Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Day Four Stranded

Edward

I rubbed my fists against my biceps hard and fast, trying to create friction. I was freezing and soaking wet, the rain coming down so hard that it felt like falling bullets. But I had to find her.

I knew she wasn’t intoxicated enough to jump in the ocean and drown herself, but it was extremely foggy, and with the rain coming down in sheets, I couldn’t even see the shore, much less the water. The wind kept blowing in cold air, and I shivered for the millionth time.

I clasped my hands around my mouth, calling her name again.

“Bella!” I yelled. I didn’t even know how long I’d been searching for her, but I knew it had been over an hour. I started to get worried when the rain and wind had picked up. Thinking she was just mad at me, I figured she would come back after shaking off a bit of steam. But after waiting a long ass time for her to come back, I started looking myself. The thunder echoed around the small island, the lightning illuminating the blackish gray sky.

I wrapped my arms around my torso, feeling my muscles ache with the dropping temperature. I had walked around the whole island twice now, and my stomach dropped to my pelvis at the possibility of her going into the water. I felt like such an asshole now after rejecting her kiss. I had been all for it; Bella’s and my relationship had gotten so much better over the last few days being stuck here. I ceased most of my perverted jokes, instead throwing flirtatious winks and smirks here and there. We were together all the time, and I’d learned so much about her. She had the cutest mannerisms, from biting her lip raw to blushing the color of fire. When she did both together, I had to physically fight myself from kissing her. She was selfless, and she never wanted me to do anything for her. I ignored that demand, partly because I just wanted to help her and partly because I wanted her to see my good side. I was starting to think winning her affection was impossible, though. I wasn’t sure if it was that she wanted me but didn’t know for sure, or if she just didn’t like me at all. Based on past experiences, I knew any other chick would have gladly responded to my advances, whereas Bella blushed and changed the subject, looking away from me. But I was quickly learning that Bella was nothing like other women.

So, when I went to kiss her and she didn‘t try to stop me, I was completely surprised. I wanted to kiss her so badly, and I felt sparks go off in my head when I saw that she wanted it, too. But then I had smelled the slight scent of alcohol on her breath, and I freaked.

An overwhelming sense to stop what I was doing came over me. I wanted her to be completely sober if and when we kissed. I wanted to be completely sober, too, not half-drunk after drinking half a bottle of wine. I could hold my liquor well, but I could feel a slight buzz, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to remember this. I wanted she and I to both remember that particular moment in perfect detail. I wanted her to be completely willing; I did not want the alcohol to be the reason she kissed me. And I sure as hell didn’t want her to regret this later on. It needed to be perfect, so I pulled away.

It was hard to explain this feeling. I guessed it was because I had never given two shits about the four women I had been with. I cared about Bella. There was something about her. Her realness, her innocence, the way she seemed so fragile, making me feel protective. Everything drew me in, and it was strange and comforting all at the same time.


She seemed hurt when I pulled away from her, and before I could do anything, she was gone. I did not follow her because I thought she had realized what she was doing, and regretted it once I pulled away, as if she had come to her senses. My presence definitely wouldn’t help her if she were ashamed of herself for letting the alcohol lead her. Or she could have just been hurt, feeling rejected.

If the latter theory were correct, which I couldn’t decide which would be worse, then I really was a total douche bag. What if she actually felt something for me? I had pulled away from her; what if that had been my only chance? I groaned in frustration.

Where is she? I was not going in the ocean. That would just guarantee both our deaths. And if she were dead, then I would simply follow. I couldn’t live stranded here alone. I wasn’t going to live if Bella did not. Worry rushed over me again at these morbid thoughts.

No, she’s not dead. She can’t be dead. I repeated the words in my head, willing them to be true. Since I had already searched around the island twice, I decided to look in the small forest, hoping she had gone in there. I swore to God that if I could just find her, I would never make a nasty joke again as long as I lived.

I entered the sopping leaves, freezing from head to foot. If I didn’t find Bella soon, she could face hypothermia! I still couldn’t see where I was going because the forest was shallow at first, causing rain to come through just as much as it did in the open. I ran into a few trees, tripping here and there, before I was protected slightly by the high trees and their giant leaves.

