Chapter 10
chapter ten
I don’t want Nate to see it, but the next morning, it feels like I tumbled out of a dryer. That couch is evil and I’m pretty sure it deserves to go overboard.
Nate can definitely tell, judging by the smirk on his face.
Thankfully, he’s not a fool because he waits until I have coffee in my hands to bring it up. The entire walk to the coffee shop, I limp like an old lady.
Yeah, the couch definitely deserves to sink to the bottom of the ocean.
“Having regrets?” his smooth voice asks.
“Shut it.”
“I was trying to be chivalrous and protect you from this. You just had to be stubborn.”
“There’s no way that you didn’t feel it either. You’re like double my size.”
He laughs. “That could be an insult or a compliment depending on the way I take that, and I’m going to take it as a compliment.”
“Yeah, yeah, you don’t get an award for drinking all of your milk. And you definitely don’t get one for trying to avoid the question. Is that why you spend so much time in the pool? Be honest.”
“The hot tub may have helped a little. And I’m not as grumpy as you are whenever your back is messed up. I can tell this is killing you.”
There are many things that are killing me.
The deck is bright and the ridiculous sunglasses Nate got me are still sitting in my suitcase.
I wanted a smoothie, but the line was so long we had to settle for another place.
I’ve also not been on a run ever since the first one that we did on the night we left port.
And with how my back feels, I doubt I should even try to.
But the main one is that the lingering thoughts from yesterday are still bothering me. I want them out of my mind so I can try to enjoy whatever hell is waiting for us on land, yet they still pop up.
Nate and I are different than we were when we were kids. And it’s ... fine. Or it should be.
But it hurts and I don’t know why.
I’m hoping that being away from our cabin and out on the town is going to help some of the tension that’s growing within me.
“Once we move around, I’ll be okay.”
“Sure, and I’m also sure that a shitty night of sleep is not going to affect your mood at all.”
At the mention of my mood, I glare. I’m eating an omelet I shouldn’t be having after a terrible night of sleep. I’m on the edge. “Do you want to ever see the mainland again? Because it’s starting to sound like you don’t.”
“Testy,” he says as he eats his own food. “But you don’t scare me, berry. You have to be about six inches taller to do that.”
I take a piece of bacon and throw it at him.
“Hey, don’t waste that!”
“I barely even like bacon,” I mutter as I pick it up.
He eyes me as I sit. “Do you want me to tell them to remake it? ”
I deflate a little. I had no idea what I wanted, and simply ordered what Nate did. Now I regret it.
“No,” I reply. “I’m not gonna be happy either way.”
Nate’s gaze moves from me to the table next to us. They have a delicious-looking fruit bowl, one that makes my mouth water. I eyed it as we sat, but I hadn’t seen it on the menu.
“Hey,” Nate says to the two ladies. “Where did you get that?”
“Oh, at the convenience shop one deck up,” she replies.
Nate nods and stands. “Watch my omelet, berry. Guard it with your life.”
I know where he’s heading. He’s gone before I can stop him.
A laugh escapes me, and I feel warm in a way that has nothing to do with the hot deck we’re sitting on.
Nate knows I’m unhappy and simply ... fixes it. Without judgment.
I’m determined to be in a better mood when he gets back.
It’s not long before I see him strolling down the stairs, fruit bowl in hand.
“Here you go. Pineapple and grapes. With at least one piece of apple.”
My mouth is already watering again. “Thank you. You really didn’t have to go hunt this down.”
“I should’ve done it the second you got an omelet. What were you thinking?”
I shrug. “I didn’t want to delay us any more.”
“Come on, it’s me. Delay all you want to.”
Nate gives me a smile before going back to his food. I dig into my own, much happier with fruit as my main option.
“So, Cozumel, Mexico,” I say. “Have you looked into it?”
“You haven’t yet?”
“I’ll be honest, I was worried I wouldn’t make it this far.” I shrug. “And any plans that Rob talked about are out the window. I really don’t wanna spend my day having an anxiety attack on the beach. ”
Nate frowns and raises an eyebrow. “And he was okay with you doing that?”
He was. And now that I think about it, I’m not thrilled about that fact. “A-anyway, I have no idea what to do here. What have you found?”
“To be fair, a lot of it is water related.”
“That’s fine.” When Nate glares at me, I clarify. “For you to do, I mean. I can hang out here.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I want to spend time with you.” He laughs and shakes his head. “What about that is so hard to get? Whatever we do today, we do together.”
