30. DAY TWELVE: TRUTH OR DARE
Ava
Dax and I were riding white horses on a beach along the water’s edge, laughing as the wind blew through our hair. I clung to the reins, wearing a long, princess dress, and Dax looked striking in his royal robes fit for a prince. Our horses raced up a hill to a flat field of green grass that overlooked the ocean. We left the horses to graze and walked hand in hand to a tree near the ledge of the cliff.
He bent down and picked a handful of wildflowers that grew in a small patch. Handing them to me with a smile, he wrapped his arms around my waist. We admired the view for a long time before I looked into his azure blue eyes. A gentle breeze tugged at my hair.
“I missed you,” he said, “But I’ve finally found you, and I’ll never lose you again.” Then he kissed me with passion like I belonged only to him. He took my hand in his to lead me back to the waiting horses.
“I’ll race you back,” he taunted and helped me onto my horse.
“You’ll lose,” I told him, waiting for his dimples to appear.
I nudged my horse to go as soon as Dax climbed on his, and we raced down the path to the beach. We rode side by side and headed for a castle on the beach in the distance, with a long drawbridge leading to the entrance. Finally, I took the lead and looked back to throw him a triumphant grin.
But as I turned back around, a black horse with a rider appeared out of nowhere. The ominous intruder cut me off a few feet away, and I was thrown to the sand when my horse stopped short and reared up. The bouquet of wild flowers I held in one hand littered the ground around me. The mysterious rider in armor raised the visor of his helmet to reveal his identity.
Preston looked down at me from on top of his black stallion.
The call of a bird startled me awake that morning after Dax had spent the night in my room, and I was happy for the rude awakening that saved me from a troublesome ending to my dream. I contemplated my strange dream before I shoved it to the usual spot in the back of my mind. That was the second time I’d dreamt of Dax.
The morning sun peered in through the doorway. Dax was lying beside me with his eyes open. He’d asked me if he could have his hand back, and warmth spread in my cheeks. But the fact that I’d clung to him all night like a teddy bear wasn’t the only reason I’d been blushing. I sat up, desperately hoping he didn’t have a clue I’d just been dreaming about him. About us together. Kissing.
He politely excused himself, and I thanked him before he slipped out of my room.
I’d been so sad the night before after Dax first walked me to my room. But he had no idea that leaving me alone would cause me to start missing Preston, regardless of what the briefcase exposed.
That night, I hadn’t wanted to think of how Preston knew he’d have to kill me, I only wanted to remember his flawless smile that centered between his smooth chiseled jaw, his playful yet seductive laugh, his green eyes sparkling with excitement every time he looked into mine. And the smell of him, that heavenly scent I’d have given my soul for just to get a whiff when he wasn’t around. I missed the way he looked, polished and perfect, with his designer silk shirts that clung to his muscular chest.
My mind had flashed through all of our time spent together, wandering through each magical moment of our dates that seemed so over the top. Our drives down the coast, candlelight dinners, and walks on the beach followed by my birthday getaway on Catalina Island. I was tortured by the idea that everything had been too good to be true, especially him. As if the pain of him being gone wasn’t enough, the pain of his betrayal had piled on top.
I had tried to shove Preston out of my mind to focus on Roxy and think of ways to make her want to spend more time with me. That’s when I heard music coming from Dax’s room—the same catchy melody I heard him playing on his guitar when I woke up on the beach.
Dax started to sing and his voice was amazing—smooth and relaxing, and the thought of him trying to kiss me popped into my head along with the memory of his hand on my stomach. I squeezed my lids shut and tried to focus on the words of the song, but Preston’s face just kept appearing like a spreading infection in my mind.
But then the vision of the contents in the briefcase clouded those memories like a large blob of black ink, the stain bleeding and blending together to ruin the purity of the past and the picture-perfect images I had clung to. The blow of his deceit was far worse than the first day on the island when I discovered he was gone.
My hand muffled my sobbing because I knew if I didn’t that Dax would hear me, since there was nothing separating us but a few feet and thin, wooden walls. The tears rolled out in a steady stream.
I felt abandoned and betrayed, and the worst kind of loneliness engulfed me as realization hit hard. Preston left me alone intentionally, and now there will be no wedding, no traveling the world, and no going to college. If I’d made different choices, my path would have led me to a very different place. Then, without much effort, a new emotion sprung up to block out the hurt he caused me. I was angry.
