Castaways Ch. 01

"The beds look pretty comfortable," John said.

"Thanks, they're not bad considering," Em said, and a faint smile came to her lips.

Em's blonde hair looked like it could use a comb from being wet but otherwise she looked incredible in the flickering light of the campfire. Her blue eyes twinkled with light when she smiled. He thought for a second about all that had happened that day. He had been on his way to a solo vacation in Saint Lucia to just unwind. Now here he was on a deserted island, with three hostile guys, and about to sleep next to the most beautiful young woman he could imagine. 'Unbelievable,' John thought.

Em must have read his mind, "What're you thinking?"

"Huh ... I was just thinking about today and all that's happened," John said but immediately felt like an idiot reminding Em of her loss.

"Yeah," Em said, sadly, her pretty eyes cast out at the fire.

"I'm sorry, Em. I didn't mean to remind ... "

"It's okay, John. I know. It's just that we were very close. Since my dad left home when I was four, my mother has been my parent and best friend too. We did everything together. You would have liked her. She was a fabulous person," Em said, her eyes welling with tears.

"It's okay; we don't have to talk about ... "

"No, no. I want to. I just can't grasp that she's gone from me. I miss her so bad. It's like my heart has been ripped out of my chest," Em said, tears rundown her cheeks.

"I'd never presume to know I understand someone's grief. But I lost my wife last year to breast cancer at thirty-nine, so I somewhat understand what you are saying about having your heart ripped from your chest," John claimed.

"Oh, I'm sorry too, John," Em whispered.

"It's okay. I'm learning to deal with it and I can tell you that you will too, Em," John stated.

"This was to be a fun vacation for us. I'm a freshman at Northwestern and I had a week off between semesters. We just wanted to get away, the two of us," Em sobbed.

"Northwestern's a great school," John said, trying to change to a lighter subject. "My son goes to Hofstra University in New York. He's a freshman like you. He just turned nineteen."

"Me too," Em said, trying to stop crying.

They talked for a few more minutes about college, John being a writer, and New York versus Chicago weather. John got Em to smile at least twice more. They seemed, momentarily anyway, to put their grief behind them.

"You better get some sleep," John proclaimed after a while.

"What about you?" Em asked.

"I'll just put some more wood on the fire and join you," John explained.

"Okay," Em said.

He watched her reach for her coat and put it on. It was cool inside the hut despite the fire outside. He caught the protrusion of her erect nipples through her tank top as she stretched her arms back and pushed out her chest to get her coat on. John turned away, but maybe not quick enough for Em to miss his gaze on her.

John stoked the fire and checked around for signs of the three guys. Satisfied they were not around he climbed back into the hut. Em was lying down on her bed of lifejackets, her head on the pillow one, and facing the stone wall. It was good they both had jeans, socks and running shoes on to protect their legs from the slightly cool night. John grabbed his coat to use as a blanket and lay down too. He faced the door though.

His head was only on the pillow for several minutes when he heard Em turning. Her arm reached over and massaged his shoulder.

"Thanks for everything today, John," Em said.

"You're welcome, Em."

"John ... I'm ... here for you if you need me," Em voiced.

"Thanks, Em," John said.

At first he thought she just meant she would stand by him against the other three but the more he thought about her comment, the more thoughts and possibilities flooded his mind. He was trying to stay awake, only resting intermittently so he could watch the door. He was bone tired though and his eyes took real effort to keep open. He struggled for a half hour to stay awake. He tried to think about her comment and exactly what she meant. Sleep overcame him before he could conclude anything.