Page 33 of Shipwrecked

“You look at Jules, and your dimples show. You don’t even need to smile.”

“That’s because he stares! It makes me flustered.” I pull out of the hug. “Do they always show when I look at him?”

A smile tugs at the corners of Cillian’s mouth. “And when you think about him. They’re there now.”

“No!”

A chuckle rumbles from deep in Cillian’s chest. “Come on.” He guides me towards the camp.

“No, I must not—I need tape to—”

“He loves your dimples. I’m surprised he kissed your neck instead of them.”

My heart feels large and hot. So do my cheeks. They’re flaming when we re-enter camp.

Everyone is huddled around the fire in a ring, listening to Seán talk. I sit next to Jules. I rest my hand behind him but don’t wrap it around him like earlier. I’m not sure he’d like that in front of everyone.

Cillian sits next to Seán.

“Cillian and I found a deep pool of fresh water in the interior at the base of that hill,” Seán says. “It’s in a sheltered spot with overhanging rocks, so it shouldn’t evaporate. We’ll have to boil it, but that’s a steady supply of water.”

“You were gone all day. How far away is this water source?” Willow asks.

“Not actually that far,” Cillian says. “We were tracking back from the bamboo stands, hoping the damper ground might lead us towards water, but that took us through thick jungle. The way we eventually found to come back is a nice, straight shot right there. I’d estimate…” He taps his fingers. “An hour, roughly.”

“For that to be worth our while, we’re going to want some water containers,” Seán continues. “We can use the bamboo poles. Their nodes are watertight, so they make good containers.”

Jules stirs, leaning forward to look around me at Mary. “Can we use the net you made as a bag?”

“Definitely,” Mary agrees.

“A bag would be a great help,” Seán says.

They break off into a discussion about how many poles we need to gather in the morning, and Cillian explains that the fresh green bamboo can be used for boiling the water too. The conversation loses me, and I study Jules instead. His lip catches between his teeth as his eyes dart over the group.

I lean in. “If you whisper it to me, I’ll say it.”

Jules shakes his head the tiniest amount. He releases his lip, exhales, and squares his shoulders. “I have something else to suggest,” Jules says. “As Darren pointed out earlier, aside from you two”—he glances at Cillian and Seán—“nobody has any survival experience. I don’t know about anyone else, but it was scary having both of you gone at the same time. If we’re going to the water source in pairs, I think it should be one of you going and the other staying at camp.”

“Jules, that kind of thing isn’t up to you,” Darren says in a nice tone of voice.

I tense.

Jules shoots Darren a killer look. “Which is why I am suggesting it as an idea.”

“It’s a good one,” Cillian agrees. “If it’s going to be a two-hour round trip, then having someone with first aid knowledge close by is smart. Now that we’ve found the spot, we don’t need the two of us to get back there, just one.”

“And who are you volunteering for the job?” Darren asks Jules. “You can’t go.”

“I can go,” I say. “I think it’s a good idea too.”

Mary taps Charles’s knee, and his hand shoots up. “I can go too.”

“I’m already scratched to pieces,” Willow says. “So I don’t see why I can’t.”

Darren leans back on his hands, breaking eye contact with Jules. He sighs, though his body doesn’t relax. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound aggravated. I’m just hungry and irritable.”

Yasop breaks the ensuing awkward silence by lightly tapping Darren on the shoulder. “We get it. We’re all feeling that way.”