"That's great, Kimberly. Your dad would be happy to hear that."
"You think so? I feel like I've been nothing but a big disappointment to him this summer," I said, letting some of my insecurities creep in.
"Disappointment?" he asked incredulously. "You couldn't be further from the truth, beach bunny," he said, calling me the name that had now oddly become like a term of endearment.
"Did you really hate me when I first got here?" I asked bravely.
He didn't reply right away and I started to squirm uncomfortably, wishing I hadn't brought it up. After several seconds had passed, he finally answered. "No, I never hated you. You scared the shit out of me though."
"I did? Why?"
"Because you came crashing into the nice safe bachelor lifestyle I had planned for myself. After my mom died, I watched how broken up my dad was and I began to question if love was worth all the heartache. Once I moved in with Rick, I began to see the benefits of living the single life, but then you showed up with your long brown hair, drop-dead eyes and smile that could light up a room. I felt like I had been sucker-punched. I started thinking about you all the time—the way you would flush angrily when I teased you, or when you'd throw your head back when you find something funny. The harder I tried to not think about you, the more you crept in. It wasn't until the earth decided to open up underneath us that I realized how dumb I've been all these years. When the right person comes along, love is totally worth all the baggage."
"Are you saying you love me?" I asked incredulously.
"No, I'm saying I'm in serious like with you," he teased.
I pinched his arm, showing my annoyance over his glibness.
"Kidding, I'm sure some people would say it's too early for love, but I know I can't stop thinking about you," he said, tucking my head under his chin.
His words made me warm from head to toe and I couldn't help raising up so I could nip lightly on his chin.
"I think I'm in like with you too," I teased.
He mock-growled at me and then kissed me on the forehead.
I tilted my head up and captured his lips with mine. After a moment, I pulled back.
"If this isn't what love feels like, than I'll keep this instead," I said, running my hand up over his face.
"Agreed," he said, dropping a more passionate kiss on my lips.
We continued kissing for several more minutes, but stopped when things got too heavy and his leg became a hindrance.
Instead, we continued to shoot questions back and forth. Many subjects we felt the same about, but his views on the CW shows made my blood boil and I had to lay into him about the fact that towns with all pretty people did exist. He mocked me openly when he found out I was a diehard vampire fan. We moved on from TV shows to all-time favorite movies and I was surprised that his taste ran with the Marvel variety while mine was all about the horror flicks.
"If you could live anywhere, where would it be?" I asked once we exhausted TV and film.
"I wouldn't mind seeing the ocean, but I want to live here. I've been trying to talk Rick into building us a couple of cabins up here for years."
"I'm surprised he won't. It's obvious he loves this land."
"He feels it's not convenient. I keep telling him I could stay up here and he could take care of things in town."
"What would you do all by yourself up here?" I asked intrigued.
"I think we should open up the camp for skiing. There's plenty of land. All we would have to do is bring in the gear."
"What about the chairlift thingies?" I asked.
"It would be a cross-country skiing camp, so a chairlift wouldn't be necessary. It'd be cool for the kids since most of them have never had an opportunity like that."
"I think it sounds like a great idea," I said, meaning it.
"You do?" he asked surprised.
"Hell yeah, 'follow your dreams' has always been my motto, obviously," I said, grinning in the dark.
"Is that what you do, follow your dreams?"
"I always have. My venture here wasn't exactly my dream since I didn't know about Rick until two days before I got here. Now my dreams are little hazier."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to Rick just yet, among other things…"I said, letting my voice trail off.
"Am I among the other things?" he asked as I tilted my head up.
"Is that presumptuous of me?" I asked before mentally kicking myself. I really did need a latch for my mouth sometimes.
His lips found mine. I turned to face him, looping my arm around his neck. "Not at all," he finally whispered against my lips. I shivered as his hands pulled at my layers of clothing, seeking the bare skin underneath. I tilted my head back as his lips trailed a path down my jaw line, stopping at my neck before dipping lower to my collarbone.
A wracking cough from me ruined the moment and he pulled back and tucked me back in the crook of his arm.
"This rain needs to stop so they can hurry up and fucking save us," he said frustrated.
I was surprised by his mood change and harsh tone. "Hey, it's all going to be okay," I said, using the practical voice I'd used for years.
"You could die in conditions like this by getting sick," he said.
"I'm fine. Besides, I'm more worried about you," I said, trying to tamper back the urge to cough again.
"This whole thing is messed up," he said, pounding his fist against the dirt floor. "You're not supposed to be catering to me. I'm the man. I should be running out in the rain, finding shelter. I should be taking care of you."
"Wow, equal rights much?" I asked, aggravated by his tone. "Last time I checked, I'm doing a damn good job with those things," I said, choking out another cough.
"That's not what I meant, beach bunny. I'm just mad that you're shouldering all of this by yourself," he said, sounding more like himself. "But you sure are cute when you get all riled up," he added, finally chuckling.
"Whatever, I'm taking care of us fine," I grumbled, still coughing.
"You are," he said, running his hand over my back. His touch relaxed the rest of my temper away and I soon became drowsy.
My dreams twisted and turned as I went from lying in the freezing snow, yearning for the sun, to lying on the beach with the sun beating down on my skin. I welcomed the warm kiss of the sun until the pleasure slowly began to fade and the heat became unbearable. Sweat began to pour off my body, leaving me yearning again for the ice-cold snow.
I sat up, startled to find that the heat from the dream had followed me into reality. My sudden movement made Mason's arm fall away, and with it, the blanket of heat that surrounded me was lifted. I switched on the flashlight and shined it on the roof of our shelter so I could see.
Mason was fast asleep. Reaching a hand up, I swiped it across his forehead and was shocked to feel it burning up. All that heat I had felt in my dreams had manifested from him. I propped the flashlight up against a rock and leaned in so I could look at his leg, carefully unwrapping the gauze and piece of vinyl I had applied the night before. It stuck slightly to the wound and I had to peel it slowly away. When it was finally free, I picked the light back up and shined it on his leg. It was a putrid angry mess. The wound oozed thick yellow tinted liquid and the skin had changed from red to purple in color. How had it gotten so out of control? Had I made a mistake covering it?