"Okay, on the count of three and you can't chicken out," Sky said. She eyed Marcos. "One, two, three."
Knox, Marcos, and Sky put food into their mouths and chewed. Marcos chewed once before swallowing quickly and making a face while Knox chewed a few times and swallowed. Sky tried not to laugh at the expression on Marcos's face as she calmly chewed and then swallowed.
"That was awful," he complained between drinks of coca cola.
"It wasn't that bad," she said.
"I just ate a cricket. For all I know, its jumping around in my stomach trying to get out," Marcos said. He grabbed a street taco and shoved the whole thing in to his mouth.
"I always try to get him to eat weird things when we are on tour but he always chickens out," Knox said. He grabbed a street taco for himself. Sky caught Manny's attention behind the counter and signaled for more tacos.
"What's the craziest thing you have tried?" she asked Knox. He thought about for a moment, finishing off the taco.
"Probably what I ate in Japan. It was some sort of underwater animal. I can't remember the name." He wiped his hands with a napkin. "It was weird though. Jelly like and slimy. I took one bite but that was enough for me. How about you?"
"Probably fish eyes. Manny over here is always offering me weird food to eat," she said. She nodded her head towards the overweight middle aged man behind the counter. "How about you Marcos?"
"Before today," he said, throwing a disgusted look at the plate of cooked crickets, "sushi."
"Sushi? You really aren't an adventurous eater," she said.
"If hamburger and fries were alright for our founding fathers then they are alright for me," Marcos said.
Sky had watched Knox and Marcos try to hide their disbelief when she had signaled for their ride at the port. There were few taxis and if you were able to find one, you spent your years salary to get to where Sky wanted to go. Instead of taxis, there were small motor bikes pulling carts behind them.
"I won't fit," Marcos said. Suspiciously eyeing the rickety looking cart.
"No, it will be fine," Sky said. She climbed into the cart.
The cart was made out of wood and had two benches facing each other. There was a metal frame that rose above it. In stormy weather the driver would attach plastic for some shelter from the rain.
"Come on." She waved for Knox and Marcos to join her. She watched as they looked from each other to the cart and then to her. "No, it's fine, you don't have to come. Bianca and the other girls are expecting you anyways," she added playfully.
Knox shook his head and climbed up into the cart. Marcos reluctantly followed.
"My muscles fill constricted," he said as the cart lurched forward. His shoulders were pulled forward as he tried to keep his arms in the cart.
"I think that's your shirt," she said.
"You're jealous," Marcos countered. He flexed his muscles. "Bam!" He struck a pose.
"Ahh my eyes," she yelled. She covered her eyes and laughed.
"Marcos likes to show off for the ladies," Knox chuckled.
"Really? I couldn't tell," Sky said.
The motor bike hit a pot hole and the cart jumped, sending the three of them into the air.
"What's life without a little adventure?" she said, with a smile when all three of them had returned all body parts back in to the cart.
"A good thing," Marcos grumbled. He gave up and sat on the floor between the two benches.
"I think that shirt might be squeezing all the fun out of Marcos," Sky said to Knox.
"If I wasn't stuck down here I would throw you overboard," Marcos said.
The cart came to a sudden stop, throwing Sky into the back board and Knox into Sky.
"Ow," she said. She rubbed her head where Knox's head had collided with hers.
"You're have a tough head," Knox said. He returned to his seat, massaging his head.
"Why thank you," she said.
She stood up to see why the cart had stopped. There in the middle of the road was a herd of sheep, moving slowly.
"No matter where you go, you can never escape traffic," she said.
"At least they have better hair then the traffic in LA," Knox said. He watched the sheep clear the road.
They reached the edge of a busy town a few minutes later and Sky yelled something to the driver. When he came to a stop, she jumped down and moved to talk to him, Knox and Marcos following her.
"You ready to eat the best food ever," she asked them. She led the way, winding through tents filled with vendors. She stopped at a roughly made stand, where the heat and smell from the food on the grill was billowing out onto the street.
"Any more crickets?" Manny asked, laughter in his eyes as he watched Marcos's reaction.
"I think we're good," Sky said. "Do you guys want any more tacos?"
"I'm good," Knox said. He lightly patted his stomach. "How about you Marcos?"
Marcos thought about it for a moment.
"Maybe a few more? Make sure the cricket in your stomach has enough to eat," Sky said. Marcos shook his head and pushed the plate in front of him away.
"We're all set Manny," she said. She pulled money out of her backpack and slid it under the plate.
"Let me get this," Knox said. He turned to Marcos to get his wallet.
"It's cool. Adios," she called out, waving to Manny. "You want to do some exploring?"
"How did you find this place?" Knox asked, as he walked beside Sky.
