Page 27 of Anyone But You

“Being a selfish prick. That’s what he was doing,” Knox growled, frowning in disappointment.

“That’s what I’m saying. Your greedy tail was about to be hunched over with the shits. You can’t eat these raw. They have to be cooked, meaning we need more supplies so we can build a fire.”

“Okay. You and Knox can return to the wreckage, and I’ll stay behind and gather hermit crabs,” Josh suggested.

“No. You’re going with me—”

“Knox, it’s fine.”

“It’s safer for you on the beach,” he insisted.

I waved him off. “We work better together, and the last thing we need is you stroking out in the ocean because he got on your nerves, and Josh can get in less trouble if he’s on hermit crab duty,” I reasoned. Knox nodded resolutely and retrieved our life vests. “What’s the matter?” I asked, accepting the orange reflective vest that could be seen from space.

“Nothing,” he mumbled, glancing at Josh, who walked the expansive beach on the hunt for crabs.

Something.

“Is it Josh?”

“It is. My gut is telling me not to leave him alone. He reminds me of a toddler, and it makes me wonder if his father bought his pilot’s license.”

I sighed and clipped myself into the flotation device. “At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me, but honestly, I think you’re overthinking as usual.”

“Maybe,” he responded skeptically. “Let’s head out. We only have a few more hours of daylight. We need to grab as many items from the wreckage as possible, but let’s not overdo it. Only grab items that’ll be practical.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” I responded with a lazy salute, forcing a grin from him.

“Always with the smart mouth.”

“You say that as if your toxic ass doesn’t love it,” I teased, helping Knox push the raft past the shore into the shallow end of the ocean.

“You say that as if you’re not equally toxic.”

“I’m not toxic,” I argued, accepting his outstretched hand. “I’m reactionary. There’s a difference.” I climbed into the raft and waited for him to join me.

“You’re toxic because ofhowyou react,” he remarked, pushing us away from shore.

“And you just be doing shit, Knox. Real talk? You’re talking shit about Josh and how he got his pilot’s license, and I wonder how you’re the CEO and owner of a billion-dollar company. Seriously, Knox, you could’ve flown to Miami and stalked me on my vacation instead of doing the absolute most.”

“Huh…I didn’t think of that,” he murmured as he rowed us to sea.

I rolled my eyes.

Of course, he didn’t.

“How mad would you have been if I crashed your little girls’ trip?”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t be stuck-on-a-remote-island-for-the-rest-of-my-life mad. However, I would’ve used you as a personal ATM for the duration of my trip.”

“I expected nothing less from Tori Montana.”

* * *

Sweat dripped in my eyes as I cut through the thick fabric of the seatbelt from the seat I’d occupied earlier. I had no idea what we’d do with seatbelts, but I figured it could come in handy. If I had to guess, we’d been at the crash site for over two hours. So far, the raft was filled with items from the galley, including an assortment of sodas, a bottle of champagne and bourbon, bottled water, a stainless steel pitcher, some silverware, including a steak knife, the ice drawer, some ready-made meals that wouldn’t last more than three days, and liquid antibacterial soap. Knox found a couple of pillows, blankets, soaked toilet paper rolls that would have to be dried out, matches, and the body wash and shampoo dispenser from the shower.

“Victoria! Look what I found!” Knox announced after breaching the water’s surface. He swiped his dark hair out of his face and cleared the seawater from his eyes. I snarled when he held up my work tablet in the air.

“That’s great, Knox. Take it and shove it up your ass!”