“Bella!” I called again every few minutes. Before long, I was deep into the forest, almost halfway, and my feet were killing me. They felt raw from stepping on the twigs and the wet mud made the bottom of my feet slippery and sensitive. I wiped the water out of my face, hearing the thunder clap again.

I had almost given up when I heard a loud “Ow!” over the deafening rain. Thank goodness!

“Bella?” I yelled. I could just make out her slight silhouette ten feet away from me. She was on the ground, trying to push herself up. I rushed over and helped her, suddenly realizing with a jolt that she was nearly naked. Why did she take her clothes off? I wondered. I assessed her quickly, making sure she was all in one piece. I tried to avoid the sight of her delicious curves and the way her small waist held onto the straps of her panties. It didn’t work; my eyes kept wondering to the same places.

I grew slightly angry after I was sure that she was okay. Did she have any idea how worried I was? “Bella, I have been looking for you for an hour! I was so worried!” She said nothing, merely sitting up, not looking at me. She didn’t seem to be in danger of hypothermia, and I realized that was why she had taken her clothes off. I knew she must have been freezing, though, so I picked her up and brought her back to our spot, ignoring the way her bare skin felt on my fingers. Her skin wasn’t cold, but her fingers felt like ice, and I could feel her cold breath on my chest.

We arrived under our little canopy, and I set her down carefully. She was shivering hard, the goose bumps on her arms resembling a breakout of hives. I asked if she was okay and she shrugged. She still hadn’t said a word to me, and I was growing worried.

I put my dry shirt over her and pulled her to me. We could give each other body warmth, but I worried that she wouldn’t want me to even touch her after what had happened. Surprisingly, she clutched me back, causing me to flinch at the cold, wet fabric of her bra. But I would put up with it if it helped her. I could feel her starting to warm up, and her breathing was evening out, signaling sleep. Glad that I had actually done something right after fucking up earlier, I did the only thing I could at the moment--apologize. She looked at me with sad eyes, and I felt even more horrible until she smiled lightly and returned her head to my chest, falling asleep. I grasped her cold hair and scalp. How did women sleep with wet hair anyway? Bella’s hair was so long and thick, soaking up so much. It had to make her twice as cold.

The wind and rain didn’t hit us as hard here under the trees, but the parts of me that weren’t touching Bella felt numb. I couldn’t feel my back and my pants were soaked through; my ass was like a small glacier connected to my body. I didn’t fall asleep for another hour.

When I woke up the rain had stopped, but it was still dark. The sun was starting to rise, and the wind had slowed down, too. I was still cold and wet, but it was bearable, certainly not as bad as the night before. I looked down at Bella, seeing that we had not changed positions during the night. If anything, we had moved closer to each other. She had unraveled from the tight ball she had contorted herself into last night, and I could feel her toes on my calves. Her arms were still wrapped around my waist, her face in my right shoulder. She was so close that I couldn’t see her face, and her hair was all over; I kept having to spit strands out of my mouth. I ran my fingers over the silky skin of her shoulder blades. Her bra had been white when we first arrived on the island, but now it was turning into a darker, murky color from all the dirt and water she had been in the last week.

I wished that I had a razor, or at least a scissor, to cut of the small beard I was growing. I remembered my teenage years when I had so desperately wanted to look more masculine, looking in the mirror every night and willing my face to grow hair. Now I just wished it would stop. After shaving nearly every day for years, this scruffiness was driving me fucking insane.

I looked down, getting a better view of Bella’s body. She had insisted time and time again that it wasn’t possible for her to tan, but I could plainly see that her skin had gotten darker. I traced a beauty mark on her shoulder softly, hoping that she would wake up soon. I guessed that it was around four in the morning, so there was little chance she would join me soon; I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

I awoke about two hours later, the sound of birds chirping was my alarm clock. Bella was still asleep, but her eyelids fluttered as moved my head to look at her face. With a sigh, her eyes opened, giving me a perfect view of her round brown eyes. She stared at me with wonder before her eyebrows came together in confusion. Then she looked down at herself.

“Why am I almost naked?” she asked, surprisingly calm. I chuckled.

“Er, you fell asleep that way,” I said. Her eyes widened before understanding dawned on her.

“Oh,” she said. I guessed she was remembering what had taken place yesterday. She bit her lip, and I internally groaned, pulling her bottom lip from her teeth before I went more insane.

