A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

"That was much worse than you said it would be." Rylie glares at me as we make our way to the front of the ship.
"Yeah..." I laugh guiltily. "I had no idea it would be that bad." I try to defend. I think it's safe to say we were both relieved to be done with the muster drill. It had lasted nearly an hour because a few of the passengers hadn't shown up. Turns out they weren't even on the ship yet, but finally made it. It wouldn't have been so bad had we not been packed so tightly with the other passengers, getting hotter with each passing minute.
It wasn't all bad, though. On the side of the ship we had been on, we'd had lots of laughs thanks to one man. He'd had a somehow endless supply of humor and jokes that kept those of us closest to him laughing the entire time. Closest to him physically, of course. That was our first time meeting him so it was too early to be any other type of close. Rylie and I both had tears in our eyes more than once. If my stomach wasn't already going to be sore from our earlier activities, I had no doubt it would be now.
Now, we were headed to one of the higher decks at the front of the ship to get the best view as we sailed down the Mississippi. The ship had officially set sail a few minutes ago, and we could hear the music and activity on the lido deck as the sailaway party began
I push open the hallway door leading to the outside, preparing myself for the blast of air from above this time. Rylie still laughs, shaking her head. Once outside, I'm relieved to find not many other people on this particular deck. Most passengers were either enjoying the party, or getting food. Lots of people still had the same idea as us, but I knew this deck would be less crowded despite it being the best for the view.
The fog is still the same, and I'm glad. It only adds to the beauty around us, and I grin as I take in the view. City buildings line one side of the river, while the other side is mostly industrial looking, with long, flat buildings on land, or long ships filled with huge metal containers docked in the water.
Other ships move through the water around us, and a thick layer of mist over the water makes the boats look eerie as they cut quietly through the water. I'm suddenly very glad I'd gotten a brand new SD card for the trip. At this rate, it would be full by the last day.
Rylie steps forward before resting her arms on the railing to gaze out at our surroundings. I snap several pictures of her, smiling at her obvious delight and awe. I move to stand beside her and make sure my camera strap is secure around my neck before resting my arms on the railing to give more stability as I take pictures. My hands hold the camera over the edge of the boat but I clutch it so tightly that there's no risk of dropping it. I remind myself that even if I did drop it, I still had the camera strap firmly around my neck that would prevent it from dropping the very long way to the water below. Hitting water from a drop this high up would be like hitting concrete. And not just for a camera, but for anything, and anyone.
Rylie and I spend the next hour or so on the deck admiring the view and taking pictures as the boat continues down the river and towards the ocean.
As the buildings and views begin to lessen and the marshes and swamps start taking over, I turn to Rylie with a grin. "It's still too foggy to tan or swim. You ready to explore the ship?" An adorable grin lights up her face as she nods and I can't resist the urge to kiss her quickly before taking her hand. "Good, let's go."
By the time we get back to our room after exploring nearly the entire ship, we have just under an hour to get ready for dinner. We get dressed quickly, opting to wear dresses, but saving our fanciest outfits for elegant night later on in the week.
My dress tonight is tan, reaching a few inches above my knees. The straps tie around my neck in a way that's not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be, and although a lot of my back is exposed, I like how I feel in the dress.
Rylie looks just as stunning as always in her cami green sundress, and I like how the straps are cute bows on her shoulders. Her blonde hair is straight, resting just at her collarbone, and I'm tempted to stop working on my own hair just to run my fingers through hers. She turns to me as I struggle with my hair. "You gonna be done soon?" She teases as she leans against the counter.
"Watch it," I warn with a smirk. "It's really easy to get lost on a ship this big, especially if your guide suddenly decides to just... disappear."
Rylie's eyes meet mine and she raises an eyebrow, but I can see the small spark of anxiety in her eyes. She watches me play with my hair for another long moment, seeming to think about her next move before stepping towards me.
"Here." She says as she stops behind me. She takes my long hair into her gentle hands and begins running a brush through the locks before pulling them into a high bun. Next, she messes with the bun, pinning certain strands or pulling some loose slightly. Then, she pulls the curls framing my face down, letting them do what they did best and just be free. And my surprise is evident when I see the final result.
