Madd Mack's Love Cruise Ch. 01

1.1Syd

Well, this is it, I think as I assess the vessel which I'll be staying in for the next twelve days, along with my two sisters, brother, two of our cousins, and a few of my siblings' friends. I guess there's no turning back now, and I know I should be more excited to be cruising on a luxurious private yacht for my sisters' shared birthday, but I can't help feeling guilty for leaving Theo behind. It's the first night in four years that I've spent away from him! I know he'll be fine, he's staying with my parents, but I'm going to miss him so much. It's why I had such a hard time committing to this trip, but in the end Maddi and Jenn convinced me it wouldn't be right for me to miss out on celebrating Maddi turn twenty-one and Jenn turn thirty when I have never missed a single one of their birthdays. It was hard to argue with them, when they put it like that. Plus, I haven't gone on a real vacation in over five years, and I worked my ass off at college this year. Summer vacation is here, and for once, I'm going to live in the moment and enjoy being young. Maybe twelve nights away with no responsibilities is exactly what I need to shake me out of this state of feeling like my glory days are already behind me. I'm literally not even twenty-two yet, what the fuck kind of outlook is that to have? Talk about self-loathing.

"Have fun, but be safe," Dad says to us, his four adult children, for the third time since arriving at the port, "Don't drink too much, and stay hydrated. Use sunblock. Make sure you check-in periodically with your mother and I. She is going to worry. Let's see...did I forget anything?"

I look at Maddi to see her reaction, she bats her baby blue eyes and nods over-enthusiastically at our father, and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. She fills in for him, "You forgot: don't drink the water once we're in Mexico, and don't wander off from the tourist destinations or we could get kidnapped or raped or forced to join a gang. Did you hear that, Drew? They're definitely going to want you, so better guard your ass, bro."

Drew snorts, Jenn rolls her eyes, and Emma and I giggle. "Oh, and," I add, "Don't take our eyes off Emma, because she's still jail-bait."

Emma's pale cheeks turn bright red and she swings at me with her beach towel, which she had been using as a pillow on the car ride. "Stop it!" She protests my use of the term 'jail-bait' as she is eighteen now. She looks younger though, it's not her fault, but she's my baby cousin and I'll always feel protective of her. It's ridiculous Dad thinks he needs to remind me to keep an eye out for Ems, she's like my third sister. I would never put her in a dangerous situation.

Maddi gestures at me with her hands in the finger-gun position, "That's it! See Dad, Syd and I were listening. We're good to go. Don't you worry your pretty little head about us, we'll be totally ace." She lifts up on her tiptoes and smacks a kiss on Dad's cheek, leaving behind a dark pink lipstick stain perfectly outlined on the apple of his cheek. "Love you, Daddy! Thank you so much for the best birthday present ever!"

Dad footed most of the bill for the chartered yacht, which was over a quarter million dollars. My family is wealthy, but my parents are generally very modest in their spending. Dad rarely splurges on expensive trips or unnecessary frivolities, but Maddi pitched this trip to him in a way which he could not refuse. I still don't know how she convinced him to fork over $250,000 and not even invite him and Mom along for the trip. I know Maddi contributed her own earnings towards the trip, on top of Dad's donation. She is a social media influencer that goes by MissMaddiMack and MaddMacks, depending on the platform, and earns quite a bit herself now that she has over 200,000 followers. She broke both her legs the summer between 8th grade and starting high school, and had to spend most of the summer cooped up in her room, so instead of sulking she watched hair and make-up tutorials and by the time school started back up, she was healed and well-versed in beauty-care. She convinced teachers to let her perform makeovers on them, filmed them, and posted them on her YouTube account. The following year, she organized a fundraiser at our school where she challenged everyone in attendance to either let her chop off their hair or write a check for how much it was worth to them. The money was donated to St. Jude and the hair was used to make wigs for children with cancer. The event was filmed, Maddi edited it, and the video went viral. That small taste of fame was enough to make Maddi want more, and that was just the start of her online career. She's always had a big personality, but I never thought my little sister would someday be an internet celebrity.

"Love you too, baby," Dad returns affectionately. Jenn approaches him next for a hug and a kiss, and then Drew steps in for a good old-fashioned bear hug, so I am left as the last to say goodbye. Flashback to my childhood, where it seemed like I was always the last to receive my parents' love and attention. "Don't worry about Theo, Sydney. Your mother and I will take good care of him. You just try and have a good time, but don't -" He hesitates, and I'm hopeful he'll bite his tongue and not say whatever it is he's having such a hard time spitting out. In the end, he disappoints me, "Don't get carried away." He kisses me quickly on the cheek before stepping away and striding towards the car. He looks back once and waves.

