Voyage of Discovery

Chapter Six

"I have other standards in men, apart from how much money they have!" smiled Melody. The morning wore on with more light hearted banter, yet for Winter she couldn't shake a feeling of angst. She desperately wanted to check her mobile for messages in case Dan had texted her after last night, but she didn't want to make it look obvious. Also, the name Alex made her hair stand on end, as it dredged up memories of her past and her relationship. Winter knew it was time for action, she couldn't sit and listen to the conversation any more. She desperately wanted to spend more time with Dan, now that they had reached the point of no return in their newly established relationship. But he would be working and she didn't want to draw attention to their relationship. Then she had an idea, she would include Dan in her list of crew to interview about the amenities offered to passengers on the ship. That way she could organise time alone with Dan and get some more work done on her article at the same time. When their meeting concluded it was late afternoon, so they moved on to another restaurant for lunch and more wine. Winter was anxiously waiting for an opportunity to make a dignified departure without drawing too much attention to herself. She was missing Dan and was desperate to be with him again. After downing her fourth glass of wine, Winter made hurried excuses, then pushed out her chair and stood up. She gathered up her handbag and laptop. Smiling apologetically she air kissed Claude and Melody and turned to leave. She deliberately ignored their curious and knowing glances. As Winter walked away, she glanced surreptitiously at her watch and noticed it was four o'clock. Hopefully Dan would be finished with the afternoon tour group by now. Returning to the ship, she made her way back to her cabin to deposit her belongings. Next, she followed up on her idea of interviewing crew members, so she spent time making appointments for the following day. Finally, she checked her phone messages and realised that Dan had sent her a text after their night together, so she felt guilty for doubting him before. She sent him a text back, explaining she was in her cabin and was he able to meet up with her to organise interviews with his staff in the next few days. Moments after she texted him he called her. "Win, it's me, I have to work until six but after that I'm free if you'd like to come to dinner with me, if you don't fall asleep again." He chuckled. The deep throaty sound sent shivers down her spine, and she smiled down the phone. "I would love to have dinner with you, Dan, do you want me to meet you somewhere?" 

"I will come to your cabin, and then we can decide which restaurant to eat at, but I know somewhere we can go that is really private..." Dan left the sentence unfinished, but Winter picked up on the innuendo. After she hung up, Winter immediately raced to her temporary wardrobe, to decide on her choice of dresses. Unfortunately, she wasn't expecting to be wined and dined so her sexy dress options were limited. Besides, she didn't even know which restaurant they were going to! After much thought and cursing her very light packing, she pulled out the little black dress she had packed in as a last resort. It was quite appropriate as the last time she had worn it was with Dan when they had still been together. The dress fitted like a sheath, knee-length and with a plain front but a cut-out back, criss-crossed with satin black ribbons. Winter peered into the mirror as she clasped on a turquoise coloured opal pendant, which she had bought on one of her journeys to a mining site in Western Australia. Lastly, she pulled on her silver stiletto sandals, as she hadn't packed multiple shoes. While she was clipping up her hair, Dan knocked on her door. Winter swallowed her nerves, and with pulse racing and hands shaking, she walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Dan standing there in jeans and a v-neck white shirt. "Hi, come in", Winter leant towards Dan and kissed him on the cheek, then stepped back to let Dan enter. Dan's gaze devoured Winter and her dress, his eyes glittered in anticipation of the evening. Winter felt strangely shy, suddenly she didn't know what to say, her throat was dry and she felt overdressed. "Do you want a drink before we go?" she asked, turning to prepare a glass of wine for them both. She heard Dan's shocked intake of breath as he noticed her backless dress. As she turned back to hand the glass to Dan, he was standing right behind her, so close that her hair flicked across his chest as she turned. "You look gorgeous Winter, I am trying so hard to be a gentleman, but I am finding it very hard to keep my hands off you." Winter smiled and took a gulp of her wine to steady her heart race, thudding in her ears. She really wanted to tell him she didn't want him to take his hands off her, but her confidence had disappeared when he had walked through the door. Instead, Winter said 'Shall we go?" She replaced her now empty glass back onto the table, and grabbed a glittery cotton wrap which she draped around her shoulders. Dan replaced his empty glass too and headed behind her out the door. "Where are we going?" Winter asked. "I have a very special place to show you, but we'll need to drive there, so I have a car ready. It's only a half hour drive, so it won't take too long." They made small talk about their jobs and people they had met on the cruise. They left the ship and walked to the car and just like last time, Winter was amazed how companionable it felt walking beside Dan, it felt like talking and walking with her best friend. In the car, Dan pointed out tourist spots and stopped the car for Winter to gaze at the sun setting over the water. It looked like a fried egg, with the golden yolk spreading across the sky, the edges of the clouds tinged pink as the yolk spread. Winter wished this evening would last forever, she vowed to remember it after she got home. "C'mon, we're nearly there." Dan said, coming up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. He murmured something to her in French, then whispered in her ear, "You are more beautiful than the sunset." Winter turned towards him and he caught her mouth with his lips. As the colours of the sunset turned into a professional water colour painting, Winter kissed Dan back. His kiss was firm yet gentle, loving yet frustrated with his hidden desires. The sky had darkened to a mellow glow so they reluctantly stepped away from each other. Dan took her hand and led her back to the car and they drove on in silence fraught with the tension of their desire. Winter glanced out of the window and felt puzzled when the car stopped in front of a lighthouse, instead of a restaurant. "Where are we?"  

