Jon told her to have a good time and off he went. Caryn finished her cup of coffee then made her way to the lobby. She had skipped breakfast, trying to save her stomach the strife. As she turned the corner, she saw Nick standing with his back to her. He was studying a print on the wall. She stopped in her tracks for a moment, studying him. He was dressed in black shorts, a green tee shirt, and flip flops. His hair was just the right shade of blonde. His long, muscled legs were bronzed from the sun. His shoulders were broad. Man, he was everything every woman would ever want!
Catching herself drifting again in thoughts she didn’t want in her head, she quickly peers around the lobby to see if his girlfriend was anywhere in sight, but she didn’t spot her. Perhaps she was in the café around the corner.
“Good morning,” she chirped as she approached.
Nick swung around, a huge smile covering his face as he saw her. “I’m glad you came. I wasn’t too sure if you would last night.”
“Well. Here I am. Are we waiting for your girlfriend?”
“Well, um, no. She said she doesn’t want to get her hair wet,” he answered, rolling his eyes. “She just doesn’t like to do what I like.”
“Oh,” she answered, suddenly feeling nervous about the day that lie ahead. But then she thought, ‘There will certainly be other people on the boat. It will be ok.’
“You’re lesson is at 7:30 and the car is waiting outside. Let’s go,” Nick said, leading her outside by placing his hand on the small of her back. His touch sent shivers down her spine.
As they drove the short distance to the docks of Lahaina, Caryn got up the strength to ask him the question that had been bothering her all night. She softly asked, “Um, Nick? Why didn’t you tell me who you really were?”
Nick briefly glanced over to her then back to the road. He was quiet, then answered, “Because I wanted you to meet the REAL me…not Backstreet Boy Nick. But Nick Carter.” As he glanced back at her, she was smiling at him.
“Then I’m glad I got to meet the REAL Nick Carter.” Hearing these words sent a smile to his face as well.
They pulled into the dock. Nick handed his keys over to the valet and they removed their bags from the trunk. He walked her down to the water’s edge, and she took a 3 hour lesson on the correct usage of scuba gear. Then she was ready to go down.
“I’ll be there right next to ya, so there’s nothin’ to worry about,” Nick assured her as they boarded the boat.
After all the gear had been loaded, the man she thought would be driving jumped off onto the shore, and with the flick of his hand, he bid them goodbye. Nick jumped up to the helm and started taking the boat out onto the water.
“Ah…Nick? Um…Nick?” Caryn began to panic.
“Yeah, what?” he answered, not taking his eyes off the water, being careful not to hit the dock or the other boats around them.
“Uh, we’re moving. Don’t we need someone to drive the boat?”
“No. I rented it for the whole day. I’m driving.”
She began to panic. Not that she didn’t believe he could drive the boat…she was sure he could because he told her about his own boat in Florida. But she was counting on there being others aboard so they wouldn’t be alone. And now they were…ALONE! Just what she didn’t want!!
What could she do now, though? They were already moving into the Pacific. It was ridiculous for her to jump overboard! Perhaps she was over-reacting. But it wasn’t Nick she didn’t trust…it was her! After all, he was the one who stopped the other night.
Nick sailed out toward the north end of the island. He had been told about a little cove with a great underwater view that would be perfect for a beginner like Caryn.
Caryn laid her towel down on the front of the boat and leaned back on it using her hands as a prop, absorbing the warm morning sun. They drifted silently until they reached their destination.
“Caryn. Can you come back here and help me?” Nick asked.
She jumped up and immediately took her instructions. “Aye aye, Cap’n Nick,” she jested. He shot her a grim look as he instructed her to take the wheel. He had cut the motor and was preparing to drop the anchor.
Once the boat had stopped moving, he proceeded to get all the gear ready. She could tell he was a professional diver. He knew exactly what he was doing. He helped her get into her wet suit and then put on his. He helped her strap on her tanks and gear then mounted his own. Then he gave her some final safety tips ending with, “Do not leave my side. Stay right by me. We don’t want to get separated in case one of us gets into trouble.”
“You mean if I get into trouble,” she jested.
“It’s not funny, Caryn,” he said soberly.
“I know. I know. You’re just so serious right now. I’m not used to that.”
“Yeah. But this is serious. You remember everything now?”
“Yes, sir. I do.”
“OK then. Sit on the side and we’ll fall back into the water together.”
They sat on the side, held hands, looked at each other, and on the count of three they fell backwards.
The water was cold at first but soon became warm against their bodies. Nick held her hand tightly and they paddled their flippers and used their other arms to steer.
They came upon a school of brightly colored fish that darted left then right as they approached. They quit paddling and drifted until they became part of the school itself. When the fish finally left, they saw a larger object coming toward them. It was a large, green sea turtle. And it was headed directly toward them.
Caryn was afraid at first but Nick tightened his grip on her hand making her feel safe. He took his hand that was holding hers and reached out and touched the large turtle as it passed. Their grips loosened and she soon realized that her palm was touching the turtle’s shell. She looked at Nick then back at the turtle as they began to swim with the creature. It lead them along the ocean floor and then to the surface.
At the surface, they bid the turtle farewell. Caryn took out her mouthpiece and spoke. “I can’t believe that. It was so…so amazing, Nick!” she exclaimed with excitement. He smiled then nodded to the water again. She repositioned her mouthpiece and went under with him again.
They spent nearly two hours under the water looking at different types of fish and plants and just enjoying each other’s company. But they were now getting hungry and Caryn new she had to eat something. As they surfaced, she told Nick that she was hungry. He said it was time to get back on the boat anyway.