Don't get carried away. Thanks, Dad. Good advice. Wouldn't it have been better-suited for Miss Maddi, Queen of Extra? She's more likely to get carried away than I. Then again, Maddi didn't come home at seventeen pregnant, so I assume what Dad really means by 'don't get carried away' is 'don't get pregnant again'. Do they think I'm irresponsible for leaving Theo? They totally do. This was a terrible idea. I knew it.

"Syd." Jenn loops her arm around my waist, "You okay? You're making that face, you know, the Zoolander face you do when something's worrying you?"

I immediately relax my features, flicking my eyes at her coolly and denying, "I am not making that face. I'm fine. Just thinking about Theo. I hope he'll be okay. He's never spent a night without me."

Jenn squeezes me comfortingly, "You are such a good mommy. You need to cut yourself some slack and stop worrying. Theo will miss you, but he is going to have so much fun with Mom and Dad. They have lots planned to keep him entertained. You deserve this! Please, don't beat yourself up about leaving Theo. Let's just go have fun. OK?"

She looks at me expectantly, so I nod. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."

I pick up my travel bag, sling it over my shoulder, and then grip the handle of my large rolling suitcase in one hand and my handbag in the other. I turn back towards the yacht, prepared to board, but the rest of my group is headed in the opposite direction; away from the luxury yacht and further down the pier where the ships get larger, smaller cruise ships fit for one-hundred to two-hundred passengers, and large cruise ships meant for thousands. There's a rather large crowd gathered in front of one of the smaller cruise ships, and Maddi is sashaying towards it with purpose.

"Where are you guys going?" I call out to them. "The boat's this way..."

Emma, sweet girl, is the only one who turns back for me. Her wavy blonde hair billows around her face as the wind gusts from behind her. "You don't know?" She asks as I approach her. She sees the frown on my face, so she continues, "The yacht was just a cover-up for our parents. Maddi's rented out a whole cruise ship! All these people are here for the cruise!"

"You're kidding," I say hopefully, reading her face for any signs that she may be lying.

"Nope." Emma shakes her head. "Don't you ever go on social media? Maddi's been posting about it all month."

She continues down the pier, following in Maddi, Jenn, and Drew's tracks. I trail behind, juggling my belongings around until I'm able to free up my hand to use my phone. It has been a while since I've really been on social media. I was busy with studying for finals, and between that and working part-time at the coffee shop and spending the rest of my free time with Theo, it doesn't leave much time for anything else. I try to keep my phone out of my hand when I'm spending one-on-one time with my son; he's more important to me than my phone and I want to make sure he knows that by demonstrating it. Anyways, I click into the Instagram app and pull up my sister's account. The most recent post is from thirty-seconds ago, and it's a picture of the cruise ship we're apparently soon-to-be boarding. Before that, a selfie of her with all her luggage, and there is a lot of it. Then, a selfie in one of her new bikinis, a selfie of her outfit of the day, a video of her advertising face wash, and then a picture with hot pink text that reads: ARE YOU READY TO GET WET & WILD? S.S. AMORE SETS SAIL TOMORROW!

"What the fuck is this?" I mutter under my breath.

I scan the words captioned under the photo: Join MaddMacks for her 21st Birthday Bash! Set sail from the San Diego port for 12-nights aboard the S.S. Amore, cruising to Mexico, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. In honor of Maddi's favorite reality TV guilty pleasure, the entire cruise will have a Love Island theme! #maddmackslovecruise Are you ready the trip of a lifetime? I reckon there will be sexy singles, loads of entertainment, naughty games, wicked challenges, and yes, some amazing prizes! I'm sure there will be some surprises as well. Only way to find out is to #boardtheboat -- TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT!! -- MaddMacks would like to extend an opportunity to those who still want a chance to board her Love Cruise. Tomorrow, San Diego Port, 3PM - Maddi will be giving away a handful of FREE TICKETS! *Must Be: 21+, Single, Have a Passport (bring it with you), and a bag packed for the trip. Good luck!

