He brushed her hand away from his face. “Listen, this is what’s called tough love. Now, Kevin, lay your butt down horizontally in that sand and then roll over here to where we’re standing. It’s the only way out.”
Kevin sighed. He looked around, as if trying to find another solution but coming up empty. “Okay, Jon, you win. So far you’ve never let us down, so I’m going to trust you. I’m putting myself in your hands. Brothers?”
He held up his hand ceremoniously.
Jonathan held up his hand at Kevin. “Brothers. Now throw me your backpack.”
Kevin obeyed and then leaned forward so that he could get his body horizontal in the muck. It was difficult at first – his legs didn’t want to come out, but eventually the weight of his upper body pulled him down. Then he began to float on the top of the surface.
Sarah clasped her hands together and squeezed for all she was worth. She began bouncing up and down on her toes, chanting, “Come on, come on, come on ...”
“Now roll over here!” yelled Jonathan, in an excited voice. “Ha, ha! It’s working!”
Candi looked at her brother in horror. “You act like you’re surprised!”
Jonathan shrugged, smiling. “Well I am, kind of. I mean, I suspected it would work, but I didn’t know for sure until he actually did it.” His face was alight with the joy of the discovery he’d just made.
Sarah shook her head at him and swallowed the lump in her throat. She turned back to Kevin just in time to see him roll out of the muck at Candi’s feet.
He moved to get up, but before he was completely vertical, Candi grabbed him in a huge bear hug. She was so small compared to Kevin, it didn’t look very effective, but he seemed to get the idea behind the gesture.
“Hey, little Gumdrop, are you happy to see me?”
“Yes,” she answered from his shirtfront. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Sarah, now much more in control after seeing her brother safe and sound, walked over and slapped him on the arm. “Yeah, don’t ever do that again. You scared the crap out of me. Can you imagine what Dad would say? ‘Oh yeah, sorry Mom and Dad, but Kevin sank in a pit of quicksand while I watched ... sorry ‘bout that.’ Yeah, that would go over really well.”
Jonathan reached out and touched Sarah’s arm. She nodded at him, acknowledging his support.
Sarah caught Kevin watching what was going on between them, a mystified expression on his face for a moment, before he turned back to address Candi’s attentions. “Hey, little sand fairy. Rasta girl. I’m okay, you can let me go now.”
“Oh, yeah, right.” Candi let go and stepped back quickly. “Sorry about that. I was just happy you weren’t, you know, dead.”
Kevin chuckled. “Yeah, well, me too. Let’s go home. And here’s a tip everyone ... put your spear out in front of you while you’re walking, and poke it in the ground. If it pokes in too easy, don’t step there.”
They laughed, letting Kevin’s humor help wash away the fear and stress that lingered over their heads. It was all too easy to forget how dangerous this island could be if they lowered their guard too much.
***
They eventually reached the point where Jonathan said they had to turn in eastward so they wouldn’t end up taking the long way back around the whole southern end of the island.
They arrived at the treehouse with about an hour of daylight left.
“I’m going to go try and get us some dinner,” said Candi, grabbing two spears.
“Mind if I come along?” asked Kevin.
“No, not at all. I’d like the company.”
They made their way over to Candi’s favorite fishing spot in companionable silence and climbed up on the rock together. “Aren’t you going to fish?” she asked him.
“Nope, I’m just gonna watch you. I’m not very good at it. Yet.”
Candi laughed. “Okay, suit yourself.” She got quiet, her eyes scanning the water for telltale signs that a fish was nearby. She didn’t have to wait long, noticing movement in the shallows below her.
Kevin squinted at the place he saw her focusing on. It was more difficult to see with the sunlight fading, but Candi looked like she had her target locked in her sights.
Kevin watched as she poised on the balls of her feet, her right arm cocked back. She was holding the spear in her fist and he could see her grip was solid. The muscles in her forearm were bulging. He looked down at her legs, admiring the way her quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles were flexing, showing off their lean definition. All those morning workouts, rugby games, and karate lessons were really making a difference. Sweet.