The warm air was filled with car noises as the drivers used their horn as much as the gas pedal. Knox picked up conversations going on all around him, the smooth flow of Spanish filling his ears.
"Anders and I found it," she said. "All the places by the port are so commercialized for the tourist. I wanted to find something authentic."
"Well, it's definitely authentic," he said. He watched people haggle over food. They passed a tent with a pig on a spike slowly rotating over a fire. "How did you end up working on a cruise ship?"
They turned down an aisle of vendors, Marcos casually slipping into his usual position behind them.
"After high school I was looking for a job," she said. "I like people. I like to travel. It seemed like a fun fit."
"No college?"
"No. Structured education hasn't ever really been my thing."
Knox noticed there was a slight bounce in the way she walked. "And your parents didn't mind?" he asked.
"It took my mom some time but oh! you have to try this!" She got distracted and moved towards a stand.
Knox followed and watched as the two men cut open large watermelon sized lime green fruit and caught the juice from it.
"This is the best," she said. She took two plastic cups from the woman behind the table and offered them to Knox and Marcos.
"I promise you'll like it," she said, seeing the wary look on Marcos's face.
Knox took the cup and took a sip of the cool, sweet juice.
"What is this?" he asked. He took another sip.
"It comes from a fruit that is native to this area. There," Sky said, pointing to the large fruit. "I told you it was good." She smiled, as Marcos finished his cup.
"Dos," she said to the woman behind the table, holding up two fingers. She offered Knox and Marcos the cups and grabbed her own, placing a few bucks on the table.
"Gracías. What about you guys?" she asked as they continued walking. "How did you get into music and security?"
"Well, there weren't many choices for Marcos here with his muscles," Knox said. "It was either security guard or circus freak."
"I obviously chose the worst out of the options," Marcos said. He grabbed Knox in a headlock.
"You're right, Knox doesn't have anything on the bearded lady," Sky said.
"Hey!" Knox said. He pulled himself free.
"Yeah, come on," Marcos said. "Don't compare Knox to the bearded lady, that's insulting to the bearded lady."
"You guys are hilarious. A real comedic act," Knox said, flatly.
"You know I'm only joking," Marcos said. "You're way prettier then the bearded lady."
"Nice save," Sky said.. "So it was the circus or this for Marcos. How about you? How did you get into music?"
Knox had to hide that he was so taken aback by the fact that she didn't know every detail about his life. Most girls he encountered could usually rattle off the details of his life better than he could.
"My parents are in music. My dad is a producer and my mom a songwriter," he said, finding it refreshing to be the one telling his story. "I was raised in the industry."
"Did you have a choice or was music alway your future?"
"I would like to say choice but when you start learning drums at three, piano at four and guitar at five, it just sort of becomes your life," he said.
"Did you ever think about doing anything else?" she asked.
"Within music? Yeah. I threw around the idea of being a producer like my dad and I liked to write songs like my mom but then I joined sixth grade choir and it just clicked."
"And the rest is history," she said.
"You know, that is the first time I have talked about how I got started in a while?" Knox said.
"Really? Don't you have to repeat that for interviews all the time?"
"Actually no. At this point I feel like everyone in the world knows every detail of my life," he said. "Interviewers don't usually bother with those questions. They're more interested in my newest music and who I am dating."
"Well, sorry I didn't brush up on my Knox Hamilton facts before you decide to crash my lunch," Sky joked.
"I guess I can forgive you."
"No, you're suppose to put it over your head," Sky said. Knox and Marcos were trying to wrap ponchos around their shoulders. "No, this way." She took the poncho from Knox and slipped it over his head.
"How do I look?" he asked. He struck a dramatic pose.
"Like you're missing something. Hold it," she said. She grabbed a large sombrero from a shelf a putting it on Knox's head. "Now, it's perfect!"
"Is this right?" Marcos asked. His arm was sticking out of the hole for his head, the rest flung over a shoulder.
"Not exactly," she said. She moved to help him out.
"It's like an inferno with this thing on," Knox said. He pulled the poncho off.
"Ta da," Marcos said. He took the sombrero from Knox and put it on.
"Magnifico!" Sky said.
"Look at these," Knox said. He found miniature sombrero hats on the table.
"Those are for hamsters," Sky said. "They take their sombrero wearing very seriously here."
"I think I'll get one." Knox reached into the backpack slung over Marcos's shoulder.
"Uno porfavor," she said to the man behind the table.
"How much is it?" Knox asked.
"Here just give me this." She pulled a five dollar bill out of his wad of cash and handed it to the man. The man gave them a big smile as they left, showing his front row of teeth with several missing.
"Now, you can take a bit of Mexico home with you," she said, as they left the tent.
