Caribbean Cruising

  My heart was pounding. I’d really hoped that either I hadn’t really said what I’d thought I had or he’d not heard me. Still, I whispered, “No.”

  “Why would you put that on a list of things to do?”

  I swallowed hard. Maybe it was the darkness of the theater that made it easier to confess, but I found myself revealing my reason. “Because it’s something I’ve never done before.”

  “Don’t do it, Lindsay. Not with any of those guys Brooke has wrapped around her finger. You deserve better than her cast-offs.”

  I didn’t know if it was Ryan—a guy, a friend—talking, or Walter’s godson who was supposed to watch out for me offering advice.

  “Why do you care?” I asked in a low voice.

  “Because I like you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  He liked me. So what was I supposed to do now? Give up my quest to find the perfect guy to have a fling with? And what if that perfect guy was Ryan?

  But it couldn’t be. A fling with Ryan was totally out of the question. But could there be something more between us?

  CHAPTER 18

  Ocho Rios

  Day Five

  I woke up the next morning, and contemplated the wisdom of keeping my head buried beneath the pillow.

  Ryan “liked” me, but I didn’t know if his interest went beyond being just a friend because as soon as the movie began, he started watching it as though he hadn’t said anything incredibly enlightening. And I hadn’t asked exactly what he meant because I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about any answer he gave. I’d run different scenarios through my mind.

  We had a fling, parted ways, felt awkward every time our paths crossed in the future.

  We had a fling, and when the cruise ended, we didn’t part ways. What were the odds of that happening?

  He’d told us that first night that he’d broken up with his girlfriend. What if he was like Brooke, looking to forget someone?

  He didn’t seem to be, but what did I know?

  Did I want to risk getting involved with Walter’s godson? I simply didn’t know. Mostly because I was scared. I’d never been in a serious relationship before, and it frightened me to think of how much it might hurt if things didn’t work out. A fling was safer. No commitment. No expectations beyond the fling.

  But suddenly the idea didn’t seem as appealing. I just didn’t know what to do except to continue on, and see what today brought my way.

  I’d watched a special on TV about kissing, and about how kissing was really nature’s chance to get close enough to sniff the other person, and determine if the chemistry was right. It wasn’t the most romantic thing I’d ever heard, but I was beginning to think that I needed to apply myself more diligently to that item on my list that said “Kiss lots of cute guys.”

  I threw off the covers, scrambled out of bed, crossed the cabin, slid open the glass door, and stepped onto the balcony. I raised my arms above my head, and stretched to one side, then the other.

  It was a glorious morning, the island visible in the distance. I was supposed to meet with Brooke soon—and who knew how many guys. Today was the day for a personality change. Today I would find Mr. Perfect-for-One-Night.

  I spun on my heel and froze as my gaze fell on Ryan, standing on his balcony watching me.

  “How long have you been there?” I asked.

  “Longer than you.”

  He sipped from a mug, and I could smell the aroma of coffee now that I was aware that he was here.

  I stepped toward the low wall that separated our balconies. “Are you still planning to hang around with us today?”

  “No reason not to. Is there?”

  “No reason at all.”

  I wanted to move away from him, but at the same time I wanted to stay where I was. What if he was the one? What if he wasn’t? “I guess I need to get ready.”

  “I’ll meet you in the hallway.”

  I went back inside and got dressed. Cargo shorts, tank, old tennis shoes. I’d read the brochure on Dunn’s River Falls and knew that while the temptation was to go barefoot over the slippery rocks, shoes were recommended. As a matter of fact, once I’d known that I’d be on this cruise, I’d spent a good deal of time planning everything so that it would become the best vacation ever.

  Just goes to show that sometimes the best-laid plans don’t work out. But we were still in the early stages of the cruise, and I had several more days and nights to see to it that I accomplished my goals.

