Island Rush (48 page)

When I reached his side and slowed to his pace, I saw he had a ‘broken’ expression.  I took his arm and spoke. “I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean it.  There is a title!  It’s called Sexy!  King Smooth and Sexy.  Superman…” I scoffed, loving how fun he could be with this, how far he took it.  The amusement remained in his eyes as we continued to slowly drag on.  “Superman is a loser!”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.  You are sexy and sweet.  If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn that you wanted to play dirty when you threw me to the ground.”

He broke slightly, looking up at me as he bit his lip. “Yeah?  If I trip again, will it turn you on?”

“Probably.  Do you feel better now?”

He nodded. “I guess.”

I kissed his cheek.  “Plus, Superman isn’t even a man. What real man would wear tights?” I trailed off purposefully as I then said, “Oh, sorry.”

He broke and started laughing before he pulled me into his arms and stopped walking.  “You can be so mean sometimes.  Tights, for your information, isn’t something all dancers wear.”

I smiled. “What about you?”

He smiled, and I could tell he was smug while also shy on the subject. “Irrelevant.”

“You’re a charmer,” I finally decided on as I looked at him, his smile bright as he took my hand.  He continued to lead me forward up to our shelter. 

Chapter 50

I scanned the water, being as still as I could. The sun beat down hard and the sweat gradually began falling, dripping into the water once in a while. To make things worse, I had to stand in the water on the other side of the beach, away from Casey. It just so happens that where I had to stand was on a large stretch of rocks. If he knew that, he probably would have said forget it. But when he wished me luck, and I came over here with determination, I couldn’t just turn around.  I am not weak. ‘Hey, Casey. Sorry, I don’t want to stand and walk over stones.  Starving is okay as long as my feet don’t hurt.’  That is something I refuse to say to him.

He was a small figure in my side vision.  I could see him well enough to determine he looked too comfortable.  All he had to do was sit in the shallow water and wait with a stick and string. Out of all the things, he picks to be not perfect at aiming towards a moving target.  And moving is something fishes, unfortunately, like to do.

Could I get any more uncomfortable and frustrated? Yes.  I was standing on rocks.  I was walking swiftly when I threw my spear, and it missed a few times. Casey didn’t catch anything yet, but I was still trying. I figured I could have hit a fish by now, but the problem lied within my body. My muscles were tense and tight, my back slightly hunched since it really hurt to stand straight.  How could I relax when my feet are digging into the sharp uneven rocks? Any worse? Oh, you bet!  We started only an hour ago. One hour!

The only thing that was good so far was that my feet weren’t bleeding yet. But we were an hour in so I’m positive my skin will break at some point. What a great day!

I stared across the waters of isolation, waiting.  The only movement was that of the continuous waves.  It felt like forever but eventually, I saw movement under the water.

My back tensed more, but I tried my best to relax, breathing in and out deeply. I watched the fish glide with the current over the jagged stones. It was going to pass me soon. So before that could happen, I took a deep breath and watched its movements, never taking my eyes off it.  I wound my arm with the spear back and put what I judged to be enough strength behind it before letting go.

I knew that for the millionth time that there would probably be no fish under those points of wood. And of course, I wasn’t surprised to find the spear once again fish-free.  I took the stupid spear and marched slowly back into my place.

A few seconds later, I heard something to my right. I turned to look to where Casey was jumping to his feet, disrupting the water.  He started to move his hands in a flash over the stick. It was hard to see considering I was so far away, but when I squinted in his direction, I could make it out.  I saw that although my attempt with the fish didn’t succeed, he did with that same fish I missed. I smiled as I made out his hand moving to the string that was tight.  He started to slowly back up to it, pulling it closer with one hand as his other wound up the slack.

My eyes followed where his line was tight.  I saw a disruption in the water a couple yards out from where he was now standing in the sand on the shore.  Then, he pulled his it in and lifted the large catch I missed. His face searched out over to me as I heard him howl in victory.

“Yeah baby!” he screamed. “We are eating well tonight!”