He thought back to how she had looked in school versus how she looked today. She was super tan now and had some really cute freckles across her nose and cheeks. Who knew freckles could be so sexy? Her hair was nearly blond with all the sun streaks. She had those cool dreadlocks, that for some reason really worked for her, making her look all badass and, well, different. He’d never seen anyone but a professional athlete look as lean and fit as she did standing here on the rock in front of him today. All in all, her look had changed and Kevin approved, even though admittedly, she had looked pretty fine even before they got to the island.
Probably the biggest difference he saw in her was not in her appearance, though – it was in her self-confidence. She walked differently. She had a stride now, when before she’d had just a plain old walk. Before, she’d been afraid of her own shadow; she was always hiding behind her shyness or something – like she wanted things but didn’t have the guts to go get them. Now, she was different. Sexier. Funnier. Cuter. More powerful or something. The more he studied her, the more he realized he was seriously attracted to her, and it wasn’t because she was the only girl in his world.
He thought about his last three girlfriends. Compared to her, they were empty shells. They had nothing going on upstairs and there was nothing different or special about them that he had ever noticed. They were like cookie cutter girlfriends – they all looked and acted the same. He couldn’t imagine any of them standing here on this rock, wearing dreads, and spearing fish to feed his family. Not a chance. And yet, here was Candi, his little sand fairy. The girl who today couldn’t stop herself from grabbing him when she had thought he was going to die. Man, am I stupid or what? What am I waiting for with this girl?
“Candi?”
“Shhh.”
He whispered back. “Oh, yeah, sorry. I’ll wait.”
No sooner had he said that than she sprang into action. Two seconds later she was standing in the water with a huge fish on the end of her spear, up in the air wiggling around, trying to break free.
“Woo hoo, that’s a big mother!” she yelled, smiling wide as she climbed back up onto the rock. She pulled it off the spear and ran a string through its gills and mouth, passing the knot that closed the string through the loop at the other end.
“You were saying?” she asked Kevin, sitting down across from him. Water was dripping down her face so she gave her head a quick shake, spraying him with water.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
“Oops, sorry about that.” She reached up to wipe a drop off his cheek.
Kevin opened his eyes, grabbing her hand midway, holding onto it.
Candi looked at him in confusion.
“You really are amazing, you know that?”
Candi looked down at the rock, instantly appearing self-conscious and embarrassed. “Stop.”
“No, I’m serious. Look at me.” He used his other hand to take her chin and gently force her face up. “I was watching you. You’ve changed since we came here. You were pretty and cool before, but now ... now you’re even more amazing. You take care of all of us. You’re a good person. And you’re hot as hell with your dreads and your tan and that rockin’ body.”
Candi breathed out a single note of laughter. “You’re crazy.”
“No, I’m not. I consider myself very observant of the female form, actually, and you have the whole package. Not only do you have a
killer body, you’re also a really nice girl and super smart. Normally I’m scared to death of girls like you, so I go another route, but I’d like to think I’ve learned a few things since we came here.” He took her hands in his and continued. “I don’t want to screw up what we have here, but if you’re willing to seriously give me a shot, I’d like to ask you to be my girlfriend. Like, officially.”
Candi’s face got redder and redder, the more he said, but she didn’t respond right away.
“What are you thinking? I can tell your brain’s going a million miles an hour right now,” he said, smiling at her encouragingly.
“I’m not sure. My head is pretty much spinning right now.”
“In what way? A good way or a bad way?”
“Both, maybe. I don’t know.” She sat there staring at him, occasionally glancing down at his arms and then back up to his face.
He’d give anything to be in her head right now and know what she was thinking. She wasn’t letting any of her inner thoughts show on her face.
“I’m waiting for your answer ... but hey, if you need more time, just tell me. I mean, I’m not going anywhere, you know?”
Kevin was trying to make her laugh to ease her stress.
