Short & Sweet | ✓

Tour Boat

I step onto the tour boat on shaky legs. The walkway sways slightly beneath my feet and I cling to the railings for dear life. It's a big boat, the bottom floor made from clear glass so you can go down and look at the sea life, I already know there is no chance of me going below sea level. My mum struggled enough convincing me to go on the boat altogether, it was my little brother's excited face when my mother suggested the idea that swayed me. I couldn't let him miss out just because I'm a wuss.

So here I am, already feeling sick, stood on the deck of a crowded boat. A voice comes over the loudspeaker announcing we'll leave the dock shortly and I take a deep breath.

"Are you sure you'll be alright if I go down with your brother? We can stay up here if you need us to, love." My mum eyes me worriedly as she holds my brothers hand, not taking her eyes off of mine even as he tugs at her excitedly.

"I'll be fine, I guess I'll just find some shade to stand in or something. You two go." I add a smile at the end in an attempt to make myself sound more believable. I can tell she isn't fully convinced, but she nods anyway.

"We'll see you in a bit, keep your phone close." She leans over to kiss me on the cheek before finally giving into my brothers relentless tugging and allows him to drag her down the steps leading to the clear bottom deck. I swallow as I watch them leave, the harsh glare of the sun causing me to sweat.

The boat lurches forwards and I stumble, my arms flailing as I brace to hit the hard floor of the deck, but it never comes, arms wrapping themselves around my waist and helping me upright once more. "Are you ok?"

I turn, and blood rushes to my cheeks as I look over at the boy who had caught me. He has white chino shorts on, showcasing an impressive tan, and an orange polo shirt with the tour boats logo on the breast. He looks at me, his eyes tinged with concern as they look me up and down.

His shirts suggests he works on the boat, but he doesn't sound Spanish and he must only be a year or two older than me.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thank you." I stumble, feeling my face burn as I realise his hands are still resting lightly on my waist. I feel the warmth of his touch through the thin material of my sundress and I stumble once more as the boat lurches again.

His grip tightens on my waist as my hands fly up to his shoulders to steady myself and the corners of his mouth lift into a small smile. "You get used to it." He says and it takes me a moment to realise he's talking about the movements of the boat.

I shake my head, laughing slightly. "I don't think I'm capable."

"Everyone's capable." He says, smiling as he holds my gaze.

"Excuse me, is there anywhere to buy a bottle of water?" We're interrupted when a woman comes up to us, directing her question to the boy I currently had my arms wrapped around. As soon as I realise, I jump back, lowering my arms and he lets his hands fall from my waist back to his side before turning to the woman, giving her a warm smile.

"If you just go through those doors and keep going till you hit the back wall, you'll find a mini shop where you can get food and drinks."

I slowly back away as he gives the woman directions, pointing towards the other end of the boat. I hear her thank him before wondering in the direction he showed her and watch as he looks around, his eyes scanning for something in confusion.

I turn away from him and weave my way through the crowds, trying to shake the feeling of his arms around me. Why could I still feel the warmth his hands had radiated? Why was I even still thinking about it? I shook my head, but that only served to disorientate me further as I stumble forwards into the railing around the edge of the deck.