Page 12

Broken Mast

Calvin

“ A t least he accepted help to get up to the sleeping platform.” I glance back up at where Easton rests.

Dante grunts at me. He lit the fire and went to town on some sort of fish stew. It smells amazing. But he’s not criticizing or talking smack, and it feels really wrong. Like really wrong.

Pepper jumps into my lap and rubs herself all over me. The same way she always does when I come back from the other side. Like she has to reclaim me as her own, away from her old clan.

Dante glances over. “You know, I always wondered why she did that after you disappeared for a while. I thought she just missed you. Hmph.”

“Yeah.”

“You planted Pepper, carried her back from the other side?” Dante asks.

Easton and Haley are up on the sleeping platform, but I don’t know where Sam and Zane are. They aren’t around, though.

My voice is soft as that day months ago comes tumbling back.

“I’d gone off exploring. I was frustrated about something that I can’t even remember now.

And I wanted to see what else was on the island.

Understanding our resources was important.

It’s still important, and there’s more we should know about this place, since we’re definitely stuck here for the rest of our lives.

The section between the stream and the coastline to the derelict—I have no idea what’s there.

Did anyone live there? But anyway, I’d been frustrated.

I’d taken a water bottle, my knife, and a sack from the raft.

It’s the only way I made it work. Up and over the mountain like we’d just done.

I found the orchard first, and then I stumbled upon the cats with just one litter.

The mother had left them for the day. Gone off hunting, or most likely was trying to give them space as she weaned them.

I’d seen it plenty of times with the barn cats.

Five little ferocious bundles of fur and claws.

Pepper let me pick her up. She wasn’t happy about it.

I left the bag of pomelos and found the huts.

After I went to each of them, I sat with her on my lap and cried.

She let me pet her, like she is now. She didn’t purr, but she didn’t bite me.

After the third hut, I made the decision that I couldn’t tell anyone. Not until I took care of things.”

Pepper looks back at me, purring.

“Yes, the massacre happened a long time ago. But when I looked at what was left of them, I could see it all playing out in my head like some kind of sick film. I didn’t want that for Haley. I didn’t want that for any of you guys either.”

“You know you’re a fuckhead. A really good guy, but a fuckhead.” Dante stirs his stew.

“So I’ve been told.” I pet Pepper for a while and look up at Dante. “I’m going to?—”

“No, you’re not. Just sit there and pet that damn cat until you feel better. And when you feel better, then go take a fucking nap. You’re not doing a damn thing today. Or maybe for the rest of the week.”

“We need to?—”

“What? Get ready to be attacked by asshats with automatic rifles who like to slaughter innocent families? Just go take a nap, Calvin. They’ve got a yacht to play with. They’re not coming back for us, not anytime soon.”

I spend a good twenty minutes with Pepper before I put her on the ground and head up to the sleep platform. Haley’s there, lying next to Easton, awake.

“You need anything?” I ask.

She reaches out to me, and I crawl onto the mattress with her and pull her in tight. My nose in her hair, I fall asleep.

Pivoting on the observation platform, I turn to the mountain.

There are no goats visible today. There haven’t been any for weeks.

I’ve watched the water and the mountains.

There’s nothing out there. Not yet. When we first got back, Dante said to me the pirates have a ship to play with.

But at some point, they’re going to figure out who the ship belongs to and wonder if they could make even more money by selling Rockwell.

Or not. Maybe they’ll want us for target practice.

Even the plastic of the binoculars is warm today. I make another pass with them. It’s important to stay focused, but soon enough I start wondering if Zane really will help me finish up on the other side. It’s the right thing to do. I shake off that thought and scan again.

We’ve all been on edge since Easton got shot.

Walking on eggshells, watching him, waiting to see if the pink line coming from the bullet was going to turn brighter red or fade away.

It took longer than any of us wanted. And we all held our breath, watching, waiting. He’s okay, or as okay as he ever is.

“Hey!” Zane yells up. “I’m going to take a turn on the observation platform. You want to come down?”

“Sure.” I take one long slow pass with the binoculars. There’s nothing, same as the last three weeks. Ocean, a whale, no pirates, no cargo ships. Nothing. I’m quick with my steps, jumping the last few feet to the living room platform. I hand Zane the binoculars. “How are things down here?”

“More of the same.” He puts the strap around his neck. “Dante made lunch, Sam’s washing laundry, and Haley’s collecting plants.”

“By herself? We’re getting too complacent.”

“She took Penny. I doubt any boar would nose up to her after it smells Penny. She’s been rolling in seaweed again.”

“It’s better than alone, but . . .”

“Haley needs to live too. You can’t protect her all the time. As much as I would like to wrap her up in bloody bubble wrap, that’s not healthy.” He slaps me on my back, and I wander into the kitchen.

“You hungry?” Dante asks, handing me a bowl.

“Thanks.” It’s good. There’s fruit in it from the other side. We don’t know what it’s called, so we’re calling it Pepperfruit. Which is kind of confusing, but whatever. I eat it in silence and place my bowl in the container. “I’ll go wash these.”

“No, I’ve got it,” Dante says.

It’s like he’s going out of his way to keep me from doing anything productive lately. But whatever. “Which way did Haley go?”

“Toward the waterfall.” He inclines his head.

Away from camp, I’m jogging, not because I have to but because I’m getting antsy.

Idle hands are the things that work, or one of those weird things my grandmother used to say.

