A Fresh Start
Chapter 13
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Ranger's POV
I had to chuckle to myself as Stephanie sat in the front seat, staring at the boat waiting at the loading jetty. I opened her door without her realising I was there. "Babe? Are you ready to go?"
"That's our boat? It's a big boat, bigger than I expected."
"Is that a problem?" I asked, amused.
"Oh. No," she paused as she looked at me, then the car, as I closed her door, and back at the boat. "I was just wondering, you know, if it might also be a Porsche?" she said dryly, her eyes twinkling with humour.
"Babe." I chuckled at her response as she rolled her eyes.
"But if it helps, it has twin Volvo diesel engines, or Cummins. Porsche don't do boats as a rule, but there is planning for an electric boat, more for lakes. Porsche Macan, I believe." I winked and she nudged me playfully, giving me a classic eye roll. I couldn't stop the full out grin. She amuses me. "Seriously?" I nodded. Who would've thought that, Porsche Macan?
She helped unload the bags from the back as the crew came over to collect them, the hamper and other refreshments, using one of the marina barrow dock carts to load them aboard Miami Babe. Within minutes we were on board, the engines already rumbling and warmed up.
The skipper, Rex, went through the mandatory safety procedures, introducing his crew Mack and Horatio. I knew these guys before they retired from the army, Rangers as well, but Horatio was a SEAL. They were our designated boatmen. We trusted them with their discretion and efficiency, but most of all, with our safety.
Grabbing a bottle of water for each of us, I took her for a little tour of the boat while Rex manoeuvred out of the marina, heading out to sea, towards one of the islands. She admired the interior cabins but was excited to be outside with the light breeze on her face. Stephanie tied her hair in a ponytail, donned her sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. The water had that glass-like silky surface, with the wonderful turquoise colours as we cleared the sandy areas before coming to the deeper waters.
She sighed in awe, "Omigod. This is so magical."
Rex said, "This is the perfect time for snorkelling, in the middle of the day when the sun is high in the sky it makes the turquoise waters even clearer. We'll take you to a spot close to that island, which is about five to ten miles off shore, to the edge of the barrier reef, in deeper waters, perfect for snorkelling. It will vary from 5 to 30 feet deep. Mack and Horatio will point out some of the special features like the many colourful corals and coral colonies, and also the amazing and delicate sea fans. There's such a great variety to see with lots of tropical fish. There's no rush, so enjoy the scenery and the colours and beauty of our natural wonders. Staying together is important as you can understand."
He checked with Stephanie on using her equipment and realised that she was a keen swimmer but, even though she has not experienced ocean snorkelling, she was very familiar with the techniques. He smiled at me with another nod.
Mack called out from the flying bridge above. "Dolphins! In the bow wake!" with a huge grin on his face, as Stephanie squealed in delight. She moved with ease on the boat like someone who is familiar with boating as she leaned against the bow railings and looked down. She lay down and watched the dolphins bow surfing, taking photos and delighting in their playful antics. I lay beside her and chuckled along with her delight.
Then I realised it. Joie de vivre. That's it. She has it in spades.
"That's the first time I see that in real life. Dolphins bow surfing! So awesome! I've only seen that on documentaries. This is so cool already. I can tick that off my bucket list." She grinned happily. As she sat up, she sighed, smiling at me. "This was a great idea." I just smiled back at her, agreeing wholeheartedly.
The boat slowed down and the crew dropped the anchor.
"Where can I change?"
"Your bag is in the main cabin, the first one I showed you."
With almost childlike enthusiasm, she was off to change into her swimming gear. I changed into board shorts and a tank top, grabbed some towels and met the crew in the cockpit. I froze.
Madre Dios! She has a killer body! In a bikini! A banging body. With the light long-sleeved white shirt and the sarong tied at her hip, she was sexy as hell but they did not hide the evidence.
"Babe. Looking good," I said after a slight pause in trying to maintain my composure. I smiled, hoping my tongue was not hanging out or drooling. Drooling? Pfft. I do not do drooling. But my voice was a bit deeper. Rex winked at me. He figured it out.
Stephanie was already busy testing various masks for the right fit, pulling her hair back out of the way, knowing exactly the right procedure, when she stopped and turned to look at me. I had to hold back a grin but she maintained her composure after a mini pause. Her blue eyes had widened and she had swallowed visibly.
"Not bad yourself, Carlos. You'll do," she smirked with a wink at Rex. Cheeky and sassy. But she let out an exhale that I did hear, so I nudged her with my hip. "You'll do? Keep that up and I might have to keep you." Holy shit! Who said that? Everybody laughed. Me included. Dios! I didn't intend to vocalise that last part. Her smile was gorgeous and set me at ease.
