Nirvana.
“Shit,” Tai says. “There they are.”
He reaches in and picks up the bottle of vodka I won during poker, while I bring out a bottle of sauvignon blanc. Beneath that are two bottles of pinot noir. None of them broke, thanks to all the clothes they’re nestled in.
Clothes! I gleefully pull my favorite worn sweatshirt and hold it up to me, feeling the cozy dry fabric. I don’t care if it’s too hot to wear it here, it’s comforting.
Tai is sitting beside me in the sand, watching me. I can’t quite read the look on his face, but I think he might find me endearing.
“What?” I ask him.
“Nothing,” he says, giving me a soft smile. He starts unscrewing the top of the vodka. “What else do you got in there?”
I start rummaging. “Books, that you will not use as toilet paper.” I glance up to see him drinking straight from the bottle. “What are you doing?”
“Getting drunk. What does it look like I’m doing?”
“It’s like 7AM.”
“Gingersnap, deserted island time is like airport time. There are no rules.”
“Is that so?” I reach out for it. “Give me that.”
I take the bottle of vodka and have a shot, some spilling down my chin. It burns, especially since I’ve barely eaten anything, but it also feels really good.
“Hey, easy there, don’t waste it,” he says, taking it back.
“Tai, we can’t sit here and drink this vodka.”
“Why not?”
I look across at the barracks in the shadows of the jungle. “Because…”
“Your sister and Richard went with Fred yesterday and they came back with a pillow and a sleeping bag. I don’t see either of us with pillows, do you?” He gestures.
“No. But I noticed you didn’t sleep in the bungalow last night,” I tell him. I don’t know that for sure, but I’m testing him.
He presses his lips together and nods, looking away as he hands me back the bottle. “I slept back at camp. Was just getting back here when I saw your suitcase.”
“Why?”
He shrugs. “Don’t know. Just felt like I had…unfinished business.”
Ah.
I clear my throat, sticking the bottle in the sand between us.
“You know, Lacey told me about your sister.”
He doesn’t seem surprised. Just nods.
“I’m really sorry. I know that this must be tough.”
He shrugs again with one shoulder. “No tougher for me than anyone else.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, hoping he does, but expecting he doesn’t.
“Not really.” He picks up the bottle. “Would rather do this.”
I watch as he takes an even deeper gulp.
He passes it back to me. “Stop judging,” he says. “Join me. We can at least celebrate getting rescued.”
“Cheers to that.” I take the bottle and tip it back. Already feeling pretty buzzed.
When Fred, Lacey, and Richard returned from their expedition yesterday, Fred told us he was able to contact Suva Search and Rescue again. They, once again, said we were low on their priority list. After all, we aren’t exactly in danger anymore, they had other people to attend to, and if they did finally come for us it would be a massive expense at this point. Then Lacey had Fred contact his team at the Nature Conservancy. They were way more helpful. Said they’d be sending in a plane in a couple of days to drop off a new scientist and that they’d take the rest of us back to Fiji.
Just a few more days and we’re out of here!
“Can you imagine being stuck here for as long as Fred has, all by yourself?” I muse.
Tai doesn’t hesitate. “I could do it.”
Of course he could. I lean back on my elbows, stretching my feet out in front of me in the sand. The water is gently lapping the shore just below. “Strong silent type, no need for company.”
He shrugs, his eyes resting on my breasts which I now realize are practically on display in my soaking wet white tank top.
Way to choose white this morning, Daisy.
“Can’t say I wouldn’t mind some company,” he says, voice on a lower register.
I gulp. Watching his eyes as they take me in, then drift up to my face.
“Fred’s not so lucky,” I remind him.
“Neither am I.”
Well, you could be.
“You know, for a man who pretends to not be attracted to me, you’re looking at my breasts like you were looking at that vodka earlier.”
He doesn’t say anything to that. Just makes a disgruntled sound. Grabs the bottle, and gets to his feet, walking over to the small grove of palm trees that make up this tiny island, the sand sticking to his skin.
He leans against a palm, back to me, and drinks, looking out over the east side of the lagoon.
In any other situation, this would be the perfect set-up.
Me, on a private island, with a perfect man, in paradise.
Not that Tai is perfect. He’s obviously not. But I know he’s perfect for someone. And if I really let my mind run away on me, he might just be perfect for me.