figure out if a guy is interested?"

Austin shrugged. "Not really any different than how you figure out if a woman is interested-- you flirt and if he flirts back, he might be up for a little sumthin-sumthin."

"I could never do that."

"You don't have to. There's no bisexuals' rule book that says you have to go after every person that sparks your interest."

"That's probably a good thing in your case or you'd spend half your time in bed with someone," Tim teased.

Austin laughed. "Good Lord, you know it! Everyone's just so pretty." He smiled at Tim. "But, really, Tim, I love our friendship and I don't want to lose that. If something's bugging you, please talk to me."

"Will do," Tim answered. "But I really do need more sleep."

"Me, too," Austin said, pulling off his boots. "Adam's almost as cuddly as you in his sleep."

"I'm not cuddly, you're cuddly."

"Whatever, man."

***

"How do we end up in hotels with the weirdest combination of groups?" Rob asked. "A bingo convention, I mean, seriously, a bingo convention, and a dentists' conference."

"And a gay bowling league," Chris added.

"Gay bowlers? Well there goes Austin for the night."

"I heard that," Austin said. "Seriously, it was one time and we didn't even have sex."

"Say it louder. I'm not sure all the bingo grannies in cardigans heard."

"Pipe down, both of you," Chris said, looking up as Matt and Adam came in carrying the bags. "Where's Tim?"

"He got to talking to someone in the parking lot," Adam answered.

"Okay," Chris said. "Random room assignments for the night, Matt you're with me, room 403. Rob and Adam, you're room 404 across the hall. And Austin, you and Tim have room 405 right next door."

Tim walked in accompanied by another man, who said, "See you in an hour, hon."

"See you then," Tim answered, then turned toward the group. "What?"

"Woo! Timmy scored a hot date with a gay bowler." Austin did a little celebratory dance.

"Bowler?" Tim asked, confusion on his face. "He's a dentist."