Somewhere Not Here

Chapter 17: Nice Butts, Burned Butts and Bruised Butts

Chapter 17: Nice Butts, Burned Butts, and Bruised Butts

I woke up at six. The sun just barely coming up. I shake Jake awake next to me and hurry to get dressed. I wanted to see the sunrise and the ship pull into port.

Together we hurry down the hall and take the elevator to the fifteenth deck. We walk all the way to the back of the deck and stand by the railing. Barely anyone is watching because it's so early.

I look at the landscape around me. There are mountains everywhere. There is no lights on so it's just a shadow on the horizon. The sun is beginning to peek out from behind one of the mountains. I look down and see that the ocean is calm except for gentle waves lapping against the side of the ship. The sun slowly begins to climb up in the sky and brighten the world around us. I had never seen such a magnificent sunrise in my entire life. As the world gets brighter I can make out silhouettes of small buildings and boats. I begin to see the crystal blue waters. It's as if the whole world is waking from a nap.

Once the sun fully rises and the ship pulls into the dock Jake and I go to get breakfast. Breakfast is set up like an all you can eat buffet with cereals, yogurts, pancakes, and oat meals. I grab a plateful of food and a coffee and settle down at a table near a window. Jake finds me and plops down across from me. The mountains seem so much larger now that we are basically next to them. I take out my camera to take a picture because it was just so pretty not to.

The crew isn't letting us off until seven so we take our time eating making sure we savor every bite. It's not the best pancakes and bacon I've ever had, but it's still pretty tastey. Once my plate is clean and my coffee gone Jake and I go back to the stateroom to get our stuff for the day. I slide on the bathing suit that I got in Fort Lauderdale and put my clothes on over that. I pack a sunscreen, my phone, some money, and a fortune cookie just in case. I sling my turquoise bag over my shoulder and leave the room with Jake in tow.

The gangway is opened now so we get our SeaPasses ready for inspection. The crew scans the cards and we exit the ship onto the dock where the sun instantly hits our faces. Being summer in the Caribbean means it's really hot. We walk down the dock to shore. I turn around and I see the giant ship in the distance.

We make it on shore and I can tell instantly this was a lively place. There were people playing music and laughing and having a good time. I look ahead and see the beach. I point in that direction and Jake nods so we head over there. I'm taken aback by the sight. The water is the clearest bluest water I've ever seem. It was the kind of water where you can see through to the bottom. I took off my clothes, dropped my bag, and ran in. Jake grabbed two of those foam floaty things that you lay on and ran in after me.

"You know your bathing suit is blending in with the water and your bag, except for those pineapples on your boobs," Jake stated matter of factly while handing me a floaty.

"Wow great observation," I muttered slapping him playfully on the forearm. We both started chuckling. Then he flipped me. I was submerged underwater. I quickly came back up gasping for air. I grabbed the floaty that was trying to float away and swam back to Jake's side. I grabbed the side of his floaty and tugged. It didn't come out from under him.

"Weakling," Jake teased. I pushed him out of anger and he rolled off the floaty pretending like I had actually pushed him. I stacked his floaty on top of mine an quickly climbed on. He came back up and smiled at me.

"I can just flip you off the floaty again, you know right?" He asked like I was stupid.

"Of course I know, but would you actually do that to me? I'm just a sweet innocent girl," I pleaded. He laughed and grabbed the floaties. I pushed at him trying to get him to go away, but it wouldn't work so I just held on for dear life. Jake yanked the floaties and I remained on because I was just so skilled at holding on tightly. Jake raised an eyebrow out of confusion and yanked again and again. I was starting to lose balance and I fell off. When I came up again he was multiple feet away and still swimming.