Somewhere during all that stewing, I had dozed off, until something awoke me and I found myself in utter darkness. Without a full moon or the light from the fire in the cave, nighttime on the island is almost pitch black. Dax had stopped playing, and the sounds of the forest and the creatures living in it were loud. My imagination ran wild. My chest tightened, and it was hard to breathe. My breathing accelerated as I panicked.
Despite being frozen with fear, I forced myself to roll over and felt around for my purse next to the bed. My fingers found my cell phone and with trembling hands, I pushed the power button. Relief poured over me when the screen came to life and a bluish glow lit up the room. I put the phone on my chest to illuminate the ceiling above me and listened to the silence.
But the quiet was shattered by a flapping noise that came from outside of my wall. My heart pounded, and I jerked my head to the left to stare where I thought it came from. I lay absolutely still, afraid to make a sound. Another noise startled me, and I whipped my head to the right.
In that moment of terror, I wondered if Zoron had come back to get me. Dax said it was dangerous to be out after dark, but I hadn’t asked why. Something smacked into the wall behind me and the need to be with Dax became overwhelming.
I had sprinted to Dax’s room.
My face flames with embarrassment every time I think about it. I’d thrown myself at him and begged him to stay with me, then begged him again to sing me asleep. And then I had wrapped myself around his arm like a clinging vine. Oh my.
After I’d taken a shower to distract myself from the humiliation, I found him sitting on a log near the fire pit, cleverly crafting a soccer ball using fresh twigs and tying them together to form a sphere. I plopped down next to him to eat a bowl of fruit and watched him stuff the core with moss, and then wrap the outside with some dried out animal skin he saved from the wild pig. Finally, he stitched the seams together with fine strips of bark.
He juggled his new toy in front of me.
“I’m impressed,” I said, and I truly was.
“Let’s go to the beach and try it out,” he had said with his contagious enthusiasm. He pulled me up from the log, and we’d gone to the beach to try it out.
That was over a week ago.
Without a doubt, life is cruel, unfair. But today, I want to change my destiny—I want the life I dreamt about with Preston. I want someone to love me, to protect me, and to make me laugh. And most importantly, I don’t want to be alone.
The last few days have merged together. Dax and I have spent the mornings hanging out at the castle or playing soccer at the beach, jumping in the water to swim when we get too hot. Our afternoons have been consumed with hunting, which I know takes longer than usual because Dax lets me do the shooting. I’m still terrible, so sometimes he takes over to leave us more time to play.
Staying busy has made it possible for me to keep my memories with Preston contained in a file in the back of my mind. As long as I’m wit
h Dax, I can cope. Together, we’ve created things. He helped me make a toothbrush from the course-haired skin of an animal, and he even made me a comb out of sticks he carved and wove together. And each night after dinner, Dax plays his guitar and sings, while I listen to his soothing voice. Sometimes, the memories of Preston creep up again, causing the ache to rise in my chest, until Dax lies down beside me and gives me his hand, singing me his familiar lullaby until I fall asleep.
Life without Roxy has become a pattern too. She shows up to get food and then leaves again, and each time Dax complains about her taking more than her share. It seems like she wants to completely avoid me, as if getting to know me is at the bottom of her list of things she wants to do.
“We don’t see much of Roxy,” I said last night as Dax and I laid together in the darkness.
“Yeah. That’s been nice,” Dax said with a laugh, and I punched him in the dark.
“Seriously. I can’t help thinking it’s because of me. She never accepts my offer to hang out with us, and she hasn’t slept here since I have.”
“Well, I hope you’re not losing any sleep over it, because I can think of a much better way to miss out on sleep, and it definitely doesn’t include Roxy. Would you like me to show you?”
I punched him a little harder and tried not to think too hard about his suggestion. “That won’t be necessary.”
I let go of his hand to touch his face, feeling the dimples carved above his mouth. He took my hand back and kissed my palm before lacing his fingers through mine. We’ve become an inseparable team, and I depend on him like a drug. I feel like he’s a necessary part of me.
