A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 39: Chapter 39

The first two port days fly by way too quickly, and although I try not to think about how much money we spent on souvenirs and activities, both at Mahogany Bay and Grand Cayman, I know we will never forget the memories.
Both ports had been amazing, but Rylie and I both loved Mahogany Bay, mainly for the zipline we'd done twice. The whole island was beautiful with green trees and hills, and was surrounded by the most stunning blue water. The zipline went from the top of one of the tallest hills on the island, all the way down to a floating platform on the water where a boat waited to take us back to shore. It was only a five minute zip line ride, but Rylie and I were in awe the entire time, and didn't hesitate to ride a second time. The views surrounding us the entire time as the wind rushed past us made it 100% worth the money.
I'd taken my camera despite being terrified of what could happen to it, and I was so glad I did. Thanks to a gimbal I'd purchased before the trip, I'd gotten some great videos along the ride. I tried not to think about how many pictures and videos I'd already taken during the whole trip, and how long it would take to go through all of them once we got home.
As Rylie and I stand on our balcony, I'm just as stunned by the beauty of Cozumel as I was by the previous two ports. Luckily, our cabin is on the same side of the ship as the dock, and we can see workers below readying the ship and dock for debarking passengers.
The same beautiful blue water surrounds the ship and dock, and it gains a deeper blue the farther away it gets from port. I can see another cruise ship nearing us, preparing to dock in the spot to our left, next to yet another, smaller cruise ship.
"Is it going to be crowded with all these other cruise ship passengers?" Rylie asks skeptically from beside me. We're both dressed in our swimsuits and cover ups, and Rylie wears the backpack full of the stuff we'll need for our day in Cozumel. I suddenly couldn't keep my eyes from wandering her body, loving the way her coverup left areas of skin exposed.
She had on a white bikini, and her grey cover-up was currently doing everything but covering up. The buttons weren't buttoned at the moment which left the fabric swaying in the wind, providing me the occasional perfect view of her tanned and toned stomach. Seeing that only brought back the memory of last night, the way my fingers had traveled across that perfectly soft section of skin, the way her back had arched when I...
"Aspen." Rylie says in an amused voice, raising an eyebrow. "Focus, love."
I blush, giggling despite being caught. I wasn't trying to hide the fact that I was checking her out though, I wanted Rylie to know how hot she was. "I would apologize, but I'm not sorry." I grin. "You're insanely hot." Rylie blushes, making my grin widen. "Anyway! No, it won't be too crowded. It's a big port, and everyone goes to different places. Even if a whole lot of people do the same thing, like go to the beach or snorkel, or scuba dive, there are so many options for each thing that it doesn't get too crowded anywhere."
"That makes sense. I feel dumb for not considering that." Rylie giggles.
"Don't feel dumb. I should've said something about it." I smile, lightly bumping her shoulder. "Not many people know about the place we're going to, so it won't be crowded." I assure her.
Rylie smirks, gaining a mischievous light in her eyes. "So there will be privacy?"
I roll my eyes and laugh. "Yes, but they probably have rules."
"I can be quiet." Rylie says confidently.
I take a step towards her and slip my hands to her waist. "Can you though? Last I checked, the things I do to you bring out noises that I don't think you are capable of holding in." I murmur against her ear before nipping it gently. A slow grin slips onto my face as I feel Rylie shiver.
"Maybe we should test it." Rylie whispers breathlessly, and I feel a familiar heat building between my legs.
"I think I could be convinced." I reply before moving my lips to hers, kissing her hungrily. The sounds from below soon pull us back, preventing us from getting too distracted. Unfortunately.
My mother, who had been on at least 10 cruises in her lifetime, had told us about this place with a great view, great food, and a few different options for activities. It also happened to have the best snorkeling, which is what had convinced us. Well, and the food, of course.
With the VIP perk we had, we were allowed to get off the ship before the actual debarking time opened up for regular passengers. That meant we'd had to wake up earlier than we really wanted to, but we hadn't minded at all. I think I'd talked up Cozumel enough that Rylie was more excited than I was. But I was really excited, so maybe not.