“If you keep doing that, your lips are going to fall off,” I said. She rolled her eyes and got up, retreating from my embrace. I got up, too.

“I should find my clothes,” she muttered. I beg to differ, I thought. She stretched; I stared. She turned her head and smirked at me, as if she knew what she was doing to me. Then she skipped off.

Did Bella just tease me? No, there was no way. Bella never did anything like that. Then again, I’d only known her a week. Well, that was just one thing I could add to the list--Bella could be kinky if she wanted…or she could just be punishing me for my rejection yesterday. Either way, she was being sexy, and I wasn’t going to complain. I followed, not even attempting to ignore the way her hips swayed.

Bella found her shirt and pants, but they were still soaking wet, and she decided not to put them back on, as it was still chilly. The sun warmed up the air a bit, but I was fearing what would happen when it went down again.

We walked back to the shoreline, and Bella sat back on her rock. The air was dry enough for me to make a fire again, so I started looking for wood. Unfortunately, the wood was damp, but it would still burn. I got it started and put our clothes next to the fire, hanging them on an erected stick so they could dry. Hours passed, and I was starving, looking at Bella eat the fruit she had picked earlier. I was growing sick of the food. A nice, juicy steak would be perfect at the moment. When she peeled the banana and proceeded to enter it into her mouth, I couldn’t take it anymore, and walked towards the water, grabbing a long stick along the way. Bella laughed when she saw what I was planning to do. I glared at her, and that just made her giggle more.

“Do you have a better plan? Or do you just want to eat that shit for the rest of the time we’re here?” I gestured at her offensive banana. She merely laughed again, the movement making her breasts jiggle. I turned around quickly, but the sight was forever burned in my brain. I tried looking for swimming fish, and I figured that it would be easy since the water was so clear, but I had no luck. Bella laughed more at my frustration, and I couldn’t help but replay the scene in my head, fighting the urge to look at her again.

I trotted into deeper water until I was up to my thighs. I looked around carefully, observant of everything that moved in the water. I saw a swish of something and crazily leapt toward it. I looked down at what I caught in my hands; it was definitely no fish, just a bunch of purplish seaweed. I groaned and threw it down when I heard Bella snort from a little ways behind me. I looked back and saw that she was a few feet away in the shallower part.

“Oh, you think you can do any better? Why don’t you try to catch us dinner, huh?” I asked playfully. She looked at me like I was crazy.

“And get pinched again?” she said, gesturing at her hurt toes. “I don’t think so, Mr. Sexter.”

“You’re just chicken,” I egged her on.

“And you just want me to do it for you,” she said. I laughed.

“I wouldn’t mind fixing your toes again,” I told her smugly. If she tried to kiss me again, I definitely wouldn’t refuse. She made a hmpf sound and started walking back. I walked into deeper water, looking for the swish of a tail or bubbles breaking the surface.

I saw a few fish eventually, none of which looked appetizing, but I wasn’t going to pass up the chance. For nearly an hour I made a fool of myself jumping and swatting, trying to catch just one. When I was about to give up, I saw a medium-sized founder scurrying away from me. I yelped in excitement and tried hitting it with the stick, knowing there was no chance I was quick enough to stab it. I kept trying to hit the fish until Bella rushed over to me yelling.

“Don’t do that! You’re going to hurt it!” she screamed, finally reaching me and taking the pole from my hands. We looked at the flounder that was nearly dead from my beating. I grabbed the battered fish and looked at her incredulously. We were going to eat it anyway! Why did it matter how I killed the damn fish? She looked at me with horror. I realized she thought I was never going to catch one, otherwise she would have stopped me.

“That’s cruelty to animals, Edward! I can’t believe you did that!” she said breathlessly.

“Bella, it’s a fish. A fish that would die regardless, no matter how I killed it. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of eating mushy fucking fruit!” I said, holding the fish out to her. She looked at it sadly, and I could see tears in her eyes. I felt like such an asshole taking in the sight of her pity, and I even started to feel bad for the fish.

I sighed sadly. “Do you want me to let it go?” I whispered to her. I felt like such a pussy, giving in because this girl seemed to control my feelings, but I knew that I would do anything she told me now. This girl--the only girl in the world as far as I was concerned--had me wrapped around her finger in less than a week. She just had to say the word, and I would do as she said.

