She looked over to me, and I watched her resolve start to crumble in her eyes. It was replaced by frustration first and then something that looked like a cross between collapse and absolute terror.
“Raine,” I said, trying to keep my voice soft. An idea sprang to mind. “Look, my shirt and boxers are cotton, which is a lot better than your suit. The boxers will be big on you, but it will give you the airflow you need for the rash to heal. I’ll even wash them out for you. I can go with just my cargo shorts. Would that be all right?”
She looked up at me and her eyes danced all over my face. I figured she was probably trying to figure out if I was trying to deceive her in some way. Finally, she dropped her eyes down to the floor and nodded.
I didn’t have a lot of modesty, so I just went ahead and stripped, noticing Raine turning away and hiding her eyes. I chuckled and pulled my shorts back on. It wasn’t the most comfortable attire without underwear, but I’d live. I’d also go naked before I let myself start chafing. I washed out both the boxers and my shirt as best I could with sea water. I wasn’t sure if it made a whole lot of difference or not, but it seemed like a good peace of mind thing to do. I squeezed out the material so it would dry faster and handed them over to her.
“Make sure the shorts are totally dry before you put them on,” I said. “Now get the suit off before it gets any worse. I’m just going to take a little nap, okay?”
I dropped down on my back and tossed one of the towels over my face. It was hot and uncomfortable, but she had to get out of those clothes or she was going to be shit deep in trouble. I breathed slowly and steadily, making sure everything but my rising and falling chest was still. After several minutes, I heard her shuffling around, but she still wasn’t changing her clothes.
“Damnit, Raine!”
She squeaked again. I fucking hated that. I sat up and glared at her.
“Just take the fucking suit off, or so help me God, I will tear it off of you.”
“Fine!” she yelled back at me, her eyes darkening at me.
“Do it now!”
“Not when you’re looking!” she screamed, her voice raising in pitch and sounding like she was going to break down again.
“I won’t fucking look,” I snarled back, “but I’m giving you about ten seconds to get that shit off.”
I silently counted to ten and then started towards her. She squealed and moved to the back of the raft, her back pressed against the canopy.
“I’ll do it!” she screeched. I stopped my forward movement and sat back on my heels, staring at her.
“Why are you doing this?” Raine asked, her voice dropping down in volume. There were tears in her eyes, but I wasn’t going to let that sway me on this one.
“I told you.” I glared at her. “It’s fucking dangerous.”
“What difference does it make to you if I survive?”
I felt the anger welling up inside of me, but there was something else there as well. I’d watched people die – lots of people. Some of them asked for it. Some of them deserved it. Most of them were just playing the game for the money, just like I did, but there were some I watched that didn’t have to die. Some shouldn’t have died, and I wasn’t going to let that happen to her. Determination I probably hadn’t felt in years slipped down and coated my insides like that pink shit Alejandro used to try to give me for hangovers. It completely engulfed me, my reasoning became crystal clear, and I knew exactly what I was going to do.
I reached over and grabbed her face between my palms. I brought her up close to me so I could stare right into her eyes. I was almost touching her forehead with my own, and I could feel her breath coming out of her barely opened mouth and brushing over my lower lip and chin. I didn’t want there to be any kind of miscommunication on this one, so I spoke slowly and carefully.
“Raine, I couldn’t save your father, but no matter what we run into, no matter how long we’re out here, no matter what God or Satan or whoever the fuck else throws at us, I’m going to save you.”
I guess I didn’t need all that apathy after all.
Chapter 8 – Kiss
It had been a day and a half since the water ran out.