They entered a wide circular courtyard, a large fountain in the middle. There were kids kicking a ball around. A middle aged man off to the side, strumming an old guitar, and several men and woman lounged lazily around him.
"What time is it?" Knox asked.
She glanced down at her watch. "Almost one. We should probably head back soon."
"Does the ship leave that early?" he asked.
"No, but I have to get back to work."
The kids kicking the ball around noticed them. They ran over, calling out Sky's name.
"Holá chicos," she said, as the kids crowded around them. The kids spoke quickly, faster than Sky could understand but she knew what they wanted. She reached into her backpack and pulled out some colorful paper.
"What's that for?" Knox asked.
"The first time Anders and I came here the kids were fascinated by us because we looked different, especially Anders with his blonde hair," she said. She bent down and started to fold the paper. "We made them paper airplanes. Now, every time I come back, I make them paper airplanes."
He watched as she folded the paper, then sent it sailing through the air. The kids chased after it.
"Can I have a piece?" he asked. She handed him a piece. He knelt down and started to fold. She watched as he folded the paper several times before he produced a fancy paper airplane.
"I'm impressed," she said. She took the plane and examined it.
"I'm something of a amateur paper airplane folder."
"You're a famous rock star and you can fold fancy paper airplanes. How do you keep the girls away? Oh wait...you can't," she joked.
The kids came back and crowded around Knox, spotting the plane in his hand. He sent the plane flying and the kids chased after it.
Knox jumped down from the cart first when they got back to port. He had grabbed his wallet from the backpack and went to pay the driver.
"How much?" he asked. The man studied him for a moment. Knox could sense Sky coming over, but she had already paid for too much and he was determined to pay for the ride back.
"Twenty dollars," the guys said.
Knox was a little surprised it was so much, but he handed him the money.
"How much did he charge you?" Sky asked as they walked back to the port entrance.
"Twenty, and here, don't say no," he said. He tried to give her a twenty dollar bill. She stuck her hands in her pockets and refused to take the money. "Sky, you paid for lunch and for the ride there. Let me pay you back."
"For what?" she said with a sly smile. "I only paid seven bucks for the ride there."
"What?" he asked.
"They have a little policy here where they charge double for people who speak English," she explained. Knox gave her a puzzled frown. "You should have let me do the talking."
"But..." he started to say.
"But...we're in Mexico. That's how it works," she said. "They have to make a living somehow. Why not off of ignorant tourist?"
"Thanks for that," he said.. "First, you say the bearded lady is better than me. Then call me ignorant. You really know how to make a guy feel special."
"Aww come on," she said. "I had to do something or your head might get to big with all the girls falling all over you."
"So this is for my own good?"
"Yeah. You can get serious neck problems. I'm saving you from the chiropractor bill."
"You're really too kind."
"Knox there you are," a voice said close behind him. He turned to see Bianca and a group of girls a few feet away, walking towards him.
"If there isn't anything else you need sir, enjoy the rest of your day," Sky said when he turned back to her. She gave him a quick smile before she spun away and headed back to the ship. Knox watched as she left, knowing the girls would be surrounding him in a moment.
"We missed you at lunch," Bianca said. She slipped her arm through his, another girl taking his other arm.
"Where did you wander off to?" Everleigh asked.
"I went to grab something from the ship and got caught up in business talk with my manager," he explained.
"We were just coming back to find you," Marcos added.
"How was lunch?" he asked the girls.
"Less than satisfactory but it was probably the best this pit had to offer," Bianca said. "I can't wait until Grand Caymans. They have the most amazing shopping and one of daddy's business partners has a house there. He called ahead to arrange a small gathering. You must join us Knox."
"Do you guys want to have a look around?" Knox asked.
"There really isn't anything to see," Everleigh said.
"Let's head back to the ship, we can go lounge by the pool," another girl said. The group was already starting to head that way.
"We brought you some food from the restaurant. We knew it was the best you could find," Reese said. She handed Knox a large takeaway bag. "It's salmon tacos, your favorite."
"Thanks." He handed the bag to Marcos. He couldn't imagine eating anything more after all the street tacos he had.
"Too bad your parents aren't on the cruise," Everleigh said. "Our parents would get along great. My fathers a lawyer in the music industry. And I know your mom likes to shop at Bergdorf and that's the only place my mom will shop. She says anything less and it's just not worth it."
"Interesting," he said. The last time he had tried to give his mother a fancy present, she had returned it and given the money to charity.
"How come Grant didn't come on the cruise?" Reese asked. "The only thing better then one hot Hamilton is two hot Hamilton brothers!"
This got shouts of agreement. Knox tried to pretend a tacky tie-dye shirt had caught his attention.
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Stop! Hammer time! Hahaha just kidding!
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