Boat ride

The pale man looks at you showing some signs of impatience. Fuck the girls, you think.

“Ok, count me in!”

He nods, looks at the empty breakfast room and shruggs.

“Follow me,” he orders you.

The tone a is a bit too imperious to your taste but you do not take offense. You are far too tired and hung over to actually care for anything else than a long nap on a beach of white sand.

Ten minutes later you find yourself on one of the lower decks. Half a dozen people are queuing to step on a small temporary staircase that takes you down the ship flanks all the way down to a small boat.

Just a couple of passengers ahead of you, a woman with a very large hat and sunglasses looks familiar.

You step on the small staircase. The view is absolutely unique. The perspective from this height on the turquoise waters of the Caribbean sea are both breathtaking and vertiginous. Half way down, you stop for a moment to enjoy the sights. As you bathe in the heat of the morning sun, a weird thought hits you.

“Thank god, I am not falling from this height.”

The last people pass by you, you rush behind them to reach the boat. You step in the small skiff and go seat by the skipper.

Another sailor, pale as well, releases the mooring line and, as the boat takes sea, you realize that you have no bathing suit, no towel, no sunscreen, no nothing, just your dress from last night.

You turn to the skipper and tell him. He has the weirdest smile before telling you not to worry, he has towels and sunscreen and that there is a naturist section in the beach you are going to. You thank him, you are not a big fan of naturism but you are here for the fun and new experiences are always fun. He smiles again and once again you feel uncomfortable. Not that he is creepy or awkward, it’s just that his smile does not match his eyes.

You shrugg and move down the boat to look around. Half a dozen other passengers, the skipper and second sailor. Amongst the passengers, the girl with the large hat and sunglasses, for the first time you see her face. Can it be? Nicole?

As she sees you, wave of panic seems to take over her and she turns around looking at the sea.