Growing up on the farm, there wasn’t a minute I didn’t have to do something.

Then with football, every minute was work out, study plays, school.

Then, being an engineer, there’s always something to do. Free time sits on my chest.

Fuck. I miss my books. I didn’t think to bring my e-reader from the ship.

Each step pounds on the path. Ferns swash by my thighs. I’m not even looking for Haley anymore, just running through the jungle scaring birds from their branches into the sky. The waterfall is in front of me before I realize it. I skid to a stop, staring out over it.

Memories flutter at me. Haley. I breathe in, and it’s like I can smell her coconut shampoo on the wind. I pivot, expecting her to be there. The jungle greets me, bamboo swaying.

I step off the trail and head down the logical path for her to take. There’s a clearing where a bunch of plants grow that Dante’s been making tea from. I’m a hundred yards down the path before I find signs of her walking this way. A broken leaf, a scuff in the open dirt.

When I reach the clearing, she’s there, as I expected. Bent over, her black leggings covering her divine ass. The last time I was alone with Haley, fuck, it was on the Rock Candy. And I’m panting inside. I need her so much. I don’t see Penny. Where did the damn dog go?

I’m stalking Haley, each step carefully placed.

And with each silent footfall, I’m getting harder.

I’m salivating at the thought of touching her.

It’s torture. I should run to her side, grab her, and swing her onto my back.

But this is better. The expectation of a gift can be so much better than the actual thing.

Unless it’s Haley. She’s the best present I could ever ask for.

And I’ve been a silent ogre, ignoring her. Stuck inside myself.

Another step around a clump of ferns. She moves forward. I’m not sure what she’s even picking. But the closer I get without her noticing, the more I’m salivating, and I’m getting mad. How does she not hear me? I’m good, but I’m not that good.

She ducks her head, reaching for another plant.

I freeze.

But then she picks up her basket and darts off like a quick little rabbit. She shimmies through a small space in between the trees. Her almost blond hair flows behind her, her laughter in the wind.

Fuck me.

She glances back but then picks up speed. She rounds the trail, going back on the side to shoot to the waterfall, her basket in her hand. Either she’s gotten faster or I’m getting slower. She’s pulling away from me. Each step, she takes with a sure footing. And the damn giggle joins the wind.

It’s fucking hard to run with a hard dick. Stopping isn’t an option, not when she’s loving this as much as I am. We’re past the halfway point back to camp when she slows.

“I’m going to get you.”

“No, you’re not. You’re too slow, Green.” She finds another gear somewhere. Her heels pushing into the path, a cloud of dust and pebbles kicking up behind her.

Deep in my gut, I’m rooting for her, and I laugh. With each huff, I slow, and she does it—she beats me into camp.

“Sassy, what’s going on? Is it a boar? I got worried when Penny showed up.” Dante’s standing, his hands at his sides.

Haley drops her basket on the ground and races for the treehouse. I’m at her waist as she’s halfway up. I reach for her, but what am I thinking?

“Not a boar, but a bore,” Zane says from the living room platform.

Haley zips past him, a giggle on her lips.

“Damn. Well, alright then.” He follows her up to the sleeping room.

“Sam, get down here,” Dante yells up to the observation tower.

“What’s wrong?” Sam hits the bottom at the same time I reach the room.

“Nothing,” Dante tosses over his shoulder. “Find Rockwell and get your asses in here.”

Haley has her hands on either side of Zane’s face. He’s got his fingers tugging down her leggings.

“Arms up,” I command, and I pull off her T-shirt. Under her leggings, Haley has on a pair of underwear from her suitcase. The place we all are delighted to see when she opens it up. It’s been too long. Fucking hell.

I’m not wasting a spare second on deciding whether that’s my fault or not. Whatever cracks I drove through the lot of us, now’s not the time for reflection.

“Damn, Sugar. Those look good on you, but they’re going to look better off.” Sam’s through the door with Easton at his side.

Haley has her hands above her head.

“You’re ready to play, Sam?” Dante’s got his clothes off already. “It’s about fucking time.”

“I don’t play,” Sam says. His clothes are off in a flash.

Haley’s tongue is in Zane’s mouth. And when she tips her head back, it hits my chest. Her amazing tits stick out, and Zane’s on his knees, his mouth clamped around her nipple.

My fingers skim along the sides of her waist, goosebumps trailing behind them. “You like being chased, don’t you, Bunny?”

“Bunny?” Dante’s lying down under Haley.

“She’s quick like a rabbit, aren’t you, Chiefie?”

“Two nicknames? Move over, Green.” Sam sidesteps into me.

But I’ve got my right hand firmly around Haley’s waist, and my lips are positioned in that hollow behind her ear. The one that turns her into a puddle. Her head tips back. Zane has to move quickly to keep her breast in his mouth.

Sam’s neck is bent, his lips under her ear.

Easton’s beside me. “Here, I took this from the suitcase.” He hands me a lube-coated butt plug.

“You know the combination?” Zane pops off her breast to ask.

“Yes, of course. It’s not hard,” Easton says.

Haley turns to him. Her lips hit his. She tugs on Easton; it’s the first time she’s touched him without treating him with fragility, since...

Easton lines up in front of her. Zane’s all smiles as he steps to the side. “That’s it, Rockwell.”

Haley’s moaning into his mouth as my fingers part her cheeks. Sam’s hand slides in next to mine. He drops to his knees and pushes his index finger on her rosebud. Damn, today’s going to be a fucking good day.