5. Jack and Rose
Jack and Rose
Victoria
I opened my eyes and blinked rapidly, hoping my double vision would clear sooner rather than later.
The smell of smoke, gasoline, and salt invaded my nostrils as my eyes focused on the wreckage that grew farther and farther as I was dragged away.
We crash-landed into the ocean, and I was shocked we survived, but even more stupefied by the kiss.
The last thing I remembered was Knox’s lips on mine.
I had snapped out of my shock when he moaned softly and deepened the kiss.
I had no choice but to return his gesture.
Our tongues tangled in a last-ditch effort for comfort and reassurance as we realized our time was coming closer and closer to an end.
He broke away, and my tongue slid across my bottom lip, lapping up whatever was left of him.
He slipped on his life preserver, buckled himself in, and winked at me.
My blood boiled when I realized that man gave me the best kiss of my life and I was seconds away from dying.
All I could imagine was how good his head game must have been before it was lights out.
“Victoria, keep your eyes open for me,” Knox rumbled.
There he goes ruining shit for me again. Can’t a woman fantasize in peace?
“J-just so we’re clear—”
“I know. You hate me,” he panted as he swam us to shore.
“That, and we’re not having a Jack and Rose moment.”
He chuckled through his labored breaths. “C’mon, Victoria. I can smell the romance in the air.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that the ‘romance’ you’re smelling is jet fumes. There was nothing romantic about Titanic or our current situation,” I proclaimed.
“Expound.”
“The movie highlighted how most people regard poor folks.”
“And how is that?”
“Their lives are expendable. I’m mad that Jack saved Rose—he never had a chance.”
“Thank God. I can stop swimming,” he replied in that teasing tone that made me want to dot his eye more than once. “I’d hate to be Jack—saving a woman I’d never have a chance with.”
“Knox Nigel Ramsey—”
“That’s not my middle name,” he huffed.
“Knox Ezekiel Ramsey, you ruined any chance you had with me when you canceled my flight.”
“I don’t know about that, Victoria. That kiss said otherwise.”
I could’ve responded with something snarky, but the blood dripping into my eyes took precedence. I lifted a hand, touched my forehead, and yanked it back with a hiss.
“You hit your head upon impact.”
“Wow! However would I have figured that out without you?” I drawled.
He snorted.
“I should save myself the trouble and drown you now. I need a break.”
He paused to catch his breath as we bobbed in the water.
This man needs to get a move on. I’ve seen enough Shark Week to know exactly how this will go!
“I can swim,” I said, maneuvering behind him.
“What the hell are you doing, Victoria?”
“We can’t stay in the open water like this.
We’ll be sitting ducks for sharks. Hell, there might be barracudas or something in here,” I explained as I surveyed our surroundings.
My heart fluttered with hope when I noticed an island in the distance.
If we were lucky, we’d make it in one piece, and if God chose to show us a little mercy, we wouldn’t be met by a lost cannibalistic tribe.
I grabbed the back of his vest and swam with one arm towards shore.
Thank you, Mom, for the swimming classes at the Y.
My tears blended into the ocean, adding to the saltiness as I thought about my mother. Knox’s bribe money was there, and my salary was directly deposited twice a month. Her rent would be taken care of, but there was a possibility I’d never see her again.
What if no one finds us?
“Victoria…I’m sorry,” Knox whispered, voice thick with emotion.
I hadn’t realized I was sobbing as we approached shore. I abandoned Knox and crawled on shaky hands and knees on hot, white sand to safety. The beach appeared deserted, and the shock and reality of our situation began to sink in. I was stranded on an island with my boss from Hell.
Knox
“I hate you.”
My heart dropped in my chest. Victoria had said those three little words so many times over the past year, but never with such insult—never from the heart. And it stung like a motherfucker.
“Victoria, I’m—”
She held a hand up, halting my apology, forcing the words to die in my throat.
“I-I don’t want to hear sorry, Knox. Your sorry isn’t going to save us.”
She was right. I could say sorry until I was blue in the face, but it wouldn’t change our situation or how she despised me.
I nodded at the wound on her head.
“Let me bandage that up,” I murmured.
“How do you plan on doing that?” she questioned skeptically.