“WOO HOO!” I cheered loudly for him. I couldn’t see him that well but I knew he was smiling as I was now. It was the first time we actually caught a fish!

From where I stood, it appeared he grabbed the fish and took the bone hook out after putting it out of its misery.  He laid the dead fish aside and walked back out in the water, ready for another catch. I turned around myself and scanned back over the rocks, waiting to try again. It was just the start of a long day after all. At least, we had one fish so far!

It had to be more than three hours later with still no more progress from me.  I can’t complain, though.  Casey was on a good streak.  He pulled two more slightly smaller fish in.  However, I do admit that it was getting to me that I wasn’t getting anything.  I missed numerous times and the result sometimes ended in him catching those fish.  Don’t get me wrong, I was proud of him and grateful we had food more than anything.  I was happy that this was actually working.  But it was frustrating that I was the one standing out here, my back becoming sorer, and I wasn’t catching anything.  Yet he lounges in the water, managing a damn stick, and waits for a little pull.

I know I was overreacting to this, or rather my thoughts were. But I was uncomfortable, hurting, and frustrated. I figured from that point, though that I wouldn’t be catching any if I stayed this tense. I needed to relax some way. If I had Casey here, I would be able to relax.  His simple presence makes me happy. 

I took deep breaths and tried to think of something that would make me relax. Of course, not a few seconds later came another fish. I internally sighed as I watched it slowly cross in front of me, the scales along its body shimmering from the sun. It was another big one, like the first one Casey caught.

The seconds slowly ticked by and I took a deep breath again, ignoring my pain. I wasn’t sure where the image came from that popped in my head.  Once it entered my brain, it stayed.  It was Casey’s brown and beautiful eyes.  The pools of chocolate and love calmed me significantly.  I had concentrated on that image before I watched the fish and its movements, grasping the spear. I was relaxed, the pain was gone in that second, and as I threw the spear, I felt it.  Felt and knew I got it.

My eyes and feet moved forward, and when I looked down, I smiled to myself. The fish had the wood pierced through it, nearly all the way as it struggled under it.  I quickly grabbed the handle, pushing further down on it.  Its fight slowed, and it began to die.

I took the spear away from it and picked up the dead fish, gripping the slimy fish tight so it didn’t slide out of my hand. With my catch in one hand, spear in another, I turned around and looked at Casey across the beach.

“WOOO HOOO! Janice!” He cheered for me from where he sat in the water. I smiled as I put my spear in the air, yelling myself and cheering at how happy I was.  I walked up the beach and laid it in the sand. I quickly went back out, though, knowing I wanted to catch more despite how sore my body was.

As the day neared the end, I groaned with an even sorer back and shaky legs. Yes, the fact that we caught fish was all that was important. But really, though I was incredibly happy we caught all those fish, I felt... something else.  Sexual frustration? Maybe?

It made good sense.  I was mad at the fact that I had to do this, suffer from the stones, sweat, and stand all day.  I knew it was my own fault since Casey would have been fine with finding a new way to catch fish.  It still sucked that I felt I had to do this and not be weak. It was getting to me though that he got to relax all damn day and sit in the cool water.  The only work he did was pull in the fish.  That was how I was frustrated.

It turned into sexual frustration after I caught the first fish. It might have been because I haven’t seen him all day again.  It was probably my own fault for imagining his warm eyes every time a fish swam by.  Every time I pictured his beautiful eyes in mine and his face so loving and beautiful, I relaxed.  It made me want him here with me just as much. With him not being here made my desire increase. He was usually always with me, excluding a few days of separate practice between us. It came full circle — I wanted him here, and he wasn’t because he was on the other side of the beach... making me frustrated.

I headed back to shore, and I forced myself to walk straight and stretch my sore back. I gritted my teeth as I walked over the rocks and was surprised my feet weren’t bleeding. Reaching the shore, I looked down at the three fish I managed to catch throughout the whole day. That was quite good actually, and I was satisfied overall.

