An Ocean Away

Chapter 17

"This is your captain speaking. We have docked on the east coast, in the state of New York. We will be docked here for three days, departing on Wednesday night at 7:30 promptly. Have a safe and healthy stay in New York." He signed off with a click of his speaker.

Riana groaned and stretched. It had been a week since their game of truth or dare, and almost everyone on the ship were itching to get onto land. Riana yawned as she stepped into the shower. She had gotten to bed last night around five in the morning. Her and Nick had spent the entire night sitting on the Lido Deck, gazing at the stars. Nick had told her that it was the closest thing to a beach. When the captain's message rung out onto the ship at 8:00 in the morning, she had just wanted to go back to bed as if they were still in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Yet somehow something inside of her made her get up, not on her own free will. She struggled to keep her eyes open in the shower, she was tempted to crawl back into her warm water bed and sleep there all day. She looked down at her hands and noticed they had turned into raisins, so she turned off the water and toweled herself dry. She slipped on a blue tank top and put her hair up at the top of her head. She knew today was going to be a hot day in New York. At least that's what the Weather Channel had said.

She applied her make-up and raided through the refrigerator for something to eat when her phone rang. She walked over to the end table in the living room and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Good morning sunshine," she heard a man's cheery voice. She smiled and plopped down on the couch.

"Good morning, Nick."

"You almost ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am. Leah's already out with AJ so should I meet you downstairs in the lobby?" Riana asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you there," Nick said. He hung up the phone with a soft click. Riana smiled and checked her appearance in the mirror before she set off for the lobby.

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"Here she is," Nick said to Brian as he saw her medium height figure emerge from the elevator doors. He walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Hey," he whispered before her kissed her. The kiss deepened and was soon broken when Brian let out an exasperated sigh.

"I've been on water for the past two weeks. If we don't get off soon, I'm going to throw myself overboard," Brian threatened. Nick and Riana laughed at how serious Brian looked.

"We're going, Frick. Calm yourself," Nick joked. He patted his friends back and grasped Riana's tiny hand in his own.

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"So what are we going to do today?" Riana asked. She squinted her eyes that were hidden underneath a pair of small sunglasses from the rays that the sun were shining down on them. Nick tilted his head upwards and gazed at the skyscrapers that stood in front of him.

"Well, we can go to the Empire State Building," he suggested.

"I heard that the view is remarkable," Riana put in.

"The view? I'm talking about the 3D ride inside!" Nick exclaimed.

"Figures." Brian replied.

"Should we take the elevators or the stairs?" Riana asked.

"I go for the stairs. It won't be as crowded and stuffy as those elevators," Brian suggested.

"Do you know how many flights of stairs it will be until the top?" Nick asked. "110 flights of stairs!!"

"In that case, if I get tired you can carry me," Riana said as she followed Brian towards the stairs.

"God help me," Nick prayed, looking up at the sky. _____________________________

"I can't do it anymore, Bri." Nick said. He stopped and leaned his back up against the wall.

"Nick, come on! We only have about 60 more flights to do. And we will be on the floor with the 3D game thing in about 5 flights," Brian said.

"Come on, Nick." Riana said. She squatted down next to him. "Please?"

"Can you carry me?" Nick whined, placing his head on her shoulder. She laughed and rubbed his arm.

"Yeah right! I'd probably fall back all of the 60 flights we climbed!" She said.

"Ha Ha, very funny," Nick said sarcastically. Riana grabbed his hand and pulled him up so he was on his feet again.

"Let's go," Riana said. _____________________

"Finally!" Nick cried for joy as they opened the door onto a floor where a long line was gathered. Nick, being tall, managed to see over everyone's head and saw the sign for the 3D ride.

"40 minutes!" Nick said. He had so much exasperation in his voice that Riana and Brian both looked at each other and laughed.

"It will go by fast, Nick." Riana said.

"You're a liar!" Nick joked.**

"Ok, we'll play a game!" Riana said excitedly.

"No. No games," Nick said. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ok, we'll sing then! 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall!"

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"1 bottle of....beer.....on....the wall. 1....bottle of beer...Take....one...down....pass....it... around....1 bottle of beer on....the wall!.." Nick finished with no strength in his body.

"See! I told you it would take some time!" Riana said as they approached the ticket line. They turned around and didn't notice Brian anywhere.

"Brian?" Riana called. She turned around and smiled when she saw him talking to a girl with brown, chin length hair. He turned to them when he heard his name and told the girl he would be right back.

"Hey, whats up?" He asked.

"Making friends, are we?" Nick joked. Brian punched him in the gut. "Would you guys mind if..I... " Brian trailed off.

