Book 3 of That North Carolina Summer.
What seemed like an exciting, love filled future for Aspen and Rylie is suddenly thrown into a whirlwind of pain and uncertainty when Rylie is in a life threatening surfing accident. As she's in a coma, Aspen st...
6.9.2022 - Wow, hey, it's been a minute hehe. I'm sorry it took nearly 3 weeks for this update! Things have been crazy haha. I've still been working on something else as well that I'm hoping to announce soon:) There issss smut in this chapter:) Hope y'all have had a good week! <3
Our room being on deck 11 had a lot of perks. One of them being that we got free access to some of the spa amenities, like the steam room and sauna. Another being that the door at the end of our quiet hallway led straight outside, and gave quick access to the lido deck.
A blast of air startles me as I open the hallway door leading outside, and Rylie laughs as I duck my head quickly. "You okay?" She asks, still laughing. "Did you think the air was gonna get you?"
"Stop," I laugh as I smooth my hair back into place. Well, as much as the baby curls would allow. "Why do they even have that?" I grumble, smiling when Rylie slips her hand back into mine.
"Maybe to keep the ocean air and humidity out?" She guesses, and I shrug. I'd google it later.
The moment we step outside, we're hit with the noise of music, talking and laughter. The Lido deck was one of the places on the ship that always had something going on, whether it was dancing, watching ice sculpting, or people just enjoying the sun, pools and music.
Despite it being several years since I was last on a cruise ship, I knew exactly where to go. It helped that I had religiously studied the deck plans beforehand. Mostly so I could impress Rylie with knowing where everything was. I keep a tight hold of her hand and lead her down the stairs along the edge of the ship, and we weave between person after person before finally reaching Guys Burgers. These were burgers unlike any other, coupled with the best fries in the world, and they were only available on this cruise line.
Another perk of early boarding was that the lines weren't long yet. We get in the line and before even a minute can pass, we have our food. We quickly grab some condiments and toppings before finding a table by one of the windows inside, but still in view of the activity of the deck. Even though we were technically inside, there wasn't a wall separating us from the lido deck, which was nice.
"The view from here isn't very nice yet, but once we're out on the water, it is so beautiful." I tell Rylie once we're seated. Right now, we could see pretty much the same view that we saw from our room.
"Doesn't the view get boring with just... endless water?" Rylie asks.
"Rylie," I gasp, feigning personal offense. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask that."
"Why?"
"Because it will be less embarrassing for you when you finally see that view tomorrow."
Rylie laughs, shaking her head. "You're talking up these things a lot, Aspen. I'm going to be really disappointed if it's not as good as you're saying."
"You won't be disappointed." I promise with a grin. "With the food, either. Not just the burgers." I say as we take our first bites. Rylie's eyes widen first before closing in satisfaction.
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