"Can we go now?" Rylie asks excitedly, and I laugh.
"Yes. But first..." I slip my hands off of her waist and gently pull her cover-up over her stomach, quickly fastening the buttons. "I refuse to let anyone else on this ship get a view of your perfect body, specifically this area..." I grin before kissing her once more. "Let's go."
Rylie and I head straight down to the lowest deck, opting to skip breakfast on the ship and eat once we get to our destination. Since normal passengers won't debark for another hour, the elevators don't take long at all and within five minutes, we're standing in a small line leading to the gangway.
I place my small bag with some snacks and our water bottles into a bin and a tall man with a nice smile sends it through the x-ray machine.
He does the same with Rylie's bag before motioning us forward. "You're all set." He smiles warmly.
"Thank you." I return his smile before turning to the next worker. We hand her our cards and she scans them before opening the gate for the gangway.
"Please remember to be back on the ship by 4:00pm. You don't want to be a dock runner." She winks and I laugh.
"We'd rather be the ones watching the dock runners." I reply with a grin. "Thank you." I say before following Rylie down the small ramp leading to the dock.
"What is a dock runner?" Rylie asks me once we begin the walk away from the ship and towards a big stone building at the end of the dock.
"Usually there's at least one person that doesn't get back to the ship when they should. The ship will usually wait to give them some extra time. We call these people dock or pier runners because by the time they realize they are late, they're booking it to make it back to the ship before it can leave. All the other passengers love being on the side of the ship overlooking the dock so they can watch all the runners." I finish my explanation with a grin.
"Did you purposefully choose our room on that side of the ship for that specific reason?" Rylie questions.
My smirk gives me away before I even answer. "I did." I reply with a laugh. "I think you'll really enjoy watching the runners."
"I think so too." Rylie grins before slipping her hand into mine.
"If you want to swap bags at any point, let me know." I say. Her bag had a lot more in it, including my camera gear, and I didn't want her to get sore from carrying it for too long. We'd purposefully left a lot of room in my bag for souvenirs and anything we'd buy on the island.
After a few minutes of walking, we finally reach the stone building that acted as the entrance from the docks into Cozumel. The building was basically a tourist trap store that we had to go through before making it to where we'd be able to get a cab.
Two walkways lead through the store, one for people heading onto the island, and the other for people heading back to the ships. Each aisle is lined with shelves full of candy, souvenirs, bottles of alcohol in all shapes and sizes, and every trinket imaginable. People often stopped to buy things here, not knowing that they could get the same exact items elsewhere on the island for much cheaper. I'd had to warn Rylie of that before we'd entered the building.
When we finally make it outside, it thankfully doesn't take us long to find a cheap cab to take us to our destination. Our driver has a very thick accent, and he says he knows where The Coin Bar is, which is a relief. I'd been slightly worried that no one would be able to take us there.
The drive is about 20 minutes, and we stare out the windows the entire time, admiring the scenery and activity of the island. The moment we get to The Coin bar, a short man with a mustache and the kindest eyes I'd ever seen appears and leads us through a small building and onto the beach.
I nearly stop in my tracks as I take in the view. Despite already seeing the water and island from the ship, I can't get over its beauty. White sand covers the ground beneath our feet, stretching all the way to a stone wall just before the water.
The sand and water don't touch here, since this place was known for snorkeling. The water started out deep, instead of starting shallow and getting deep the farther out you went. The stone wall had been placed, one part including a sort of small stone ramp to make it easier to just slip into the deep water. A metal ladder hung on the wall next to the ramp, making it easy to get out of the water as well.
Two girls hop over the wall and onto the ramp, and I watch for a moment as they struggle to keep their balance. The ramp seemed sort of pointless to me, especially with the moss that had grown on it, making it extremely slippery. It seemed like it would be easier to just sit on the wall and push off into the water instead of trying to use the ramp, but that was just my opinion.
A dark wooden dock connects to the stone wall a ways to the left, and a couple of young kids stand at the end preparing to jump in, each with flippers on their feet, goggles over their eyes, and a long snorkel tube sticking out of their mouths. As awkward as snorkel gear looked on a person, I was excited to wear it.
