Just as on the two other nights they'd shared the giant bed, Lee slept better than he had in years. He was pretty sure Amanda was awake and watching him, so it wasn't a surprise when he opened his eyes to find they were practically nose-to-nose.
"Hi." Amanda smiled at him.
"Hi, yourself."
They puckered their lips and shared a sweet kiss. Then another. And another one that wasn't quite as sweet, and which melded into one that was decidedly sultry. They retraced the caresses and touches that the other had responded to the night before while learning even more ways their bodies could find pleasure together…
Afterwards, Lee ran his hands up and down her back and placed a few random kisses in her hair. "Nice way to start the day."
"Sure is." Amanda sat up and gave him a solid kiss on the lips. "You want the shower first?"
"Not together?" he joked. Unlike the tub, the shower was miniscule.
"We'll try out the tub later," she countered.
"Go ahead and shower. Still up for snorkeling today?"
"You bet."
"I'll order breakfast so we don't have to stop at the buffet. I want you all to myself today."
Since they would be snorkeling, Amanda didn't bother doing much with her hair - or makeup - she just swept it up into a small ponytail. She dressed while Lee showered and when breakfast was delivered, she set it up on the balcony. Lee joined a few minutes later, sitting down and taking the coffee Amanda held out for him.
"Thanks. Weather looks good for snorkeling - no wind, nice and calm."
Lee was wearing a pair of shorts and a guayabera shirt, on which he'd only done a couple of the lower buttons.
"You look cute," Amanda said.
"Ah-ha!" Lee exclaimed in triumph. "Hang on... not hunky?"
"It's the hair - you didn't blow it dry, so it's all floppy and cute."
"Okay, I'll take that."
"I like this vacation look on you."
They leaned together from their chairs and kissed sweetly.
"It's almost too bad we don't have another day at sea. I could sit out here and kiss you all day," Lee declared.
"Oh, I think we'll find a way to work some kissing into our day."
Once off the ship, Lee found a taxi to take them to a small cove he knew, where the cruise excursions didn't go. The winding roads through lush foliage and glimpses here and there of the azure waters were breathtaking. Eventually, the cab pulled off the road and wound its way down to an inlet, where the driver let them off. Lee arranged for him to pick them up in four hours, and they headed to the beach.
There were a few sets of tourists, but it was mostly a quiet and secluded spot. They paid for the use of a couple of lounge chairs, an umbrella, a small table, endless refreshments, and snorkeling gear.
Amanda arranged her towel on her chair and when she stood up, Lee was right in front of her.
"Hi," he said, lifting his hands to fiddle with the top button.
"Hello."
Continuing to admire her, Lee started undoing the buttons… until he realized she was wearing a bikini top. He raised his eyebrows and looked up. "Bikini?"
"Yep."
"Good thing you didn't wear this at the pool yesterday, they'd have taken us to the brig for lewd acts.
He leaned down to kiss her as he slid the last button through its buttonhole, and ran his hands around her waist and up.
"I don't want to end up in the custody of the local police either, so watch your hands there, mister."
Once they were in the water up to Amanda's chest, Lee outlined the basics of snorkeling and they put on their flippers. Lee held onto her mask and snorkel while she experimented with swimming.
"Don't use your arms," he called to her. "Use your legs to do the work and let your body float along."
Lee watched as she followed his advice and admired how the curve of her rear bobbed above the waterline while she floated face down.
Once they'd both put on their masks and snorkels, they held hands and dunked down a few times so Amanda could get used to breathing through the snorkel and the feel of the mask on her face.
"There's a whole world under there!"
Lee laughed. "Yes there is."
They explored the cove and the edge of the reef, where they watched the brightly colored reef-dwelling fish. Now and then, they saw large dark shadows passing by in the murky waters where the reef dropped off into the depths of the sea.
"Phillip and Jamie would love this," Amanda said as they took a break and treaded water.
"We should come back sometime." The idea seemed like the most natural thing in the world and the suggestion came out before he realized the implications - they hadn't talked at all about what would happen between them after the cruise. "Uh, I mean, you should bring your mother and the boys here."
"Yeah."
Amanda let the comment and Lee's fumble pass right by. She barely knew what was happening between them, nevermind how it could - or would - figure into their 'regular lives,' much less her family.
They lazed in their lounge chairs, sipping on ridiculous tropical drinks with tiny umbrellas, and talking about everything and nothing. Lee told her about scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, where he'd come face to face with a hammerhead shark. And Amanda impressed him with her knowledge of Australian sheep stations, which she admitted was mostly gleaned from reading The Thorn Birds.
When Amanda stood up to stretch, she found herself being tumbled into Lee's lap, with his arms around her waist. They wriggled around to find the best position to balance themselves on Lee's chair, which left Amanda halfway on top of him and both of them laughing.
