Page 26 of Chasing Paradise

“More like my friends and family were sick of me and my whining. I’m a terrible patient.”

“Eh, you sat pretty well for that.” He reassembled his first aid kit as I glanced down at my arm.

“It’s mostly healed.”

“Maybe. But you don’t want to take any chances. Who knows what you might have to follow me through after this.”

“Why do I get the feeling that’s some sort of warning?”

To that, all he offered me was a smile as he zipped his backpack.

“I’m going for a swim.”

With that, he took off to the water, leaving me on the shore to, well, watch.

I did, too.

As much as I hate to admit that.

While he was off being distracted, I made my way into the woods, going as deep as I dared and remembering exactly why my response whenever anyone asked me to go camping was “Absolutely-fucking-not.”

There were a lot of things that were better “in the old days.”

Clean air and water, for example.

But there was one thing modern society got right.

Bathrooms.

Maybe guys didn’t mind peeing in the woods. But I had a lot of strong feelings about it.

Ones I suddenly wanted to take out on Wick as I stomped back toward the shore.

To find him missing once again.

“Seriously?” I grumbled, my gaze moving around the island.

His backpack was gone too.

But he did leave his shirt.

I moved over toward that, relieved when not only was the fruit still there, but that he’d left me bottles of water too. And a protein bar.

“Thank God.” I tore into that thing like a bear fresh out of hibernation, not even tasting the peanut buttery goodness as I shoveled bites into my mouth until it was gone.

I could practically feel it seeping into my bloodstream and reviving me.

I drank the remainder of my water bottle and stashed the wrapper and empty bottle in my duffle bag before deciding I wasn’t going to waste my day just praying someone came our way. And waiting for Wick to return.

I was going to collect sticks.

Then I was going to make myHELPsign on the beach. Just in case any boats or airplanes came into the general vicinity.

It was actually kind of a pleasant way to spend a few hours. Just hiking through the woods and playing in the sand.

The panic I’d felt about being stranded seemed to be alleviated by Wick’s appearance. Which made no sense. We were still stranded. But it felt better not to be alone in it. And, well, Wick seemed to pack a lot more thoroughly than I ever did.

A first aid kitandsunscreen?

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