  After settling a visor onto my head, I pulled on matching wristbands. I stuffed a beach towel, suntan lotion, some snacks and a bottle of water from the minibar, and a romance novel into my backpack, along with other essentials. We’d be gone most of the day. Then this evening there would be more partying in the various clubs that dotted the town.

  I hitched my backpack onto my shoulder, and headed out the door. Ryan was waiting in the hallway with his own backpack slung over his shoulder. Like me, he was wearing scruffy-looking tennis shoes.

  “Let’s go,” I ordered.

  As Ryan and I came on deck, the ship was docking at the pier. We were greeted by white sands and palm trees. An island paradise.

  “There you are!”

  Brooke rushed up to us and grabbed my arm. “I’ve hooked us up with Jake.”

  “Jake?”

  “He’s an activities director, and he’s going to lead one of the trips to Dunn’s River Falls. Come on. We’ll be leaving soon.”

  I followed her through the crowd, with Ryan on my heels.

  “Wonder why she didn’t get us into a group with a Jane or a Joan or a Josie?” he asked quietly behind me.

  Because that wasn’t Brooke’s style. I was really beginning to feel quite flattered that she’d ever approached me, and was including me in her activities.

  Jake was a cutie, not much older than us. Or at least he didn’t look much older. The usual suspects—Chad, Shooter, Marc, Michael, Cameron, David—were gathered around him. There were also two girls who Brooke introduced as Donna and Cathy, although she didn’t seem too impressed with them.

  “They were like leeches, sucking up to Jake so they could be part of his group,” Brooke whispered beside me.

  Ironically I figured she’d been just as leechy.

  “I was checking out all the activity directors this morning,” she continued, “and Jake is definitely the cutest. No ring on his finger.”

  Jake clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. He had short-cropped blond hair and green eyes. He looked strangely out of place, dressed in his Enchantment uniform polo, instead of an old T-shirt like the rest of us.

  “Okay, guys, I’m Jake. I’ll be your activity director today. I need you to very quickly give me your first names.”

  We all gave him our names, which I figured was probably a complete waste of time. How was he going to remember us all?

  “Okay,” he continued once we finished the introductions. “We’re going to walk through a government building and into the town. People are going to be trying to sell stuff to you. But we’re on a schedule this morning, so don’t stop to make any purchases. Go straight to the minivans. Seven to a van. Our group will take two.

  “When we get to the falls, I’ll take your cameras. The rest of your stuff we’ll lock in the van. The falls are slippery, so you don’t want to be carrying anything. If you have water shoes, you’ll want to put them on. Any questions?”

  Brooke raised her hand.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Are you married?”

  He laughed. “No, miss. Any other questions?”

  Everyone looked around at everyone else silently. I did have water shoes in my backpack. I’d put them on at the falls.

  “Did you hear him?” Brooke asked me. “He called me ‘miss.’ How cute was that?”

  Jake clapped his hands again and smiled broadly. “All right then. Let’s rock!”

  It was interesting walking into town. It was a bustling array of peopl
e. Musicians were playing on homemade steel drums. Hats and pots sat at their feet. As we walked by, we tossed some money into the containers. The people looked terribly poor.

  Here we were with no cares in the world, and these people were desperate to sell us things.

  A woman touched my arm. “Beautiful lady, let me make you more beautiful.”

  Her accent was very English. She wanted to braid my hair. I gave her a smile and promised, “This afternoon.”

  I understood now why Jake had warned us that we wouldn’t have time to do any browsing or shopping to begin with. I really wanted to stop and have my hair braided with the beads. Especially when all the vendors kept calling me “beautiful lady.”

  We crowded onto the minivan. Brooke, Ryan, and I were in one van along with a couple of the other guys and Jake. As the van began rolling, Jake turned in his seat. I was sitting right behind him.

  He stood slightly and addressed the crowd. “Having a good cruise?”

  He received an abundance of enthusiastic responses. “Tonight is the singles meet on the Starlight deck. I want to see you guys there. Who’s going snorkeling when we hit the Grand Cayman?”

