Part 19 (2/2)
”I'm not taking any chances. And we're not going back in that water.”
”That's hunky-dory with me. But it means we can't have fish for breakfast.”
”Fish?” He frowned at her. ”We don't have anything to fish with.”
She splashed a sh.e.l.l full of water over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. ”We have my curling iron. I'll bet if I waded out in the water with it sprung open and moved really fast, I could snap it shut on a fish.” That was the kind of thing she never would have thought about if she hadn't grown up in the Hollow.
”Eeww.”
She laughed and scooped up another sh.e.l.l's worth of water. ”I can tell you never caught crawdads down by the crick.”
”Fortunately not. Gross.”
”You'd sing a different tune if you were starving to death.”
”Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I like my food unrecognizable. I was thrilled when they came out with square hamburgers, because they don't look like anything that ever used to be alive.”
”Well, don't worry, because I'm not going wading in shark-infested waters with nothing but a curling iron to protect me.” She washed off her thigh. ”You know, I'll bet it was all that churning around in the water that got him interested. I didn't think of that.”
”I just didn't think, period. No blood to the brain.” She glanced at him and couldn't help smiling. ”I liked your pirate imitation.”
”You did, huh?” He shot her a quick look before going back on sentry duty with a cute little grin on his face. ”I liked your little maneuver, too.”
”It didn't turn out too bad. Except for the shark.” ”Next time we'll have to try a private swimming pool.” She started to agree with him, but then she realized what he'd said. In order for them to have s.e.x in a private swimming pool, they'd have to keep dating once they got home.
Besides the obvious problem of continuing a doomed relations.h.i.+p, she hated to take this magic time and try to transfer it to real life. Having s.e.x in somebody's swimming pool wouldn't come close to what had happened out there in the ocean. Even the shark coming along had added to the thrill. She could say that now that they hadn't been chomped.
He cleared his throat. ”Then again, maybe not.” She looked over at him. His jaw had tightened up and a cord stood out in his neck. He looked . .. das.h.i.+ng. Then she remembered how he usually presented himself in the offices of Rainbow Systems, with his mismatched clothes and distracted look. ”Jack, I just don't know if it's a good idea to think beyond-”
”Exactly.” He gazed out to sea. ”Forget I said anything. I lost my head.”
Now the mood was ruined, but she was afraid to say anything encouraging about what might happen after they were rescued. She didn't want him to get his hopes up.
”You know, I've been thinking that they may not even be looking for us way over here,” Jack said.
She was more than willing to change the subject. ”Why not?”
”Because Brogan was scheduled to go to Maui, so unless somebody was tracking us on radar for some reason, they'd have no idea that he abandoned the night plan and headed off in the opposite direction. He sure as h.e.l.l didn't announce it on the radio before he smashed the devil out of it.”
”You might be right.” She'd gotten rid of most of the sand. ”I'm pretty much cleaned off. Want me to be on lookout duty while you wash the sand off?”
He brushed at his arms. ”I'm fine.”
”Jack, you still have a ton of sand on your arms, and your back, not to mention your b.u.t.t. You should-”
”Just don't mention my b.u.t.t from now on, and I promise not to mention yours, okay?”
Stung, she stepped back a pace. ”You're mad at me.”
He turned, his expression fierce, a lot like the pirate he'd pretended to be earlier. ”You're d.a.m.ned right I am. First you make it seem like-” He stopped and stared at her. Gradually the anger left his eyes. ”Ah, don't look like that, Gen.”
She swallowed, surprised that she'd be so bothered that he was upset with her. ”What. . . what were you going to say?”
He shrugged. ”It's not important. This is my problem, not yours.” Leaning down, he picked up the beach towel she'd tossed aside when she'd jumped into the water with him. ”Come on. Let's go back to the hut and split the last energy bar. Then we'll figure out our next move.”
She held her ground. ”First I want to get something straight. What's happened between us meant something to me. I wasn't just playing around because you were the only guy available.”
He looked at her, his face expressionless.
”Okay, Jack. Do you honestly think that's why I had s.e.x with you, because you were convenient?”
When he didn't say anything, she marched right over and gave him a good punch on the arm.
”Ow!”
”Serves you right, if that's what you think of me, that I would have slipped those condoms on whoever's noodle was handy!” She pulled back her arm to punch him again.
”No, you don't.” He caught her wrist. ”I'm not going to stand here and let you beat up on me. I have a feeling you could do a pretty good job.”
”Then take back what you said!”
”But I didn't say anything!”
True, he hadn't. ”Then take back what you were thinking!”
His mouth twitched, like he was trying not to laugh. ”First I'd have to find out what you thought I thought.”
”You know good and well. You're making me madder than a treed polecat, standing there smirking!”
”Smirking? I don't smirk.”
”Oh, yes, you do so smirk! You're a first-cla.s.s smirked” She wound up with her free arm.
He looped the towel around his neck and grabbed her other wrist before she could land a blow. There was a pirate's gleam in his eye. ”I'll tell you what I'm thinking right now. You brought up the subject of condoms, and I'm thinking that there are two left. No matter why you had s.e.x with me, I can see that once we leave this island, that will be the end of Gen giving Jack a little nooky. So I say let's use up the supply.”
”Oh, that's so romantic.”
”Isn't it?”
”See? Now that's a smirk if I ever saw one. And I'm not going to cooperate, so there.”
”I think you are.” With one quick lunge, he lifted her over his shoulder, her head hanging down and her bare bottom pointing up at the sky.
She struggled and kicked, but she was careful not to kick him anywhere that she'd do damage. The more she struggled and wiggled against him, the more she liked his idea. But she didn't want him to know that yet. ”You put me down, Jackson the Smirker Farley!”
”The name is Jack, and I've always wanted to do this.” He started to move.
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