Island Rush

by Marien Dore

I wasn’t sure if I heard him right or if he for some reason was confused. Looking up at him, I saw that shine on his face. One that was ready to surprise me.

  “What?”

  He smiled and turned a little, reaching over his head where the leather camera bag was. He took the camera out and turned it on, handing it to me. “Casey, what—?”

  “Here,” he said from under me, handing me the camera. I sat up on my knees on his side, taking it. I forgot it had a charged battery. “I deleted every picture on there. It’s free for us to use,” he said.

  God, he was amazing! He did look worried a little though on how I would react to this since this was Jill’s camera. It stung a little to recall that he was in fact engaged, but what control did we have over that now? What was worse was that I knew I wouldn’t feel any guilt over using it.

  The camera was smooth in my hands, nice and familiar since it looked like the camera I used to have. I was forced to sell it to help with trying to bail Alex out of jail. Now in my hands... I felt my smile grow at the thought of today involving what I loved most: Casey and photography.

  Sure, I saw how it could be extremely low for us. I mean, we are using his fiancée’s camera. But why let it just sit there, battery completely full, while I’m here and wanting so much to be a photographer? This would be fun!

  I bit my lip, and I held the camera up, looking through the digital screen. I pointed it down to Casey. I zoomed into him until the image was of him lying on his back, from his stomach up to his face. He blushed and covered his face while laughing. “No, I didn’t mean me. I meant of what you like to take pictures of! Nature!”

  “You are too beautiful, though!” I laughed.

  He ignored that and went on mumbling. “Just another reason I would be arrested.”

  “It’s from the hip up!” I chuckled in fits of laughter. “Now would you shut up and look at the camera.”

  He watched me, calculating and sneaky. Then he finally obeyed and smiled sweetly at me through the lens. Upon seeing the picture through the screen, I pushed the button and took his picture.

  I lowered the camera and looked at the screen. Satisfied with the quality and the picture of him, I smiled and began to lay back down. This time, I was on my back next to Casey. I moved closer until I was pressed into his side, my head resting on his shoulder.

  “Look at that hot man,” I said and showed him the picture I just took through the small screen.

  “Wow. I’m getting hard already,” he muttered sarcastically. Then he smiled after he leaned down and pressed his head on mine, moving to see the picture I took of him through the small screen better.

  I chuckled and raised the camera over us, placing it so it was just over our faces that we pressed together. I turned the camera, so the lens was pointing down at us. Looking to Casey for a small moment, I asked him if he was ready. With a smart wave of his head, I rolled my eyes, and we both looked up at the camera.

  We both smiled up at the lens before I snapped the picture. The sound of the picture being taken after I pushed the button was unusual a little. We haven’t been around anything like this for a while. Now, to hear that simple beep the camera made, I realized how little we appreciate the things we have at times. We never think about living without these things because it is such an absurd thought. Being on this island made me appreciate technology more.

  I lowered the camera as I delicately turned the camera over in my hands, showing us both the second picture I took. I smiled as he did too, the both of us in the picture smiling with our faces close together.

  “Take another,” he told me after a moment of looking at our picture.

  I shrugged, raising my arms above us again and aiming the lens down once more, settling it on our faces as I best guessed it was. Then we both looked up to the camera. I started pushing the button to take the picture. But before it clicked, he swiftly leaned over to me, pressing his mouth against my cheek before it took our picture.

  “Casey!” I laughed as he kissed my cheek. I lowered the camera as I felt him smile against my face.

  “I’m sorry,” he said cheerfully as he broke away, trying his best to look sorry and not achieving it. We looked at the picture, and my heart swelled at the sight. His mouth lightly on my cheek in the picture and me chuckling, not expecting it.

  “Let’s do one more. I promise not to kiss you this time,” he said.

  His face an inch from mine already as I looked at him, I doubted he would keep that promise. How could I care when that last picture made my heart swell?

  I raised my arms above us, facing the camera down at us and put my finger on the button. I waited for a second, watching him out of my side vision, knowing what he was going to do. When he didn’t do it again, I pushed the button and smiled.

  Not a second before I pushed it did his hand cup my cheek, turning my face towards his. He kissed my lips as the picture was taken, capturing the memorable moment.

  I expected him to break away, but he didn’t. He moaned against my lips, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me on top of his chest, the camera still in my hand. I squealed as he went deeper in my mouth. We both chuckled lightly, a vibration against our lips that never let up.

  I continued to kiss him, moving the camera off to our side and taking another picture of us as he held me, kissing me. I clicked it a couple times more, making this kiss last forever in those pictures.

  By the time he broke away and stared at me, smiling, I took one last shot of him looking at me before I shut it off, not wanting to waste the battery. I set it back into the camera bag before returning to rest against him again.

  “I thought we had to go fishing later, though,” I said, knowing he couldn’t be serious about blowing the whole day off so we could take pictures.

  He only smiled. “I need to show you something.”

  “Another surprise?”

  He nodded, “Yes, so we need to get dressed.”