“But she never sticks around,” I also said. “We’re always alone.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Dax had replied. “In fact… maybe she doesn’t dislike you as much as you think. She might believe she’s doing us a favor. Maybe… we shouldn’t be wasting all this alone time.”
“Oh. My. Gosh.”
He laughed, and I felt his warm breath next to my ear. I turned away from him onto my side and pulled his arm around me since I still had a hold of his hand. My eyes flew open when he planted a sweet kiss on my cheek.
“Goodnight, Ava.”
“Night,” I had said, and squeezed his hand before he started singing me a quiet lullaby.
But this morning, I woke up alone, and I’m wondering how Dax managed to escape with his hand. I’d wrapped his arm around me and held on tight last night, ignoring his multiple suggestions of how we could intimately pass the time. But thanks to his good night kiss on my cheek, the visual of us kissing in my dream wedged itself inside my head and kept me up long after he fell asleep. I sigh, remembering how the touch of his lips on my skin did funny, happy things to my stomach.
I hurry through my usual morning routine, and find him waiting for me in the kitchen hut with a big smile and an animal skin bag strung over his shoulder next to his bow and quiver.
“Come on,” he says in his cheerful morning voice. “We’re going somewhere else to eat breakfast.”
He holds out his hand like he always does, and then takes off in a different direction than the day before. My hand feels at home in his, giving me a sense of security I desperately need. He makes me feel safe, and I know he’ll protect me at any cost, causing a wealth of happiness to cover the hurt Preston left to accumulate in my chest, smothering the pain almost completely.
We reach the beach and walk along the shoreline to where the land carves in a bit, forming a small cove-like area below a sheer cliff. The waves crash into the rock wall and bounce back, leaving a film of white froth floating on top of the water. This spot looks vaguely familiar from the morning we walked the beach in search of Preston, but I’d been so concerned with finding him that I missed the beautiful scenery surrounding this part of the beach.
We walk until the sand turns into rocks, and then take off along a path that leads to the top of the bluff. The flattop is covered with soft green ground cover and some bushes, and a few feet back is a line of trees marking the entrance to the forest.
“Wow.” I look at the ocean below us in awe. “This view is incredible.”
“Yeah. I love to come up here,” he says. “It’s a great place to get away and clear your mind, but actually, I need a couple of minutes to set things up. You can go wander around over there, and I’ll come get you when I’m ready.” He smiles mischievously and points into the trees directly behind us. “Just don’t wander too far or you might run into Roxy. Her special place is near that small point of rock.”
I quirk a brow, and he winks.
“Stay close to the stream. You’ll be fine.”
I nod and head for the trees, surprised that he’s giving me permission to wander around without him. I step into the tree line, follow the sound of gurgling water, and veer to my left until I find it. I follow the stream deeper into the forest, stopping to admire all the different flowers growing near the water’s edge.
I spot a bright yellow, exotic-looking flower and decide it would make a nice centerpiece for our breakfast, so I maneuver my way across the stream to the other side to get it. I pluck it from its stem and turn to cross back when something catches my eye.
A tree much smaller and different from the rest sits nestled in among the giant trees further down the stream. I blink twice to make sure I’m really seeing what I think I see. It looks as though someone has carved a message into the bark midway up. I can’t get a good visual on it from this side of the water, so I hop from rock to rock to get back to the other side. One step away from reaching it, my foot slips and I fall in the water.
Luckily, I managed to save the flower at the expense of not catching myself with both hands, and now my shorts are soaked. Figures. I giggle and pull myself up before remembering the tree. I turn around and find it, but the carving is still indiscernible.
I take a few steps forward and spot a rock that I can stand on to get a better view. Before I can reach it, I hear Dax calling.
“Ava.”
He slows down as he gets closer. Was he panicking?
“Geez. Didn’t think you would wander off so far,” he says playfully. “Come on, everything’s ready and I’m starving.”
He holds out his hand and notices the flower I’m holding.
“Nice.”
“Yeah. I crossed the stream to get it, and that’s when I saw something cool.” I turned to point to the tree. “It looks like someone carved a message into a heart on the bark of that tree. I can’t quite make out what it says without getting closer.”
“Well, let me save you the trouble,” Dax says. “We are dangerously close to Roxy territory. I’m sure it says ‘I hate Dax’. Let’s go. If you really want to check it out, we can come back after breakfast.”
