Caribbean Cruising (19 page)

With that I skirted around him, and went in search of some equipment to buy because I figured Ryan was probably right. I would want to snorkel more than once, and we might even be able to get some snorkeling time in when we got to Cozumel.

I was looking at masks when Jake came over.

"Try this one on," he said.

I tried it on and looked at him. It seemed fine to me, but then I really wasn't sure what I was looking for.

"What do you think?" I asked, and thought I sounded a little funny breathing through my mouth while I talked.

"You want a snug fit so the water can't get in. Nothing is more irritating than having your mask fill up with water."

He slowly trailed his finger around the edge of my mask, around my face. The whole time he kept his gaze anchored on mine.

"You've got killer eyes, you know that?" he finally said.

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I grinned. "That was one of the come-on lines from last night. I think it went, 'Are your eyes hurting?

Because they're killing me.'"

"Coming from me, it's not a line," he said. "It's the truth."

"Lindsay, I think you'd like this mask."

I jerked to the side, and there was Ryan, dangling a mask in front of my face.

"What's wrong with the one I have on?" I asked.

"Probably nothing, but this one is a better quality. Try it on. You'll see." He turned to Jake. "I know you need to make sure everyone is getting what they need. I'm familiar with snorkeling. I'll help Lindsay get her equipment."

Jake grinned at him. "Thanks." He touched my shoulder and winked. "I'll check in with you later."

As soon as he walked away, I jerked off my mask and glared at Ryan. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving you from a land shark."

Oh, I wanted to screech!

"Are you crazy? He's a nice guy who's giving me a little attention. Not that it's any of your business."

"You're right. You're right. Your love life is none of my business. But I do know snorkeling equipment."

He held up the mask again. "Humor me. Try it on."

I snatched it away from him and put it on. Then wished I hadn't, because he was right. It felt more comfortable than the one I had on before.

"Okay, with your hand, push it against your face," Ryan instructed me.

I did.

"Now, inhale through your nose."

"I don't have the snorkel," I told him.

"I know. What you want to do is create a vacuum. When you move your hand away, if the mask stays against your face, it's a good fit. Try it."

I took a deep breath through my nose, felt the mask suction against my face, and moved my hand. It stayed put.

"Shake your head," he ordered me.

I shook my head back and forth, nodded up and down. The mask stayed in place.

Ryan grinned. "Good."

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I took it off.

"See? Jake running a finger around your face doesn't tell you a damn thing," he said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm sure we would have gotten around to doing the breathing test if you hadn't interrupted."

"I'll just bet." He took the mask from me. "The one you were trying on at first didn't have this purge valve." He pointed beneath the nosepiece. "Sometimes no matter how well the mask fits, you'll get water up inside the mask. You press on this valve, and it removes the water so you don't have to lift the mask away from your face."

"You think I should have that?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's a nice feature. Come on. I'll help you get your snorkel and your flippers."

I had to admit that Ryan did seem to know his way around the equipment.

When everyone had their equipment Jake gathered us around, and we headed toward the beach. Once we were at the edge of the water, Jake had us all sit. He explained everything we had to do. I listened to every word, memorizing all that I could.

I was amazed by all the little things he explained that had never occurred to me: how to pressurize our ears, that objects in the water were actually smaller than they appeared.

"The exact opposite of that sideview mirror on your car that warns you things are closer than they appear," Jake said. "In the water they're smaller."

"So what looks to be a thirty-two foot white shark might only be thirty feet?" Ryan asked. He was sitting beside me.

Jake grinned. "That's right."

"Are there sharks out there?" Brooke asked, clearly alarmed.

Jake grimaced. "I won't say that you won't see any, but they aren't common. I doubt you'll see any great whites. If you see any sharks at all, it'll probably be a nurse shark." He shook his head. "It won't bother you. These creatures see a lot of humans, but they'll still be wary of you. You'll mostly see stingrays, some very colorful fishes, some unusual crabs.

"Any questions?" Jake asked after he was finished telling us how to go about getting into the water, and what to watch out for.

He grinned. "All right then. I want everyone to count off."

We were sitting in a haphazard line, but we managed to count off. I was number four.

"Okay, dudes," Jake said. "If you called out an odd number, look to your left. Even numbers look to your right."

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Jake's instructions had me looking at Ryan, Ryan looking at me.

"You're looking at your partner for the day," Jake said.

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Somehow Ryan always managed to be the one who I was supposed to do things with. On the other hand, since he was experienced, if I left him for a while to spend a little time with Jake, it might be all right.

"Put your flippers on," Jake ordered. "Now stand up and turn around. We want to walk slowly back into the water until it's at your waist."

Glancing over my shoulder, walking backward in flippers was awkward, to say the least. I could hear a few people laughing. I was afraid to lose my concentration on where I was going though, afraid I'd trip. I wasn't exactly the most graceful creature as I flopped across the sand in my flippers to the water's edge.

And I certainly did feel like a creature. One from the Black Lagoon.

"This is weird," I said.

Ryan took my hand. "Sometimes it helps to hold on to someone," he said. "For balance."

That sounded like a come-on line if I ever heard one, but I had to admit that it did seem to make the going easier as we backed into the water.

The water was so clear. Like glass. Really amazing.

I was so accustomed to the brown water off the coast of Texas that this Caribbean water still amazed me with its clarity. I mean, really, weren't these the same waters that stretched up into the Gulf of Mexico, and eventually lapped at our shores?

How could it be so different here? And yet it was.

We stopped when the water reached our waist. I could see the white sand beneath the water, my flippered feet, and a few tiny creatures moving about.