I held up the first aid kit I salvaged from the wreckage. I had clipped it to my vest before I swam us toward shore.
I had expected her to deny my assistance and tell me to fuck off and die, but to my surprise, she motioned for me to proceed.
“All right. Let’s see what we got,” I said, crouching and opening the kit.
I was relieved to find that everything was encased in waterproof packaging.
I moved efficiently, tearing open a package of antiseptic wipes and bandages.
“This is alcohol base, so it might burn. Well, maybe not as much as the salt water.”
Victoria’s “I don’t give a fuck” face, mixed with the blood that was steadily pumping from her forehead, prompted me to shut the hell up and tend to her wound. She winced periodically as I cleaned her injury.
“What is that?” she asked when I cracked the lid off a small tube.
“Liquid stitches.”
She shook her head. “Don’t use that. Just bandage me up.”
“It’ll leave a nasty scar if I don’t.”
“We may never see civilization again. I don’t give a damn about a scar. We should save it for more serious injuries.”
I nodded and proceeded to work my magic. I tried to ignore how Victoria trembled like a leaf before me, but the shaking was so violent that I’d have to close my eyes not to notice.
This is all my fault. She could’ve been in Miami with her friends, having the time of her life, but instead, she’s wet, injured, and afraid for her life.
I don’t even know where we are—somewhere in the Pacific if I had to guess.
But how helpful is that? How many microscopic islands dotted the Pacific Ocean? We need a plan—water, food, shelter.
Locating a drinkable water source would be my number one priority. We wouldn’t survive long without it. If we were lucky, it would rain, but then we’d need a receptacle to collect rainwater.
“W-we need to find water,” Victoria stammered. I held back a smile. Did I hire her because I thought she was smoking hot and I wanted an assistant who was easy on the eyes? Yes, but I knew from how she domineered our interview that she was a competent woman with a take-no-shit personality.
“We do,” I agreed as I finished bandaging. “Someone will find us,” I said confidently.
“How can you be so sure?” she snapped.
“Billionaire CEO Knox Ramsey goes missing after never arriving at his destination? Someone is bound to be looking for me.”
She glanced up at me and scoffed. “Trust me. They wouldn’t look for you if they knew you like I did.”
“Fair enough. I’m going to look around and see what I can find. Maybe something washed ashore. Stay put.”
I left her and returned to shore, giving us both some much-needed space and time to think. Just as I arrived, I noticed something approaching—a lone figure in a life raft.
Another survivor? No fucking way.
I didn’t think it was possible for my mood to sour any further, but my anger bubbled up when the young co-pilot, who was responsible for our crash landing, pulled the raft ashore.
“God! That was a fucking nightmare. I thought I was going to die. I think I shit my pants. I can’t tell with all the water—”
Wisely, he stopped speaking once he noticed the thunderous look on my face.
“Of course, after dooming us all, you somehow survived.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault the engines failed!”
“Well then, whose fault is it? Aren’t you required to perform pre-flight checks?”
“The captain performed our pre-flight check.”
“Did you sign off? I know there must be a checks and balances system.” I closed my eyes and sighed when the kid looked away sheepishly. “You didn’t…did you?”
“I didn’t, but it’s not from my lack of trying! He told me he knew what he was doing and wouldn’t let some green-behind-the-ears kid fresh out of flight school check after him—his words, not mine.”
I was about to give him a piece of my mind when my eyes strayed to the contents of the life raft. I was shocked to see a flashlight, rope, scissors, coffee, and a coffee pot.
“You managed to salvage a few things from the wreckage. I guess you’re not a useless piece of shit after all, huh?”
He scoffed. “Guess not.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You and the deceased captain are responsible for us crashing—don’t get too fucking cocky.”
“You don’t have to keep reminding me,” he drawled with a childish roll of his eyes.
“Did the flight attendant survive?”
“No—she perished.”
“Okay…so it’s just the three of us.”
“The three of us?” he asked curiously.
“Yes, the woman I’m traveling with.”
“But I only see you.”
“She’s right fucking—”
I turned to point at Victoria, and that’s when I noticed she was no longer where I had left her.
Oh, fuck.