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Gabby
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I paced the room for several minutes. This was not good. Not good at all. I couldn’t be trapped on this island with him for another night. The whole time I was out walking, I thought about him. Those damn eyes. I had a real weakness for blue eyes, but his eyes were so much more than the blue I was used to seeing. I wasn’t exactly a sexually active person, but damn if I didn’t have a few small fantasies about riding a man like him. I let myself have those fantasies because I had convinced myself he was already gone. A bottle of wine and one of my slightly smutty books were supposed to be my date for the night.
Now, I had to deal with him. I needed to get this settled. Before I could have what I expected was going to be another difficult conversation, I needed to clean up. The humidity had been brutal. I felt like a sweaty pig, though the walk around the island had been amazing. The place was beautiful and so raw. I loved that, for the most part, the island was untouched by humans. I had scanned the beach for seashells and while I found some, I couldn’t bring myself to take them. They belonged to the island. I inspected wildflowers, and even found some cool little hermit crabs burrowing into the sand. All in all, it had been a very enjoyable experience until I got back and realized he was still here.
I grabbed a fresh set of clothes and rushed across the hall to the bathroom. I took a three-minute shower and piled my hair into a messy bun before exiting the bathroom. The whole time I’d been out walking and exploring, I was hoping he would be gone. I felt incredibly selfish. I wanted the whole place to myself. He obviously had some rights to the place, but for this one time, I wanted to be completely selfish. All day, every single day I gave of myself. I gave to my patients and my fellow doctors. When nurses were upset and stressed, I comforted them. I gave up on-call sleeping rooms for exhausted nurses that just needed a few minutes. I didn’t think this was too much to ask for.
I would have preferred him to be gone when I exited the bathroom, but I knew he would still be there. I didn’t really like confrontation, but I could sense him. It was like I could feel his presence. Like we had some strange connection. I walked into the living room and sure enough, he was sitting on the couch with one foot propped on his knee. He looked so casual, like he belonged in this place. In my life. He didn’t belong. He was an intruder.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I know you aren’t anxious to talk to me, but we need to talk,” he said.
“I’m not sure there’s anything more to say.” I sighed and sat down in the single chair in the living room. Being in the same room with him was disconcerting. I couldn’t explain what it was that upset me so much about him. I just felt like I had to be completely on guard. He was dangerous. Not in a physical way, but there was a red alert sounding in the back of my mind that this man had the power to make me feel things I didn’t want to feel.
“I’m sure you noticed the clouds,” he said. “Maybe you heard the thunder?”
I shrugged and pretended it wasn’t a big deal. “So? That happens all the time. Are you afraid of a little thunder?”
“So, it’s going to rain,” he said.
“Yep,” I said with a smile. “It probably is.”
“Oleg isn’t coming today,” he stated, and dropped his foot from his knee as he leaned forward. “He’s obviously decided not to come back until the next grocery run. That means we’re stuck here. Together. Just the two of us. We’re on this island for a week. Do not ask me to swim back to the mainland. I won’t ask you to do it. It’s much better if we just accept the fact we’re both here.”
“Don’t say that,” I groaned.
“I can say something else, but the facts remain unchanged.”
“I don’t want you here,” I pouted. “This is just not how this is supposed to be happening. I don’t want a man around. I don’t want anyone around.”
“You’re not exactly a barrel of rosy sunshine,” he said. “But we all have our crosses to bear. I don’t particularly want you here either. But again, here we are without a paddle. Or a boat for that matter.”
“I’m not sure what you’re expecting from me,” I said and threw up my arms. “I can’t change the weather. I can’t conjure up a boat. Someone screwed up and now we’re stuck paying the price.”
He scoffed. “If you try hard enough you might be able to wave a hand or chant or cast a spell. I’m sure stranger things have happened in your life.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you calling me a witch?”
“I didn’t say that,” he said with his lips quirking at the corners.
“But you insinuated it,” I said.
“No, you suggested you couldn’t conjure up a boat,” he shrugged. “What do you normally conjure?”
“Very funny,” I muttered.
“I’ll take the couch,” he said as if it was so normal.
“No!” I gasped. “Hell no!”
I shook my head. I couldn’t share a house with a stranger. That was too weird. Too intrusive. I didn’t know him. He could seem decent and then turn into a violent, crazy man as soon as we were trapped in the house together. Then again, he could turn into a violent man while he was outside the house. That wasn’t the point. I had never lived with a man and didn’t intend to start now. I was supposed to be on vacation.
