Brandon shrugged. “That’s up to you. We can walk around, shop, do one of the tours…”
“Let’s walk for a few minutes and first, then we can decide.” They passed several souvenir shops, restaurants and bike and golf cart rental places. Off to her right, Faith spotted what seemed to be a boat that looked like a submarine. She pointed. “Is that a submarine?”
“Looks like one.” He led her across the planked walk and stopped at the tour window. He picked up a brochure, opened it and held it where Faith could see.
She read descriptions for the different tours. “There is a semi-submarine tour that looks interesting.” She had never done anything like it. “And it’s only forty-five minutes long.”
Luckily, there were still a few tickets available for the eleven forty-five trip, so he bought two. “Perfect timing.”
They only had to wait ten minutes before boarding, navigating down a steep flight of stairs to a narrow interior that had rows of seats on either side, each one in front of a window. The boat moved through the water while the guide gave some history and talked about the various types of fish they might see. Faith saw a variety of large and small fish, and tried to match them with the pictures posted above them on the walls.
At one point, the fish swarmed the boat when the captain stopped to feed them. She felt the same excitement as the two young children who squealed and raced from window to window. She and Brandon snapped several pictures on their phones. He even asked the person sitting across from them to take one of him and Faith. She leaned over to look at it and felt a strange sensation. Ignoring it, she said, “That’s a nice one. Can you send it to me?” Brandon pushed a few buttons on his phone and a moment later, hers buzzed. Faith studied it for a minute. Brandon had his arm around her, their heads touching, and both were smiling. They weren’t a real couple, but for today, she could pretend. At the end, they climbed the steps and stepped out into the sunshine again. “That was cool.”
“Yeah, it was pretty cool.”
Faith gazed up at him with amusement. “I take it you’ve never done something like this, either.” She shook her head. “You need to get out of your office more.”
Brandon ducked his head sheepishly. “We’ve already established that I don’t leave the office often, but hey, I should get some points. This is the second time in as many weeks that I’ve taken time out to play.”
She patted him on the chest. “You’re absolutely right, baby.” Coming up on tiptoe, she gave him a quick kiss, grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the main street. “I’m hungry.” They ended up at Jack’s Country Kitchen, where they both ordered the Catalina Club.
Afterward, he rented a golf cart and they spent the next hour touring the island. When they got back, she had enough time before their three-thirty return to purchase a T-shirt and two bottles of nail polish that went on one color, but changed in the sunlight.
He was still shaking his head when they boarded the boat. “Nail polish?”
“What? It’s like getting two colors for one price and if you want to change the color, all you do is have to step outside. You can’t beat that.”
Brandon laughed. “Whatever you say.”
Once again, they opted to sit on the top deck. The breeze had kicked up a little and blew her hair in her face. Brandon scooted closer to Faith and slung his arm around her. He gently turned her face toward him, pushed her hair back and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. Faith’s eyes slid closed. The feel of his warm lips on hers caused a riot of sensations. She had promised herself she’d pull back, but it became harder every second they spent together. She stared out over the water and searched her mind for a reason to end the evening early.
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
“I had a wonderful time. Thank you. So, what’s next?” Faith wanted to know why he’d had her bring a change of clothes. He’d told her comfortable shorts or sweats were fine, so she assumed they wouldn’t be going any place that required them to dress up. And had he brought a change, as well?