“And now…” The tour guide said, as the captain steered the boat near a small island of lights. “This is Infinity Island. In the daytime, you’d normally be able to see people out and about and lounging on the sand, but since it’s so dark…” He looked at his watch. “I usually pause the tour here and let the tourists get up and take pictures for about twenty minutes before the next stop so...”
Carter and I exchanged confused glances.
“So, for my OCD purposes, I’m still going to have the captain stop here.” He laughed. “Feel free to tour the boat and be back in twenty for the rest.” He put down his mic and took out an e-reader, speaking into the small radio that was attached to his jacket. “Twenty minute stop, Barney. Three more stops and then we’re done for the night.” He held the reader up to his face and ignored us.
“Okay…” Carter took my hand and stood up. “Maybe you can give me a tour of the boat?”
“You’d probably know more than I do…I have no idea where anything is.”
“They didn’t teach you anything about the boat itself in your orientation?”
“They probably did…But I’m pretty sure I was reading a cooking magazine instead of the information manual that day.”
Laughing, he pressed his hand against the small of my back, and we walked up to the top level where there was no covering. The rain was still falling—drizzling slightly, and we couldn’t see anything in the distance.
I took out my phone and handed it to him. “Would you mind taking a picture of me? I want to remember this.” I stepped in front of the railing.
“Night vision?”
“Yep.” I smiled, holding it for the camera, but his finger didn’t press the button. He was staring at me, looking confused. “Um…” I said. “Do I need to explain how a cell phone works? Have you forgotten?”
“No.” He walked over to me and pulled me against his side. Then he held the camera above us. “Let me know when to press the button…I want to remember this, too.”
“Oh…” I smiled. “On three. One…Two…Thr—”
He kissed my lips and snapped the photo at the same time.
“Is that good enough?” he asked, handing my phone back to me.
“No.” I was still smiling. “I think I need a few more of those before we go back.”
“Photos or kisses?”
“Both.”
He pulled me close again and took three more, and then he led me toward the other side of the ship—where there was an antique style café. I thought he was going to open the door so we could take pictures inside, but he didn’t.
Instead he grabbed my hands and held them above my head, pushing me against the door with his hips.
“We have ten minutes before we have to get back.” He dipped his head to my neck and gently bit my skin. “Do you think they’ll mind if we take a little longer?”
I murmured “No…” as he looked into my eyes, as he slowly hiked up my dress and made love to me against the door. Softly. Gently. Less reckless than before…
I screamed his name across the darkness, coming apart in his arms, and he took his time kissing me again and again until I felt like going back for the rest of the tour.
The boat had already started to move, and the tour guide didn’t seem to mind how late we were when we rejoined him downstairs. By the way Carter pulled me into his lap and kissed me for the rest of it, I was sure that he knew what we’d been up to.
When we arrived back to the pier, we walked along the beach and talked for hours about absolutely nothing. I didn’t want our conversation to end, but as the sun rose, I could feel myself getting tired, so he picked me up (tossed me over his shoulder) and took me home.
As if that date sealed it, the next few nights weren’t even a question. He texted me and told me what time he was picking me up, and we went out together. Still uncomfortable showing affection in front of people we knew, we saved those moments for when we were alone, and our friends never knew anything different.
The things we normally did together felt new and exciting, no matter how hard we tried to pretend like they were the same. Those “you can take my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch” courtesies were now completely invalid; even though we always ended up in each other’s arms at some point in the night, we never discussed it in the morning.
I was pretty sure I loved him, and not in the way I loved him before.
This was different. This was “I needed to have him every hour of the day,” “be around him whenever I could”, and “do whatever I could to have him” type of way.