Island of BL

Chapter 26: Tay, Joss, Newwie

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Tay's POV

Never in a million years or more did I expect to see Joss on this cruise ship.

I had bumped across him just a week before my grandmother had booked this vacation for me.

But our first meeting goes way before that.

I was a volunteer lifeguard at one of the popular beaches close to my hometown and he had been there on a short vacation.

That was three years ago when I was twenty five and he was twenty.

One of his friends had suffered from leg cramps while in the water and I had gone to carry him out and treat the cramps.

He and his friend were grateful to me and asked to treat me for snacks and refreshments at one of the food booths within the resort grounds.

Joss and I hit it off from the start and we continued to keep in touch even after he left to go back to his own city.

We lost touch after I met the girl whom my grandmother disapproved of but whom I secretly liked and was planning to ask to be my girlfriend.

Then my girl friend's family scandal broke out and my grandmother was pressuring me to stop seeing her.

When it looked like I wasn't going to stop seeing her any time soon, she offered to book a vacation on a cruise ship for me.

I had not yet made up my mind to go on the cruise vacation that my grandmother had offered when by some stroke of fate, I bumped across Joss.

I was doing some window shopping in a nearby mall to see if I could find some suitable size luggage to bring with me on my cruise vacation.

My heart was beating fast when I saw him walking out of a men's clothing store.

I realized by the rapid heart rate I was experiencing that I was still attracted to him.

The reason that I had lost touch with him deliberately was because I had seen him post some photos on Instagram with a young man about his age or younger. They seemed to be really close. His arm was around the other guy's shoulder and the other guy's face was very close to him like they were just about to kiss. The background was dimly lit like they were having a romantic dinner in a restaurant. It seemed to be a special occasion for both of them.

When he tried to contact me I did not take his calls.

He tried several times more after that before he gave up.

In the meantime I had met the girl whom my grandmother disapproved of but to whom I was attracted and was not inclined to leave just to follow my grandmother's wishes

"Tay!" he had seen me before I could turn away.

"Hi," I said, keeping an expressionless face.

"How have you been?" he asked, taking my hand in his.

The physical contact made my heart beat even faster than it already was.

On impulse I said, "I'm leaving for a cruise vacation in a week."

"Oh," he said with a thoughtful expression on his face, "which cruise vacation is that?"

I mentioned a cruise line and its destination.

"What a coincidence!" he said with a big smile, "I was just about to book a vacation on that cruise line."

"Actually, I haven't finalized my vacation plans," I said, "I might cancel at the last minute."