Stranded - A Second Chance Romance Read online

  “You’re a good friend to Heidi,” I said wishing I would have kept my mouth shut.

  “Why do you say that? I usually feel like a pretty crappy friend. I whined so much about this dumb party.”

  “Well, that’s not your fault. Those stupid yacht parties are lame. Or rather the people on them.” I raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded. “But there isn’t anyone I’d go to one of those parties for.”

  That wasn’t true. If Penny would have asked me to go with her, I would have. But no one else.

  Her face scrunched up like she’d swallowed a lemon. Shit. What had I said?

  “You did stuff for people,” she said, and I knew she was referring to what I’d done for her brother.

  “Penny, I—”

  “Are there more logs we can put on the fire?” she said quickly standing up and turning away from me. “I’m cold again.”

  She stopped when something moved in a nearby shrub. A black animal jumped out and barred its teeth.

  Penny’s fists balled up and her sides. Her arms started to shake, and then, she screamed.

  5

  Penny

  Whatever the little beast that had jumped out at me was, it had been just as scared of me as I was of it. It ran off before Jack could even make his way over to see what it was.

  “What was it?” Jack asked, his eyes wide.

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure… some kind of wild beast. It ran off.”

  “Let me get some more wood,” Jack said.

  Even though I should have just done it myself, since I was the one that wanted to put space between us, I didn’t. I sat back down and covered my face with both hands.

  Every memory of what Jack had done to me floated back into my mind. It didn’t matter how good he looked with his shirt off, I couldn’t forget how he’d just thrown me under the bus.

  Hiding my idiot brother’s drugs in my car. I still didn’t know why he did it, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that he didn’t care enough about me to keep me out of their stupid trouble.

  The police came to my house. Handcuffed me. I could still picture the way my neighbors looked at me as they hauled me down to the station.

  My cheeks were warm, either from the fire or from reliving the embarrassment. Jack had been so desperate for money back then, but I didn’t think he would work with my brother in the drug business. He knew how angry I was with my brother for what he was doing. It was hard to believe he’d gotten involved, and then to put the drugs in my car.

  It didn’t surprise me my brother would do it, but Jack should have stopped him. Jack should have drawn the line. Yeah, it was years ago, and while I was mostly over it, I still couldn’t forgive him, nor could I understand why.

  “Here,” Jack said throwing a bigger log into the fire.

  The flames grew as they popped and crackled. He looked down at me, and I could tell he was worried about me.

  “Still cold?” he asked.

  “It’s better. Thanks,” I said hugging myself tighter.

  No matter all the good times and the love we once shared… he’d made his choice when he screwed me over. He showed me how little I’d actually meant to him.

  I’d only seen him a handful of times over the years. Nothing more than a hello until yesterday when I was so desperate for a ride that I’d rather talk to my ex that got me in trouble with the police, than step on the boat with the pixie girl who looked down her nose at me.

  Jack had tried to talk to me several times after the incident, but I didn’t want to hear it. There wasn’t anything he could say that would erase what he’d done. Eventually, he’d gotten the hint and stopped trying, but now here I was trapped with him until morning.

  What had I been thinking? Then again, I couldn’t forget what he’d done when his boat sank. He helped me to shore. He didn’t let go of me. Not even for a second.

  “Thanks for saving me,” I said before I could stop myself.

  “Well, I didn’t really—”

  “Just say you’re welcome.” I forced a weak smile.

  Jack smiled back, but he didn’t say anything. He placed his hands on his hips and looked around the area. “Maybe you should try to get some rest. I have no idea how far we’ll have to walk when morning comes.”

  “I don’t think I can sleep out here,” I said looking over my shoulder at the nearby shrub. A bat swooped down toward us moving from one tree to another, and I covered my head. “This is why I never went camping. I hate the outdoors.”

  “Camping isn’t so bad,” Jack said.

  “Your version of camping is a case of beer and a big fancy camper.”

  Jack chuckled. “Kill for that right now.”

  “I’d kill for my bed.”

  Jack blinked several times before he looked down at his feet. I could still picture him standing there that morning naked in my bedroom. The sun seeped in from behind the curtains highlighting each and every one of his muscles. That was the last time I’d actually seen Jack other than the few glimpses I’d had at the police station before we broke up.

  I bit my lip so I wouldn’t let out the big sigh I’d been holding in. What I felt like doing was pounding my fists against his hard chest and begging him to explain, but there wasn’t anything he could say to undo it.

  Jack was a selfish asshole that only thought of himself. Well, most of the time. It wasn’t entirely true considering he pulled me to shore, but that was different. He wasn’t going to just stand there and let me die.

  “Warmer?” Jack asked.

  “Yes,” I said moving my shoulders around. “I feel itchy though.”

  “Your clothes need to dry.”

  He was right. They were in some weird stage between being half-dry and half-wet, but unfortunately, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. It wasn’t like I was going to take my clothes off and let them dry.

  “If you set them out to dry it might help,” Jack said.

  “I’m not getting undressed.”