I caught movement in my side vision, and I saw Casey walking towards me.  His stick and string were in one hand.  The man was holding something else in his other hand.

Close enough, I saw him smile at me before looking down at the fish I caught. In his hand was a loop of very thick string.  At the bottom of that loop hung his five catches of the day. They were tied to the thick piece of string through their mouths.

I smiled up at him, still quite tense but I pushed that aside for now. “Love the necklace,” I said.

He chuckled and laid the loop of fish to the sand.  He then kneeled down and took my three fish, stringing those on with the other ones. “You did pretty well yourself.  I think it would be best to cook these this time.”

I nodded as he stood and smiled. He eyed me a little longer with a confused look. “You alright?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” How was he able to tell?

He shrugged. “You just seem a little on edge or something.”

“Nope. I’m fine.”

“Okay.”  He let it go as he continued. “Anyway, we should eat all these tonight. Unless we have some way of keeping them cold and frozen, they will rot.”

“Then what are we going to eat tomorrow?  Are we doing this again tomorrow?” There was no telling what insane stunt I would do next if we did this tomorrow. I thought we caught enough fish for a week or so and wouldn’t need to do this for a while.

“Yeah, but since we know that catching fish isn’t a big problem anymore, we can catch one once or twice every day. It won’t need to be an all-day activity like today.”

“So that means we are coming back tomorrow, right?” I asked, becoming plain frustrated now.

“Yeah.  But I plan on doing it with the spear tomorrow. I can’t tell you how awful I felt, watching you stand all day. I bet you’re a little upset with me.”

I smiled and sat in the sand, my legs too shaky to trust by now.  I let out a loud sigh of relief, “Just a little, but I can’t blame you.”

He smiled down at me, “Well, I am sorry. But tonight, we will eat like kings.”

“Good because I am starving. How will we cook them?”

“Over the fire is what I was thinking.”

I smirked, “Yeah? Are they just going to float there in midair over the flames?”

“You’ll see,” he said as he offered me his free hand.

I groaned. “You sure like surprising me today.” I took his hand as he helped me to my feet. I grabbed the spear, and he grabbed the fish.  We headed back up the beach and to camp. 

“For God’s sake! You can do everything! Make spears, a belt, and slingshots, now whatever this is!  Yet you can’t hit a moving target! Is that accurate?” I asked as I came back from going to the bathroom out in the woods. I leave for one second and come back, and something new was just invented.

He laughed and looked to me. “Yeah pretty much.” The fire blazed with the fish on the long string next to Casey where he sat. He held a long handle of a branch and at the end, there were smaller thin branches all twined together.  It was like a net of twigs, similar to how a basket looks, all weaved together.

I chuckled in disbelief at how amazing it was. “You are unbelievable.” After biting my lip, I carefully tried to sit down next to him, keeping my small whimper in.  I did not want to draw attention to how awkward the process of sitting down was. All it was a sore back, but I couldn’t help but groan every time I got up and sat down.

Carefully, I bent my knees and sat down, making it look natural. I didn’t moan, so he didn’t notice. I watched as he then spread the woven sticks out.  It was about the size of my hand.

He then turned away from me, grabbed the fish he gutted out, and laid it on the small bed of twigs at the end of the handle. Then, he grabbed another twig and placed it over the top of the fish, bending both ends so it tucked into the rest of the tight sticks, holding the fish in place.

I could only stare at the bound fish.  He held the handle out in front of him, the fish laying over the flames as he cooked it. I looked up at him. “Have you been stranded on an island before?”

He smiled, glancing at me before glancing back to watch the fire. “Now who is the charmer, huh?” he asked as he pulled the fish off the fire, checking it. He turned it to its side so the fish could burn on all sides as he put it back over the flames.

A couple minutes later, he pulled it back off, and set it aside and carefully removed the stick that held it down against the bound twigs.  It was steaming, and kind of fell apart over the sticks. Casey, being the smart guy he is, already figured that, though.  He had slid a large, clean leaf under the twigs, and the fish fell onto the leaf, safe from the dirt.