Chapter 4
Chance dropped the pile of dry wood he could find. Which in the tropical setting, wasn’t much. Most of the trees were palms. He stared out at the ocean. He could see what was most likely a plane, off in the distance. Too far away for any signal to be seen. It looked like a black dot moving across the sky. It could be a search plane, who knows. The clatter of wood grabbed his attention. He turned to see MJ dropping her meager findings. She didn’t seem to have had any better luck than he did. Their pile was small. It wouldn’t last long. Not to mention, he still hadn’t figured out how they would start it. Neither of them smoked, so he didn’t figure she would have a lighter.
“Wanna walk with me?” she asked him. He tilted his head, looking at her. “I figure, maybe we wander down the beach in the other direction, who knows, maybe there’s someone else on the island. We should have done that yesterday.” He nodded, taking a step in the direction away from where the dead crew lay. She wrapped her fingers around his hand. It felt nice, to be holding her hand, touching her. Shuffling barefoot in the sand, he dug his toes in with each step.
“This is the longest I’ve gone without working in I don’t know how long.” He chuckled. She smiled as he looked over at her.
“Do you think this attraction with us, the feelings, is just about surviving?” Shaking his head, he looked forward.
“I’ve felt this for a long time. On my end, it’s real.” He figured that’s what she worried about. Were the feelings real? Would the feelings fade once they got home? Would she get hurt.
He stopped and faced her.
“I would never hurt you. If you’re unsure of any of this, I’ll leave it be. But, I want you. I want to be with you. After this, I don’t want to have any more regrets, or think what if. I want to make you happy, and I would never hurt you.”
“And if we don’t make it off this island?” Of course, they were both concerned with that. There was a chance they weren’t found.
“Then I’ll spend every day, finding you fruit, learning to fish and we can enjoy a castaway life. No work, no stress, just the beach life. You work on your tan and I’ll be the outdoor man every woman dreams of. Just like that movie, except we aren’t brother and sister.” They both laughed. They had watched Blue Lagoon on their last trip home, both exhausted from work and non-stop meetings. He waited, just watching. Her face was like a book. Each expression so readable. She was warring with her thoughts.
“It’s pretty hot out here,” she said. He reached into his back pocket, he grabbed a knife he had found in the crew area. He handed it to her.
“Here, cut up those jeans. Show off some leg,” he joked. She giggled, taking it. As she cut off the legs of her jeans into shorts, he watched. She had always dressed so professionally, it was nice to finally see some of that body he had been dreaming about.
When she was done, he held his breath, and stood still as she raised up on her toes. Her lips brushed against his. He had his answer. Exhaling, he grabbed her in his arms, holding her tightly against his body. His mouth kissed hers with all the pent up passion he had built up. Their tongues rubbed against each others, tasting, enjoying the love they could give each other. With a hand, he cupped her face, running his thumb across her cheek. It wasn’t everything he dreamed of, of course, they were both sweaty, bloody, a mess from being stranded after a plane crash. But the feelings he felt from her, was all he had ever wanted.
Separating, they both panted, trying to catch their breath. She grinned at him, handing back the knife. He slid it into the pocket of his pants.
“Ok, let’s see what happens. At least we’ll have some time alone, until we get home and you go back to workaholic Chance.”
“No,” he told her, taking her hand again as they continued walking. “That’s going to change. We need a better balance of work and life. Especially now since I’ll have a reason to leave the office. Or maybe even, a reason to stay, and lock the door,” he winked at her. She giggled.
“Will work be awkward? I’ve never dated a co-worker, let alone, my boss.”
“We can figure that all out when it comes time. For now, let’s enjoy this, and try to be prepared in case we do end up being here awhile.” They had spent so much time together that they were comfortable with silence. There was no need to fill the space with anxious conversation or small talk. Quietly, they walked down the beach. He couldn’t tell how far they went, but as the island curved, they had long ago lost sight of the plane. As the sun reached its peak at midday, he stopped.
“I don’t think there’s anything to find. We should head back. I have to figure out how to start a fire with no lighter,” he told her. Turning back, they slowly made their way. He licked his lips, the skin cracking. Before any work got done, they needed a water break.
“The steward section should have a clicker thing, you know, those long lighters for starting grills and such?” He knew what she meant, it was cute to hear her try to name it. “They used it to light the fuel they use to heat our meals.” He couldn’t recall seeing one in his search the previous day. Chance certainly wasn’t looking forward to going back there. It was hard to see the bodies. But there was no way he would let MJ go. She didn’t need to see that. As they neared their makeshift shelter, he released Mary Jane’s hand.
“I’ll be back. Why don’t you go in and grab us water and a snack?” She nodded, and he walked away. Taking a deep breath, he tried to gather all his strength. He hoped he was right, that someone would find them soon. He wasn’t sure how long they could survive here. There was only enough water for another day or two.