"This is the Fiedel Lighthouse, the famous French explorer who discovered the island found the remains of a brick building and decided to restore what was left and create a lighthouse. He had the materials shipped from Europe so it was a huge project. Now it is not manned anymore, but it is still a tourist attraction to climb the 270 stairs and see the view. Well, are you coming? We have a long way to go yet, before we can rest. I hope you can walk in those ridiculous heels!" Dan grinned at her and then stepped back to let her walk in front. "I will walk behind you so I can appreciate the view better and catch you if you totter over," he smiled cheekily. "Well, I'm fitter than I look, I'll just take my shoes off and walk up in bare feet, no problem Mister show off!-But what about dinner? I'm starving already and won't the restaurant be closed by the time we get to the top?" Winter removed her shoes and dangled the straps from her fingers, while Dan reached into the back of the car to retrieve a blanket, a doona and the picnic basket he had prepared for their dinner. "Voila! Dinner is served madam! We are having dinner in the lighthouse!" Dan held up the picnic basket and waved it under her nose. "But no food for the person who can't make it to the top."  

"Oh, don't worry about me, I have the stamina of a horse, I'll beat you up and still have energy to burn" Winter teased, as she ran off to give herself a head start. At the entrance to the lighthouse, she had to stop and wait for Dan to catch up as he had the key to open the heavy door. "Are you sure we'll allowed to go in on our own? You didn't steal the key or something did you? It just feels devious doing it without a tour group." Winter whispered leaning against Dan's broad back. The sunset had disappeared over the hills and the darkness was approaching rapidly. Winter shivered as the temperature dropped. "I have special privileges; I'm not just the good looking activities organiser on the ship you know." Dan put the basket down on the ground and rummaged in his pocket for the key, finally pulling out an antiquated looking metal key. He unlocked the rusted metal door and it groaned on it's hinges as he pushed it open. The darkness of the interior was intense, compared to the romantic glow of the twilight outside. Winter grabbed the back of Dan's shirt not wanting to be separated from him in the unfamiliar environment. "Umm, what's your next plan?" Winter asked, her voice echoed in the cold, metallic darkness. "Don't worry, I have a torch. I didn't know you were afraid of the dark Win."  

Winter's reply came too quickly, giving away the fact that she was scared. "I'm not afraid, it's just that there is a lot of dark in here!" Dan turned on the torch and the beam instantly circled in front of them. He shone the torch around the interior, to illuminate the whitewashed walls. "Beautiful craftsmanship, look how solid the walls are and the wrought iron on that spiral staircase is beautiful, I don't know how they ever managed to transport it all here." Dan said in his tour-guide voice. "Can we skip the official tour and get on to dinner, I'm starving!!!!" Winter groaned. 

Dan jangled the key in his hand. "I just have to shut the door, I don't want any wildlife or strangers coming in and desecrating the place".  

"You think there are animals or people out there? Who would want to come here at night alone? We are in the middle of nowhere on impenetrable coast line, I think we would be safe to leave the door open!" Winter exclaimed, her voice sounding slightly hysterical, Nevertheless, Winter followed close behind Dan, grasping the cotton tails of his shirt as he walked back to the huge front door and leant against it with all his strength. The door clanged shut with a solid thump. Dan turned the giant handle of the door and felt his heart sink as it didn't move. Somehow it had locked itself shut. He tried using the key again, but nothing happened. He had his back to Winter so she missed the fact that the door locked shut. Maybe the lock had rusted over. "Well, it's definitely shut. Should keep us a bit warmer" . He didn't let Winter see his worry about the key not working, he would work out a way to get out of the lighthouse later. "Now let's attempt those stairs, the loser has to carry the basket back down the stairs". Winter snatched the torch from Dan's grasp and bolted up the first flight of stairs, holding the torch above her head so it shone some light behind for Dan.It wasn't long until she had to rest, her head down and her hands resting on her bent knees, puffing like she had run a marathon. "I thought you said you were a horse, " Dan teased, coming up behind her.  

"Not a horse, I said I had the stamina of a horse! But maybe I spoke too soon", winter spluttered, as she tried to speak and catch her breath at the same time. Eventually, after much bickering about who was the slowest and who could hold the torch, they arrived breathless at the top.