Wrecked (35 page)

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.  How 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.”  

Candi gasped in surprise and a speck of saliva went flying down her windpipe.  She choked and wheezed, barely able to breathe.  

Sarah started whacking her on the back, and Jonathan came over to see what was going on.

“What’s wrong with her?  Candi, are you okay?”

Candi looked up and saw Jonathan and Sarah both squatted down looking at her – Jonathan with concern in his eyes, Sarah with a triumphant gleam in hers.  

Candi waved him away, “I’m fine … I … just inhaled some drool.”

Jonathan got a disgusted look on his face. “What’d you do that for?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!  I just inhaled really sharply and down it went.  Go away, I’m fine.”

“Fine, I’m leaving.”  He shook his head and muttered as he walked away,
“Girls.”

“Your turn,” said Sarah, smiling sweetly after Jonathan had left.

Candi rolled her eyes. 
What the heck.  She’ll find out eventually anyway.
  “Alright, I’ll tell you, but you have to swear to keep your big mouth shut about it.  I don’t want you to screw it up.”  Candi looked from left to right, checking to see where Kevin and Jonathan were.  Jonathan was back in the workshop area of the tree roots and Kevin was nowhere to be seen. 
Probably at the waterspout taking a shower.

Sarah mimicked zipping her lip and then throwing away the key.  She forgot the locking the lock part, but Candi let it slide.  She knew the chances of Sarah keeping it a secret were pretty slim anyway, but on this little island it didn’t really matter.  It’s not like high school where it could make or break your social life.

“Kevin asked me to be his official girlfriend today.”  Candi watched Sarah’s face to judge her reaction.

Sarah didn’t say anything, she just smiled.  

“So?  Aren’t you going to say something?”

Sarah shrugged.  “There’s not much to say.  I knew it was something like that.  So, did he seal the deal?” Sarah wiggled her eyebrows to emphasize the hidden meaning of her words.

Candi looked aghast, “No, of course not!  Like I would just have sex with Kevin on a whim like that because he asked me to be his girlfriend?”

“Well, there’s more than one way to seal the deal … maybe a promise of future deal sealing, perhaps?” 

Candi’s face got hotter than it already was.  “We kissed.”

“Ah-
ha! 
I knew it.”  Sarah stood up and started dancing around the fire, chanting in a stage-whisper, “Candi and Kevin, sittin’ in a treehouse, k-i-s-s-i-n-g … mouse … ”

Candi couldn’t help but laugh.  “I think your rhyme needs a little work.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”  Sarah sat back down next to Candi and stared into the flames.  Without looking at Candi she continued, “I’m happy for you, I really am.  Honestly, I know we don’t have a lot of options out here on The Peanut, but you guys make a good couple.  If I could pick anyone in the world for my brother to be with, it would be you.  Here or anywhere.”

Candi felt tears come to her eyes.  That was the nicest thing Sarah had ever said to her.  She leaned over quickly and enveloped Sarah in a bear hug. 

“Whoa, Sugar Lump, ease up on the P-D-A,” said Sarah, trying to laugh off the seriousness of the situation.

“That’s so sweet of you, Sarah.  Thank you.”  Candi sat back down and wiped her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself.

“Were you crying?  Man, you’re a softy,” teased Sarah.

“Yeah, so?  When the wicked witch of the west says she loves you it’s a big deal, okay?  Don’t you cry at happy parts in movies?”

“Sure, I cry.  I’m just not sure if I should be insulted at that second wicked witch reference or not.”

“Don’t be.  I know it’s your way of expressing your affection, so I’m good with it.”

Sarah smiled.  “Don’t tell anyone I cry at happy parts in movies or it will ruin my rep for being a hardcore bitch.”

Candi laughed.  “I think I know better than that.”

Sarah looked at her thoughtfully.  “Yeah, I know you do.  Sisters keep secrets, though, you know that, right?”

Candi looked at her, all laughter gone from her eyes.  “Yes, I do.”  She held out her hand.  Sarah looked at it confused.

“Secret sister handshake time,” responded Candi to Sarah’s questioning look.

“Oh, yeah, the dorky secret sister handshake.  Let’s see … ” she reached out and the two of them tried to maneuver through a series of slaps, snaps and other things to come up with a secret handshake.  It was pretty pitiful.

“Geez, you suck at this,” said Sarah.

“I’m pretty sure it takes two to suck at this,” responded Candi.

“Ok, obviously we need to work on it.  I’m going to take a quick shower before dinner.  I’ll catch you later on this … handshake stuff.”

“Okay, see you later.  Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“K.”

Candi watched Sarah walk away.  She was so happy right now, she couldn’t keep from grinning ear to ear.  She had a boyfriend and a big sister like she had always wished for; one who didn’t take any shit and would have her back no matter what. 
This is so much better than trying to ingratiate myself by shopping in a gift shop for a bathing suit.  

The memory of those first days with Sarah came rushing back.  Candi was amazed at how much things had changed.  She couldn’t decide if it was her perspective that had become so different or if was just the things
in
her perspective that had caused this evolution.  She shrugged her shoulders; it was a philosophical question for another time – she just remembered she had planned to try to make a coconut guava drink, and she needed a couple more coconuts.