Two days had passed since we had first arrived.
Both days were the same, Chase would not talk to me at all and I started to ignore him as well, not knowing what exactly I did to him.
We fell into a routine of sleeping in the same bed and waking up with his arms securely around me. I would then escape the bed so he didn't wake up and be disgusted by the fact he was spooning me. I would get the fire started again and go fetch a pale of water to wash our faces and hands before making our way to breakfast.
After breakfast was finished, I would separate from Chase and go with the females to help and learn. He would walk off with the males who took him to show him how to hunt and gather. Everyone was so patient with us and would be kind enough to show us what we were doing wrong.
So far, I have learned to make baskets and weave blankets from fabric they got from the mainland. Some of the other ladies would tell me stories of their families or of people that had come and gone from the island. The only one not to be retold was that of Hito's mother. It was a sore subject among the ladies, one I thought would only affected Hito, affected everyone.
Chase would come back to our hut exhausted. But since he was ignoring me, I would take to working on smaller things than to ask him what he had done that day. We did this both days and so far it was working out.
But today was different and I could feel it. Chase was the first to get up this morning and fetched the pail of water for us. I had awoken before he stepped through the threshold with the water. Getting off the bed, the fire was starting to die and needed to be set again.
Stepping around Chase, I took a few sticks from the pile and laid them in the pit and worked on setting the fire ablaze again. He had not moved from where he was standing and was waiting for the fire to set the pail down atop it to warm the water.
It was different in the fact that his moves were more calculated this morning as well. He made a point of being closer to me, leaving only a foot or two between us. Where as previously, he would leave six or seven, whatever space allowed him.
He was the first to speak also. Muttering a quick good morning.
"Good morning, Mr. Fire." I said aloud, making sure I did not call him Chase.
"Avalon, please call me Chase while we are here." Looking at him, a fleeting pleading look crossed his eyes. His tail.
"Okay, Chase. Can I have the water?" I smiled as I said his name. It was only the second or third time I had said it out loud and it was still foreign.
He handed the pail over to me and I set is atop the fire moving a few stick around in the process. It took only a few minutes for the water to heat up and in that time I took it to studying Chase.
He had a scruff building on his jaw line and cheeks making the man look delectable. His hair was unruly in a sense, taking its natural curl and letting it spring free instead of being held in place by wax or gel. His skin had started to get darker and more rugged looking. I knew for a fact that when he worked with the guys, the only thing he would wear were his pants that were now cut shorter.
He was starting to look more like a man and less like an uptight city dweller. This look suited him better than Armani suits and well kept hair. Chase looked more relaxed as well, having started to settle into the slower pace of life. Letting stress that had built up from work, fall away into the oblivion.
Smiling slightly to myself, I turned back to the water and dipped my fingers in to check the temperature. Warm enough, I began to pour some into a smaller bowl to wash my face with. Chase took that as a sign to move even closer to me and dip his hands into the warm water as well. It felt great against my face, slightly tingly from the slight burn I had gotten from the sun.
Chase was not the only one starting to grow more tan. I was growing more tan and my blonde hair started to get lighter as well. Looking at my arms and my face in a mirror, this was how I used to look on the farm from all those late summer days helping dad wrangle in the cattle and such. Not only was that the only thing that was tying me back to my roots, I let my accent peak through when I talked. Letting it come naturally again and it had surprised Chase when it started to happen.
Concentrating once again on washing my face and hands, I finished up, pour the water outside the hut. I had taken a shower/bath already since being here. Keanna had showed me to a private area with waterfall that the women used to bathe in. The first time I did, I felt so good afterwards. She had also leant me a dress that I could wear instead of my now tattered clothing.
Chase was also leant some clothes, as well as shirts for when the were hunting deep in the forrest. No shoes were required and my feet were slowly getting used to the freedom of being shoeless. Callouses began to form and make my feet stronger, which I did not mind at all. It made me happy because it made me feel as if I had been here a while and would be. Reality hit soon after though as we would be leaving in less than five days.
As Chase had finished up as well, we made our way down to breakfast and soon after, split into our respective activities for the day.
When the men had come back from gathering coconuts and other fruits, it was nearly supper time. They had all come in laughing with baskets full of various foods. The women greeted them as some made their way to their families and others made their way to the center of the village.