His dimples make the carving seem trivial.
“Okay.”
He leads me back to the cliff where he had put great effort into setting up. He had wooden bowls and fruit and coconut arranged on a wooden tray. He takes my yellow flower and adds it to the bouquet he had in one of the cups. We sit down and leaned against a large rock that juts out of the ground near the edge of the bluff. We stare out at the ocean while we eat the array of fruit. When we are done eating, I scoot closer to him and rest my head on his shoulder.
“Let’s play Truth or Dare?” he suggests, and I don’t have to look at him to know that he’s boasting a big grin.
There’s never an end to his games. Truth or Dare isn’t a fun game for worriers like me, and it reminds me too much of the five-question game I played with Preston over dinner.
I lift my head and groan. “That game’s not my favorite.”
“Oh. Well… we could play spin the bottle instead.” He flashes a mischievous grin. “I have plenty of bottles back at the castle.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m just not very good at this game.”
“What?” He laughs. “No one is good at Truth or Dare. It’s just fun. You need to stop worrying so much an
d relax—live on the edge a little.”
“I am on the edge. Literally. And only because you’re here with me. I’m not a huge fan of heights,” I remind him.
“Really? How about blond, blue-eyed, non-cannibal types? Are you a fan of those?”
Yeah, I could see where this was going. The heat in my cheeks answered the question for me. The more time we’d spent together, the bigger fan I’d become.
“Okay, Truth or Dare it is,” I say, not missing his triumphant grin. “Who’s going first?”
“Ladies, of course,” he says slyly. “Truth or dare?”
I stare at him for a moment, hesitant to choose. “Truth, I guess.”
“So do you remember the day on the beach when we were eight?”
I nod, wondering where he’s going with this. So many possibilities.
“When it was time to go, you started to cry.”
Uh, oh.
“Why were you crying?”
His alluring eyes search mine. I know the kind of answer he’s waiting for, but I stall before answering. “I didn’t think I’d ever see the castle again.”
“Are you seriously going to cheat?”
He looks disgruntled. Apparently, I’m a bad liar too.
“I wasn’t finished.” I pause. “And… I was worried I’d never see you again.” I can feel myself blushing, and I turn my head to look in the other direction, away from his steady gaze. “Truth or dare?” I ask.
“Truth.”
I turn back to see a smug grin plastered to his face, and I eye him curiously before asking my question. “If you found a genie in a bottle and he gave you three wishes, what would they be?”
He laughs before answering.
“It’s funny you should ask, because I’ve actually thought about that before. Two of those wishes have already come true. Now that you’re here, and I found a surfboard, the only thing missing is a pizza. A meat lover’s with thick crust and extra cheese.” He catches me blushing again. “Your turn.”
“Truth,” I say, hoping for the best.
He leans closer, and my heart starts to race.
“If you had the choice to leave here today and go back to your old life, or stay here with me… which would you choose?”
Cheater. Totally unfair. He knows I have nothing to go back to. Which raises the question, what would I do? Preston’s gone and nothing more than a scam, plus now I know Mr. Curuso wants me dead. So that leaves only one option.
“Uhm, I guess I’d stay here with you. You and Roxy are my only family now.”
His face radiates happiness, but I’m filled with worry. Exactly why I hate this game.
“Dare,” he says, before I can offer him the choice.
His eyes are focused on my lips. I’m quick to look away and notice a small rock balancing on top of a larger one on a point, about a hundred yards to the right of where we sit.
“I dare you to shoot that small rock off the large one with your bow and arrow,” I say, pointing it out to him.
“Seriously?’ he says. “You really are bad at this game, aren’t you?”
I giggle and watch him get up to retrieve his bow and one arrow from the quiver. He stands directly in front of me to raise and draw the bow, flexing his strong arms while I admire his smooth, chiseled chest behind the drawstring pulled tight across it. He lets go, and I turn my head just in time to see the arrow and small rock disappear from view, down the other side of the cliff.
“That was—awesome,” I tell him. He returns to sit by me, and I internally cringe because it’s my turn. “Truth.”
“What’s wrong? Are you scared of a little dare?” he taunts.
“No, I’m not scared.” I am, but the competitive part of me takes over. “Fine. Dare.”