“I’ll remind you, I’ve been very, very generous,” he said slowly. His eyes narrowed and for the first time, I sensed genuine anger. “I’ve done my best to stay out of your way. I’ve apologized for something that isn’t my fault. I’ve tolerated your bitchy attitude. I’ve done nothing to upset you.”
“You’re sitting on my couch!” I shrieked.
“I bet you didn’t play well with others when you were a kid, did you?” he smirked. “You need a hard, fast lesson on sharing. This isn’t even sharing, technically. I paid to sit on this couch. I paid to use the kitchen and as a matter of fact, I paid to sleep in that bed. I’m not asking for you to give up the bed. I’m not asking you to hang out and entertain me. I’m simply suggesting we come up with a compromise. That’s what adults do.”
“I’m not sharing a house with you,” I said again and actually stomped my foot which I immediately regretted.
“Too bad, sweetheart,” he shot back. “I’m here. You’re here. It’s time to pull on your big girl panties and figure out how to work through a problem. For being a doctor, you seem to lack some very basic problem-solving skills.”
“I understand we both paid for this place, but—”
He held up his hand. “You were here first. If I would have known I was going to be stranded on an island with a three-year-old, I would have brought toys. Maybe that would keep you occupied. I’m sure I can find a stick you could pretend is a doll or something.”
“Don’t you dare insult me,” I said.
“Quit acting like a child. You’ve got a huge chip on your shoulder. I’m simply trying to figure something out. That’s what adults do. When there is a problem, they sit down and figure it out. Two adults generally toss around solutions and then the grownups each give a little. It’s what we call compromise. It’s part of life.”
“Do not talk down to me,” I said with irritation. “I don’t have to compromise. Not when I paid to have a nice vacation away from everyone on the planet. It’s rude to assume I have to give up what I paid for.”
“You don’t say?” he smirked. “Please tell me more about what that’s like. I mean, didn’t I pay to come out here away from everyone? Most especially women with big attitudes.”
The man had seemed so nice yesterday. Today, he was downright rude and obnoxious. I refused to accept responsibility for this situation. “You came out here knowing full well I was already here,” I said and pointed a finger at him. “You thought you were going to sweet talk me or bully me into giving up the island so you can have it.”
“That’s not true,” he argued.
“Yes, it is!” I said with the anger building. “What did you think you were going to accomplish by coming out here even after Oleg told you I was here? Did you really think I was just going to bow out and leave the place to you?”
That seemed to give him pause. “I was hoping we could work something out,” he said. “I did and do plan on staying on the beach the bulk of the time. I’m perfectly happy to sleep out there. Tonight is different. There’s a storm. Would you really have me out on the beach in the middle of a storm?”
That was a loaded question. “I think I saw a tarp in the small shed,” I said.
His brows popped up. “A tarp?”
“Yes, a tarp. You could set it up like a tent.”
He shot me a dirty look. “I’m supposed to live like a survivalist while you sit up here in this house?”
I gave him a tight smile. “I’m offering a compromise. That’s what adults do, right?”
“I’m the one compromising,” he growled. “You’re barking orders and acting like the damn queen of the island. I’m the one being told to sleep out with the bugs. I’m not sure where you’re compromising.”
“I can’t have you in here,” I said again.
“I don’t give a shit what you can and can’t have,” he growled and got to his feet. “Am I supposed to just wash away? Am I supposed to magically hang the tarp? Honestly, did you think this little idea of yours through at all?”
He made a lot of good points, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. “There’s a hammock out back,” I said.
“And?”
“You can sleep in it. Then you won’t have to worry about being washed out to sea.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re pretty fucking generous.”
He stomped past me and out the door. I wasn’t sure what he was doing. I heard him muttering and followed him outside. He opened the small shed and pulled out the tarp and some rope. Still bitching under his breath, he walked around the cottage to the side of the house where a hammock had been strung between two trees.
I watched from the porch until he whipped his head around. “What?” he snapped. “Is this a problem? Would you prefer I move the hammock away from your precious bedroom? Am I too close?”
“No, I was just wondering what you were doing.”
