“I’d like that. I hadn’t planned on doing anything at all except relax this trip but visiting Tuscania sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for inviting me. You’re certainly a wealth of information; it’s like having my own travel specialist.”
They enjoyed a leisurely dinner, chatting about different places they had been and what they liked or didn’t like about certain cities. They were going to skip dessert, but then Ben suggested perhaps they could share something, and Rob caved faster than he intended. “I’m going to need to find the gym at some point if I keep eating like this!”
Ben laughed. “You look fine to me. But we can both look for the gym if it will make you feel better.”
When the last forkful of pie had been consumed, Rob sighed, “The lemon meringue pie was delicious, but I’m still glad we shared. I need to pace myself since I’m on this ship for three weeks.”
After dinner, they walked to the Shore Excursion Desk on Deck 5 to inquire about the Tuscania trip. There was still space, so they booked it. Martina, who took care of them, explained that the tickets would be delivered to their cabins within the next day or so. She also reminded them that they should arrive together at the meeting place on the morning of the excursion to ensure that they would be on the same bus for the trip.
“Would you like to join me for a nightcap?” Ben asked.
“Sure. The Coral Reef Bar is down there,” Rob pointed, indicating the other end of the Promenade. “Alan and I used to make a game of having at least one drink in every bar on a ship when we first started cruising. As the ships got larger with more and more bars, it became quite a challenge.” His eyes widened a bit and he shook his head, laughing.
“Well as long as you didn’t try to do that in a single day, I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
“Oh, remind me to tell you about the time Sam and I tried something like that. It wasn’t pretty.”
Ben laughed heartily, then sobered. “I feel so comfortable with you, Rob. Thank you for sharing your time and all your cruise knowledge. This trip is so much better with you than it would have been by myself.”
“Happy to help,” Rob said, “I’m enjoying the time spent with you, too.”
The bar was surprisingly empty, so they grabbed a table and chairs off to one side and each ordered bourbon on the rocks when a server appeared. They sat in companionable silence and enjoyed the soft piped in music. “I’m amazed that it’s not more crowded. After all, there are thousands of people on board,” Ben commented.
“I think it has more to do with the fact that it’s the first night of the cruise. Some folks don’t plan to arrive ahead of time and those from the States were flying all night and are probably exhausted.”
After they finished their drinks, they took the elevator up to the Caribe Deck and Rob walked Ben to his cabin. “I’m just getting extra steps in,” he said, chuckling. “Perhaps I can put off looking for the gym for another day or two.”
When they arrived at Ben’s door, he turned to Rob, “Thank you for a lovely evening.” He leaned toward Rob and kissed him. “Would you like to meet for breakfast in the morning?”
“That would be nice. Call me, but not before nine please, I’m hoping to sleep in a bit tomorrow. And I had a wonderful time tonight, too.” Rob looked at Ben then leaned in and they kissed one more time.