I look up from my phone, eyes wide. There's got to be close to three-hundred people here, maybe more. I almost lose sight of my family in the crowd. I shove my phone back in my purse and hurry to catch up with them, feeling annoyed that I was deceived by my siblings right along with my parents.

"Hey, Jenn, Drew," I call out to my older sister and brother, "Did you guys know about this whole boat swap? This Love Cruise thing?"

"What?" Drew nods, "Oh, yeah. Madds ran it by me about a month ago. I don't care what she does, it's her trip, not mine."

He has a bad habit of saying 'what' before allowing his brain to process what was said to him, so then you start to explain yourself again and he interrupts to answer the question. It can be quite frustrating. And, I've noticed over the years, it seems to be an affliction suffered mostly by men. I shake my head at him and turn to Jenn, the oldest and wisest, the responsible one, the very much engaged and soon-to-be married one who most certainly cannot have known about and agreed to this plan of our wild, younger sister.

Jenn seems dumb-founded, "Did we not tell you? Oh my God, Syd, I'm so sorry! By the time I found out Maddi's plan, she had already moved forward with finding a cruise ship within the price-bracket we could afford and started planning games and challenges for her Love Cruise, and she was so excited, I couldn't say no. Plus, she convinced me this could be my bachelorette party as well, and that makes sense. I'm not really single, but I'm also not married yet, so it's the perfect opportunity for me to enjoy myself and not feel guilty that Ben isn't here. You know? I won't get involved with any of the boys, obviously, I just want to have a fun time with my girls. I truly thought Maddi spoke to you, and for that I'm sorry. You probably wouldn't have been able to change her mind, but now I feel like you agreed to the trip without really knowing the details."

"I feel the same way," I state flatly. I would never have agreed to some sexed-up Love Cruise with a bunch of strangers who all have an obsession with my sister. That sounds like the opposite of a vacation, in my mind. I just wanted to relax on a boat in my bikini and drink cocktails, and then go on adventures in Mexico and Central America with my siblings. Is that too much to ask for?

"Are you angry with me?" Jenn asks sincerely. "Please, don't be mad, Syd. I know this is a lot to take in, but I promise you, we're still going to have fun! You and Emma get a suite all to yourselves, two queen size beds, a great view of the ocean, right across the hall from me, Danielle and Erica's room! It will be great. The ship has two dining halls, food service is 24/7, there are multiple bars, a pool and hot tubs, bowling, karaoke, arcade, fitness room, beauty salon, and a spa! I'm sure I'm forgetting things, there was so much, but it's going to be amazing." She smiles at me encouragingly and I sigh in resignation. It's too late for me to go home now, so I have no choice but to accept this is happening. "Maddi worked really hard on this, Syd. She showed me some of her ideas, and she was so enthusiastic, I was really impressed. She may have a future in developing reality shows, I don't know."

"I bet she would love that," I say, finally cracking a smile. "Reality shows have always been her favorite."

"I seem to remember you watching quite a bit of Real World and Road Rules years ago, and if I'm not mistaken, I think you once said you wished you could be on a show like that." Jenn teases, "Maybe you'll be thanking Maddi by the end of this, for making your dreams come true."

"I highly doubt it."

Maddi is suddenly at my side, a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, bossing us around loudly, "Come on, we have to get to the gangway and check-in before anyone else is allowed to check-in. I need to get things moving. I called ahead, but I need to make sure everything is set up for the free trip giveaways, and I have to ask what the plan is for getting everyone checked-in, since I wanted to do room announcements at the same time as introductions. I also have to give instructions to the security guards I hired for the trip, and..." She trails off, staring past my shoulder before she screeches and throws her arms up in the air.

I am bumped as a tall blonde and petite brunette rush towards Maddi and start screaming and hugging each other. Once they're done jumping around, I recognize them as two of Maddi's sorority sisters. The blonde is Kaitlyn and the brunette is Brooke. You'd think they hadn't seen each other in years, with that reunion, when in reality they saw each other like a week and a half ago.

Maddi reminds them, "You ladies remember my oldest sister, Jenn? And my brother Drew? And, of course, you girls know Syd! This is my youngest cousin, Emma, and my oldest cousin, Danielle." I hadn't even realized Danielle arrived. She smiles at me and moves towards me to give me a hug while Maddi continues talking. "Jayden texted the taxi was pulling up. I have to look-out for him. Jenn, would you mind telling that guy over there in the navy jacket that Maddi Macklin and co. are here?"