They swam to the side and climbed the ladder back onto the boat. Her legs felt like rubber and she rolled over the side, collapsing onto the deck. She took out her mouthpiece and removed her face mask. Nick removed all his gear then helped her out of her tanks.
“Nick. That was the most amazing thing. I can’t believe swimming with all those fish and actually touching that sea turtle. He let us swim with him!”
Nick only answered with a smile and he continued to put things in their place. As he worked, he gave an instruction, “Go into the bathroom and wash your hands so we can eat.”
“Eat?”
“Yes, eat,” he answered, grabbing Caryn’s hands and pulling her up onto her wobbly legs.
However, she had trouble standing on her sea legs and fell directly against Nick. He quickly put his arms around her waist to steady her and her arms grabbed onto his hard biceps. Then he looked into her eyes and couldn’t control himself any longer. He leaned down and kissed her lips. Softly. Gently.
She knew she could not resist. She welcomed the kisses. Her hands slid around to his back as his kiss deepened. His tongue probed the inside of her mouth as his hands moved up and down her back, each movement pulling her closer to him.
He removed his lips from hers and gazed at her face. The tropical breeze tossed his hair into his eyes and the afternoon sun made his already tan face glint a bronze glow. He looked like a god standing there in front of her.
His lips moved and he spoke so softly that she had to strain to hear his words. “Caryn. I want you now.”
She smiled and kissed him, giving him full permission to have his way with her.
He continued to kiss her urgently as he lowered her onto her towel on the deck. From that point he did things to her that she had never experienced before and he made her feel like more of a woman than she'd ever felt in her life before Nick!
They were suddently quiet, as if afraid to speak and break the magical spell that had been cast upon them. Nick's fingers softly caressed Caryn's cheeks and she turned to kiss each fingertip that he lowered to her lips.
As they lie there in the afterglow, reveling in each other, they were suddenly startled by the horn of an approaching boat.
“Oh, shit!” Nick exclaimed. He rolled off Caryn and promptly slid on his swim trunks. “Slide your suit on, Caryn.”
She did so, then rose to look up and see a large catamaran approaching. It was a tour boat with other divers and snorklers who were going to join them in their private paradise.
“Damn!” he said as he smiled and waved. He sat next to Caryn, looked at her and declared, “That was close.” She sat there with her mouth agape, just staring at him.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she finally said.
“What?” Nick asked.
Caryn didn’t answer. Instead, she rose and walked to the bathroom. Inside, she questioned her own sanity. She just made love to a man 14 years her junior. And not the man she was married to. She sat on the toilet inside and quietly wept.
Nick knew there was something wrong and after a few minutes, he knocked on the door. “Caryn? Is everything ok?” When she didn’t answer, he became frightened. He turned the knob and the door opened. Then he saw her sitting there crying.
“Caryn? Did I do something wrong?” he said with concern.
“No. No. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she sobbed, looking up at him as tears flowed freely from her eyes. “I did. I cheated on my husband.”
Nick knelt down next to her and held her tightly. “Shhhh…don’t cry,” he consoled over and over. But she did cry, long and hard, on his strong shoulder.
Once she finished, she looked up at his beautiful, caring face and apologized, “I’m so sorry, Nick. I shouldn’t have let it get out of hand like that.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. We both know how attracted we are to each other. It just happened.”
“But I cheated on my husband and you cheated on your girlfriend.”
“Well, actually, I'd already made the decision to break up with her when I get home. I know now that if I can be so deeply attracted to you, then what she and I have can’t be real love.”
Caryn stared at Nick for a minute. Was that another subtle message for her?
“Are you saying I don’t love my husband?”
“Well, if you did, would you be here with me? He doesn’t deserve you anyway. You deserve someone who will treat you with respect. Someone who will treat you like a queen.” He paused, looked down at his hands, then added more quietly, “Someone,” he raised his eyes only, “…like me.” His head slowly raised to look straight at her.
Caryn couldn’t help herself. First, she smiled, then she began to laugh. Perhaps from the nervousness of the situation.
“Oh Nick. That could never be.”
The look on Nick’s face turned to hurt. “Why not?”
“Nick, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be mean here. You are a wonderful man. A true treasure for any girl. But first of all, we don’t know each other very well. A relationship takes time.”
“So I have time.”
“Second of all, there’s the age difference.”
“I don’t care about age. Age is just a number. Love knows no age!” he said, trying to convince her.
“Oh, Nick. You are so sweet.” She smiled and kissed his lips. Then she placed her forehead on his. “It just wouldn’t work. And there are a million reasons why. You know it. Deep in your heart, you know it. Sure it’s romantic here in Maui. But one day you have to go home to reality.”
Still looking into her eyes, he smiled and agreed. “You’re right.” After a heavy breath he added, “But I wouldn’t trade this afternoon for anything in the world.”
She smiled broadly. “Me neither. Now where’s that food you promised me?”
Nick rose and walked over to a cooler which held cold sodas and ham sandwiches. They had a lovely picnic out of the bow of the boat as they watched the other divers and snorklers make their way around the bay.
On the way back to the dock, Nick put up the sails and used the strong winds to steer them back. After docking, they took their belonging ashore and made their way to the Porsche. Before starting the engine, Nick turned to her and said, “Caryn. If you ever need me, I’ll be there for you. Promise me you’ll remember that.”
“I promise,” she guaranteed. “And it’s the same for me. You’ll always have a friend.”
With that, Nick started the engine and drove back to the hotel.
That night, Caryn was quiet during dinner. Jon asked how she enjoyed her day. She told him about the sea turtle and all the fish they had seen. But she didn’t tell him about her special adventure that day. One that may change her life forever.
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