"Oh..." I say softly. "That actually looks good!"
"You look good." She counters, and I don't even try to stop the grin from slipping onto my face. Rylie leans in slightly before pressing her lips gently to mine.
"I love you." I say softly once we break apart.
"I love you, Aspen. Can we go get some of this fancy cruise ship food now?" She asks excitedly and I laugh.
"Of course." I kiss her cheek quickly before grabbing my small bag and pulling her out the door.
The dining room is a large, two level room at the back of the ship. Rylie and I follow a waiter over to a table in the back right corner of the second level. Rylie opens the menu the moment the waiter leaves.
"Eager much?" I question with a grin, and Rylie doesn't even try to deny it.
"Mmhm. You've talked up the food enough that I'm tempted to try everything on the menu so that I don't risk missing out on anything." She giggles.
"Don't worry, we've got nearly a week to try all there is to try." I promise her with a smile before picking up my own menu.
Dinner goes by all too quickly, and we order way too much food but enjoy every bite. When we finish dessert, I can see faint colors in the sky from the small window over our table, and suggest going up a few decks to watch the sunset. Rylie agrees quickly and we make our way out of the dining room.
Since we're already at the back of the ship, you'd expect it to be easy to get from the fourth deck up to the tenth deck. It's not easy, though. It made no sense that there wasn't an elevator at the back of the ship. Because of that, we had to walk all the way to the middle of the ship to get to the elevators or stairs leading up top. I didn't mind, though. We got to walk past all the little photo op areas, and even stop for a few even though I knew we probably wouldn't end up buying them.
The photographers on cruise ships were always fantastic, but the photos were always much more expensive than they were worth. But I promised myself to buy at least one or two for the memories. Definitely one from formal night when we'd be in our best dresses.
After walking past the casino and watching all of the activity and gambling, we finally reach the atrium again and head towards the bank of elevators. The wait isn't too long considering a lot of guests are at dinner or one of the shows.
When we finally step out onto the lido deck, the sun is just beginning to set. I slip my fingers between Rylie's and pull her towards the back of the ship where we'll be able to see the sunset best. I could tell it was going to be an amazing one based on the pink and orange hues that tinted the clouds on the horizon.
The back of the ship only has a few other people which is surprising because of the current view. I always loved the view from the back of the ship, but the sunset made it ten times better.
The sky is slowly gaining more color, and the clouds that cover the horizon behind us are becoming more and more vibrant, with more orange than pink. The color somehow brings out the texture of the clouds, only adding to the beauty.
While I'm tempted to say the sunset is my favorite part of the view before us, I can't. My favorite part is definitely the trail left in the water behind the cruise ship as it sails forward. The water is blue all around us, but the trail itself has several different shades of blues and almost whites from the movements of the boat and it's rotors.
"Wow..." Rylie says from beside me as we step up to the railing, gazing out at the stunning view. "You weren't kidding, this is gorgeous. It would be amazing without the sunset, too."
"Yeah," I smile. "This is always my favorite view, sunset or not." When the sunset reaches its peak, I pull my camera from my small bag and set it up on a wall just behind us, adjusting the settings and putting Rylie in the frame before starting the time and moving to stand beside her again. I slip my arm around her waist and press my lips to her cheek the moment before the camera clicks. I'd set it on a timer to take a few pictures, so I turn and smile at the camera next. We take a few pictures facing the camera and a few facing away as we admire the view.
"These will definitely be printed off the moment we get home." I grin as I go through the pictures. Rylie was definitely my favorite part of each picture, and her grin lights up her face in the most adorable way.
"They are really good," She replies with a smile. "Mainly because of you. You're hot." I laugh when she says this, feeling the blush rise in my cheeks.
"That's what I was going to say about you." I tease before kissing her softly. "You ready to go watch Titanic?" I grin.
"Nope. But we're doing it anyway!" She replies, and her voice is full of a fake enthusiasm that only makes me laugh more.
After changing into swimsuits and grabbing water bottles and towels, Rylie and I head back out to the Lido deck, and I grin when I see the mostly empty hot tubs.
