“Was this your idea?” I ask as he leads me towards the floating square.
“Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know, seems like a very on-brand activity for you. Kinda weird, adventurous, unpredictable.”
“I take that as a full compliment.”
“I expect there isn’t much you wouldn’t take as a compliment,” I quip as I carefully climb onto the floating box thing.
It wiggles for a moment but balances out before Shane leaps from the dock onto it. I squeal as the float dips into the water, splashing water over my feet before we overcorrect the other way and get splashed again.
“Shane! What the fuck?” I shriek.
He chuckles as he gestures towards the driver of the boatbefore they take off. I hold on to the grips with white-knuckled determination as we begin to pick up speed.
Soon, the fear inside me eases, and I let out a laugh as we hit a small wave, launching us a foot or so into the air before we land on the water again. Shane smiles at me as I watch our boat heading for a tiny island off in the distance.
“Are we going there?” I shout over the whipping wind.
“You’ll see!” Shane says as he leans into the turn we take, nearly sending us toppling over into the water.
I scream before a laugh escapes me. “Asshole!”
I could call this man every name in the book and it wouldn’t bother him in the slightest. He’s the type that’s just happy to be there, anywhere really, along for the ride.
When we make it to the island, the boat slows down before coming to a stop at a little dock. The captain hops off and quickly ties the boat off before assisting us off the raft. We’re both mist covered and windblown in the best way. I didn’t know what to think about that at first, but honestly, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
Shane is first on the dock, and he offers me his hand, then helps pull me up.
“Thanks.” I smile as he reaches down and undoes my life vest.
“Careful, smile at me like that and I’ll almost think you like me,” he teases.
I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder before I begin walking down the dock towards the island.
I shrug. “I liked the inner-tubing thing. You I could take or leave.”
Shane’s mouth drops open, and he takes off after me. Excitement fills me, and I run as fast as I’m able. I’m not fast enough, though, because he’s soon tackling me into the sand. Being agentleman first and foremost, he does me the courtesy of rolling us so he’s beneath me when we land.
I look around to see a cameraman on the beach, zooming in on Shane and me, and I look away quickly, doing my best to act like I didn’t see him. I know there’s so much money on the line, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to last with the whole cameras-in-your-face-24/7 thing. And it’s literally what? Day two? Three? Is it possible to have cabin fever and already lose track of what day it is? Does cabin fever require you to be confined to a literal cabin? I’m telling ya, these are important things we need the answers to.
As I look around the beach, I notice a little picnic setup similar to the one Noah and I had. Slowly, I push up to stand as Shane does the same. He gives a deep bow as he gestures towards the picnic.
“Milady.”
I smile and shake my head as I begin walking towards the blanket with him.
We take a seat. Then Shane pops the champagne, and I slather a piece of bread with whatever this cheese-butter-looking stuff is because honestly, food that isn’t a fruit or vegetable seems to be a rarity here and I’m a girl that loves carbs. Like, carb me up, baby.
“So, are you having a good time?” Shane asks as he pours me a glass of champagne before himself.
“We’ve been on a date for, what, two minutes?”
“A lot can happen in two minutes,” Shane says with a waggle of his brows.
I laugh as I lift my head up to the sky before looking back at him. “Oh, I have no doubt you’re the kind of man that can’t last longer than that.”
Outrage splashes across his face, and I cackle manically because, honestly, what a good burn.