A satisfied grin pulls at the corners his mouth and then he takes my hand in his, lacing his fingers with mine. He shifts closer, and now he’s staring at my lips again. Oh, no. My bravery comes to a screeching halt, and my heart starts beating double time.
“I dare you to kiss me.”
I stare back at him. That was a dirty trick, and I walked right into it. I look at his cheek and start to lean towards it, but he pulls back.
“No. A real kiss.”
He’s looking into my eyes with intent, and those dimples are disarming. I look down and smile shyly, knowing I’ve been defeated. I’ve dreamt of kissing him, and now my insides are flitting wildly as that dream flashes through my mind. My heart’s racing and my stomach’s doing somersaults. I’m scared. Terrified. Not of kissing him, but afraid I might actually like it.
Before I finish debating with myself, his fingers find my cheek, grazing my skin as if I’m made of paper-thin glass and he thinks I might shatter. He leans in to kiss me and his lips are so soft, warm, and inviting, as they move across mine ever so smoothly. My eyes close and I hesitate, holding back a little, but then I realize how much I do like kissing him—more than I want to admit.
He deepens the kiss, and I open my eyes to meet his vibrant blue irises that match the vast sky behind him. His fingers slide through my hair to rest behind my neck with his thumbs at my cheeks. He holds me there and kisses me like he never wants to stop. Every ounce of worry, loneliness, and rejection I’ve felt is absorbed by him and replaced by pure bliss, leaving me feeling so light and weightless I think I might float away. Then he pulls away slowly, gently tugging at my bottom lip.
“It’s my turn,” he says through a satisfied grin. “And I choose dare.”
“Kiss me again,” I say in a breathy whisper, surprised at my own forwardness, but I want him to kiss me again. The words barely escape my mouth before he presses his lips against mine with more urgency than before. And this time is different. He’s relishing kissing me, like I am the last piece of triple-layer caramel chocolate fudge cake on earth and he’s never tasted anything so good.
There’s not even time to be nervous, and no room inside my body for that emotion, because I am consumed with everything warm and fuzzy, bursting inside like the sunrise spilling over the mountains on a summer day. This kiss is longer, so much better than I imagined in my dream, and I feel a sense of happiness that I haven’t felt since being on Lamarai. His kisses are closing the hole in my heart one stitch at a time.
“Truth or dare?” he asks softly against my mouth.
I know he’d love for the kissing routine to go back and forth all day, and part of me longs for the same. There’s something tempting about being on an island, virtually alone without anyone watching, that makes me want to continue kissing him, welcoming the relief of my sorrow. His kiss is like a drug that creates a numbing effect on my pain. He waits anxiously for me to make my choice, his soft, full lips ready to pounce less than an inch from mine.
“Truth,” I say, expecting his face to be filled with disappointment, but a sly smirk creeps across his irresistibly kissable mouth.
“Okay.” He looks into my eyes and now I’m starting to regret my choice of action. “Ava Starr, you’re amazing, beautiful, perfect, and all I’ve ever wanted. I’ve dreamt of you since the first day we met. I waited a long time to find you, and by some miracle—here you are. So my question is… if I asked you to be my princess, and live happily ever after with me forever… would you say yes?”
I lean away, shocked by his question. My mouth opens to say something, but words fail me. I’m utterly speechless—but he’s just getting started.
“I just happen to know a chief,” he pauses, “that can make things happen.” He glances down at our intertwined fingers, then squeezes my hand and clears his throat quietly. “You know, like a marriage ceremony for example. Not now, of course, but when you’re ready. I would marry you in a heartbeat, but there’s no rush. We have all the time in the world.”
He studies me and waits for my answer, sheer joy radiating from the dimples on his adorable face. I blink, pausing, as visions of a future with Dax swirl through my mind. The thoughts are pleasant—exciting, perfect imag
es of happiness so vivid I can almost touch them. Dax is real. He loves me—and he’s mine for the taking. I smile back at him, knowing only one little word stands between the two of us, and our perfect fairy-tale ending.
An internal battle rages in my mind. My pulse is racing, and the word he wants to hear is on the tip of my tongue, begging to be released. But is he out of his mind? We just kissed. Only weeks ago, I’d been ready to marry Preston on a moment’s whim. And now Dax sits in front of me, asking me to spend the rest of my life with him.
