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Carter raised his voice to say, “Hey everyone, let’s do the Akrotiri ruins tomorrow.” He pointed to the distant building.
“Sounds delightful,” Tamryn drawled, shooting daggers as if Sienna had put him up to the outing.
Sienna wondered why Tamryn even agreed. She always seems so bored with everything.
But the others weren’t. Alyssa and Irene echoed each other with, “Awesome.” And the guys gave a resounding, “Yeah!”
Climbing back on their mopeds, they rolled off to their next destination. The road was rocky and full of potholes, and Sienna felt as if her teeth were rattling in her head. Heading along the coast, they parked once more, right next to a cliff edge, and Carter helped her off the scooter.
He removed his helmet. “Santorini has red beaches, white beaches, and this is a black beach.”
They all stood on the edge, looking down at the black sand below. The sun sparkled on iridescent bits of rock as the waves rolled in and out. Others had found the place and were sunbathing or frolicking in the water. Sienna finally made out the rocky path to the beach.
“Do you want to go down?” Carter said loudly to be heard over the wind. Everyone but Tamryn raised a hand. She grumbled under her breath, though not low enough to disguise her words. “If I’d known we’d do all this climbing, I would have worn different shoes.”
Carter laughed indulgently. “I told you. But you were talking and not listening.”
She wrinkled her nose at him, but they all made it down. While the rest were shod in walking shoes, Reed, Jamal, and Tamryn kicked off their flip-flops and ran knee-deep into the water. They mugged for selfies, and Tamryn asked a sunbather to take a picture of the group. The woman was delighted to do it and asked for one of her and her husband in return.
Back on the scooters, they motored out to the road, and Carter headed along the backside of the caldera. They roamed narrow dirt roads, sometimes having to backtrack if the trail didn’t lead anywhere. Sienna didn’t care. She loved the feel of her body against his, her legs bracketing him, her arms enfolding him while the glorious scenery flew by.
Cruising up to the higher points, they passed vineyards, the vines coiled on the ground instead of hanging on trellises. Tomato vines and vegetable fields stretched down the mountain as they roared along the top. Her mother was right, Santorini tomatoes were delicious whether topping a salad or fried into tomatokeftedes.
They rolled into a small village, and as with everywhere else on the island, there were at least two churches. Santorini seemed to have more churches than it did hotels and restaurants. They stopped at the ruins of an old castle, and when they got off their mopeds, Carter gave a brief history. “We’re in the village of Pyrgos, and these are the ruins of a Venetian castle. Though it’s still well-preserved, the 1956 earthquake caused extensive damage.”
“How do you know all this?” Reed asked.
Carter huffed out a laugh. “I read guidebooks.”
They clambered among the ruins, snapping pictures. Carter leaned in. “Pyrgos has the highest elevation of any town on Santorini. But the highest point on the island—” He indicated a peak behind them. “—is Prophet Elias Mountain. There’s an old monastery up there too.”
She gave him a smile. “You really do like your guidebooks.”
It was only when he was standing close enough to hear Sienna’s stomach rumble that he called out to the group. “Let’s get some lunch.”
All agreed, with hands on their stomachs and great groans.
They followed cobbled streets, past shops, cafés, and tavernas, until they found a little place that was to their liking. Seating themselves at three small tables on a wide patio, a towering tree shaded them from the midday sun while bougainvillea climbed a trellis behind them.
With no tables for a group of their size, Carter sat with her, the others nearby. Gyros were the specialty, but they were nothing like the gyros she’d had at home. The meat was tastier, the pita fresher, probably homemade, the spices more pungent. She bit into the gyro after dipping it into the small bowl of tzatziki. It was to die for. She’d ordered pork along with Jamal. Reed and Irene tried the lamb, and the rest had beef. All except Carter, who’d taken his with goat meat.
“Gross.” Tamryn grimaced, looking at his plate.
“Goat is a staple in Greece. Try it.”
Tamryn wrinkled her nose, but Sienna said, “I’ll try.” Carter held out the gyro, feeding her. “Hmm.” She wiped her mouth. “It’s a bit like lamb, but maybe gamier. With the spices, it’s yummy.”
She was about to tell Tamryn to try it, but the girl glared at her and pointedly turned to her beef gyro.
As everyone tucked into the meal, Carter said, “So tell me more about you.”
She licked the drizzle of tzatziki from the corner of her mouth and saw Carter’s eyes following the action. She liked the way he looked at her, as if she was something to savor. “I told you everything, about my job and all of that.”
“What were you like growing up?” He laughed. “You must have been a tomboy since you enjoyed climbing trees.”
She put a hand over her mouth, saying, “I was always climbing the trees in our backyard.” She swallowed the bite. “And my mother was forever telling me to get down.” She shrugged. “I guess I proved her right when I fell.”
He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Poor Sienna.”