"Okay, spit into your masks," Jake said.

"Ew!" Brooke called out beside me. "How gross is that?"

"It's either spit or fog up," Ryan said.

"I'd rather fog up," Brooke said.

I spit onto my mask and wiped my spit around the glass. The concept was a little gross, but I'd seen Richard Dreyfus do it in
Jaws
. Following Ryan's example I rinsed my mask with a little seawater, and then I put it on and placed the snorkel in my mouth.

I remembered Jake's instructions to begin breathing through the snorkel.

"Remember if you go under the water, the snorkel closes up," Ryan said. "Don't panic. You're not going to breathe in water, and you're not going to drown."

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I bent slightly and squatted until my face was in the water. I put one hand on the sand to balance myself, and then extended my legs back until I was floating. Then I kicked a little.

I was snorkeling!

I had to admit that I felt a little claustrophobic, and it took me awhile to trust myself to breathe through the snorkel without having a feeling of panic.

But the world beneath the water was incredible. So many colorful sea creatures swam around us. I knew we weren't supposed to pet them, but it was so tempting. Touching them could remove their protective layer, causing them to get an infection. I thought it would be a real shame for any of this to be destroyed.

I felt a nudge on my shoulder and looked over. Ryan was signaling down. I searched in the direction he was pointing.

A stingray glided through the water. I knew stingrays were abundant in this area because they'd learned that people would feed them. But actually watching them floating around us…oh, gosh, it was awesome.

It was like being inside a huge aquarium, only it was all natural. It was nature. And it was unbelievable.

Ryan did some more pointing, and then I watched as he dove beneath the surface of the water. We were still in fairly shallow waters, but it was safe to dive.

I'd listened intently while Jake had given us instructions on how to dive. So I took a deep breath, ducked my head, and fluttered my feet. Down I went.

Ryan was so right to suggest that I purchase the equipment, because I was hooked. As a matter of fact I was giving thought to looking into some serious diving.

I caught up with Ryan. He pointed out various things until I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I kicked to the surface, inhaled deeply, and relaxed as I waited for my heartbeat to slow.

I thought I could stay here forever.

* * *

"That was totally awesome!" Brooke said. "Did you see the octopus?"

We were sitting on our towels on the beach, chilling out after our snorkeling expedition. The guys were around us, sipping their beers, while Brooke and I were drinking water.

"I didn't see the octopus," I told her, "but I saw a tiny shark."

"I saw mermaids," Chad said with a sly grin.

Brooke leaned over, and slapped him teasingly on the arm. "You did not."

"You girls should have gone topless," Cameron said.

"Brooke did," Chad remarked.

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little while. I wanted to shock the fish."

"Shocked me," Chad said.

I glanced over at Ryan. He was keeping awfully quiet, and I had a feeling he might have caught sight of Brooke with her top off as well.

Part of me wished I'd been that bold. But swimming topless in the Caribbean hadn't been on my to do list. I hadn't even contemplated the notion.

"Hey, Lindsay, why didn't you take your top off?" Cameron asked.

"I'd be afraid a fish would come up and nibble on me," I admitted.

"It's not the fish nibbling that you'd have to worry about," Chad said.

I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment. I definitely hadn't figure out a flirtation style that wouldn't get me into trouble.

"Okay. You guys who are renting, if you'll give me your equipment, I'll go turn them in for you," Jake said.

He started gathering things up, and looked over at me with a wink. "Lindsay, would you mind helping me?"

I felt Ryan's, as well as Brooke's, gaze fall on me. I decided to ignore them both. "Sure."

I helped collect the equipment, then followed him back to the diving shop so it could all be returned.

"How'd you like snorkeling?" he asked.

"Loved it," I said. "I think I'd like to do some scuba diving."

"You could take a class on Cozumel, get in a little shallow diving maybe."

"I might do that."

"Are you sure there's nothing between you and Ryan?" he asked.

"I'm sure."

"It's just that he seems to really keep an eye on you."

"Friend of the family. That's all." Calling Ryan a friend of the family was becoming second nature.

We walked into the shop and returned all the equipment. When we stepped back outside, Jake took my hand and led me around to the side of the building.

"I'm new to the ship," he said. "I was wondering if you could give me directions to your cabin."

Before I could comment, he kissed me.

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It was a breath stealer. Probably the best kiss I ever had. When we broke apart, I was panting a little.

Jake tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and grinned. "You know I shouldn't have done that, right?"

I nodded.

"So let's keep it our little secret."

"Sure."

He sighed with obvious regret. "We need to get back to the others."

I followed him around to the front of the building. We both came to an abrupt stop. Ryan was standing there, feet spread, arms crossed over his chest.

"How would you like to go to Hell?" he asked.

CHAPTER 24

L
ike so many tourists, we all went to Hell simply so we could say we'd been.

Although I wasn't a hundred percent sure that Ryan's question had been completely in reference to the small town in the Cayman Islands. A part of me thought that maybe he'd been issuing a threat.

Jake certainly hadn't seemed to take it that way though. He'd rounded everyone up, put us on a bus, and took us to Hell.

Hell was located on the north end of the island. It got its name from the unusual jagged, black rock formations that looked like the charred remains of a hellfire, but were actually a type of limestone coated with algae.

Along with other tourists, we stood on a boardwalk taking pictures of the formations. Then we had our pictures taken with a one-dimensional wooden cutout of the devil, dressed in red with a pitchfork and pointed tail. We shopped for T-shirts at the Devil's Den. Naturally I bought a postcard to send to Julie. I wrote a quick note on the back, "Wish you were here in Hell with me!"