Rex explained the diving rules and some simple signals. Because the water was a pleasant 85 degrees we could swim in just our swim suits. By now, we were fitted out with a snorkel, mask and fins and were ready to go. Horatio and Mack were joining us. They had a camera with lights so we could admire the true colours. Rex, as skipper, was staying aboard, on watch. We were set. Mack and Horatio put the other unwanted items in the storage boxes and stowed them neatly in the hatch. We noticed that there was only one other boat, much further away, thankfully.
Stephanie grabbed the binoculars, zooming in on the island, then scanning along the shoreline, doing a 270 degree scan of the area around us. She was curious. I saw her linger on the boat before putting them down beside Rex.
"In peak season, this would be like a boat parking lot! It gets crazy. Luckily not today." Rex said as he indicated around us.
Stephanie removed her shirt and her sarong and I couldn't help but linger on her body, her long slender legs and that gorgeous bikini. I tried for nonchalant and cool, but I failed. So, I distracted her in return. I removed my tank top and she did the same, a full body scan, lingering on my abs, licking her lips, and then smiled looking me right in the eye. She blew a loose hair from her face which had flushed a little, but she recovered quickly.
"You have done this before, haven't you?" Rex bent over double with laughter. "She's a keeper," he said to me. "Cute and sassy. I like her, Carlos. If you don't keep her I might." I just grinned at her wise-cracking remark.
That's when I noticed she had a small but distinctive tattoo on her left hip. Dayam! It was simple yet beautifully stylised. No colour, just black, with fine lines which were quite delicate and ornate. I was curious. It was just as long as my index finger. I really wanted to have a closer look, and stroke it. Kiss it even. Oops. Down boy! Where did that come from? But, it seemed significant. She smiled at my wonder, raising an eyebrow at my curiosity. I really liked it. It seemed to be a bird of some kind. But she didn't allow me to linger, not that she was trying to hide it, as she turned around with a cheeky grin, indicating she was ready for the snorkelling adventure. So was I. This was gonna be good. Was it hot in here?
Stepping off the wide platform down the stairs at the stern with our gear, we put our fins on last of all before we slipped into the water, following Horatio and Mack, who had the diving marker flag on a little floating ring attached to a line tied to his waist, to indicate our position. Rex would know where we were and if any other craft were to come near us, the marker flag would indicate snorkellers below. They really had safety in mind in all aspects.
It was instantly evident that Stephanie was very at ease in the water as she moved so effortlessly. Of course, she swims, just a lazy 2Ks. She turned to look at me and grabbed my hand giving it a firm squeeze. Her eyes sparkled. I felt a zing race up my arm and so did she it seems. Removing the mouthpiece from her lips, she grinned and said, "This is amazing! Let's go." As she returned her mouthpiece, off she went at a smooth steady pace, while I momentarily enjoyed the view of her cute ass bobbing along. A chuckling from above made me look up, seeing Rex pointing at me. "You are so done for, Carlos. I think you have just met your match. Go on. Catch your girl!"
I grinned and had to agree with him as I quickly swam up alongside Stephanie. She gave me the thumbs up sign followed by a thumbs down, before diving down smoothly, kicking her fins with ease to get to the ledge where Mack had the torch shining. She signalled excitedly for me to join them. A bunch of lobsters were hiding, huddling together, wiggling their long feelers in our direction as they backed further under the ledge. Oh yes. That would make a nice tasty lunch, but it was off season. Lucky for the lobsters!
As Rex had explained, there was lots to see. Stephanie was energetic diving down and lingering at the reef before coming lazily to the surface for some air. Down again, pointing at the truly amazing colours and marvelling at the many schools of little tropical fish. I found myself mesmerised with her style and ease under water. Horatio was taking photos as she marvelled at the fan corals and the colourful coral colonies. With his hands, Mack signalled "turtle", then pointed nearby. Stephanie grabbed my hand again, squeezing it excitedly, her eyes wide in awe. She covered her mouth as she suppressed a squeal. She was so happy and it made me smile. I noticed she was able to stay down longer, holding her breath almost as long as Horatio, the trained SEAL, that's how relaxed she was which indicated how good her stamina was. Horatio was impressed too.
Some larger fish swam by including a lazy, slow-moving giant grouper and then some stingrays cruised below us. Stephanie was also taking photos but waited for the torch to illuminate their true colours.
Some time later, Mack looked at his watch, pointing at it, and signalled up, indicating that it was time we made our way back to the boat. We'd been an hour in the water and it was time to hydrate and refuel.