  “I was just suggesting… I’d turn around,” Jack said his cheeks pinkening just a bit.

  Really though sitting in my underwear while my clothes dried wouldn’t be that different than sitting on the beach in a bikini. The only thing that was weird about it was being with my ex.

  “Well,” I said looking around. Was I seriously considering it? Truth be told I really hated feeling so itchy. It felt like little ants moving up and down my back. “Okay. Turn around.”

  “The whole time or just while you undress?”

  “The whole time,” I said sounding angrier than I’d intended.

  I took off my clothes and set them on a rock near the fire. My skin instantly felt less itchy, but I was still cold. Hopefully, they’d dry quicker laid out near the fire. And hopefully no one would come wandering around to find me sitting in my underwear on the beach., but it was so quiet I was pretty sure we’d hear anyone coming. To be totally honest if it meant I could go home, I’m not sure I’d care.

  “Fuck it,” Jack said standing up. He kept his back to me, but the sounds of his zipper cut through the quiet night like a sharp blade. He laid out his pants near the fire and sat back down in the sand. “Pretend they’re shorts if you need to.”

  I sighed. We were being stupid. We were both adults, and we were both stuck in the same shitty situation which honestly had entirely been my fault.

  Goddammit. He’d lost his boat because of me.

  “You can turn around,” I said. “It’s not like it’s anything we both haven’t seen before, right?”

  “Thank God,” he said turning around rubbing his hands so close to the fire I was afraid he was going to get burned. “Crazy how much colder it is away from the fire.”

  “Is it weird that no one is around?” I asked. “I mean really how far away from civilization could we be?”

  Jack looked up at me, the flame dancing in his dark eyes. “Do you feel up to walking?”

  “I kind of don’t want to leave the fire,” I
said biting my lip.

  “Me either, but if you change your mind, we can go.”

  I flashed him a weak smile. “Okay. I think it’ll be easier in the morning.”

  Jack nodded and scooted a bit closer to the fire. The way it lighted up his skin reminded me of the time he’d sprinkled the rose petals leading to the candlelit bedroom. He looked the same, maybe even better than he had that night.

  I sighed, and Jack looked up at me for a split-second. He didn’t ask.

  I wished things could have been different. There was a time I’d really thought Jack was the one. Boy, had I been wrong.

  6

  Penny

  When the sun touched the horizon, I quickly got dressed. My clothes were dry, but they felt stiff and rigid.

  Jack was standing there with his hands on his hips. He looked up and down the beach shaking his head. When he turned around and caught my eye, I didn’t miss his confused expression.

  “What?” I asked looking into the palm trees forest behind me.

  “I have no idea what part of the beach this is. Well, we started north, let’s just keep going north. We’ll hit something eventually.”

  I followed him down the beach. My body hadn’t felt any better traveling in the sand than it had last night. In fact, maybe it was worse. I was stiff, and my muscles ached. And I was hungry.

  It felt like we’d been walking for hours and there still was no sign of anything or anyone. I dropped down in the sand and rested my elbow on my knees.

  “I need a rest,” I said wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. “Shouldn’t we have come across something by now?”

  Jack stopped and looked down the beach where we’d just come from. “It does seem odd. I’m sure if we just keep going we’ll find something.”

  Jack reached out his hand, and I sighed before taking it. It was obvious he wanted to keep moving. He seemed nervous. Anxious. He wanted to find life just as badly as I did.

  “I’m hungry,” I said trying not to sound like I was whining.

  “Me too.” Jack looked inland. “And thirsty.”

  We kept moving down the beach. The further we walked the slower our pace became.

  It had been at least three hours of walking before Jack stopped. His shoulders slumped down, and he slowly turned to me.

  “I have terrible news,” Jack said.

  I narrowed my eyes and looked around. When I shook my head, he pointed at a rock in the distance and a pile of black, partially sand-covered logs.

  “I don’t…,” I trailed off realizing what I was looking at. It was what was left of our fire from last night. We’d walked in a circle.

  We were lost. We were stuck on an island somewhere in the ocean, and I had no idea where.

  7

  Jack

  She looked as though she was about to lose it. I reached out for her hand, but she jerked away.

  “They’ll find us,” I said.

  Penny’s lower lip was quivering ever so slightly. I could tell she was doing everything in her power not to burst out into tears.

  “We’ll build a fire. We’ll write help in the sand with stones. It’s going to be okay.”

  Penny shook her head. “And if they don’t? Your boat sank. Heidi isn’t going to talk to me for months. No one knows we’re missing.”

  “We can’t be that far. We’ll probably see a boat, or maybe even a plane. I’m sure we can flag down someone sooner or later.”

  “Yeah, later. That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Penny said throwing her hands up in the air. “What are we going to do for food? Water? Shelter”

  I ran my hands through my hair. Her anxiety was tugging at my nerves. We just had to stay calm.

  “Try to relax,” I said.

  Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “Relax? You want me to relax? Maybe like this is some romantic getaway? Fuck no. I will not relax!”

