“We don’t have a tractor.”
His eyebrows rise. “We also don’t have a thousand birds.”
“Right. Where do you want to start?” I’m wishing I’d spoken up earlier and helped Zane. But then, avoiding Green isn’t going to be possible. And we should talk about what happened. Or not—I’m sure that’s what Green was planning on doing.
Yesterday was weird. Not the Haley part. That was fucking amazing. Being inside of her when she broke apart completely... Damn, thinking about it makes me want to do it again.
I’m not into guys—I don’t think I’m even bi—but the whole thing turned me fucking hard. I can’t imagine getting it on with just Calvin. Fuck, the thought of having to deal with Green on a daily basis without Haley makes me want to puke. Not bi then, but also notnotbi.
Whatever, I’ve had plenty of chances with guys before, and I never wanted to take them. I still don’t, but yeah, yesterday has left me a little scrambled. And I should talk to him about it. I’m all in with Haley. If the grumpy Viking walks away from her, from this, when we’re back on the mainland, I won’t be the one chasing after him.
“We need more bamboo and vines. Get them some water and food scraps while I get the pack ready.”
“Aye-Aye.”
Green glares at me, and I pivot away from him. “Hey, the admiral wants me to feed the chickens. What do we have?” I ask Dante.
Dante moves around the kitchen space without taking his eyes from Haley, gathering bits of things in a tub he’s been using for waste.
“How’s the festivities prep going?” I place my hand on Haley’s back.
She turns her blue eyes to me, full of light now. “Really good. Thank you for this. It’s exactly what I needed.”
My heart soars at her recognition. When did I become so needy and thirsty for attention? “Oh, it’s going to be fun.” I plant a kiss behind her ear. “You sure you two don’t need any help with the food?”
Dante thrusts the bucket at me. “Absolutely. You take care of cranky pants. And here’s a couple of our older coconut bowls for water for the chickens, Swimmer Boy.” He drops them into the bucket.
“Can’t fault a guy for trying.” I take the supplies and quickly get the chickens set up before Green comes around the corner.
“Here.” He holds out a spare pack for me.
“How far are we going?”
“The vines I want grow above the waterfall.”
“There’s vines by the derelict.”
“Not the thin bendable kind that the chickens won’t think of as food.”
“True. But are we going to have enough time? To get back for the parties?”
His forehead furrows. “Island Festival Day is tomorrow and Hallo-o-givings is the next day,” he declares loudly to the camp.
There’s a chorus of, “Okay” and “Works for me” from behind the tree. From the kitchen Dante says, “Thanks-o-weenie.”
Calvin’s eyes crinkle. He fucking knows what it’s called.
We take off at a pace that’s just short of a hell run. My college coach took the team on one when he found out we’d had a party the night before a big meet. I didn’t mean to, but somehow Iended up in the middle of what I thought would be the craziest night of sex in my life. Thinking back on it, it looks like a ten-year-old’s birthday party now.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing. Is that as fast as you can walk?” I push around him and take off at a jog. We’ve got a few hours of daylight left.
Soon after, he’s got a bunch of vines looped in his hand like a cowboy’s lasso. My pack is full, and there’s sweat running down the sides of my face.
“Sure, we need to cut less bamboo from our side,” I say, “but the shit grows fast. Let’s get it from the patch near camp.”
“No, we need to be responsible.”