“I guess I’m wondering if you’d still want to be my boyfriend if we weren’t on this island.”
“I’d say yes, I would want to, but would you even believe me? And does it even make a difference? This island is where we are now. This is our life for the foreseeable future.”
Candi bit her lip for a few seconds and then said, “Oh, what the hell ... why not?” A huge grin split her face.
Kevin was taken aback by her sudden and unconventional answer. “Well, that’s good, right? I mean, that’s a yes, isn’t it?” It sure looked like a yes, her eyes sparkling with humor.
Candi laughed. “Yes, that’s a yes. Sorry about that. Just fighting some inner demons.”
“Ah,” said Kevin knowingly, “my reputation has preceded me, I think.”
Candi smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “I’m not who I was, and you’re not who you were. Let’s just be us – who we are, right now on Peanut Island.”
“Good idea,” said Kevin softly, as he leaned in closer to Candi, his eyes moving to her lips.
They met halfway, the fish on the rope and the spear completely forgotten. Kevin released her hand so that he could reach up and touch her face while his lips met hers. He immediately tasted the salt there. They were so soft and delicate, barely touching his. He turned his head to deepen the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth, finding it warm and inviting. Her tongue was soft and wet, moving over and around his in a way that made him instantly aroused.
He moved his hands under her arms and picked her up to put her in his lap. She moved her legs so she was straddling him on the rock. Now she was up higher than he was, and she took control.
***
Candi surprised even herself with her boldness. She angled her head to deepen the kiss, putting her hands on the back of Kevin’s head and neck. She ran her fingers through his hair, then down his back, feeling his huge muscles bulging as he balanced himself and moved his arms down to her butt. He squeezed it, making her moan with the hot flashes it sent charging through her body. She was getting very hot, very quickly.
Unfortunately, they weren’t in a very romantic spot, which became apparent when Kevin’s calf muscle decided to get a cramp in it from the odd angle it had been holding. He immediately stopped kissing her.
“Ouch, shit. Oh, man ... pain!”
Candi sat back to look at his face which was screwed up in a grimace of pain. “What? What’d I do?” She was mortified that she might have done something wrong.
“No, not you ... calf muscle ... charlie horse!”
“Oh, no, oh, those hurt. Here, let me help.” Candi jumped off his lap and grabbed the leg he was reaching for. She felt his calf and found the big knot of spasming muscle.
“Okay, this is going to hurt for just a second. Hang on.” She grabbed ahold of it and squeezed it as hard as she could.
“Arrrggh!!! Holy shit woman, whatareyoudoingtome?!”
“Shush, this works, just sit still.”
Sure enough, the muscle slowly relaxed and she could see that the pain had subsided almost immediately. Kevin’s face relaxed as the tension left his body.
“How’s that for red-hot romance?” he gasped out, giving her a weak smile. Sweat that had broken out across his upper lip glistened in the light of the setting sun.
Candi laughed, reaching up to wipe the droplets from his face. “That’s hot alright. I guess maybe next time we decide to, uh, you know, we should not do it on a rock in the middle of the water.”
“Yeah, right. Romantic make-out session, not on a rock. Gotcha.”
Candi stood up, holding out her hand. “Come on, let’s get going. It’s getting dark.”
Kevin accepted her help, and together they made their way back to the treehouse, Kevin limping only slightly. There they found Sarah and Jonathan busy making tiki torches out of bamboo poles, palm canvas, and mounds of plant rope.
“Hey, tiki torches. Cool idea. This will work perfectly with music night,” said Candi.
“That’s the idea,” said Sarah. “What took you guys so long?”
Candi laughed nervously, causing Sarah to look up from what she was doing. “What?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Oh, nothing. Fishing. You know. With a spear. Catching fish. In the water. Got one, see?” She held up the fish for Sarah’s inspection.
Sarah didn’t say anything; she just looked from Candi to Kevin and then back again. Candi could almost see her putting pieces of a puzzle together in her head. A slow smile spread across her face just before she winked behind her brother’s back at Candi.
