wordcount: 139,572
chapters: 27
tags: historical accuracy, Y2K, AIDS, politics, pop culture, affair thriller, sexual content, crime, excess, desire, repression, homosexuality, slow burn, happy ending
On the last night of his honeymoon cruise, Tom meets Greg, who is desperately trying to make it big in the casino. Lucky for the both of them, Tom just married into the family that owns the ship and runs the Parks & Cruises division himself. A deeply charged, drunken night of playing mentor and sharing success simply can’t be left at that.
When Tom later discovers that this man is his wife’s cousin, and Greg, that the man who helped him is his estranged cousin’s husband, it’s hard to accept as a matter of coincidence. Swimming in the same water regardless, the two become bound by a precarious secret. Although this is quickly far from the only thing that binds them. Tom becomes invested in Greg’s continued success and career, and in bringing luxury into his life, needing only his gratitude in return. His own career which encompasses his entire life at home—his marriage that’s been rocky since before it started, his wife and his brothers-in-law all taking heavier roles in the company after the death of their father, his truest inclinations having no place anywhere near the surface—becomes something to regularly escape in favor of Greg’s relative freedom and companionship. All the while that Tom is wary of ulterior motives and furthermore terrified of what he needs, he keeps going to him.
It’s a textbook affair long before their passion ignites. And when it does, a chance at a real life, to be real people, stands on the other side. Greg and Tom both can allow it to remain an affair for only so long.
