Gillian was untying the last knot from her shirt when Ryan
returned. She heard him walk in, and could feel his eyes watching
her, but she made no move to turn around. His presence made her
nervous and she couldn’t seem to get the knot undone, but she kept
tugging ineffectually at it.
“Here, let me,” Ryan said.
His hands over hers immediately stilled her motions. She
looked up at him briefly, then turned her eyes back to the knot, and
slowly walked over to the other side of the room. The only sound
was the birds outside, as Ryan untied the knot. The tension was so
thick a child could’ve noticed it.
Ryan turned around and handed Gillian her shirt.
“Yours is on the cot”, she said, quietly.
Walking over to the bed to retrieve it, he was reminded of
what had occurred there. He quickly grabbed his shirt and moved
back over to the window, but neither one of them made a move to
get dressed.
“About what happened earlier....” Ryan said, looking in her
eyes.
“Listen, Ryan, you don’t have to explain. We were just
both glad to be alive. That’s all,” Gillian said.
“That’s all?” Ryan asked, skeptically.
“Yes,” Gillian answered, “that’s all. If it had been any
other moment in time, it would’ve never happened.”
“Like, say, right now?” Ryan questioned, looked at her
intensely.
He began sauntering towards her, and it reminded Gillian
of a lion stalking his prey.
“It would never happen right now?” Ryan asked,
suspiciously.
“No. Never,” Gillian said, nervously, knowing she was
lying.
They were only an arms length away now and, reaching
out, Ryan closed the gap. The shirt Gillian had been holding fell
from her hands and floated to the floor.
“So, if I were to do this” he asked, reaching up and
brushing the back of his hand across that spot on her cheek that he
loved, “it wouldn’t bother you?”
Gillian drew in a deep breath.
“It’s just a friendly gesture,” she said, trying to sound
convincing.
“And this would have no effect on you?” he asked, slowly
tracing her lips with his finger.
“None whatsoever,” she said, weakly, placing a hand on
each of his shoulders for support.
“So, then, you would be completely immune to this,” Ryan
said amorously, sliding his hands up her arms and along the length
of her body to her waist.
Gillian sighed as he pulled her body against his. He moved
closer still, until there lips were just scarcely touching.
“Completely,” she whispered, against his lips.
Ryan grabbed Gillian and pulled her into a passionate,
stormy kiss, taking from her as much as she would give, until it
seemed as if he could inhale her and make her a part of him. The
kiss grew deeper and stronger, Ryan, nearing his breaking point,
finally reached up and slid her bra straps down her arms. This
time Gillian made no effort to stop him. She slipped her fingers
into his hair, grabbing handfuls, as he reached around her back to
undo the clasps.
At that moment, the door flew open. Gillian and Ryan, who
were both stunned at this intrusion, jerked away from one another,
and in that spilt second her bikini top fell to the floor. Reaching
down she grabbed her shirt and wrapped it around her body, to cover
herself.
Looking back up, she realized who had walked in:
Jake - along with an entourage of, what appeared to be, a search party.
