gold rush [the wilds, toni shalifoe]

chapter 11

The third and final part of their challenge was the part that Hunter knew would either scrape a win for her or completely ruin her chances. They were swimming out to this one large rock that poked out in the sea, and back. Hunter knew that Rachel was an extremely qualified diver which meant she was pretty much a water baby, while the blonde very rarely swam. It wasn't something that any of her friends really did.

"You ready to go?" Toni asked her as she hovered next to where Hunter was tying her laces, her shoes now a little more tattered than they had been at the start of their time on the island. Hunter looked up, nodding before she realised Toni had changed clothes.

The red top that she had changed into after her basketball top had been ruined form the sinkhole was gone, and in its place was a very familiar long sleeved top. Her eyes widened for a second before furrowing her brow as she looked at the top in confusion.

"Where did you get that?"

Toni shrugged as she looked at it, before looking back up at the girl in confusion. "It was in the pile of suitcase clothes you and Fatin gave us all. How come?"

"It's Hudson's. I didn't even realise I packed it," Hunter said, her eyes skimming over the material as Toni instantly felt like she had overstepped some invisible boundary.

"Oh shit," Toni rushed, her hands grappling at the base of the top as she went to tug it over her head. "I can take it off..."

Hunter chuckled ever so slightly, her hand shooting out to grab on to Toni's wrists and stop her from taking the shirt off. Across the beach, Fatin and Dot nudged each other as they noticed the interaction. It was as if something had changed between the two since they had gone to get the wood and foliage that morning and everyone was desperate to know the gossip. Toni looked up at Hunter in surprise, uncurling her fingers from the material that she had been so ready to pull off.

"Toni, it's fine," Hunter laughed before rubbing her thumb subconsciously on Toni's wrist that she still had clenched. "Besides, you look good in it."

Toni rolled her eyes as she tried to hide how flustered she had gotten. The girl was usually so much smoother than this and here she was getting flustered over something she didn't even know if it was flirting or not.

"Wow, touching me twice in one day?" Toni joked, motioning to where Hunter was still holding her wrists. As soon as the words left her mouth, Toni instantly regretted them as she wasn't sure how the girl was going to take it. Sure, her coping mechanism for a lot of stuff was either with extreme anger or misplaced humour but she didn't know Hunter well enough to have assumed that.

However, her instant fear faded as Hunter laughed as she moved away from Toni. The girl continued to wear a huge smile on her face as she turned back around to look at the girl with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"Keep looking so damn good in my clothes and maybe I'll do it again," Hunter said with a wink before turning around and rolling her eyes as she listened back to what she had just said. In her head, it sounded so much smoother especially since she hadn't considered that it was technically Hudson's top and not her own. She knew Toni was gay, but she wasn't sure if Toni was aware of her bisexuality or if the girl had just chosen to never mention it. Regardless, Hunter blushed as she headed to where Rachel and the others were waiting to start their competition.

If she had looked back, she'd have seen the huge grin that spread across Toni's face once she realised what the girl had said. There was a lot about Hunter Boyd that Toni had yet to figure out but she knew that in that moment the one important question to the girl had been answered: Hunter fucking Boyd WAS flirting with her after all.