CAN'T IMAGINE

CHAPTER 4 - "IT'S SO HOT TONIGHT"

There was something in the air between them, so familiar, and yet somehow so new and exciting. Don't do this Camila, a voice in her head warned. He will hate you when he gets his memory back. But another voice told her it didn't matter, and anyway, it might just fix everything. Maybe not remembering was a gift from the universe....

She started to walk toward him, her breath coming quickly and he shouted for her to stop. She looked at him in confusion. She could tell from here that he was thinking about the same thing she was, she DEFINITELY knew him well enough for that!

"Don't take another step!" he warned and she looked down. She had forgotten he had dropped the mug. Splashed coffee and shards of pottery were strewn like a minefield between them. "Is there a brush and pan under the sink or something?"

Embarassed, she turned and fumbled in the cupboard, bringing out the items he asked for. She watched him pick up the large pieces and then sweep up the rest, passing him a damp cloth to wipe up the brown liquid. She didn't say a word, glad she had been saved from making a complete fool of herself. He passed her the soiled cloth and she rinsed it and hung it up.

"What's that you're making?" he asked, his voice breaking a little.

"Oh I found the vegetable garden, it was a little overgrown, but there was some fresh produce there, and then there were a lot of jars of things in the big pantry, even some cheese. I made us a kind of charcuterie board, but without the meat."

"It looks incredible," he said, looking at it hungrily. She smiled, remembering that with Shawn, food could cure all ills. Most anyway.

She picked up the board. "Grab that jug will you?" she asked and he did so, following her out on to the back deck. She had dragged the outdoor setting that was stored in the house outside. It wasn't too heavy, made of wicker with big comfortable cushions. He sank down onto one and poured them each a glass of the iced tea she had made before picking up a plate and loading it with hard boiled eggs, cheese and vegetables, some fresh, some pickled or preserved in oil.

"What's that noise?" he asked, frowning.

"I'm filling the pool," she said calmly. His eyebrows rose.

"How?"

"There's a pump that takes it from a big tank. It fills with sea water and then is treated for use in the pool. I just had to drag the hose over."

He frowned, glancing at her side. "Your wound...."

".....is fine, I was careful, and it was on a wheeled cart. Look." She lifted her top to show him. He looked away, toward the pool, and she saw him swallow. He was not unaffected by this thing between them either, which made her feel a little better, and a little worse.

"I'd kill for a swim," he said longingly. It was hot and steamy and she knew what he meant. Luckily she had put a waterproof plaster over her two wounds, so once the pool was full she intended to swim in it, if she could find a bathing suit.

"It needs another couple of hours and then we have to put the treatment in, but later tonight it should be ready and definitely for tomorrow."

She realised she spoke about it as if they were there indefinitely, and they could be. She had heard him grunting and swearing at the radio and decided that if they had to be there they might as well be comfortable. They could be there for a while. She had found all sorts of things to make their stay easier.

"Camila, what if they come to find us? Maybe we should have just left it..."

"I heard you Shawn, I know the radio isn't even getting static now. We have no way of contacting anyone. You know as well as I that unless someone comes looking for us, or the owners return, we are stuck here."