“I don’t.” Lori pointed to me. “Do you?”
I shook my head. “Not before I have more stuffed mushrooms. Where did that waiter go?”
“They’ll all be back around,” the pirate said. “And make sure you explore the rest of the ship.”
Lori and I both nodded.
“You’re lucky enough to be standing on a rare iron-hulled ship built in eighteen sixty-three! The first launch was five days before Abraham Lincoln’s infamous Gettysburg Address, and this lady has sailed from Great Britain to India and New Zealand! She’s sailed around the world twenty-one times.”
“Wow,” Lori said. “That’s quite impressive.”
“And if you want to see something even more impressive, take a gander at the San Diego Bay sunset upstairs on the poop deck.”
Lori laughed. “The what?”
“The poop deck.” The pirate pointed to the deck above us. “And make sure you take a picture in the photo booth while you’re up there.”
“Up where?” I just had to hear him say it again.
The pirate crossed his arms. “Up on the poop deck!”
Lori erupted in laughter and I joined in.
“Aargh! Now, you’re both just being a couple of scallywags.” The pirate shook his head and walked away.
Lori squeezed my arm. “I feel a little juvenile laughing at poop jokes.”
“Me, too, but I also don’t have a problem with it.” I glanced down at her hand still clutching my arm.
She pulled it away.
I chuckled. “There you go, acting like I have cooties again.”
“And there you go using that ridiculous word again.”
I chuckled and pointed above us. “Care to head to the poop deck?”
Lori giggled. “I would love to see the poop deck. Thanks so much for asking.”
I gestured to the stairs. “After you.”
Lori stepped in front of me, and we both headed upstairs to the poop deck as I did my best not to stare at her bottom, although the urge was there.
My attraction to her was multiplying by the minute, which was crazy considering I hadn’t even noticed how attractive she was that day we met in the parking lot at Peet’s Coffee.
“My goodness, look at that.” Lori stepped toward the end of the ship and leaned against the rail, staring out into the horizon. She scanned the bay from Point Loma all the way to Coronado Island on the other side.
“Yeah.” I was enjoying the view and the company. “Beautiful.”
She inhaled and closed her eyes. “I never get tired of this.”
“Neither do I.”
I found it so interesting that all the employees of the radio station were scattered around the ship, including my best friend Dan, but all I wanted to do was spend time with Lori. I would have been perfectly fine if I hadn’t seen anyone else for the rest of the night.
“No waiting at the photo booth,” the female voice said behind us.
Lori and I both flipped around.
A younger woman, maybe college-aged, pointed to the photo booth. “Come on over.”
Lori hesitated. “Uh . . .”
The woman waved us closer. “You definitely need a photo together. A beautiful couple like yourselves.”
“We’re not a couple,” we both said together for the umpteenth time.
“It doesn’t matter.” The woman sighed. “I’m bored already. Please.”
I shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“Really?” Lori creased her eyebrows together.
“Oh, is this the cootie thing again? You should be much more worried about standing on something called a poop deck.”
Lori laughed. “Fine. I guess we could share it on social media.”
“Now, you’re thinking.”
“Great!” the woman said, practically jumping. “Follow me.”
We followed her to the table loaded with props next to the photo booth.
“Okay, grab what you want from this table before you go in.” She picked up a pink hat and placed it on my head. “We’ve got plenty of stuff here—hats, feather masks, Hawaiian leis, sunglasses, clown noses, inflatable guitars, signs, gadgets, you name it. Grab what you like, head inside the booth, tap the screen when you’re ready, and it will count down from five before it takes the first picture.”
“How many photos does it take?” Lori asked.
“You get a total of three, and the machine spits them out on the side here.” She pointed to the side of the photo booth. “Let me know when you’re ready. You can set your beers down there.” She pointed to a smaller table on the other side of the photo booth entrance.
“Thank you.” Lori grabbed my bottle from me and placed both hers and mine on the table. “Mine is on the left. No, I’m not telling you that because of cooties. You have more beer in yours, which is weird, by the way.” Lori shook her head and pulled the pink hat off my head. “Definitely not you. Find something else.” She stepped back over to the prop table and grabbed a lei, wrapping it around her neck. Then she picked up a stethoscope. “Ready. That was easy.”
I laughed. “What are you going to do with that?”
“You’ll find out. Grab something.”
“Okay, then . . .” I rummaged through the table and grabbed a sign that said Too Sweet. I held it up for Lori to read. “Ready.”
“Seriously? Too sweet? You?”
“Who said the sign was for me?” I winked. “Let’s go.”
The woman pulled back the curtain for us to enter the photo booth and upon inspecting the inside, both of us froze, most likely coming to the same conclusion.
It was way too small.
How were we both going to fit in there?
“Don’t be shy,” the woman said.
Lori hesitated. “Isn’t it kind of small for two grown adults?”
“That’s half the fun. Go for it!”
Lori gestured inside. “I guess you should get in first, since you’re bigger.”
I huffed, pretending to be offended. “You’d better not be talking about my butt.”
She laughed and pushed me inside. “Go, before I change my mind.”
I bent down so I didn’t bang my head, sliding in and waiting for Lori to enter.
She pointed to the seat. “Can you scoot over any more?”
I shook my head. “My scooting ability is limited to the fact that my hip is against the side.”
Lori eyed the situation and then sighed. “Here goes nothing.” To my surprise, she ducked inside and sat on my lap.
Oh, dear.
This was definitely unexpected, but completely welcomed.
She smelled fantastic.
Before I had a chance to say a word or adjust my body in any way, Lori reached in front of us and tapped the screen to start the picture taking.
She plugged the stethoscope into her ears and stuck the other end against my heart.
I held the sign over her head and smiled.
That’s when the timer started.
Five, four, three, two, one . . .
The flash was slightly blinding, but hopefully I held my smile long enough for the shot.
Lori took the stethoscope out of her ears and set it on her lap. “Okay, something different, something silly?”