18. Day Nine
CHAPTER 18
Day Nine
ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS
DOMINIC
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Katie frets next to me.
“I’m fine, I promise,” I say, squeezing her hand.
“Well, if it becomes too much, let me know and we can turn around.”
“Come on, slowpokes!” Nessa calls ahead of us.
“Is it wrong I wish they would have done something else?” Katie asks softly.
“Nah, I feel the same way. I like having you to myself. But at the same time we are here for them,” I say, nodding toward the happy couple.
“True.” Katie sighs.
“Why is it so hot?” Barrett whines from behind us.
“Because we’re in a tropical region, dumbass.” Alan snorts.
“I swear to God if he bitches the entire time, I’m going to find a way to pitch him off the top of the waterfall,” I whisper to Katie.
“I’ll help,” she mutters.
“Do you need a distraction?”
Katie cringes. “Kind of. My legs are oddly burning already.”
The path narrows and the overgrowth presses into the walkway, forcing me to fall into step behind Katie rather than next to her.
I hear Katie say something, but it doesn’t register.
“I’m sorry. What was that?” I ask, pulling my eyes from her ass.
At least now I’m blocking Barrett’s view of her.
“What’s the weirdest reason you’ve ever broken up with someone?” Katie asks over her shoulder, eyebrow raised.
“Weird reason I broke up with someone or weird reason they broke up with me?”
Katie’s steps falter for a second. “How about both?”
“I had a girl break up with me in high school because she had a dream that I cheated on her with her twin sister. Apparently, it was rude that I refused to apologize for something I did in a dream.”
“You’re joking.”
“Her name was Charlotte. Weirdest reason I broke up with someone though?” I hum, thinking back. “There was a girl who used to call me bro all the time. We weren’t officially dating or anything, but we were seeing each other. I couldn’t take it. You?”
“I really don’t have any stories about breaking up outside of being cheated on.” Katie shrugs. “But this guy I used to work with asked me out several times. I turned him down because he slurped everything he ate or drank. It was fucking weird and set my teeth on edge.”
“No slurping. Got it,” I tease, making her laugh.
Katie stumbles on a rock and starts to fall.
“Watch out,” I say as I pull her upright, keeping her from falling over completely into the foliage.
“Thanks.” She smiles.
“You’re holding up the line,” Barrett snaps.
I hear a slap and Barrett groaning.
“What was that for?” he gripes.
“For being a dick. Let them be,” Candice bites out.
I lean down and kiss Katie once before stepping back. Katie and I start walking again, quickly catching up with the rest of the group.
The guide stops from time to time, pointing out different things along the way. Anything from the flora to ruins. It’s so humid that by the time we reach the waterfall, we are all panting out of breath and drenched in sweat.
Katie gasps as she takes in the beautiful waterfall in front of us. Something about seeing the waterfall makes me feel at peace. Everyone else must be taking it in as well because outside of the sound of the waterfall it’s quiet. I look around our small group and see that some others are lingering from the one before us, but overall, it’s not busy.
“Enjoy. We will take off in an hour,” the guide says. “Feel free to take your boots off and swim. You can wander around, but don’t go too far.”
People start to break away to do their own thing.
“How is your foot?” Katie asks.
“It feels fine. I’m sure it will be tender tonight, but I’m good. You?”
“Can’t complain. Do you want to go in?” she asks, nodding toward the water.
“Sure. Do you want to eat some of our snacks before or after?”
“Let’s eat after. That way we have some time to let our clothes dry some before the trek back down.”
“Sounds good.”
I rest my hand on Katie’s lower back and usher her to a lone boulder. I set my bag down at the base and watch Katie do the same. We both sit down and take off our shoes. Once ready, I take her hand back in mine and head toward the waterfall. We wade into the water together. The water is cool and feels refreshing.
Once deep enough I let go of Katie’s hand and go submerge myself completely before coming back up.
“Feel good?” Katie asks as she floats on her back, eyes closed.
“Better than I thought it would,” I confess as I move onto my back and grab her hand.
We fall into a comfortable silence as we float side by side. We’re so relaxed that time seems to stretch forever. Before we know it, the guide is calling out a fifteen-minute warning.
I move off my back and tread water as I pull Katie to me. She comes willingly and wraps her legs around my waist and arms around my neck. I hold her close and steal a couple of kisses before pulling away.
“Come on.” I move, dragging Katie back to shore.
Back at our bags, we pull out some trail mix and snacks while we drink water, trying to stay hydrated.
