36. Unmoored
Chapter 36
Unmoored
Dante
“ Y ou know what would be fucking fantastic?” I shove the coconut full of crabmeat and seedy bananas at the golden boy.
He’s got his steely blue eyes turned up to me. He’s not going to answer me.
“If you’d shut the hell up about the damn boat. What you saw was the Loch Ness monster. It didn’t exist. All right? And if it did, it doesn’t matter. It’s not here anyway.”
“I’m telling you; I saw it. A large white boat.”
“With no lights on?” Zane adds. “This is good, Dante.” He raises his bowl at me.
“Enjoy it. That’s the last of the bananas you found. We’re out until we find another tree or some more ripen.” I scrape the rest of the residue off my rock grill and push coals over it to heat it up for the next meal. All morning, Easton’s been going off about the fucking boat. I’ve had all morning to listen to him gripe about it. Ship this, right there. He needs to shut the fuck up.
“I’ll find some more,” says Zane. “I’m going to do a scouting mission when I go out to get some more firewood.”
“I saw a boat. I’m not imagining it.” Easton gathers the dirty coconut bowls and my two prized spoons the lug made for me. He stands there. His glare doesn’t affect me. I’ve worked in some stressful kitchens all over the world with chefs that are two cabbages shy of a coleslaw. Easton crosses his arms over his chest and looks between Zane and the water instead of heading there and being a good dishwasher. Granted, there’s really no such thing.
“Right, well, boats don’t just vanish.” Zane licks the inside of his shell and hands it to Easton.
“It was a post-sex delusion.” I push the coals around and put a new log on top. The pile of wood is getting low. If the damn pain in my head would stop, I could walk around for more than a few minutes and actually be useful. Am I salty about not being in the damn Haley pile? Fuck yeah. Am I mad that I woke up just as they were finishing and didn’t get to watch? Damn right I am.
Haley joins the kitchen circle.
“How was it?” Zane asks Haley.
“It’s a hole with palm fronds around it.” I shake my head at Zane. She’d made it clear she wanted to go relieve herself in the new latrine by herself. It’s a hundred feet up the beach. Calvin and Zane dug the hole this morning. Shockingly, the two of them are getting along like two peas in a pod. Guess sharing is caring. I huff a laugh and scrape the grill rock with my sharp rock. I’ve already done it, but it’s keeping me busy.
“Dante. It’s nice. Better than just going along the trail. I’ve got some ideas on how we can make it a little better.”
“You don’t need to worry about that, Haley. Two boats in one night. We won’t be here long.” Easton squeezes her arm and takes off for the water.
I glance over at Haley. “Ready for some food?”
“Please.” She nods.
I hand her her bowl. She’s the last to eat, but she definitely has the best of the lot.
I saved her some of the bananas. Did I spend extra time picking her seeds out? Yes. Did I put the seeds from her bowl into Easton’s? Also yes. I take the plastic cover off the top. I’ve got a few small pieces of plastic I’m keeping, all from the emergency supply kit. They were used as dividers to keep the fishing gear separate. Calvin has come up with another system, leaving the bags for me. They’re a blessing. There’re all kinds of bugs on the beach. Hopefully, we won’t have to fall back on bugs for protein. We still have some boar this morning, and the jerky from the first day is holding on okay in the dry bag. Damn, we could use a few more of those. I checked it this morning, and none of it is ruined.
“I’m going to go collect some palm fronds after breakfast.” Haley looks up from her bowl.
“Oh.” I have to wonder what Calvin and Zane are doing.
“I’m feeling a lot better. Did you notice I didn’t use my crutch to cross the beach?” Haley smiles.
I nod and shake my head to the side.
“What? You know, when you don’t talk, it makes me anxious. I can go into the jungle and get some fronds.”
“Calvin has the hatchet.”
“Right.” Her shoulders dip.
“But I’m sure you could convince him to give it to you.”
Now it’s her turn to cock her head and give me a sassy look. “That thing’s attached to him.”
“So were you last night.” Immediately, I know it’s the wrong thing to say. Her neck bends, and she’s digging in the sand with her toes. “Oh no you don’t. Don’t you regret what happened. I’m just a jealous bear, wishing it was my hand in your honey?—”
“Ew. Stop right there. You... You’re jealous?” Haley’s shoulders rise.
I have to laugh. “You have no idea how much.”
“Oh.” She nods, not looking up from her food.
“Are you okay?”
She sucks in her lips. “It’s a lot, you know. All of this is a lot.” She motions around the beach.
“I get it.” I want to pick her up, sit down on the big log, and put her in my lap.
“I’m sorry we woke you up last night.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t wake me up sooner.”
“Oh.” Her sweet tone rings. “How are you feeling?”
She’s changing the subject. But I’m not having it. “Left out.”
Her laugh is one that could cut a guy if he didn’t have as much confidence as me. Did I set out to share a woman with three other dudes? No. Not something I would have thought I was into. But there’s something about Haley. I’m not going to let her go. Hell, I was into her when I thought she and the captain were hooking up.