Chase was one of the last to come through and when he passed me, he was laughing with one of the others named Kai. Chase had fallen easily into the group of men, swapping stories and laughs immediately. We both did.
When Chase saw me though, he stopped laughing and walked over to me, a grin evident on his face. He leaned over me and bent down to kiss my cheek. "Hello,"
"Hi." My voice was breathy. He had caught me off guard.
"How was your day?"
"Good and yours?" We almost sounded like a couple in this moment.
Chase shrugged his shoulders. "I'm learning a lot. This place is kind of awesome." The smile still glued on his face. He looked content, happy.
"Yes it is. I'm going to be sad to leave it."
"Well, we could always come back. If you wanted to that is." He rushed the last part out, unsure of what he just said.
"I would like that. I mean, um, it would be cool." Shrugging of my excitement, I smiled at him.
"Alright. Should we go wash up before supper?" I nodded as he gently took my hand and tugged me towards our hut.
Once there, we cleaned ourselves up and walked back down to the center.
Little things like touching my hand, or brushing my side had become his goal this evening. I didn't mind, but it made my insides swirl with excitement each time he did. We were progressing in a way and as much as I shouldn't say it, I loved that we were. I was now not only is assistant, but now it seemed as if I was actually someone. It sounded weird, but it made sense.
After supper, as always, we gathered around the fire and some would bring their instruments out and begin to strum. Once a couple of songs had passed, they had taken the opportunity to strum and beat to a slower pace. Hito stood from his place across from me and extended his hand out to me.
"Would you care to dance with me?"
I nodded and took his hand which he gently tugged to pull me into the center. We started to sway to the music and in that moment I felt... happy. That was the only way to describe it. In that moment, there was nothing but the music and laughter spilling into the night air. It was carefree and I felt as if I were high; high on life as cheesy as that is.
I danced with Hito for one song before I saw a shadow look over us. I looked up into the intense eyes of Chase as he looked down at us. We had our hands entwined as we were still swaying to the music.
"May I cut in?" Nodding, I looked at Hito and smiled, taking Chase's hand.
In the three days we had been here, Hito found out that I loved Chase through a series of questions and pestering. He understood how I could love him and said that it squashed his chances with me which made me laugh. But he took it well and confessed to me how he had loved Mai. Ever since he first saw her, he said. It was cute and I wanted nothing more than to see them together before we left.
Taking Chase's hand, it engulfed mine making me feel utterly small. I smiled up at him as placed my hand on his shoulder. We started to sway to the beat much like how Hito and I were. But for some reason this felt totally different. It felt more intense and the sparks were definitely there. In this moment, with Chase, I felt as though we were the only two on this island. We were gazing into each other's eyes as though it was the only thing we were allowed to look at.
This moment was intimate and time began to slow as we swayed. Chase's gaze fell to my lips then back up to my eyes. He searched my face, looking for any hesitation from me. He wouldn't find any though because I wanted to kiss him just as much.
He started to lean down to me, bringing his face closer to mine. I went on my tip toes as we both moved towards one another. He brought his hand up to cup my cheek, pushing a piece of hair back in the process. It was all happening agonizingly slow. He did one last search before I nodded and he leaned a hairs breadth away.
Eager for the warmth of his lips, I met him the rest of the way and crashed his lips to mine. Sparks exploded the second my lips touched his. It was electrifying and made me sigh into our kiss.
This was perfect. Everything was perfect in that moment. The feel of his lips, the music playing softly in the background, the tingles that were never ending.
We kissed for a beat longer before we were interrupted by a throat being cleared. Looking up, pretty sure my face was bright red, I saw Tama looking at us, a small smile gracing his aging features.
"Hate to break it up, but we are all heading to bed. Have a good night you two." He smiled once more before making his way to a waiting Keanna.
I smiled shyly, looking up at Chase who had an unreadable expression on his face. Confused, he untangled himself from me and made his way to the hut without so much as a backward glance. Feeling slightly hurt, the walk back to the hut by myself made my chest hurt.
He used me, well it felt as if he did. He just kissed me then left me confused and hurt. I now knew how his flavors of the week felt.