She leaned down for a kiss and ran her fingers over his torso and up into his hair, which elicited a deep intake of breath from him. Amanda rested her head on Lee's shoulder and closed her eyes while he caressed her back with long, lazy strokes. They dozed on and off until the fact that the lounge chair they were sharing was really meant for just one adult became clear.
"My arm is completely asleep," Lee said.
Amanda let out a breathy laugh, sat up, and got up rather ungracefully. She plopped down into her own chair and fished in her bag for her watch.
"We need to get packing up anyway."
They gathered their things, returned the rented snorkeling equipment, and got to the road just as their taxi driver pulled up.
"Looks like it's going to rain this afternoon," Amanda observed as they drove back into town.
"Just a passing shower or two," their cab driver said knowingly.
"I hope so."
They got out at Port Lucaya marketplace and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in and out of shops of all sorts: tacky t-shirt stores, expensive jewelry shops, folk art kiosks, drink stands, and on and on.
Amanda bought her mother a bright green batik wrap that featured a pattern of hibiscus flowers, and she picked out one in a deep blue for herself. Stepping outside, she met back up with Lee who presented her with a coconut daiquiri slushie.
"It's a virgin. I thought we could use some rehydrating."
"Perfect, thanks."
Just as they took their first sips, the clouds opened up and it began to rain. Looking at each other, they said in unison, "A passing shower." They waited out the downpour under the awning of a shop. And waited and waited. The shower eventually ended, but not until they'd waited nearly a half-an-hour.
"Well, he didn't say how long it would take to pass…" Amanda joked.
Happy to have a dry walk to the shuttle stop, they waited in the queue for the next bus back to the ship. Once it came, the seats filled up quickly. Lee began to stand to offer his seat to a very pregnant woman but Amanda hopped up and perched on Lee's lap, giving her seat to the expectant mother.
"I like this option a lot better," he said, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.
"Mmmmm. Me too."
"I think we've been spending too much time around Tad and Dixie. I can't keep my hands off of you no matter where we are," Lee said as Amanda laughed.
Back aboard the Princess Martha, they showered, changed, and set out to grab a quick bite from the buffet for dinner.
As they were on their way out of the buffet - while finishing up soft-serve cones - a scrawny and overly-tanned man sidled up to Lee.
"Sure beats tinned beans while out on an Egyptian dig!" he exclaimed with a heavy Yorkshire accent.
"Who was that?" Amanda asked after he'd walked off.
"Oh… Uh, that was Leo. I met him in town, while you were buying your souvenirs."
"I thought we weren't making up stories about ourselves anymore."
"Force of habit. It just happened." Lee shrugged.
Amanda chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I've given up my lying ways."
They walked through the grand hall and sat down to listen to the steel drum band that was playing.
"Lee, look," Amanda leaned over to whisper.
"What? Where?"
Amanda pointed at the glass elevator that was rising above the plaza. Lee looked up to see Dixie and Tad, engaged in their favorite pastime.
"Do you think they know it's a glass elevator?"
"I'm pretty sure they don't care, and I'm starting to understand." Lee illustrated just how much he could relate, by coaxing Amanda to come and sit in his lap.
Amanda smiled and leaned back against his chest, feeling content and safe... and loved. She pushed aside the troublesome implications of that feeling, which threatened to put a damper on their last night of the cruise.
Lee took a deep breath, his nose nuzzled into her neck. He sighed and tried not to think about what complications their physical relationship might bring when the cruise was over. He was just so happy and at ease right here and right now, and he never wanted that feeling to end.
They sat that way until the band finished their set and their fellow audience members began to disperse.
"What do you say we try out the tub?" he whispered in her ear.
"Absolutely."
They were soon in their suite, quickly shedding their clothes and getting distracted by touches and kisses as they waited for the tub to fill. Once it was nearly full, Lee turned the jets on and they climbed in.
"It really is enormous," Lee commented.
"I'll say," Amanda teased...
After they took full advantage of the tub, they kissed sweetly and caressed each other lightly before untangling their limbs. Noticing the pool of water they'd sloshed over the edge of the tub, Lee grabbed a towel and put it on the floor to mitigate the flooding.
They took turns rinsing off in the tiny shower and got ready for bed. Sated and happy, they lay together in a sleepy haze as they touched and caressed. They talked quietly about the fish they'd seen snorkeling, how hot she'd looked in her bikini, how sexy his chest was when covered in droplets of water as he walked on the beach, their fellow passengers on the ship, and about a million other details of the previous few days.
Leisurely kisses and soft touches over a couple of hours gave way to more and more sensual caresses, until they were making love again...
"Amanda, that was…" Afterwards, Lee could barely conceptualize how he felt in his own mind, forget trying to put it into words.
"Yeah. It sure was." Amanda groped her arm around to find his hand to hold. She understood his inability to describe their lovemaking.
Eventually they rose from the bed and cleaned up before returning to snuggle under the covers and sleep until morning.
END CHAPTER FOUR
END OF CHAPTER NOTES: Apologies to Yorkshire archaeologists.