Back on board, she was calm and smiling broadly as she removed her gear, sitting with her towel wrapped around her, as we all drank from our water bottles. Water to rehydrate was important. She quickly rubbed herself dry, wrapping the towel around her hips and putting on her white shirt which she had brought down with her, tying it neatly at the waist.
"That was so awesome. It really is beautiful down there. So much better than in a movie or on a TV screen." She was only quiet for a moment before she side-hugged me and thanked me profusely, resting her head on my shoulder. Man. That feels so nice. "That was so a-mazing! Thank you for suggesting this. It's an epic experience I will never forget. Rex, Mack, Horatio, thank you too. And you have all this on your door step? Wow!" They appreciated her gratitude and smiled at her indulgently. I felt the loss when she parted from that nice contact.
"You're very good under the water," Horatio praised her. She smiled coyly, nodding with a slight humble shrug and a subtle blush.
"I have always loved to swim, especially at Point Pleasant. But there was nothing there that could possibly compare to this. I was in the school swim team. I used to challenge myself to swim the full length of the pool underwater. The best I managed was a lap and a half, 75 metres, without fins of course. I swim laps regularly."
"Yes," I added with a grin, "like a lazy 2Ks."
We were all impressed. Just then Rex returned from the galley. Horatio went to the galley to assist.
They brought over a large platter with a variety of finger foods, snacks and bread sticks, with small bread rolls around a selection of deli meats, cheese and crackers, tomatoes, olives and pickles. Another platter had an impressive array of fruit which looked tantalising. Rex had warmed up some crumbed fish goujons on another tray, and, in a large bowl, there were some freshly peeled king prawns with lemon and lime wedges, plus a tangy cocktail dip. Ah, yes, Thousand Island dressing. Perfect. Stephanie agreed as she hummed at the tangy taste, her gorgeous blue eyes smiling.
Stephanie ate sedately while sampling a bit of everything. Grabbing a small bread roll, she stuffed it with ham, pastrami, salami, cheese, pickles and olives, and took a hearty bite. Humming in approval again with her continental combination, I marvelled at her appetite. The way she ate the fruit was sexy and sinful. A nudge from Rex brought me back to my senses. It appears I had stopped eating while mesmerised by her eating. I was openly staring and Stephanie was blushing, though not out of embarrassment as she nibbled her bottom lip. Oh, yes, that also caught my attention. The three of them were smirking at me. Stephanie looked up and smiled radiantly. "You guys! Play nice. Carlos has made all this possible for me. We only met the day before yesterday."
That obviously surprised them. "Seriously?"
"Soul mates," the three of them said softly, nodding their heads reverently at each other. She looked at me and smiled. "Yes. Well, we do have a rather unique connection already. Did Carlos tell you about his cougar?"
"His cougar?" they asked together in surprise.
I stared at her with the sudden subject change and laughed. "Nice segue, Babe."
I shook my head as the three of them nudged each other and mouthed "Babe" with another smirk while raising their eyebrows at each other.
Just to humour her, I explained the events and how Stephanie was able to analyse said cougar's wealth and likely intentions. They laughed and thought the idea of me being a cougar's eye candy, especially as a toy boy, was hilarious. She has totally disarmed these ex-military men with such panache and ease. How did she do that? I gave her that look that said, "Payback is on the menu. You'll get yours, Babe." They all laughed again, heartily with tears in their eyes, slapping their thighs. Shit. Did I say that out loud? Steph nodded at me. But, there was that little flush again.
"A closed mouth gathers no foot, Carlos. Bring it on." I sighed and laughed along. I can handle that. Someone has tampered with my mute button, it seems. I'll have to be more careful and alert. Hm. A challenge eh? Bring it on, indeed. I am only slightly tempted. Pfft. Who am I kidding? I am a lot tempted! Oh, the possibilities!
"After lunch and a little rest, we're going to move to a shallow area, a bit closer to the island, further to the south side. You'll go in the Zodiac then swim in water that varies from one foot to 5 feet, maybe 10 at the most. There you will see some different reef wildlife. It's best to float slowly, drift with the current, or even hold your position for more than a few seconds, before you start to see more activity and diversity, remembering that you are closer to the wildlife. They tend to hide because you may be a threat being so close."
Stephanie was abuzz with the new experiences, giving me a radiant smile as she squeezed my arm. "This is gonna be so good. I'm loving this." I smiled, loving her appreciation and joy. Once again, her touch gave me that tingling sensation. I could tell she felt it too.