  Another round of abundant yes’s greeted him.

  “Cool! Hook up with me in the morning, and I’ll give you a quick lesson when we hit the beach.”

  He settled back in his seat, but at an angle so he was able to look at me. “Lindsay, right?”

  I smiled. “Right. I’m surprised you remembered.”

  “I’m good with names.” He shifted a bit so he was leaning a little over his seat and was closer to me. “So, Lindsay, where are you from?”

  CHAPTER 19

  We stood on the sandy beach, looking at the breathtaking falls. The water cascaded over tiers of smooth rock to fall into the Caribbean Sea. They went about six hundred feet up from where we stood, and we couldn’t see the top because it wasn’t a straight waterfall. It was more like a shallow river rushing down the side of a mountain. Hence it’s name. Dunn’s River Falls.

  “Pictures! Pictures!” Brooke cried.

  As soon as we’d clambered out of the van, we’d handed our cameras to Jake. Because he was more experienced climbing the falls, he was going to take all the pictures so we could concentrate more on hiking up the slippery slope.

  Brooke grabbed my arm, and dragged me into the ice cold oceanic water at the base of the falls. Then we leaned against a boulder while the water rushed around us and flowed into the Caribbean. Typical tourist pose, standing where the river and the ocean met.

  Jake took a camera out of the bag he was holding, and began snapping photos. Then he took out another camera. Another photo. He ran through the gamut of cameras, and had everyone posing for pictures.

  Hamming it up. Group photos, single photos. It was obvious he loved what he was doing. He had us laughing and goofing around.

  Ryan seemed amused by the whole photo shoot, and he even periodically stepped into a group to be photographed, which surprised the heck out of me. I was even more surprised that Brooke wasn’t giving him gobs of special attention today, but I was learning that when guys were in abundance, Brookes affections were unpredictable.

  I didn’t want to think about her possibly disappearing with Ryan, like she had with David our first night hanging out.

  Although it was morning I could tell that it was going to be a warm day. The cold water from the falls was going to feel terrific by day’s end.

  Jake put the cameras away. Then he climbed onto a rock, and began explaining how to safely scale the waterfall.

  Six hundred feet up.

  I thought about the climb I’d done the day before. Twenty-five feet, and I was feeling just a tad sore in my arms and legs. Six hundred feet, even for someone who was in shape, was bound to be a challenge. I focused my attention completely on Jake.

  “You can walk up the trail next to the falls,” he said. “But if you’re physically able, I encourage you to actually walk up the falls. It’s an awesome experience. If you’re really in great shape, you can walk up alone. But I recommend that you do it as part of a chain. We’ll all hold hands, support one another, and make it a fun hike. So those of you who want to go up with me, let’s form a single line and grab hands.”

  Brooke and I had been standing together to have our pictures taken, but it was obvious that she didn’t want to travel up the slippery slope holding my hand. And truthfully I didn’t want to hold hers either.

  She made a rather dramatic attempt to get first in line, which put her in position to hold hands with Jake.

  I was looking around for Ryan, not certain why he was my first choice. Suddenly I realized that he was there, standing beside me. I didn’t know why I felt relief.

  “Ryan!”

  Brooke was calling to him. I sorta hoped he’d ignore her, but I quickly realized as he started toward her that he had no plans to do that. Then he reached back, grabbed my hand, and pulled me along.

  “It’ll be more fun and probably safer at the front,” he said.

  “I don’t need safe,” I retorted. Honestly, the guy didn’t constantly have to look after me. I wanted a little danger.

  We got into position, and I realized that Shooter and Cameron had scrambled over the rocks to take up their positions behind us.

  “Dude!”

  I turned in time to see Cameron give Shooter a little push.

  “I was here first,” Cameron said.

  “Yeah, but I kissed her,” Shooter said.

  Cameron turned quickly and planted a kiss on my mouth before I could protest. His teeth hit mine with a clack.

