Sail Away [COMPLETED]

Chapter 7 - "Nothing to worry about."

The first morning Ty had experienced the Hamilton's early morning energy, she had been impressed. But when they greeted her the next morning, after she had hung out late with Hudson and the crew, her admiration turned to annoyance. Their energy radiated off of them like sound waves, crashing over her delicate senses and she began to understand Hudson's grumpy disposition the morning before.

She hadn't had much to drink the night before, but her lack of sleep was making it feel like she had. Stepping off the boat in Mexico, the light had felt too bright and the sun too hot.

When the Hamilton party appeared a few minutes later, she had taken cover behind her coworker Kenny, hoping his body would shield her from the worst of their energy until she could finish her coffee. After chugging the rest of the cup, she could feel the coffee starting to clear her head. Even so, when Hudson found her and said good morning, she only heard indistinct sounds.

"You look rough," he said with a sunny smile.

"That's what every girl dreams of hearing in the morning," she grumbled, still focused on her coffee.

"You must have not followed Kate's drinking protocol."

She looked at him for the first time and saw he wasn't suffering from any of the after-effects she was. "I barely drank," she said.

"Then you must have been drunk on my company," he grinned.

She looked at him flatly. "I hope there's a protocol for that."

"There is. Spend more time with me." She glowered at him as he explained. "You see, the bad effects only happen when you are away from me. So, the solution is simple: the more time you spend with me, the less you suffer."

She eyed him suspiciously. "That seems very self-serving on your part."

"Completely, but I like hanging out with you."

She slowly smiled, his words buoying her up. "I guess being selfish every now and then isn't so bad."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Think what?" Kenny asked, tuning in to their conversation. He turned and gave Hudson a curious look.

"Mr. Hamilton here had a serious concern about there being spiders at the Ruins," Ty answered smoothly.

"Yes, I am deathly afraid of spiders," Hudson said, monotone. Even a deaf person could have heard the sarcasm, but Kenny was only half listening and nodded along in understanding.

"Nothing to worry about," he reassured Hudson. "Ty and I will take care of everything, and make sure you have a great time."

"I'm sure you will," Hudson said directly to Ty. She grinned widely. He gave her a daring look before he walked away.

She tossed her coffee cup in the trash and turned to Kenny. "Alright, should we get this show on the road?"

Ty loved the bus ride from the port to the ruins. The downtown area around the port was filled with tourist traps selling cheap trinkets and shirts. But once they were past that, the landscape became brightly painted stone walls surrounded by lush trees.

As they got closer to the ruins, the stone walls stopped and there were only trees. The foliage was so thick and tall, it cast the road into a deep shadow. Then they were abruptly thrown back into the sunlight as the tree line gave way to the ruins.

Over five years of working for the cruise line, Ty had led this excursion thousands of times, but she was still in awe every time they broke free from the trees. One moment they couldn't see much and the next there were the ruins, imposing and ancient. Everyone on the bus had kept up a steady chatter on the ride, but they fell silent as they took in the view.