Stranded(20)
When India couldn’t stand beneath the forceful spray any longer, she waded out of the water and wrung out her hair with a grimace. Without any hair care products, a blow dryer or flat iron, she’d been sporting an afro. Since there were no mirrors either, she’d been spared the sight she must have made.
India thanked her lucky stars she’d just received her regular Depo-Provera shot before coming on this vacation. One of the side effects of the birth control method was her lack of a period. She winced to think of dealing with that out here without the proper equipment, and prayed they’d be rescued before it wore out in three months.
She silently cursed as she pulled her dress back on. One of the straps had torn on a twig and the bodice was already ripped in the front, dipping low enough to give anyone who looked a show. Why hadn’t she worn something more practical during her trip, instead of this flimsy piece of cotton? She didn’t even have the benefit of a bra since her sundress was the kind that had one already built in.
Besides a pair of lacy bikini panty briefs, India felt completely exposed. But on the flipside, she wondered what Rafe and Grant thought of her. Did they sometimes find themselves stealing glances at her, surveying her every curve as she did with them. Ludicrous as it was, she couldn’t help thinking about Rafe and what he’d done to her body and what would have happened if Grant had done more than watch?
She shook her head, banishing the thought from her mind, then finished dressing, adjusting her dress to cover as much skin as possible. With a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and headed back to camp, prepared to face the men. The moment she stepped onto the beach, she heard shouts and yelling. What was going on? Was everything okay? Was one of the men hurt?
India ran toward the commotion without another thought, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. The sight which greeted her, however, was of Rafe and Grant dancing around and hugging each other like a couple of lunatics in their apparent jubilation.
Did they spot a plane? Cautiously, she walked over to them. Grant spotted her first and ran over to her. Before India could protest, he lifted her in the air, swinging her around until she pushed his shoulders. “Have you lost your mind? Put me down!” She smacked him on the chest.
Grant laughed, unperturbed, slowly lowering her along the length of his hard body. She felt every ripple and every hollow of his taut form. She couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping her lips at being made aware of his blatant masculinity. Pulling out of his arms, she took a step back. “What’s going on? And why are you two acting like you won the lottery?”
“Look!” Rafe pointed toward their cave and India noticed for the first time puffs of white smoke billowing out.
“Fire?” She’d known how frustrated the two men had been over not being able to start one, and now that they had, and realizing how much it meant to their survival, she threw her head back and whooped at their triumph. “This is great! Thank God, we won’t damn near freeze to death another night and if we ever catch a fish or another crab, we’ll have a way to cook it. How did you finally do it?”
Grant grinned, pride etching the corners of his eyes. “A lot of hard work. We realized the sticks weren’t catching fire no matter how much we rubbed them together. Then Rafe got the idea of using the coconut husk and viola! Actually, it took some time, but we finally got that sucker started. Now we simply have to figure out how to keep it going.”
“I suggest we collect as much wood and flammable objects as possible to burn so we’ll have a surplus, and it will be all of our responsibilities to watch it.” Rafe slipped his hands in his pockets.
India nodded. “Or we can take shifts. Whatever you guys decide, I’ll go along with it.” She silently counted to ten before making her next statement, knowing if she didn’t bring the subject up now she’d lose her nerve. “Guys, I…uh, think we need to talk.” The statement hung in the air between them and for a moment, she didn’t think either one of them would respond.
Finally, Rafe answered. “Yes, I think we should too. It looks like it’s going to rain. We should probably take shelter.”
She followed them inside and stilled when she got a good look inside the cave. The fire illuminated the place and she saw things she hadn’t noticed before. In the corner of the cave was a large set of animal bones and it freaked her out. “What is that?” India pointed to the fossil.
Grant shrugged. “It could have been a wild boar or something similar, judging from the shape and size.”
“I knew there was the possibility of animals roaming the island, but I didn’t think they’d dwell this far from the forest.” So much had happened in the past few days that the idea hadn’t crossed her mind. It meant their shelter wasn’t as safe as she’d assumed, yet another reason it sucked to be stuck on a deserted island.