“This is the kind of place I could stay forever,” Samantha says loud enough for us to hear.
Everyone hums in agreement.
Looking around, I spot Barrett and can’t help but be shocked at the fact even he seemed to get the memo this isn’t the time for his antics.
Once our feet are dry, we slip our shoes back on, along with our packs.
“I think someday, I’d like to come back here. Or at least see another place like this,” Katie says, looking back at the waterfall longingly.
“I feel the same way,” I murmur.
I can’t help but wonder. The next time she visits one will I be with her, or will she do it with someone else? Will she think of me?
KATIE
Reluctantly I make my way out of the forest, by the time the waterfall was out of view I was wanting to turn around. When I couldn’t hear it anymore, I started planning when I could come back. Or visit another waterfall to see if the same feeling would overcome me.
Was it just this waterfall?
Was it who I was with?
Who knows, only time will tell.
If I didn’t know any better, I would think everyone in our group was feeling the loss while we quietly leave the trail. About halfway down the mountain, I can’t help but start rubbing my arm. By the time we are back to the boat I’m full-on itching.
“Are you okay?” Dominic frowns.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“Because you keep scratching your arm. It’s all red,” he says.
I look down and sure enough, I find myself scratching. My arm is covered in red bumps and is kind of hot to the touch.
“That’s weird,” I murmur. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Uh, Katie.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m ninety-nine percent sure you’re having an allergic reaction to something,” Dominic says while looking closer at my arm.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Serious as a heart attack.”
“I’m sure we can find some Benadryl at the gift shop.” I sigh.
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather you go to the medbay. Just to be safe. We just walked through a jungle, who knows what it could be.”
“Ugh,” I groan as I start to move. “Fine, let’s go.”
“Hey, do you guys want to meet us upstairs for dinner?” Nessa asks from behind us.
“Nah, we’re going to crash early,” Dominic says for the both of us. “We’ll see you later.”
Once a little bit away from the group, I can’t help but tease him.
“What if I wanted to go to dinner with everyone?”
Dom’s steps falter. “Do you want to? I can shoot Grant a text asking him to hold a spot for us.”
“No, that’s okay. If the doctor tells me that I need to have a shot of Benadryl though, you might want to head out for a bit though.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because anytime I’ve taken anything stronger than Tylenol, I tend to say some really interesting things,” I warn.
Dominic laughs as we step into the medbay. “Good to know.”
“Hey you two, back so soon?” the nurse from the other day asks. “Is there something wrong with your foot?” she asks, looking at Dom.
“I’m good. But I think this one is having an allergic reaction,” he says, pointing at me.
The nurse frowns. “Let’s get you checked out then.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I tell her.
“Better safe than sorry. Hop on up. I’ll go grab the doc from the back.”
I jump up onto the bed as she walks away and swing my legs back and forth.
“Hey guys, Nurse Becky told me you were back.” The doctor smiles. “What seems to be the problem today?”
“This one seems to think I’m having an allergic reaction,” I say, pointing at Dominic.
“Well considering you’ve been rubbing your arm this entire time, and it’s covered in hives, I’d say he’s right.” The doctor smiles as he inspects my arm. “Where did you go today?”
“We went off the boat and hiked up to the waterfall,” Dominic tells him.
“Sounds lovely. How long ago did you notice this?” the doctor asks.
“About an hour and a half ago,” Dominic says.
The doctor hums. “Well, I could give you a pill of Benadryl but to be safe with how fast this has spread, I would rather be safe and give you a shot instead.”
I groan. “Lovely. Do what you have to do.”
Dominic rubs my shoulder in support as the doctor pulls on a pair of gloves. The nurse comes back, holding a syringe, and hands it to the doctor.
“All right, Katie, if you could roll over. We should be able to pull your shorts to the side to administer the shot. If not, we will have to pull them down some.”
“You have to shoot me in the ass?” I pout as I move, rolling over onto my stomach.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle,” the doctor quips.
Dominic makes a weird sound in the back of his throat, making me look back over at him.
“You good?”
“Yeah. Let’s get this over with so I can get you back to the room.”
He reaches down and grabs my hand. I feel the good doctor move my shorts to the side before jabbing me with the needle. I can’t help but hiss at the initial pinch. Before I know it, the doctor removes the needle from my ass and puts my shorts back down.
“All right, all done. Let’s wait it out a few minutes and then you two can head back to your room. You can put some of the antibiotic cream Nurse Becky gave you for your foot on it if you want.”
“Awesome. Thanks, doc.”
“No problem. You two sit tight.”