"Expect to see smaller creatures like anemones, crabs, lots of colourful and varied sponges, sea stars and smaller corals, and, if you're lucky, maybe an octopus or two. They can be very shy and if you do see one, watch how they can change the texture and colour of their skin. It is amazing. This will be a shorter stop before we move on. But, I recommend you put on some sunscreen before we leave."
"Aye, aye, Captain," she cheekily replied. He handed me the bottle while Stephanie removed her shirt and turned her back to me, waiting with a grin. Oh boy. My hands covered her back and shoulders but kept lingering at her hip, to check the tattoo out some more. I was already visualising her naked and had to check myself for thinking that way. Down boy!
Her moans as I rubbed in the sunscreen were like torture, but I maintained my composure, even when she said, "You have good hands, Carlos." I turned around and she reciprocated. I detected a tiny squeal of anticipation as she squeezed the lotion onto her hands. Dios. That was good. "Nice muscles," she purred. "You have a nice strong back. Mm-mm." Her teeth bit her bottom lip trying to suppress a little moan from escaping. There was no mistaking how her nipples were now clearly on high beam after that. Yikes. Mine too.
Rex was clearing the lunch while Horatio and Mack pulled in the Zodiac from the tow line, bringing it to the stern of the boat. I watched as Stephanie did her legs and her front, really wishing it was my hands rubbing the sunscreen onto her tummy and her chest, around her breasts. Whoa! Down boy. But, funnily enough, she eyed me the same way as I rubbed in the sunscreen in the same places. Her appreciative, longing look was not lost on me. This was so hot. Looking, watching, appreciating, but not touching. It was like foreplay.
"You know, you have a mighty fine body, Carlos," she wasn't afraid to admit, although a bit breathily.
I smiled. "Ditto, Steph. I work hard to keep in shape, and, by your tone, so do you." She smiled and nodded in agreement. Grabbing her snorkelling gear and passing me mine, we went down the steps to the Zodiac that was humming ready to go. Mutual admiration time was over.
Although, I have to confess, I did enjoy watching her move under the water in the deep. This was a great idea. Mack dropped anchor and set the diving marker as is the protocol. Horatio went over the side first checking the anchor and giving the thumbs up to go.
Swimming close to the shoreline, the shallows had us mainly floating and drifting on the surface, with only an occasional dive down for a closer look. I noticed she had no trouble equalising her ears in the deeper water, and here in the shallows, she was able to hold her position easily. Her breathing was relaxed. Obviously, she really was in her element. She really was beautiful to watch.
Sure enough, we did see a curious octopus who played hide and seek with her coyly. She pointed excitedly and her smiling eyes showed her excitement. All the things Rex indicated we might see were there for us to enjoy, as if they were cued for the show.
As me made our way back to the Zodiac, paddling leisurely, once again she grabbed my hand and squeezed, but didn't let go until we arrived, climbing in easily. Removing her mask and snorkel, she sighed happily and then removed her fins.
"That was totally awesome! Did you see that octopus? I couldn't believe the colour and skin texture changes. This has been the best day. I can't thank you enough, Carlos."
"De nada. I am enjoying this just as much, especially through your delight. You make it fun. To be honest, I don't make the time for this type of experience and you've made me realise how valuable this is. We need to make more time to experience adventures like this from our normal work and other things we do. Food for thought."
Horatio brought up the anchor, mindful not to damage any of the reef, before we were heading back to Miami Babe. From the cooler, Mack handed us some water bottles.
Back on board, dry and rehydrated, Stephanie was explaining to Rex how he seemed to have orchestrated what we saw. He grinned and looked at all of her photos. She blushed when he spotted the ones of me.
"Interesting Miami wildlife here in the Keys. Thankfully no sharks today, I hear. We get the occasional grey nurse cruising by but they are fine and relatively safe." He was grinning at me when he alluded to the Miami wildlife.
The double entendre was not lost on either of us as Mack and Horatio chuckled.
Using his computer, Horatio downloaded the photos he took. They were amazing with the close ups of the underwater life but also the photos he captured of Stephanie, and me, in the water, separate and together. Just like Abuela, he had captured some special moments. We do have chemistry. It shows. She nudged me, like she was thinking the same. He gave each of us a memory stick with all the photos.
"I am going to make a photo book, so I can relive this wonderful experience. Thank you so much."
By the time we arrived back at the marina, Stephanie had showered and washed her hair, changing back into her shorts and t-shirt. She was glowing from the sunshine but not sunburnt thankfully. It only occurred to me then, her natural beauty was not marred with any make-up.
After expressing our gratitude, we said our farewells and walked back to my car.
"I need coffee now," she said decisively.
"As you wish. I know just the place."
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