Bella sighed, too, and said, “No, it’s going to die anyway after hitting it so many times. May as well fry it.” And with that, she walked away from me back to her rock. I followed her, bewildered at the fact that she could be so compassionate one second and indifferent the next. I passed a crab along the way and decided to pick it up, too.

“Hey, I think I found the culprit from yesterday,” I said, smiling. She turned around and saw the crab in my hands. “You think it’s the same one?” I could see a smile forming on her face. “Do you mind if we eat this one?”

I almost expected her to object after what she’d just done with the fish, but she surprised me again by saying, “No, I think he deserves the death penalty after he tried to pull my toe off.” I smiled and shook my head at her absurdness. I had told her to hold onto it yesterday while I fixed her toes in the hopes that we could fry it later, but I guessed she let it go when she ran from me.


Bella

I sat back down on my rock, watching the sea as Edward rebuilt the fire to cook the fish and boil the crab. He had found an empty coconut shell that we had split in half, and he put fresh water from a large puddle made by the rain in the makeshift bowl. He built a figure made of sticks to hold the coconut pot over the fire, and put the crab in it to boil. He was very handy, but obviously not good at catching fish.

In the morning after remembering what had happened between us the day before, I decided not to make it awkward for us by ignoring him. Instead, I pretended as if nothing happened, and it was working until he mentioned fixing my toes up again. I fought the urge to stick him the finger, and walked off. That was another thing that was bothering me. I found myself winding down; I guessed it was because I had never been away from work this long, and my playful side was starting to come out after being hidden for so long. I had certainly never wanted to stick the finger at anyone. I was so used to being the perfect employee who worked even when off the clock. I was experiencing a big change, and I hated change. Change was different, it wasn’t a guarantee, and it wasn’t always safe. It was either that I really did need a vacation, like Angela said, or it was that Edward was rubbing off on me. I hoped it was the former. I didn’t want a man to be the one who changed me. I’d gone through that already, and even though Eric and I hadn’t been very intimate and what you would call ‘in love,’ it hurt all the same, especially when I had to alter my life again after our breakup. I would die a virgin, and I was okay with that. Well, I had been before I met Edward. I couldn’t figure out what my problem was at first, but I had an epiphany. Edward’s jokes irritated me because I wanted him. And I had never wanted anyone that way before, so it was all so confusing to me. And I got mad when he joked with me because it was like he was throwing it in my face that I couldn’t have him. Maybe my logic was wrong, but it was all I had. Every time he moved, I couldn’t help but stare at the way his muscles tensed. I loved admiring his abdominals when he wasn’t looking. His legs, too, were so muscular, even through the jeans he wore.

Yep, something was definitely happening to me. Before coming here, I had never allowed myself to think those thoughts, but now it was becoming my favorite hobby.

I looked over at Edward ‘cooking,’ for lack of a better word. He had hung the fish with moss over the fire, and the crab was boiling in the coconut shell. He was poking the fire with another stick. He caught me looking at him, and he smiled. I smiled back. The incident with the fish had blown over, and I forgave him. I felt a little ridiculous because he had been right; it was a fish, and we were going to eat it. I had respect for all forms of life, but it had been wrong of me to chastise him the way I did. We didn’t exactly have the utensils or the time for me to be picky and overly caring. I knew I would have to start overlooking some things. That included sleeping half naked next to Edward.

I was so uncomfortable in just my underclothes, but I tried to hide it. Edward was being good about it, though. He didn’t ogle or make fun of me for that, and he was making an attempt to dry my clothes.

He surprised me when he offered to put the fish back when I threw a fit. I didn’t think he would put my feelings before his own, but he did.

I constantly had to stop myself from hoping.

Hours later, when the sun was starting to go down once again, signaling our seventh day here, Edward called for me to go eat. I had been wandering around the island a little more, trying to find things that may have washed up after the storm. I looked up at Edward sitting on my rock, gesturing at what he had set out for us. I walked closer to get a better look and saw that he had gone all out.