Candi’s heart fluttered, and she looked away. The last thing she wanted was Sarah getting involved in her fledgling love life. She kept herself busy for the next half hour preparing the fish she’d caught, hoping Sarah would take the hind and leave her alone.
She squeezed some of the guava fruit they had collected over the fish to see if it would change the taste a little bit, putting more pieces of the fruit in with the fish too, wrapped up in banana leaves for cooking.
She tried not to think about what had happened on the rock as she worked, but she was beyond thrilled with the idea that she was Kevin’s official girlfriend. She wasn’t even really sure what that meant here at the treehouse. Is he going to keep it a secret? Will he tell the others, or just let them come to their own conclusions? She wasn’t sure which one she preferred. It’s not like they could keep secrets on the island for long, so either way, Jonathan and Sarah would eventually find out.
“So, what’s up?” asked Sarah, walking up and sitting down to watch Candi prepare the fish. She and Jonathan had finished the torches and he was putting them away up in the treehouse.
“Nothing much, just making dinner. What did you do while we were fishing?”
“Worked on the tikis. What about you? What did you and Kevin get up to out there ... by yourselves ... on the beach?” she asked, a sly tone in her voice.
Candi could feel the blush rising up in her face. Sarah was no dummy. Somehow she’d already sussed out what had happened. How does she do that?
“Just caught a fish.” The half-truth sounded false even to her own ears.
“Yeah, right. Fess up, girl. I saw the looks on your faces when you got back. Kevin couldn’t stop smiling; neither could you, plus, you’re a terrible liar.”
Candi let out a big sigh. “If you want to know what happened, just go talk to your brother.”
“He won’t tell me jack shit; so, no – I’m asking you. You and me are girls, we girl-talk ... so start talkin’ girl.”
Candi continued in silence with the dinner preparations, not sure that she should say anything. She didn’t want Kevin to think that as soon as she got back she went running to Sarah gushing about her new boyfriend. Ho
w dorky could a person possibly be? ... Even though that’s exactly what she’d wanted to do.
Sarah took her silence for stubbornness. “Candi, come on, I thought we were like sisters. Sisters share stuff. Or maybe I was wrong ... ”
The guilt was like a knife through Candi’s heart. She looked up at Sarah, ready to pour her guts out, until she caught the sneaky look in her eyes.
“Wow, Sarah, you’re good. I almost fell for that.”
“Shoot, how’d you figure me out?”
“Well, let’s just say, next time … don’t use your devious wicked witch of the west look right after you give your bleeding heart line.”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll work on that. But seriously, we are like sisters, so you should tell me stuff. Come on ... who dreadlocked your hair? Me, your big sister, that’s who! Who saved your brother’s life? Yep, me again, big sister Sarah.”
“Okay, wait, so let me get this right ... you being my big sister makes Jonathan, like, your brother?” asked Candi, innocently.
“Ew, no, that is totally gross – don’t even say that.” Sarah had a disgusted look on her face.
A few weeks ago, if Candi had seen this expression, she probably would have been offended, thinking Sarah didn’t like the idea of being associated with her brother; but now, she knew Sarah’s disgust was for an entirely different reason. Sarah wanted to be with Jonathan, so seeing him as a sibling was like incest, which was totally eww. Now it was her turn to do some digging.
“What’s the matter, Sarah? The idea of making out with your brother a little too creepy?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Candi stopped what she was doing with the fish and banana leaves and looked Sarah in the eye. “We’re girls. We girl talk. So start talkin’, girl.”
Sarah sounded less sure of herself when she answered this time. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Okay, well, then there’s nothing for me to talk about either.” Candi put the wrapped fish on the fire with a self-satisfied smile. That should keep her at bay for a while.
“Fine,” said Sarah, shrewdly, “I’m going to make out with your brother, get him naked, and then show him a little slice of heaven. That’s why I don’t like thinking of him as a relative.”