My stomach thuds. The captain.
I sit on the log next to her, and she turns her blushed cheeks to me. “Left out?”
“Yup.”
“Oh.”
“‘Oh’ as in good, you want me in the mix next time, or ‘oh, no thank you’?”
“I . . . I like you, Dante.”
I wait for the but. It doesn’t come.
“I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve hardly done anything at all. I’ve had two long-term boyfriends, a few flings, but nothing like this.”
I take the empty bowl from her hand and put it on the log next to me. Her hands are soft, and I pull them onto my leg. “If you don’t want me in your gaggle of guys, then I don’t have to be in it. But I like you, Haley. I liked you before all this.” I wave my hands around. “You’re good at your job, which I find sexy as hell. You’re smart, brave, you fuckin’ saved my life. And Easton’s too. Whatever you want, I’m cool with it.” I’ve presented dishes to billionaires, to owners of Michelin Star restaurants, and my heart didn’t beat as fast as it does right now. The fact that she’s not looking at me has my palms sweating. “You’re in charge, if you haven’t figured that out yet. Calvin might think he is, but he’s not.”
She nods and stands. But then she leans over and kisses me on the lips. It’s a quick brush. But then her lips part, and I want to consume her like a French pastry. She pulls away all too soon. “You need to get healthy first.”
“Got it.” I’m still holding her hand. I can feel that she wants to take off. Run and hide. But I’m not letting her hand go. “No gymnastics. I suppose I could say the same for you.”
She laughs. “I’m going to go find Calvin.”
“I’ll come with you. Swimmer Boy, watch the fires,” I holler over my shoulder.
Easton waves at me. I’m hoping he heard. But at this point, I don’t really care. Haley has a head start on me. I grab one of the sharp sticks that Calvin has in a pile next to the cooking area and follow her. When I catch up, I interlace my fingers with hers.
“Are you sure?” she asks.
“That I want to get speared by a boar’s tusk? No. But do I want you to stay out of trouble with the largest bore on the island? Yes.” She knows I’m talking about Calvin.
“He’s not boring.”
I grunt a bunch and shuffle my feet like a wild animal.
“Dante,” she laughs. “Stop. Calvin is just concerned for our safety.”
“Right.” I nod and lead her down the path to the jungle. I’ve been down here a few times. I take my time, going slowly. The last thing we need is for her to re-injure her ankle. “You doing okay?”
“Picture perfect. Thanks for taking it easy on me.”
“Oh, trust me, this is the only time I will take it easy on you.” A blush blooms up her neck, and I fucking love it. “Looks like you need some sunscreen.” I rub my knuckle over the round of her cheek.
“I’m going to stay out of the sun today. I’ve got two skin tones: pasty and red. But I want to save the sunscreen. You never know when you might need it.”
I smile at this woman. “Damn, Sassy, have you ever thought about yourself first? It’s okay for you to use sunscreen. Calvin, Zane, and Easton spend most of their days in the water. They’ll make it through.”
“What about you?” Her shoulders go up.
“Oh, my Irish-English ancestors must have spent a little time in the med. I tan up nicely when I’m out in the sun. I’ll be fine.”
“Fine isn’t good enough. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“And the only flush I want to see on your cheeks is from what we do to you. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.” She smirks.
But damn, I like it. I like her following my directions, and I like the “yes, sir” more than I want to admit.
The jungle path is always farther than it looks. Stepping past the tree line on the beach is like stepping into a different world. The humid air sticks to our skin. There are birds making noise on the tops of the trees. And I can’t help but wonder where their nests are and if we can find some of their eggs. Zane’s able to climb the banana trees. Maybe he can find some eggs for us.
“Palm fronds you’re after?” I pull out my knife. To think I almost hadn’t put it on when I got out of my bunk that morning. Damn, it feels like yesterday and last year all at the same time. I use it mostly for opening boxes and such. I’m not sure Calvin even knows I have it yet. I hold it up. “I think we can get some of the smaller ones with this.” I haven’t had a reason to pull it out before. Much like Calvin with the hatchet, I’m a little possessive about it. Knives and women are things I don’t usually share. Guess there is a lot changing for me.
“Dante? Where did you get that?”
“It’s mine. I’ve had it all along. Thanks for not dropping it when you dragged me out of the Rock Candy .”
“You’re welcome?” She stops in her tracks.
“It’s fine, Sassy; I was joking.” I haven’t let go of her hand. She twists both of us to face down the path.
“I know. Did you hear that?” Haley tucks her hair behind her ear. “I heard something.”
“Hear what?”
She points down the path near the pool where Zane has been getting our water.
“No. I don’t hear anything.” I pull the knife out of the sheath, pushing Haley behind me. With the way my head feels, I can’t carry Haley out of the jungle like Zane did. But I’m not going to let her be gored by a boar either.