Jak smiles. “You’re still doing it.”
“Doing what?” Noel asks.
“Pulling back. When I kiss you in public back home, you often do that too.”
“I do?”
“You do. That’s why I don’t do it very often. I think you’re still very shy about being out in public.”
Noel digests this. “Where I grew up, it’s not very safe to be out. It’s a hard habit to shake.”
“We’re on vacation though. Is it unsafe here?”
Noel looks around. “I don’t think so.”
“Remember that lesbian couple we met at brunch? There’s probably more gay couples on this cruise than we realize. They wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t safe. And we left from Miami. Not exactly straight paradise.”
“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Noel runs his palm up Jak’s chest. Jak watches him think and circle his nipple with his finger. Without notice, Noel stands on his tiptoes and kisses Jak back. Jak makes a soft noise of surprise. He makes another noise as Noel pushes against him and pins him to the railing. Jak puts one hand on the back of Noel’s shoulder, the other on his head and deepens the kiss with his tongue. He can’t believe Noel’s been holding back so much! He also can’t believe how good his boyfriend tastes after a tequila sunrise.

Jak begins to wonders what else there is to unlock in Noel on his cruise….

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Captions are fictional.