Wooden tables with umbrellas in the center cover the patio, some even spaced out on the sand around the patio. Blue beach chairs are spaced out on the stretch of sand between the rock wall and the tables. Only a few are taken, and the small man leads us over to two chairs just in front of an empty table.
"Is this an okay spot?" He asks and I nod, smiling gratefully. He places two menus on the table as well as two colorful beach towels before quietly excusing himself.
Rylie and I set our bags on one of the empty chairs at the table before sitting. Instead of sitting across from each other, I sit beside her so that we can both have a view of the ocean.
"Your mother wasn't kidding, this place is beautiful." Rylie marvels and I nod in agreement. We both grab a menu and my eyes widen as I take in all of the options.
"Oh no..." I say, and Rylie laughs.
"Yeah. More choices than I was expecting. What do you say we just order a bunch of different things and share them? That way we can try everything we want to before getting to full, and we won't have to worry about finishing something by ourselves." Rylie smiles.
"You know me so well." I laugh, leaning over to give her a quick kiss.
We spend the next few minutes debating what to order, choosing both breakfast and lunch items so that we wouldn't have to go over the menu again when lunchtime came around.
Pretty soon after we figure out what to order, a tall, thin waiter appears beside the table to take our order. Rylie does the talking which is a relief. I always felt that she was better at talking to strangers than I would ever be.
Once done, the waiter hurries away only to be replaced by the short man from earlier. "Hello again." He smiles brightly. "Have either of you been here before?" He asks.
Rylie and I both shake our heads. "We haven't, but my mother has. She spoke very highly of this place." I answer.
"Your mother is very smart. The Coin Bar is the best kept secret on the island, in my opinion." The man winks. "My name is Toni, and I'm here to answer any questions you may have. Will you two be snorkeling today?"
"We would love to! How much are the rental costs for equipment?" I ask.
"For you lovely ladies, they will be discounted." He winks again and I fight an eye roll. He probably says that to everyone, but it still makes us giggle. "How about $10 for each? That includes flippers, goggles, and the snorkels for the full day. It also includes two free drinks per person."
"That sounds great to us!" Rylie grins.
"Perfect." Toni responds. "Now," He leans in, as if telling a secret. "You see that cluster of rocks beside the hill down the beach a ways?" He points, and I follow his finger to the large boulders in question before nodding. "There is a very cool cove just beyond those rocks, with a cave below that hill. It is only accessible by our beach, so not many people know about it. We rarely tell guests about it, but I get the feeling you two would appreciate the beauty of the cove." Toni gestures to my camera, and I grin.
"Thank you for sharing that with us, Toni." Rylie smiles. "We will definitely check it out, it sounds beautiful and private."
I have to fight to keep my expression calm as Rylie says that last word. My mind instantly goes to the conversation on our balcony, and I subtly cross my legs, trying to ignore the heat between them. As if she's intentionally trying to make it worse, Rylie's hand slips under the table and onto my thigh, her thumb rubbing slow circles into my skin.
I swallow hard and try to focus on Toni. It's very difficult, but I somehow manage. "It looks like your food is on the way, so I will leave you to eat! I will return shortly with your snorkeling gear." He promises, and we thank him before he disappears. Our waiter appears a moment later without food in hand, quickly placing down several plates and drinks before leaving us again.
"Oh, wow..." I say as I study the food. I instantly want the little Danishes, but that's no surprise. A seemingly endless assortment of fruits fill several plates, making my mouth water. Plates of pancakes, waffles and other pastries fill the remaining dishes, decorated with jams, syrups and whipped cream. I'm relieved when I note the plates of sausage, eggs, bacon and some other protein foods. At least we wouldn't be overloaded with just sugar. I struggle to figure out where to start.
As if reading my mind once again, Rylie slides a bowl filled to the brim with watermelon in front of me, and then a plate of Danishes.
"Here you go, love." She smiles at me and I can't help but kiss her.
"Thank you, Ry." I grin before we begin eating, all the while still marveling at the beauty around us.