This is the second installment of the High Seas Adventures. It follows two characters originally set up in the first story. While you should be able to enjoy the story on its own merits, it will make more sense if you go back and read Chapter One first. Ch.1 Covers Saturday through Sunday. This covers Monday.
Monday:
It was after midnight when Ray finally fell asleep in the hammock on deck. It had been his watch, and he knew that Jake would not be leaving Allison's stateroom anytime soon. He has secured the boat for the night, and everything was ready fro him to catch a short snooze before waking the girls up for the next day's adventures.
They were anchored fifty yards out from the reef, in deeper water, since the ship was too big to get in close. They had a small inflatable dinghy, with a 25 horsepower outboard, and that would take them over to the reef the next day. Initially, they had anchored closer, but winds and currents were picking up, and Jake hadn't wanted to be that close if the anchor broke for some reason or another.
The water lapped at the sides of the ship, and the constant noise put Ray into a trance as he lay on his back, looking up at the stars. He was almost completely asleep when he felt the presence of another person up on deck. He craned his neck up and saw a tall, thin shadow moving toward him. He knew it wasn't Allison, since she was down below with Jake, and it was too tall to be the petite Rachel. It had to be Kate or Amy.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." It was Kate. She was dressed in a yellow sundress, and had her long blond hair pulled up into a hair clip. It was too dark for Ray to see if she had anything on underneath the dress.
"No worries Kate," Ray said, sitting up. "I was just looking up at the stars." He motioned for her to sit next to him. "Here, come join me."
"Thanks. It's so beautiful and peaceful out here at night. I don't think I've ever seen so many stars before."
"Yeah, I love sleeping up on deck when we're out here. No light pollution, so you can really see everything." He slid over on the rough fabric, allowing her to gingerly place her butt next to his. The boat shifted in the current, and they both slid towards the middle of the hammock, their bare legs touching. The feel of naked skin touching, together with the chill in the night air, made Kate's skin shiver. "Are you warm enough Kate?"
"Just a bit cold out here in the wind. I'm fine though." She crossed her arms under her chest, pushing her tits up, and exposing more flesh in the slit in her dress.
"Here, I have a blanket out here." He reached behind him and grabbed the small fleece cover. He placed it around her shoulders, and kept his arm wrapped around her. She pulled the blanket across her chest, covering up. Kate smiled. "Better?"
"Yes, much. Thanks." She shifted he weight a little bit. "Can I ask you a stupid question?" She giggled a little bit, then stifled it.
"Sure, anything." Ray smiled at her. "But I'm sure it's not as stupid as you might think."
Kate looked him in the eyes. "Do you ever get pirates out here? I mean, I know they're not like the movies with eye patches and parrots, but I heard that they are still active in these waters."
Ray smiled. "That's not a dumb question at all. The Caribbean still has its share of piracy, and you do have to be careful, but the Coast Guard and the Navy do a good job taking care of them. Personally, I have only ever seen one ship that I thought were pirates, but they were being arrested by the Coast Guard off the coast of Miami. We were sailing to the Virgin Islands, and we saw the whole thing go down. It was quite a sight, actually."
Kate seemed unconvinced. "But what about here? I mean this is a pretty big boat; obviously we'd be a prime target. It's just that this came to me all of a sudden that we have a lot of valuable stuff on board."
"Well, on the off chance that a pirate did find us, trust me, we have a few ways of protecting ourselves."
Ray was thinking of the small weapons locker below, in the crew quarters. Only Jake had the keys, but he was pretty sure that he could break the lock in a real emergency. They had one AR-15, two 12-gauge shotguns, and two 9mm Glock 19s with about 50 rounds for each. It seemed like overkill, but Jake had been a sailor for a long time, and he knew that if they were attacked, it could be hours before a Coast Guard or Navy ship could reach them. He had decided on preparation, and stocked his weapons accordingly. The cache was supposed to be a secret to the passengers, but Ray didn't feel like he was betraying anything by being vague.
Kate seemed satisfied by that explanation, reading between the lines, and settled back farther into the hammock. A small idea planted itself into Ray's mind, and he leaned farther back himself. The fabric swayed like it was going to tip, and Ray sat back up, and caught Kate.
"Whoa, I guess we can't both lean that way. Here, I have an idea." Ray swung his legs to the other side, and lay lengthwise. He put his hands on Kate's shoulders, and guided her to lie beside him, with his arm around her. He flapped the blanket once, and let it settle on top of the both of them. Then they both put their heads back and stared up at the stars. 'That's better, isn't it?"
"Yeah, this is absolutely perfect." Kate sighed, and snuggled closer to Ray. She barely knew this guy, but it was such a perfect situation for her, she didn't feel the slightest bit awkward.
They lay there chatting about the stars for a few minutes; Ray pointed out some of his favorite constellations. Suddenly, a meteor streaked across the sky.
"Shooting star, make a wish." Ray pointed.
"Ummmm. Ok, done. Kate proclaimed. She looked Ray straight in his eyes. "Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what it was, or it won't come true."