"Go ahead! We'll meet you back at the ship," Riana said. Brian nodded and smiled appreciatively at them before going back over to the girl.

"Two tickets, please." Nick said to the employee. The employee stood still.

"Umm, two tickets please," Nick repeated to her.

"Are you Nick Carter?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yep, that would be me!" he said cheerfully.

"Omigod, may I have your autograph?" she asked. She handed Nick a pen and stared at Riana while Nick signed the paper.

"Are you his girlfriend?" she asked. Riana hesitated before Nick jumped into the picture.

"Yeah, she is." He said with a smile. The girl smiled at the both of them.

"That's cool! Wish you guys the best of luck. Enjoy the show," she said.

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"That show was the best!!" Nick exclaimed as they slowly climbed some more stairs to get to their destination to the top.

"I liked it when the shark came at us!" Riana said excitedly. Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him when they saw the entrance for the top. They walked to the top and Riana gasped at the view that they saw.

"TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE," the sign read to the door.

"What???" Nick yelled. Riana just stood there and gaped at the sign.

"I climbed 110 damn flights of stairs to read a sign??" Nick fumed.

"Nick, calm down, ok? It's only....4:00, we still have time to look around the city, ok?" Riana told him. She rubbed his back with her hands and Nick sighed.

"I wanted to see the view with you," Nick said. He smoothed a piece of her hair behind her ear and smiled.

"We will be here for three days," Riana said. "We can come back tomorrow if you want to," Riana suggested.

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Nick and Riana made record time. They had managed to speed down the stairs in two hours. They stopped to eat at the little restaurant downstairs for about an hour. The streets were still packed with people. The sun had gone down and Nick and Riana strolled the streets until they saw the ship.

"Wait," Nick said. He tugged on Riana's arm and grabbed her finger. He slipped a small, ocean blue ring on her finger. Ignoring Riana's protests, he paid the man for the ring.

"It's beautiful, Nick! It's the color of the ocean," she noticed.

"Exactly. Thats why I picked it out. You know I love the ocean," Nick whispered into her ear. She tingled from his breath on her cheek. She looked up and gazed into his eyes.

"So do I," she whispered back.

"You're my ocean," Nick said, wrapping her into a hug. He rested his cheek on her own and they just stayed there until a stranger rudely told them to get out of the way. They walked onto the ship around 7:30. They planned on going out to a fancy italian resaurant around 9, so Riana rushed to her room to get ready.

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"It's a good thing I brought this dress just in case," Riana muttered to herself as she modeled in front of her mirror. Her long black dress hung down to her ankles. It hugged every one of her curves perfectly. Her feet were covered with a pair of black, strapped shoes. Her shoulders were bare, but it was hot out so she figured it would be fine. Her blonde hair was clipped back with a silver pendant. The way the light reflected it made her glow. Her eyes were accentuated with a white eyeshadow. Her sea green eyes that reflected the ocean contrasted greatly to the white, but it made her look beautiful. But the most important thing that Riana had on was the ring that Nick bought her. It stood out against her motif, but that is what made it eye catching. She smiled and looked down at her tiny, silver watch. It read 9:15, so she quickly grabbed her black purse and went downstairs to the lobby. ________________________

Nick sighed again as he checked his watch for the fourth time. He knew it was like Riana to be fashionably late, but not fifteen minutes late. His worries subsided when he saw an angel walk into the room. His jaw dropped to the floor from the radiant beauty that the angel was giving off.

"Hello," she said.

"Riana, you look.....amazing," he managed to say. She smiled towards him and he felt his heart flutter beneath his tie.

"You ready?" She asked him. He held out his arm and she took hold of it.

"More than you know," he said.

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"That was excellent," Riana remarked as she watched the waiter walk away with the remaining morsels of their food. Nick patted his stomach.

"A little too excellent," he said. He leaned across the table and a little golden lock from his head fell in front of his eye. He took her hand.

"This means a lot to me," he said. He looked her in the eye and Riana could feel the sensations rise up inside of her. His eyes spoke many words to her.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked her. He stood up and offered her his hand.

"I'd love to," she replied. He led her slowly onto the dance floor where a few other couples already were. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her near to him.

"You look beautiful," he commented. His eyes were closed, as if he was taking in everything he was seeing and feeling.

"Thank you," Riana said, blushing. She secured her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. She could feel his breath against her cheek and she could smell his scent that was flooding into the atmosphere. 'I could stay here all night,' she said to herself. Nick's grip tightened around her. She closed her eyes and got lost in the song. Everything that was sung was exactly how she felt.