It seems inevitable—the only choice being whether to spend it with him as a friend, or his wife. He’s already my best friend, but I can’t deny my deeper feelings for him. I know I could be completely happy by his side, but it will take time. And this is the cause for my uncertainty—not knowing exactly how long the shattered dream of my first love will continue to haunt me.
Before I can answer, he gets up and walks to the edge of the cliff before turning to face me.
I gasp. “Dax! Get away from the edge; you’re making me nervous.”
“Come on. Live a little. Come and get me—then tell me you’ll marry me.” His eyes are so alluring. “Or would you rather I jump?”
“What?” I say. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m serious; come back from the edge.”
“That’s not an answer. One,” he says, holding his arms out to the side. “Two.”
I narrow my eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Three.”
He leans back and is gone.
“Dax!”
I crawl to the edge just in time to see him hit the water feet first after an elegant backwards dive. I hold my breath until I see him surface, and then bite my tongue to keep from swearing. I’m not sure over the sound of the wind, but I think I hear him laughing. He waves at me, and then gestures for me to follow his lead. Yeah, right.
“Show off,” I mutter, and then stand to brush the moss and dirt from the front of my shirt.
“Ava?”
Ice slips through my veins. I know this voice. It’s the same one that begged for my time, borrowed my love, and stole my heart, and it is now threatening to crush my chance for a happy ever after.
I spin around and see Preston standing a few feet behind me. He lets out a relieved sigh and falls to his knees, but cold fear rushes over me. Am I dreaming? I blink twice. My heart starts to race and I’m consumed with mixed emotions, so I stand perfectly still and wait for him to say something.
“Thank goodness you’re alive. I thought you were dead,” he says, his voice strained.
My feet are frozen in place, and I stare at him with unbelieving eyes. He looks as gorgeous as ever, the only difference is the three weeks’ worth of stubble that covers his perfect face. My legs want to run to him—my arms want to fling themselves around his neck and my lips want desperately to collide with his, but I refrain while my mind and heart duel in a fierce battle. All I wanted from the moment I woke up on this island was to find him alive, but now that I have, the reality of it seems like sheer torture.
He seems troubled by my silence, standing up to take a step towards me, but I take a step back in response.
“Ava, it’s me.”
“Stay back,” I order, ignoring the stabbing pain shooting through my heart at the sound of my own words, words that cause his expression to become one of concern.
Kirk and Anna break through the tree line and run up behind him. They are out of breath as if they’ve been running to catch up to him. My eyes flicker to their faces and then fall lower. They’re holding hands.
I quickly glance to my right, but there’s no sign of Dax. I’m outnumbered in a big way.
“Oh my gosh! Ava?” Kirk says with a huge grin, but I narrow my eyes at him.
“Something’s wrong,” Preston says to Kirk, and then says to me, “What happened to your head?”
Dax told me the lump on my head has all but disappeared, leaving only a greenish-blue bruise in its place.
Preston starts to take another step towards me and I step backwards again, my heel resting over the very edge of the cliff. Sand and pebbles slip from beneath my foot, and I know Dax must be watching me from the water. I’m terrified to jump but also terrified of the person standing in front of me.
A look of fear crosses Preston’s face. “Ava, please come away from the edge. It’s me. Preston.”
Kirk jumps in. “Seriously, you’re freakin’ me out right now. Get back from the edge before I come over there and get you myself.” He orders me towards him with his hand, but Anna says nothing.
“I’m warning you—all of you! Stay back or I’ll jump,” I tell them, hoping they won’t make me keep my promise. They’re probably planning to push me anyway.
“Ava, please. Let me help you,” Preston begs. “I’ve missed you so much.”
His eyes fill with tears, but I refuse to fall for his acting this time. I swallow, trying to hold back the onslaught of tears I know are coming.
“You left me to die,” I say. “How could you? I loved you.”
Kirk and Anna’s expressions are both one of shock, but on Preston’s face is an undeniable expression of horror. He shakes his head and opens his mouth to speak, but then he closes it.
He lunges forward to grab me, but I’m faster. I turn in an instant and scream as I leap off the edge to the frothy waters below.
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