He used large leaves as plates that held slices of cooked fish. Somehow, he had cut them into bite size pieces. The crab sat in the middle of us, red and dead. A little fire was right next to the crab; it served as a candle, burning on a few twigs and red leaves. There were avocados on each side of our plates, already peeled and ready to eat. I saw that we each had two large coconuts with the juice in them. My mouth watered and I looked up at Edward in awe. He had done all of this for me?

“Did you really do all of this for me?” I whispered. It was so sweet, and so much better than what we had done the last few days. He had put so much work into this, and I had done nothing to help. I felt really bad for fussing him, and promised myself I would let him decide everything from here on out.

Edward simply smiled at me and turned my coconut cup around. I saw that he had carved the name ‘BEllA’ into it with a rock, and saw that his own said ‘ED.’ I giggled and he said, “You know, so we don’t mix up the cups and drink after each other.”

I looked at him again, and he looked so beautiful with the fire highlighting all the strong angles of his face. It was such a romantic moment, and I couldn’t help but feel giddy inside.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to catch your cooties,” I said, sitting down across from him. We ate in a comfortable silence, but I kept catching him looking at me. He was looking at my face, so it was okay. We split the crab in half; I had one claw, he had the other. He didn’t know how to peal, and I had grown up peeling seafood and eating it, so I had to show him.

When we were finished, I tried to get up and clean everything, but Edward grabbed my hand quickly and asked me to walk with him. I looked into his smoldering green eyes and nodded. We walked along the shoreline, and the moon and stars were making their presence as the sun went fully down. It was beautiful, and the sea was a little rough, but definitely nothing like it had been the night before. It was a perfect night, and I was next to the perfect man. It felt like something from a dream, something every girl wished for. We walked at the edge of the water, our feet making prints in the wet sand.

I was starting to get a little chilly, and Edward noticed when I shivered. He grabbed my hand and put an arm around my shoulders. A few minutes later we stopped walking, and I followed his gaze, looking at the stars. We stayed like that for a moment, just admiring the night sky.

“Beautiful,” Edward whispered so low, I thought I’d misheard him. I turned to him and saw that he was looking at me, not the sky. I blinked, thinking if I reopened my eyes, I would wake from this perfect dream. But when I opened them, he was still there. This was real.

Edward turned me so that I was fully facing him, and he took my hands in his own.

“Bella,” he said softly, “I want you to know that…even though being stranded on a deserted island isn’t generally seen as a good thing…” he paused and leaned toward me, “I’m glad to be here with you. I don’t regret this. Please tell me that you’re not miserable here. That I’ve succeeded in making you as happy as you can be in this situation.”

I debated what to say, but then thought that I should just say what came from my heart. I always thought too much, and it was time to change that. Edward deserved to know the truth, not an edited version.

“Edward, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I was suffering here. To tell you the truth, this is the most fun I’ve had in years! I was…broken before this, and I never allowed myself to heal properly. I’m becoming a better person, and it’s not because of the situation or everything I’ve been through the last week. It’s because of you. You are so different from anyone I’ve met. If you weren’t here, and I were here alone, I would probably just hang myself from one of those trees. Honestly, I don’t want to go back…not if it means losing you in my life. I--I don’t know what this is, but I know it’s something good, and I haven’t had anything good in my twenty-two years of living. You are like my sun in the middle of a storm. I must sound crazy, but it’s true--you’re changing me…” I trailed off, hoping he didn’t think I was a lunatic. I looked at my feet.

Edward took my face in his hands and tilted it so that my eyes met his. There was fire in them, and he looked more gorgeous than ever before.

“I--,” he started, but stopped. He swallowed and tried again. “Bella, I--” but he cut himself off, mashing his lips to mine roughly. I was shocked for a second, but quickly responded by gripping his soft hair, hope be damned. There was nothing soft about our kisses. It was erotic and romantic, and I felt myself grow hot with need. I gripped him harder, and he responded by trailing his hands down from my jaw to my collarbone, lightly over my breasts and to my hips. His tongue traced my lips, begging for entrance, and I gave it to him. He tasted like honey, and I never wanted to stop, but we were both running out of breath, and he pulled away from my lips, kissed me once more chastely, and put his forehead against mine.

He lifted one hand and traced my left cheekbone with two fingers gently. “Bella…” he said. “Beautiful…”




All pictures are taken from either Google or Deviantart.