Caribbean Cruising (17 page)

Ryan and I, along with the human chain, trudged up the side 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

I
t 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."

"I guess once we rest for a while, it won't seem so hard," she said.

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Jake turned from guide into photographer, and began taking pictures again, using everyone's camera.

"How many times have you taken this trek?" I asked him.

"About a hundred. It never grows old."

"It's so beautiful here," I said.

"Maybe I'll stay, and you can pick me up on the way back down," Brooke muttered.

"You're nuts," Ryan said. "This is great, working our way up the mountain."

"You're just saying that because you're sandwiched between two girls," Brooke said.

Ryan grinned before disappearing beneath the water.

Brooke edged closer to me. "I really like him," she whispered.

"What about all the other guys?" I asked.

"What about them?"

"You invited them to join us."

"That doesn't mean that I have to settle for one of
them
." She shrugged. "Besides, I invited Ryan too."

"I invited him first."

"He didn't mention that to me."

I didn't know what to say, but I knew I didn't want to fight over Ryan. I rolled my shoulder. "It doesn't matter. He's here. All the guys we've met are here. So let's have fun."

Ryan came up out of the water a short distance away. He stood, flicked back his wet hair, and walked toward us, arms outstretched. "Let's go!"

I was really hoping that Brooke wouldn't put her hand in his, but she did. And then I thought how silly it was to care. I mean, he'd never given any indication that he liked me as more than a friend. Practically tossing me into the river was something that you'd do with your kid sister or your good pal.

He hadn't dunked Brooke, and he was following behind her now. I was okay with that. I really was. Or at least I tried to convince myself that I was.

Cameron came up beside me, and with a self-conscious grin, took my hand.

"This is kinda like a school field trip where you have to stay with your buddy," he said.

I slipped, fell to a knee, fought to ignore the sharp pain, and looked up at him. "Not really. If I wasn't holding onto you guys, I'd be slipping and sliding all the way down the falls."

He and Ryan pulled me back to my feet.

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We slowly and laboriously worked our way over the falls. Jake pointed out various plants and some wildlife from time to time.

Every now and then, someone would break off from the group, and at Jake's direction take a steeper route. I considered trying the more challenging path, but in the end I followed the somewhat easier one.

Although easier is a relative term, and it wasn't really easy.

I knew I'd be sore the next day. But a good kind of sore. Aching muscles that had been pushed to the limit. And a bruised knee.

The higher we went, the more often Brooke lost her balance. I was beginning to think she did it on purpose just to have Ryan's attention. And maybe Jake's as well. Every time she slipped, they both helped her up.

They were being gentlemen. Still, I didn't much like it.

Once she'd apologized for being so clumsy, we'd start up the trail again. Ryan would look back at me to take my hand.

"You okay?" he asked.

I beamed at him. "Fine."

At one point, Cameron leaned toward me and asked, "Is he your ex-boyfriend?"

I shook my head. "Friend of the family."

Which was absolutely true. He was Walter's godson and Walter was my stepdad so in a roundabout way, Ryan was a friend of the family. I'd never put it all together like that before, and it sorta made my feelings toward him shift.

It wasn't that he was baby-sitting me or watching me as a favor to Walter. He was here because he was a friend of the family.

I should be nicer. Take Brooke's lead, and invite him to join us on things. Even though he said no to me and yes to Brooke—maybe if I was more enthusiastic with my invitations…

I didn't know where the time went, but suddenly we were standing at the top of the falls, looking down on where we'd come from. It was so gorgeous.

Paradise.

"I think I could stay here forever," I said to no one in particular.

"The coming and going is too much work," Brooke said.

I rolled my eyes, and wondered why today of all days, she had to be such a whiner.

Ryan slung his arm around my shoulder. "I'm with you. It's beautiful up here."

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Brooke wandered closer, and nudged herself up under Ryan's free arm. "Hey, Jake!" she yelled. "Take a picture."

Jake began sorting through all the cameras he was carrying.

"That one!" Brooke yelled.

He lifted the camera. I leaned in closer to Ryan, and smiled. Jake pointed.

"Say 'paradise.'"

"Paradise!" we yelled.

I eased out from beneath Ryan's arm, and began strolling around, looking at the vegetation, studying the rocks, just simply enjoying this haven. The islands held such appeal. Maybe when I was finished with college, I'd return to the Caribbean to live and work. Or maybe I'd simply take another vacation here.

"What are you thinking?" Ryan asked quietly.

I glanced over my shoulder. I hadn't realized that he'd followed me.

"I was thinking how peaceful it all is. I think this is definitely my favorite spot so far."

Ryan was studying me, and I thought maybe there was something he wanted to say, but then Brooke was tugging on his hand.

"Come on, we're heading back down," she said. "Jake promised a party at the bottom of the falls."

I was enjoying the party up here. Sure, it was a different kind of music, nature's lullaby, but it was soothing and calming.

"So are you ready to head down?"

