Drugged On Deck

Part 1

Zane and his roommate Nico had just graduated from university and were enjoying their summer break. Zane had gone to the store to grab some groceries for them when the cashier caught his attention.

"Sir, that will be $25.99," the cashier said, holding out his hand.

Zane reached into his wallet and pulled out two crisp $20 bills. "Here you go," he said, handing them over.

The cashier's eyes flickered to the small sign beside the cash register. "Sir, would you like to pay $5 to enter a raffle? The winner gets an all-expenses-paid couples' cruise trip to Hawaii."

Zane hesitated. He had never been a lucky person when it came to winning things. But he shrugged his shoulders and thought, "Eh, fuck it. Sure."

The cashier handed him a slip of paper to fill out. "Just write down your contact information," he said.

Zane quickly scribbled down his name, phone number, and email address, then left the store and headed back home.

When he got back to the apartment, Nico was lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

"Yo, what's up?" he asked when Zane walked in.

Zane grinned. "I just entered a raffle to win a couples' cruise to Hawaii."

Nico raised his eyebrows. "No shit? How much did you pay?"

"Five bucks," Zane said, tossing the slip of paper onto the coffee table. "It's probably a scam anyway."

Days turned into weeks, and Zane and Nico had almost forgotten about the raffle. But then, one afternoon, Zane's phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Is this Zane?" asked the person on the other end of the line.

"Yes, it is. Who's calling?"

"Congratulations, Zane! You've won the grand prize of the raffle! You and a guest will be going on an all-expenses-paid couples cruise trip to Hawaii!"

Zane couldn't believe his ears. He jumped up and down, shouting with excitement.

Nico looked up from his laptop. "What's going on?"

Zane grinned from ear to ear. "I won the fucking raffle, man! We're going to Hawaii!"

Zane anxiously checked his email, waiting for the tickets for the couples cruise trip to Hawaii to arrive. Within a few minutes, they finally popped up in his inbox.

Excitedly, Zane called Nico over to take a look. "Check it out, man! This is going to be the trip of a lifetime!" Zane exclaimed.

Nico eagerly scanned the details of the tickets, but soon his expression turned puzzled. "Hey genius, this is a couples trip," he said.

Zane's face fell. "Yeah, I know," he replied.

Nico shook his head in disbelief. "One male and his female partner, we can't go together," he said, stating the obvious.

Zane's mind raced as he tried to think of a solution. "Let me call and ask if I can bring you as my guest," he said, pulling out his phone and dialing the number on the ticket.

After a few rings, a woman's voice answered. "Hello, this is Hawaii Cruise Line. How may I assist you?"

"Hi, I recently won the couples cruise trip to Hawaii, but my roommate and I both want to go. Can I bring him instead of a female partner?" Zane asked, nervously.

The woman on the other end of the line paused for a moment before replying, "I'm sorry, but the trip is only open to couples. We cannot make any exceptions."

Zane felt defeated. "Alright, thank you anyway," he said, hanging up the phone.

Nico could see the disappointment written all over Zane's face. "Don't worry about it, man. We'll just have to plan another trip for the both of us," he said, trying to cheer him up.

Zane nodded. "Yeah, you're right. We'll figure something out," he said, trying to sound optimistic.

Zane's mind was still racing with the idea of the couples cruise trip to Hawaii. As he sat on the couch staring off into space, he suddenly sat up with a jolt.

"Hey, what if we go as a couple?" Zane asked, turning to Nico who was sitting next to him.

Nico gave him a confused look. "We can't, she said one male and one female," he replied.

"I never said we both go as us guys," Zane said with a mischievous grin. Nico raised an eyebrow, unsure of where Zane was going with this.

"Dude, just dress up until we get to our suites, then no one is going to question you," Zane continued, trying to sell the idea.

Nico's face twisted in disgust. "Nah, no way. I ain't stooping that low," he said, crossing his arms.

"But it's a Hawaii trip!" Zane said, trying to persuade him.

Nico thought for a moment before suggesting, "Why don't you dress up then?"

Zane rolled his eyes. "It's my name on the tickets, doofus," he reminded him.

Nico nodded, understanding the dilemma. "Oh yeah, well okay, we could make something work," he finally conceded.

The two friends spent the next few hours brainstorming ideas and discussing possible outfits. They finally settled on the plan to dress Nico up as a woman and pretend to be a couple. They spent the rest of the week leading up to the trip scouting out thrift stores and costume shops for a outfit which was convincing enough for Nico to look like a woman.