He cursed and looked up at the sky. “Go away,” he finally said so quietly I barely heard him.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he sighed. “Just leave me alone, please. I am doing what you wanted. I’m sleeping out here. I need to put together a tent. I don’t need you bitching at me and critiquing what I’m doing. If you can do it better, feel free to do it and I’ll take the bed.”
“I wasn’t critiquing,” I said. “I was just watching.”
He spun around. “Look, lady, you can’t have it both ways. You either leave me the hell alone for real or you drop the bullshit and quit being such a bitch.”
I hated being called a bitch. It was one of those things I found beyond reprehensible. “Enjoy the rain,” I snapped. “I hope it pours.”
“Anything is better than being trapped in that house with you,” he called out as I walked away.
My parents would be mortified by my behavior. Truth be told, I was a little embarrassed myself. I couldn’t seem to stop. I was not this person. I was acting like a spoiled brat. I didn’t know why. It just seemed to spill out of me every time I opened my mouth around him. He infuriated me for no real reason.
I closed the cottage door and went into the kitchen to find something to eat and break into one of the bottles of wine. It wasn’t like there was a large selection of food to choose from. The stuff I didn’t recognized from my shopping list, I ignored. I didn’t want to eat his food. Not even I was that rude. I sat down with the bowl of noodles and my glass of wine and heard the first sounds of rain starting to fall.
I was tempted to look outside but was afraid that would be the exact moment he caught me checking on him. Was he okay? Was he cold? How wet was it? What if it turned into a full-blown storm? I couldn’t leave him out there in good conscience. I was already feeling bad enough as it was. If I was a big enough person, I could go out there and apologize for being so hasty and rude. I would invite him inside to sleep.
But I wasn’t that big. If he was inside, we’d be forced to talk. If we talked, I would get to know him. What if I actually liked the guy? That was not what I needed right now. I needed this time alone to get my head straight. Getting mixed up with a man, even if it was just as an acquaintance, would be more than I could emotionally handle right now.
I chose to ignore him. I finished my noodles and washed the dishes I had used. I didn’t miss the fact he’d washed our coffee cups. He was neat. I liked that. If he wanted to be a jerk, he could have left the dishes in the sink for me to take care of. He had even cleaned the coffee pot. I found myself smiling as I added a clean liner and coffee grounds to make it easy in the morning. It wasn’t quite the Keurig I was used to, but it worked.
The rain outside hit the roof in a soothing ratatat sound. It was comfortable inside the cottage but just a little chilly. I went into the room and pulled on one of my hoodies. If I was chilly inside, what was he dealing with outside? Once again, guilt had me rethinking my hasty decision to kick him out. I casually looked out the window but saw nothing but blue tarp. He’d hung it from the trees to create a lean-to over the hammock. If the wind picked up, the rain would simply blow in at him.
“If it gets bad, I’ll let him in,” I told myself before settling in on the couch where he’d been.
I swore I could smell his manly scent on the fabric. That couldn’t be right. I was imagining things. This was what happened when a healthy, somewhat young woman denied herself the pleasure of a man for too long. Add in the romance novel I’d been reading last night, and I was primed for longing.
The rain started to fall harder. He had to be cold. Should I offer him a blanket? That wouldn’t do much good if it was wet. Despite what the man probably thought about me, I wasn’t a total unfeeling bitch. I was concerned, which was why I got off the couch and stepped outside. The rain pelted against the porch cover. I walked to the edge and tried to peer into the man’s tent. The tent I had relegated him to in a temper tantrum I was quickly coming to regret.
“Hello?” I called out. “Jake?”
There was no answer. I wondered if he was even in the damn tent. I didn’t have my shoes on. I walked to the edge and tried to peer around the side. “Jake?”
“What?” his muffled growl came out.
“Uh, are you okay?” I asked what was probably one of the dumbest question ever.
“Leave me alone,” he barked.
I was going to take that sound advice and went back inside the cottage. He was pissed. I couldn’t really blame him. Feeling bad, I didn’t lock the door in case the weather did turn nasty and he needed to come inside. I was going to call it an early night so I grabbed the book and headed for bed. Just in case the storm did turn wild, I slept in the shorts and tank. I wasn’t planning on giving Jake another free peep show. As I laid in bed and listened to the rain dance on the roof, I hoped he was really okay out there. Fortunately, it didn’t feel too cold.
“Sorry,” I whispered into the dark.
I felt bad, but not bad enough to invite him in. I would just have to live with the guilt.