It was Cameron, my faithful companion. I guess he'd gotten dibs on me again—this time without the kiss.

"Sure," I said. I slipped my arm through the crook of his elbow.

Going down the falls was a little different. We followed the trail beside the falls. It allowed us to view the falls from a completely different perspective, looking at everything from where we'd climbed up.

I really did love this place.

Until I caught sight of Brooke and Ryan, off to the side, almost hidden by the dense green foliage….

Kissing.

CHAPTER 21

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"I'
m sorry to bother you, but I'm new on this ship. Could you give me the directions to your cabin?"

I stared at the guy who I was certain thought he'd had an original come-on line. It was only the fifth time I'd heard it in less than an hour.

I was on the Starlight deck where the singles' meet was taking place, wondering why guys thought corny pickup lines were the way to go. Every time I thought I'd heard them all, along came a guy with another one.

The party was actually fun, and the guys all seemed pretty harmless. Jake kept walking around, keeping an eye on things, making sure people were mingling, and having fun.

But I still hadn't figured out exactly how to respond when a guy was standing before me with a goofy grin and hope in his eyes.

"I have a terrible sense of direction," I told him.

He walked away, and I overheard him using the same line on another girl who was standing nearby.

"That was a clever comeback," someone said quietly behind me.

I turned around and there was Jake. I shrugged. "I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

"Is this your first singles' event?"

"Yeah. Somehow I missed the others."

"Well, a lot of people travel alone. I try to hook them up so they have a good time." He angled his head thoughtfully. "Only I didn't realize you were alone. I thought you were with Ryan."

I shook my head. "We hang out together now and then, but we're not together."

Any thoughts I'd had that we might end up together had totally disappeared when I'd spotted Ryan kissing Brooke. Worst of all was the realization of how much it had hurt.

During the remainder of the afternoon, it had been difficult to pretend that I hadn't seen them, that the sight of them hadn't been like a punch to the gut. But somehow I managed.

After we had walked back down the falls, the whole gang had spent some time on the beach soaking up the late-afternoon sunshine. We'd eaten dinner at a club, and listened to reggae music. Then we'd returned to the ship.

Brooke and Ryan hadn't done any more kissing. At least not that I'd seen. Brooke had been like a tour director, telling us where to go and what to do. Ryan had been pretty quiet.

I was confused by my reaction to seeing them, and totally bummed by how connected they seemed to be. Even though I knew I had no right to be.

Brooke had asked me if I had an interest in Ryan. I'd told her no—which had made Ryan available to her. I couldn't have it both ways, and I knew it. If I wasn't claiming a guy then Brooke was free to pursue mhtml:file://C:\Program Files\eMule\Incoming\+ Hawthorne, Rachel - Caribbean Cruising....

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him. I couldn't be upset, because she'd done exactly that: pursued Ryan. Brooke was my buddy for the trip. Ryan had really shown no acute interest in me. Yes, we hung out at the movies and the show, and he'd spent today with us, but I wasn't the main attraction.

Apparently Brooke was.

I'd been so busy palling around with both Brooke and Ryan that I was in danger of not reaching my ultimate goal: finding a guy to be alone with.

"Are you going snorkeling tomorrow?" Jake asked.

I'd been so lost in my morose thoughts that I'd almost forgotten that he was there.

"Definitely."

"Glad to hear it." He glanced around, before looking back at me. "Listen, I need to get some more people to start dancing. Would you mind being my partner to start off with?"

"Beats standing here listening to corny pickup lines."

"You think they're corny, huh?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"You know we give all the guys a little card with 'lines guaranteed to work' written on it when they come onboard the ship."

I laughed. "Well, the lines aren't working."

"They're not?"

"No." I gave him a hard look. "You don't really give out cards, do you?"

"Nah. Do you think we should?"

"Yeah, maybe. You wouldn't believe some of the things I've heard so far tonight."

"And not a single one worked on you?"

"Not so far."

"That's where you're wrong," he said, taking my hand. "Mine did."

Talk about smooth!

I hadn't even realized he'd been coming on to me. Even as he led me to the middle of the deck, and urged other couples to follow us—he'd point to a guy, then a girl, nod, and put his fingers together—I wasn't convinced that he was really making a move on me.

He was cruise ship personnel, and I figured he wasn't supposed to get serious with the passengers. He was just making me feel good. That was his job.

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I'd even heard that for older couples there were guys on the ships known as "escorts," whose job it was to spend time with lonely older women—not in a sexual way. Just as companions. Always being sure they had someone to dance with.

It occurred to me that Jake might be fulfilling that role now. Maybe he'd been feeling sorry for me.

Maybe like Ryan he had this need to watch out for me, to make sure I had a good time.

As we started to dance, he gave me a sincere smile and a wink. I found myself wishing that he wasn't part of the cruise ship, that he was a passenger, and that something could happen between us. I was fairly certain, though, that his getting involved with me or anyone else onboard could cost him his job.