“What about what you want to do? I care about your tastes too, you know.”
“I do, which is why I let you get away with what you pulled yesterday. But not today. Whatever we do, we do together.”
His words are like a balm on my frayed emotions. Him wanting to be around me hasn’t changed.At least that’s something.
“Fine. Should I look some things up?”
“Way ahead of you. I did a lot of reading, and?—”
I fake a gasp. “Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to read.”
Nate rolls his eyes. “Just because I didn’t read at a high school level in elementary school like some people doesn’t mean I can’t do research.”
“It wasn’t only the reading that was your problem.”
“Hang on, berry, I have something for you in my pocket.” He reaches in and pulls out a middle finger. “Here you go.”
“Now tell me, was that your left or right hand?”
Nate opens his mouth and then shuts it. “I think I hate you a little bit.”
“And yet you went on this cruise with me. ”
“I don’t know about you, but arguing with you is fun to me. Call me weird.”
“You’re weird.”
“I have something in my other pocket for you?—”
I laugh and stop him. “Nate, what did you read up on?”
“Mayan ruins,” he replies. “There’s an excursion by the cruise line. And they had a few last-minute spots.”
“How convenient.”
“All you have to do is survive the dock and a bus ride.”
“It can’t be worse than getting on the boat,” I say. “So, is this excursion already booked?”
“It might be. I had a feeling you’d like the idea.”
“And how long as it been booked?”
“Since the plane ride.”
“Before I was even on the boat?”
“I knew I’d convince you. And I did.” He throws another smile my way and I’m completely disarmed. I really like that smile.
“Y-you thought right,” I reply as I force myself to stand. I will not think about the way he looks at me. I won’t. “Shall we head out?”
He nods and we throw our trash away before leaving. I knew most people would be heading out, but everyone seems to be doing it all at once. There are enough people to make it hard to keep our usual distance. I’m tempted to shift closer to Nate because he’s far easier than a stranger.
But on our flight, that went horribly.
I’m sure that once we get off of the boat, things will get better. We’ll both have a distraction, which is what I desperately need to avoid a spiral about the things I’m noticing.
Slowly, we’re shuffled off the boat and onto a dock. I feel my usual panic at being close to water, but I manage to keep it hidden and not cling to Nate like a fool. I’m proud of myself as we’re loaded on a bus.
Then I see how crowded the bus is .
Everyone is practically on top of each other, squished into rows of seats. I have no choice but to squeeze in tightly with Nate when we sit.
“We should’ve gotten a car,” he mutters.
“Yeah, this is . . . something.”
I can tolerate it, but Nate isn’t faring well. His shoulders are tense and he stares at the door, as if his will alone could make this end.
My lips tug downward. This isn’t the first time we’ve been on a crowded bus together. Back in high school, we’d gone on a field trip to a local amusement park and sat together like we always did. He was his normal, goofy self.
This version of him is a far cry from that.
“Think you’ll make it?” I ask. “I could try to steal another seat or something.”
He shakes his head. “No, why would I ask you to do that?”
“You just seem like you hate this.”
“Hate what?”
“Having to sit here with me.”
His eyes go wide, and for a second, he looks like a deer caught in headlights. Then his shock fades and he shakes his head. “It’s not you.” He lets out a laugh that seems forced. “It’s other people.”
“Is it?” I press.
He leans in. “Can you not smell the lack of deodorant here? All I’m catching is onion salad.”
Frowning, I take a deep breath of air only to pick up exactly what he’s talking about. It’s the middle of summer and it’s hot, but having that much BO is a crime against humanity.
“Oh, God.” I cover my mouth. “Why would you draw my attention to that?”
“You asked.”
“I’m gonna breathe as little as possible.” I shake my head. “It’s the only way I’ll survive.”
The bus ride takes way too long to get to our destination, and I’m considering jumping out of the window to save myself by the time we pull into the ruins site.
Nate and I are nearly heaving when we get off the bus.
“It’s burned into my nostrils,” I say.
“I need ten showers.” He shakes his head. “Horrible.”
“And we’re stuck with them for the tour,” I mutter. “Think this place gives out deodorant as a welcome gift?”
Nate looks around. We’re in the middle of a parking lot surrounded by tall vegetation. I haven’t seen civilization for far too long. “Somehow, I doubt they do that out here.”
“At least it’ll be pretty,” I say. Everyone from the tour is walking through a tree-covered path, and I motion for Nate to follow me. We meet up with a tour guide, who promises to tell us everything we need to know about the ruins. People listen intently.