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“Well, here we are.” She made a sweeping motion with her arm. “Why don’t you go have a quick peek, hmm? This is one of our shorter stops, so you don’t have too much time to wander around, but why not check it out? What could it hurt?” She literally gave me a little prod with two fingers to get me moving toward the exit.
My mouth dropped open, but then I closed it, finding myself nodding. Besides making other people’s problems my own, I was also a people pleaser. “Okay,” I finally said. What harm would it do to get off for a little bit? Besides, it might make it easier to get in touch with Lucy.
“Wonderful!” Carol literally clapped her hands and bounced up and down, her giant bag full of papers and clipboards practically falling out the top.
With a tight smile, I headed off the boat for the first time, immediately noticing that the only people I could see were the ones who’d gotten off the ship. Did the locals absolutely hate this? I wondered if it was good for their economy or if the boat wasn’t there long enough for that.
I headed down the path behind the others, eventually ending up on a street lined with markets, stalls, and a few restaurants. The other people from the cruise were easy to spot. Loud and excited, they pointed at windows and ducked through doorways in couples and small groups.
I would’ve rather had nothing to do with any of them, but I could hardly pass for a local. Shaking my head, I stepped aside and checked my phone again. I had a couple of bars, so I dialed Lucy’s number.
“Hey!” She sounded happy to hear from me, so maybe she no longer felt bad about tricking me. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going,” I told her. “I finally got off the boat.”
“That’s awesome! Where are you?”
I looked around, trying to remember what the hell Carol had said this town was called. “Uhm, Sticka?”
“Sitka?” Lucy corrected with a giggle.
“Close enough.” It did kind of seem like the sticks compared to some of the larger towns we were supposed to stop at. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing special. Just got home from work. Are you going to see the sights?” Lucy asked me.
“I’m not sure there are that many sights, but no. It’s a quick stop. I guess the captain had to go to the bathroom or something,” I said with my dry humor.
Lucy laughed. Most people would’ve just thought I was being stupid, but she got me. “Silly. Well, you should go have fun. Don’t worry about me.”
“I know. I just miss you,” I admitted.
“Girl, you’re on a singles cruise. Meet someone single, and have fun! Have sex!”
I felt my face turning red just thinking about it. “I seriously doubt that is going to happen.”
“It could. If you put a little effort into it.” Lucy had no problem being straightforward.
“All right, darling,” I said in a ridiculous accent that came out of nowhere. “I’ll call you later.”
“Bye! Have sex!” Lucy shouted as I hung up and slipped my phone into the pocket of my sweater. I probably should’ve put on something slightly warmer, but I wasn’t planning on getting off the ship. Besides, it was still relatively warm compared to how it could get later in the night or the early morning around here, in my limited experience.
As I was speaking to my friend, I’d continued to walk and had managed to drift quite a ways down the road from where the cruise ship had docked. Looking around, I spotted a bar with interesting décor visible through the windows. The old maps and fishing gear intrigued me. I hadn’t checked to see what time the boat was leaving but figured we had a few hours. Otherwise, what was the point of stopping? I could just duck in, grab a beer or two, and then get back to the boat in plenty of time before it pulled away.
Stepping inside the bar, I noticed it was empty, except for one man. Dressed in the sort of clothes I would expect to see a fisherman wearing, including waders, he sat at the bar, sipping on a beer, looking at the back of the bartender. When he finally turned his head slightly in response to my entrance, I noticed how incredibly handsome he was. Dark hair, green eyes, a strong jaw, and a great build.Wow—if this is what one could catch in Sticka, Alaska, maybe I should throw in a line.
He raised an eyebrow at me, probably because I was staring, but then went back to his beer. I couldn’t blame him. Even on my most put-together days, I wasn’t a looker, and I certainly didn’t prepare myself for the chance of meeting a handsome stranger when I hurriedly left my stateroom. I’d been looking for a bar, but only the kind one finds on their phone.
Still, I’d probably never see this man again for as long as I lived, so I may as well speak to him. I decided to saunter over to the bar and take the stool next to him, even though the entire room was empty, so there were plenty of options.
With the grace of a baby deer, I made my way across the slick wooden floor, planning on pulling the seat out, climbing up, and smoothly ordering a beer. Instead, I took two steps, lost my footing, tripped over the leg of a barstool, and found myself plummeting right toward him.
Thankfully, he was more coordinated than I was and managed to get up and spin around just in time so that when I landed, it wasn’t on the floor. It was in his arms.
Staring up into his eyes, I asked myself if there was anything else in the world that could’ve been more embarrassing and decided the answer was absolutely no.
“Are you okay?” the man asked me, concern in his eyes.
All I could do was nod. He righted me, and I took a few deep breaths, absently missing the feel of his strong arms around me.