"Sweet, we get the best seats!" I say happily as I step into the hot tub area enclosed by plexiglass. We hang our towels on the railing before stepping into the hot water, and I take my time getting used to the temperature before sitting beside Rylie, hissing through my teeth each time a new part of my skin is introduced to the hot water.
The movie doesn't start for another several minutes, so I let my eyes wander around, watching other people as they throw blankets and towels onto deck chairs, getting ready and comfortable for the movie.
Pretty soon, several other people join us in our hot tub, thankfully keeping a foot or two of distance from Rylie and I, but still giving us polite smiles that we easily return.
Soon, deck chairs are filled as are the hot tubs, and people talk happily as the movie starts up on the big screen mounted high on the wall in front of us. The opening scene begins and I feel Rylie scoot closer to me before slipping her fingers between mine where they rest on my lap beneath the water.
I knew she wasn't really scared, at least not yet, but I was happy to hold her hand no matter what.
"That movie was awful!" Rylie tells me the moment we're back in our room. "Not even the fact that it was a cruise ship crashing. It was just sad!"
"I know..." I respond, trying to find the words to make her feel better, but she continues, saving me from saying more.
"There was so much room for Jack!" She exclaims as she begins pulling out her pajamas in a rather aggressive manner. "Rose knew it, too. You know what I think?" Rylie says, turning to look at me to make sure I'm still listening.
"What do you think?" I say, managing to hide the amusement in my voice. I wouldn't have been able to stop listening to her even if I wanted to, she was too entertaining.
"I think she did it on purpose. Sure, she loved him, but she knew there was room for him. I think she didn't help him for a reason."
I climb onto the bed after changing and grin lazily at Rylie as she pulls her swimsuit off. She doesn't even notice the way my eyes linger on her bare body before her large t-shirt unfortunately covers her skin.
"What reason?" I ask as I slip under the covers, still not taking my eyes from her.
"She knew how the titanic story would be told to future generations, and she knew that as a survivor, her story would be told one of two ways. One: she and Jack would simply be two of the survivors. Sure, they'd get some attention, but it would be nothing compared to the fame and attention she'd get if her new lover and cruise ship fling died a devastating death clinging tightly to her hands in the icy cold water before they could ever really, truly be with each other and live out the life they had planned even though they'd only known each other for, what was it... a week?"
"Two days." I correct, feeling my grin grow.
"Two days?" Rylie nearly yells. "Oh my hell, it's worse than I thought! But that just confirms everything. It was only about the fame for her. Sure, she wanted love, and she wanted that with Jack. But the thought of the fame and attention she would receive if she survived and he didn't? That was too tempting for her. So, despite her promises, she let him go." Rylie finishes dramatically.
I can't help the laugh that pushes its way from my lips. Rylie turns to glare at me, but even her threatening stare can't stop my laughter. "I'm sorry," I gasp, clutching my stomach. "That's just a theory I've never heard before!" I defend myself, trying to stop laughing as she takes a step towards me.
"You're laughing at me." She says in a low voice, still stepping towards me.
"I'm not!" I defend, throwing my hands up. "Really! I'm just laughing at... at... how much sense that theory makes!" Even I can tell how stupid my excuse is, but it only makes me laugh harder. But I get real quiet, real quick, when Rylie suddenly straddles me.
Her face looms close to mine, her minty breath soft against my cheek. "You were never really good at excuses, Aspen, but I think you're getting worse." She murmurs, and I fight a shiver as her hand slides onto my thigh over the covers. Her touch, especially in moments like this, would never fail to light me on fire.
"Remember how you said that since you were making me watch the movie, you'd make it up to me later?" She asks before pressing a kiss to my throat. I swallow nervously, knowing instantly that Rylie feels it as I feel her lips move into what can only be a smirk.
"Mmhm..." I breathe, unable to form words. Rylie doesn't like that.
"Use your words, baby." She whispers, and I shiver again as I feel her cool breath against the spot she just kissed.
Those four words, those four simple words are all it takes for me to crumple. As I take a breath and prepare my answer, I know there's a good chance we're in for a long, very enjoyable night.