"Sure, would you keep a look-out for Erica for me? You remember what she looks like? Short blonde hair -"

Maddi interrupts, "I remember her," before briskly sauntering in the opposite direction from Jenn. Kaitlyn and Brooke follow after Maddi like a shadow.

"So," Danielle smiles cheekily, "What do you think of all this? You look a bit annoyed." She's wearing a red one-piece swimsuit with a plunging neckline, a pair of jean shorts, and looks ready for the pool. She has huge, natural boobs, and she always likes to make them the center-piece of her outfit. Today, especially. I'm sure she's looking forward to flirting with all the fresh man meat. She got divorced earlier this year and all she's ever talking about these days is sex and how badly she wants it. I mean, I hear her, it's been quite a long time since I've had any action myself, but I don't go around announcing it to everyone.

"Honestly, I just found out about this cruise ship five minutes ago. I thought we were doing the yacht trip." I fess up to my mood.

Danielle shakes her head, "Sorry, hon. You're always the last to know."

"Thank you!" It's nice to hear somebody else say it. At least I know I'm not crazy.

"Don't let it ruin your time, though," Danielle advises, "Just let Maddi be Maddi and you do your own thing."

"Are we talking about the same Maddi?" There's no way my sister will let me get away with not participating in her games and activities. She'll make a big scene and then guilt-trip me until she gets her way. No, I'll be stuck actively joining in with all the activities and games or I'll be the one who ruined Maddi's 21st birthday, and I will never live that down.

"You're right," Danielle laughs, "Better just give in and do what she wants!"

"It could be fun," I admit. In fact, the more I think about it, I realize it probably will be a good time. Potentially, the most fun I've had all year. This ship is still making the same route the yacht was going to take, so I'll still get to see monkeys in Costa Rica, and go zip-lining in El Salvador, and lounge on the soft sands at the beach in Cabo San Lucas. The yacht didn't have a pool, so that will be cool. Of course, we'll have to share with a hundred more people now, but at least there's a pool. And Maddi knows how to organize an event, so I'm sure whatever she has planned is going to be awesome. I guess I have to just put a little faith in my sisters and trust this trip will be smooth sailing.

"That's the spirit," Danielle chirps. She leans in and asks in a low voice, "Have you ever seen so many gorgeous men in one place?"

"I hadn't noticed," I shrug, scanning the still-forming crowd around us. I was so focused on getting caught up with the rest of the group that I hadn't even looked. Now that she mentions it, there are quite a lot of beautiful faces, and bodies, in the vicinity. "Lotta gorgeous ladies, too." I point out to Danielle, reminding her that her boobs aren't going to grab the attention of all the men here when there's all these women here as well.

Emma's cheeks are flushed and she looks a bit awestruck. "It's like a casting call for a new season of America's Next Top Model."

"Hey," I realize we're missing someone, "Where's Drew?"

Danielle, Emma, and I look around for my brother, and instead see Jenn waving us over from the gangway. We drag our suitcases her way, and somehow Drew beats us there. "This is my sister, Jenn. She's the shortest, but she's also the oldest."

"Was the comment about my height necessary?" Jenn asks, her brown eyes narrowed. She hates being reminded she is the shortest. I'm the tallest of the sisters, standing at 5'6", Maddi is next being 5'4" and Jenn is even shorter than mom, only 5'2". Drew, obviously, towers over all of us since he beats dad's height of six feet by two inches.

"I think it was," Drew shrugs nonchalantly. "Anyways, Jenn, this is my buddy Chris." Chris is Drew's height, well-toned, with golden blonde hair styled in a way that reminds me of Jaime Lannister from season 1 of Game of Thrones, but the facial hair of Jaime Lannister in seasons three and four, when he was a prisoner and looking kind of rough. He's tatted all down his forearms, dark tribal ink. I am surprised to catch Jenn checking him out appreciatively. "And this is my other sister, Sydney, my nephew Theo's mom." Chris settles his gaze on me, nodding in recognition. Drew must talk about Theo, which isn't surprising, he loves my little man, and Theo loves his Uncle Drew. "The lady in red is my cousin Danielle. And the little blonde is my cousin Emma."

"Little?" Emma glares at Drew, "I'm taller than Jenn, Maddi, and Syd."

That's a fair point. She is an inch taller than me.

"Look at your face," Drew says to Emma, "You've had the same face since you were twelve. You can't be eighteen."