  “Dibs!” he said.

  “You guys are so immature,” Brooke said.

  She was now holding Ryan’s hand, and waiting for Jake to take hold of hers. I slipped my hand into Ryan’s free one, because truthfully, Ryan was much more buff. And I figured if anyone could make sure I didn’t slip down this wall of a mountain that we were going to climb, it would be Ryan.

  Just to stop the arguing I grabbed Cameron’s hand.

  “I met Cameron first,” I explained with an apologetic smile at Shooter. I’d take a clacking kisser over a slobbering one any day.

  Shooter took the news with a puppy-dog look, before shrugging his shoulders. He walked off, stopped beside Cathy, and took her hand.

  Cameron grinned at me. “It’s you and me, babe.”

  “Wasn’t that an old rock song?” Ryan asked.

  I wasn’t sure if it was or not. I only knew that if Cameron came for me again with another kiss in mind, I was ducking.

  Taking the lead, Jake grabbed Brooke’s hand and started up the cascading falls.

  Dunn’s River Falls is a Jamaican national treasure. As our human chain made its way up the falls, I was in awe of the majesty surrounding me. The water cascaded swiftly over rocks that went up a mountainside. Climbing the falls meant climbing the mountain. Lush green foliage was everywhere. Exotic ferns, orchids, lilies, palms, bamboo, and other trees and flowers whose names I didn’t know.

  Whenever I thought tropical paradise, I thought of a place like this. The water rushed over our feet as we climbed higher. I wasn’t certain if I was growing accustomed to it or if the water was becoming warmer.

  Every now and then I slipped, and it was a constant battle to move against the water flowing past. But always Ryan was there holding firm. I was really grateful that he was walking ahead of me.

  He was surefooted. Sometimes when the step up was steep, he pulled me up. Then he’d release his hold on me and give Cameron a hand.

  And sometimes Jake would stop and give everyone a hand at a really difficult crossing.

  He’d always wink at me. “How you holding up?” he’d ask.

  “Just great.”

  I didn’t think he was giving me any special attention. I figured it was just part of his job to make sure that everyone was doing all right, and having a good time.

  Ryan and I, along with the human chain, trudged up the sid
e of the mountain. I didn’t know how his hand stayed so warm when the water rushing past us often seemed icy cold. But, then, it was only the water that was really cold. The air was warm and moist—a direct contrast to the water.

  The climb was invigorating and exciting, and unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The higher we went, the more tired I was. I’d always thought I was in shape, but I was panting, my legs ached, and my feet grew heavier. I was beginning to wonder if I’d have the strength or endurance to make it to the top.

  “We’re going to take a rest up here!” Jake called down.

  Thank goodness! was all I seemed capable of thinking.

  Just a few more steps up, and we reached a pool of green water.

  “Hold your nose!” Ryan yelled.

  Before I could react, he’d wrapped his arms around me, and we were falling backward into the icy water.

  CHAPTER 20

  It was cold, cold, cold!

  I came up out of the water shrieking and soaked and laughing so hard my ribs ached.

  Ryan was laughing too and apparently he’d started a trend because a couple of the guys who’d been behind us grabbed Cathy and Donna, and carried them into the pool. Even Brooke found herself dunked a couple of times.

  I scooted over to the edge of the pool. I quickly grew accustomed to the water’s temperature. It didn’t seem nearly as cold as I’d thought it was at first.

  And now that I was here, I wanted to stay for a while. Just stay and relax and let my muscles unwind.

  Jake crouched at the edge of the pool, his smile bright. “We’re about halfway up the falls,” he said.

  Beside me, Brooke groaned. “You didn’t say it would be so hard.”

  “You can go up on the trail if you need to,” Jake said.

  Brooke gave him a look that said she wasn’t taking that route unless he was. Then she looked at me. “Are you interested in doing the trail?”

  “Not really. I can walk trails at home.”