  I groaned as I climbed off him, finding my clothes from yesterday and putting them back on as I stepped out from under the shelter with him for more room. I glanced over at Casey when I was done, seeing him cover up his amazing body. After he had slid his boxers and his pants on, he caught my eye and smiled.

  “We could always just walk around naked all day. From your stare, I don’t think you would mind that.”

  I blushed, “Is it my fault you’re so attractive?”

  “You’re going to be even more attracted to me when you see what I did.”

  “Wait, you were already up this morning? Before I woke up?” I asked, not understanding.

  “I have been up since dawn. I figure that by now, it’s around 10:00 am.”

  “What were you doing up? Wait, you just got dressed.”

  “That doesn’t mean I was sleeping. We are on an island alone. Is it such a crime for a man to do some chores naked?”

  I chuckled. “You are something else. What were you doing that whole time?”

  “You will see. It only took me maybe two hours, so I guess I got back here around 8:00 am. After that, I just laid back down with you. Now, let’s go. I’m excited for you to see this.”

  He took my hand and guided me over to the edge of the lake. I saw that there was something in the water, floating under the surface of the bank. I squinted and knelt down on the bank, getting a better look.

  “Is that…?” I paused in my guess, seeing something attached to whatever it was under the water. A vine. I followed the vine with my eyes. It was tied around a tree, stretching down and into the water of the lake. Whatever was attached to that vine in the water was tied on tight. There was also something else that was holding the vine to the sand under the water.

  Realization struck me. “Holy shit!”

  “Language, Miss Reeves,” he said beside me. I looked up and saw him smirking as he knelt down next to me. He leaned down and reached into the water, lifting a large rock out. Then he pulled out the vine, pulling in what was attached to the end. He pulled
up the two good-sized fish that he attached to the vine.

  In the sun, the slimy surface of fish shimmered. It was also quite clear that they were dead from the small holes in them. Holes created by a spear.

  “Oh my God!” I squealed and hugged him without thinking. “You really did it! Twice too,” I said, my mouth set in a large grin.

  “I woke up and remembered what we had to do today. I didn’t want to work or do anything today that would waste my time with you. I wanted today to be a special day of nothing to worry about. Just you, me, photography, and whatever else we want to do. So, I took the spear and hoped to get something for us for dinner. I got lucky.”

  “Two fish in a few hours on your first time,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s impressive.”

  “Well, I think the fact that I was naked helped. They just kind of swam by… then turned around after seeing me. You’re right. I’m very attractive… To the fishes too, apparently.”

  I laughed. “I don’t know about that last part, but you are very attractive.” I glanced at the vine of the two fish in his hand. “But why are they on a vine in the water?”

  “To keep them cold for later. I’m not sure if it would actually keep it cold like a freezer would but I figured that it would be good enough until the end of the day.”

  He leaned back down, putting the vine with the fish strapped to the end back in the water. This time, I saw the fish floated on top of the water. I recognized the need for the rock just then.

  He grabbed the vine laying on top of the water and took the rock, pulling both under the water. He anchored the vine in the sand that was only a foot or so deep since it was right off the bank.

  After that, he stood back up and helped me up too. I turned to him and smiled, shaking my head not knowing how to receive this. I hugged him again and gave him a kiss on the cheek. What he did was sweet, obviously. But to know he woke up at dawn and caught not one but two fish for us tonight blew me away. On top of that, he made another great invention to keep the fish fresh for later on! Plus, he did it naked. Yes, it was irrelevant, but it made me laugh.

  “Guess what, Casey?”

  “Um,” he pretended to think. “We had sex last night?”

  I chuckled. “Yes, but you should know how much I really appreciate all you have done for me. Thank you,” I paused, and my genuine smile turned more into a smirk. “Also, yes that that did just make me more attracted to you.”

  He smirked down at me, grasping my hand in his, “I know.”

  I elbowed him before he left my side and ducked under the cover of our shelter, grabbing the leather strap of the camera bag. He came back out, stood before me, and took the camera out of the bag. Casey handed me the camera, strapping the empty bag over his shoulder.

  I looked up from where the camera rested in my hands and into his excited eyes. “You’re really interested in knowing about photography?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I am. I remember what you showed me on top of the waterfall. I never thought of photography like you explained it and I saw how happy it makes you.”

  I was so amazed, and it couldn’t be later than noon yet.

  I smiled, shaking my head as I looked back down at the camera in my hands. The small strap attached to the camera proved to be helpful. I slug it over my neck, and the camera rested on my side.

  “So, where to first?” I asked, wondering where it was he wanted to start.

  “I follow the teacher and artist herself around. Take me wherever you feel, wherever you think you could find a good picture.”

  I turned away from him, looking over the clearing of water, the soft trees, the woods, the waterfall… All this as my canvas was overwhelming. I wasn’t sure where to start, wanting to take as many pictures as I could.

  “It’s too much. There is so much I could use.”

  “Then go where you feel you would enjoy the most out of taking pictures. There is one sight you haven’t seen yet. I only caught a glance of it a couple days ago. It was hard to see, but it was when we went for that walk up to the top of the waterfall. I saw it on our way up.”

  I smiled, excitement rising in me. “So it’s by the waterfall?”