  Penny starting walking toward the pile of charred wood. I quickly turned and followed her.

  “I’ll catch a fish,” I said.

  “With what? Your hands?”

  “No of course not. I’ll use a sharpened stone, tied to a stick. Yeah. Like a spear.”

  Penny rolled her eyes at me. “Good luck to you.”

  “I’m sure there are plants we can eat.”

  “And you know which ones aren’t poisonous?”

  I shrugged.

  “Look, Penny,” I said walking next to her. “We’re in this together we might as well—”

  “Jack, please,” she said stepping away from me. “I just… I just want to be alone.”

  My arms dropped down to my sides. I don’t know why she had to be angry with me. We were both stuck here.

  “Fine.” I turned away and walked to the beach. I’d find a stone, and I’d sharpen it. If I caught a fish maybe then she’d calm down.

  It wasn’t like being trapped here was the end of the world. They’d probably find us before the end of the day. For all we knew, Heidi had already contacted someone.

  I knew it wasn’t pleasant for her to be trapped here with me. In fact, I was probably the last person on the planet she’d want to be here with.

  I bent down and picked up a triangular stone and another that had a bit of roughness. I sat down in the sand and started sharpening the rock.

  Maybe after she had some time, we could work on some kind of shelter. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. The weather was nice. The quiet was peaceful. It was just too bad I could feel her anger radiating toward me from thirty feet away.

  Penny had liked the beach, but it was true for the most part that she’d hated the outdoors. Stuck on an island with me outdoors? Yeah, no doubt she was in hell.

  I’d managed to sharpen the stone into something I was pretty sure would work. Of course, I still had to find a way to adhere it to a long stick and then find a way to spear a fish with it. Shit.

  I noticed Penny pacing out of the corner of my eyes. It almost looked as though she was having an argument of some kind with herself.

  Whatever.

  If she wanted space, I could give her space. I walked toward the trees looking for something I could use for my fishing spear. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find a sturdy branch on one of the nearby trees.

  I used some thin vines to tie the stone to the wooden stick. It seemed like it might actually work. Maybe the hardest part of my plan would be to actually find a fish.

  I stabbed the sand with my spear to test it out. When it didn’t fall apart, I decided I’d wade in and see if I could find anything.

  The water was clear enough that I could see my feet on the sand below. I was hip-deep before I actually saw a fish swim by. A small fish. So small that the sharpened stone at the bottom of the stick was bigger than it.

  “Shit,” I said looking at the little fish wiggling as it swam away. “I need to find what would eat you.”

  I walked in deeper up to my belly button keeping the stick in the water. And that’s when I saw it. A fish that would feed both Penny and I. All I had to do was—

  “Jack! What are you doing?” Penny called and the fish, as though it sensed it was in danger, swam away.

  “Fuck!” I said turning around, unable to keep the scowl off my face. “Fishing.”

  “Come back,” Penny shouted. “You’re in too far.”

  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. As if she cared. It wasn’t a big deal, after all, I knew how to swim.

  I waved at her not wanting to speak in case the fish was still nearby.

  “Jack, please!” she shouted, as a big wave pushed me back toward the beach about a foot.

  The tide was coming in.

  8

  Penny

  Jack walked onto the beach. He was soaked all over again, but he didn’t hesitate to undress. Completely.

  “Jesus, Jack,” I said turning around.

  “I’m going to get a fire going,” Jack said walking toward the inland. I bit my lip
and tried not to notice his perfect muscular ass walking away.

  The waves crashed into the sand not far from where we were. Each wave seemed to grow bigger and bigger. The ocean almost seemed to be angry.

  It was a few minutes later when Jack threw down some logs and started rubbing the sticks together just as he had.

  “I guess we shouldn’t have put it out the first time,” Jack said.

  “If only we knew we were trapped on an island we probably wouldn’t have,” I said my words sounding just as bitter as they tasted.

  I hated that I couldn’t shake my anger toward Jack. Why couldn’t I just get over what he’d done? We’d broken up forever ago, none of it really even mattered anymore, and especially now, all that mattered was getting off this stupid island.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” I said hugging myself.

  We were going to have to do what we could to survive until help arrived. It wasn’t like I could sit back and have Jack do everything. If anything, I should show him that I’m doing okay without him and can take care of myself, even in shitty situations.

  “You could gather up more wood,” Jack said without looking up from the sticks in front of him. “Don’t wander off too far.”

  I rolled my eyes. “No problem. What are we going to do about water?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Any ideas?”

  “Hmm,” I said tapping my chin with my fingertip. I’d seen TV shows about people trying to survive in the wilderness, but I couldn’t think of a damn thing from the show. Hopefully, it would come to me eventually. “Not really.”

  “Maybe I’ll have to go explore. Could be something inland,” Jack said leaning closing to his sticks and blowing gently. “Let me get the fire going first.”

  I walked off and gathered several logs, but it hadn’t taken me long. When I got back, the fire was going, and the waves were noisily crashing into the sand.