  He took my hand, not saying anything other than giving me a knowing smirk. One that said another surprise was coming. I was more than anxious to find out what it was.

  Chapter 53

  Under the sun, his hand was sweaty in mine as he guided me. We walked along the deep grass on the bank of the lake, rounding it and heading towards the waterfall. The weight of the camera seemed to get heavier and heavier around my neck; all I wanted to do was grab it and start snapping pictures!

  “Would you calm down?” he chuckled. “We’ll be there in a second and after that, you can take pictures of whatever you want. Just let me show you this first. Besides, I think you will like this.”

  I smiled widely. “I’m just so excited!”

  We approached the side of the waterfall before he stopped and turned back to me. “We have to climb about halfway up,” he said louder than usual because of the crashing water close next to us.

  I looked up and tried to figure where halfway was. It wasn’t too high. It would be easy to do; no risk or stunt this time. What I worried about though was the camera. Large rocks with some covered moss made up the incline of the waterfall. Vines with leaves shooting out crawled up the rocks too. Then, a couple feet to the left of that and where the lake started was the crashing water, so I felt a light mist move over me.

  What if while climbing up, it swung around my neck too much and hit one of the rocks? What if it got wet? Looking back to Casey, I took the camera off, handing it to him. At least in the camera bag, it would be safe.

  He took it, understanding my worry over it and slipped it in the bag. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll go first, and you come behind me. If you feel like you will lose your balance, just grab my leg okay?”

  I nodded and watched as he turned forward again, grasping the edge of a rock nearly his size. My face was always a couple inch away from the rock as I climbed up, pushing my weight into the rocks. It was actually easy compared to what I originally thought it would be. As Casey moved up, I followed, the rocks large enough to support us.

  I saw Casey stop, and I climbed up next to him. “Why did you stop climbing?” I asked loudly.

  He smiled and pointed to the left of us. I turned my head and at first, all I noticed was the water falling. Then, something else caught my vision. Behind the falling water, there was a small cliff the size of a small trail or path. Looking deeper under the waterfall, I was unable to see where that path stopped, and I realized that it was a long grassy path jutting out from the side of the cliff we were climbing up, only it was behind the water.

  I turned back to Casey, realizing what this was. I smiled up at him as well. He took my hand, and we carefully climbed together to our left more until we no longer needed to climb. We were so close to the water now, we could step down onto the level path.

  Casey took my hand, stepping onto the grass and dirt of the shadowed small pathway. A few feet in, it was clear how much darker it was under here instead of out in the sun. It was nice, I can tell you that with how much cooler it was. Looking out and at the falling water a few feet away, shades of blue, orange, and yellow reached me. The sunlight hitting the crashing water gave us the light we needed in here.

  My feet solid on the short grass and dirt floor, I leaned my back against the cool stone and watched the water as its streaks fell with bright colors. It was so beautiful under here! My eyes were so distracted, I didn’t notice when Casey took the camera out of the bag until he lifted my hand and pressed it against my palm. Signaling for me to grab it, I did and looked up at him, amazed.

  “Well,” he nearly yelled over the water, pushing me to say something hopefully. He wanted to know if I liked his surprise.

  “I love this!” I didn’t know what to say. It was so beautiful, so nice under the waterfall. The colors, the darkness cool
ing the air around us, the water glowing… was beautiful. “I mean… how?”

  “I spotted it before we walked up the long way to the top of the waterfall. Figured maybe you could find a lot of different shots in here,” he said loudly as his answer.

  I smiled and looked around at the shadows and falling lights on the water behind the waterfall. I grabbed the camera as it hung around my neck and flicked it on, the lens coming out and camera active with a bright screen. I can immediately imagine how the photos would turn out.

  I looked back at Casey as he stood a few feet away, watching with true curiosity. I smiled. “Do you want to see?” I asked.

  He nodded and approached where I was kneeling against the stone of the cliff, facing the water as it fell with a crash to the lake. He knelt beside me, pressing his shoulder into mine, eyes finding the camera.

  Looking through the screen, I pointed it up in a low-angle shot towards the water as it fell in strands of the light mixing in. Angling the camera, I snapped the picture. I smiled at seeing the results with Casey next to me.

  “Wow,” he sighed, sounding truly surprised and intrigued at what the screen showed. I was as well since I didn’t expect the picture to come out so well. The setting I put it on made the water falling appear with a blur effect. At the same time, it highlighted the color well too.

  His eyes had scanned over the picture before he looked up to me in the small light. “How are you so creative?”

  I blushed. “It’s rather easy to me.”

  “You’re a natural at this. Can you do another in here but at a different angle?” he asked, looking clearly interested.

  I nodded automatically. Looking around though in this cave-type of setting, I tried to pick another good shot to take. The path was maybe five feet in width before the path dropped where the water dropped. I was pressed with my back against the cliff, facing the few feet of the flat ground before the water was there. Biting my lip with nervousness and excitement, I moved around until I was facing the stones and the cliff wall, sitting with my back to the waterfall.

  “Don’t freak out,” I said, glancing at him as I began to let myself fall back, cautiously.