Stranded in Love

Chapter Nine

I awoke in agony as a terrible burning sensation seared through my back. I sat up quickly, startling Derick awake. I ripped off my jacket, and while looking for what was causing the excruciating pain, tiny red ants were crawling on my arms, biting me.

"Get them off!" I shrieked. I began smacking my arms, desperately trying to get the insects off. Derick immediately jumped into action and began swatting at my back.

"You're covered in fire ants Ella!" He exclaimed, brushing at my exposed back.

"I know! Please just get them off!" I begged, smacking the tiny assholes off. My skin quickly adorned red bumps that throbbed and pulsed in pain.

"Go get in the water, quickly!" Derick ordered. I didn't hesitate, very obviously for when I stood up, I hit my head so hard on the wooden support for the base, it left the support of the two trees, collapsing our entire shelter in mere seconds, the log fell into Dericks lap with deep exhale from him.

"Get in the water." He groaned out. Oh God I couldn't believe what had just happened in the last few moments. I couldn't even apologize to him. My skin felt like it was one thousand degrees as I ran as fast as my legs would allow. Running through the sand was not easy, and I struggled through it as made my way to the water, the coolness instantly giving me relief as I dove in. The water filled my ears and my senses before I resurfaced, bobbing against the waves of the water. The saltwater felt amazing and refreshing, but as I pulled my arm out of the water, all I could see was the harsh red lumps of the bites.

I continued to bathe in the oceans water as Derick made his way into the water too, he was shirtless this time however. My conscious told me to look away from his bare chest, but I stared as he made his way into the water too. However, as he got closer, I realized he was coming in the water because he was covered in tiny red bumps too. He submerged himself in the water and rose back up, bombing with the waves. He pushes his hair out of his face. All I can do is watch. I'm snapped out of my trance when a wave washes over the top of my head, leaving me sputtering the salty water out of my airway. In the midst of that, Derick had swam to where I was.

"Show me your back." He instructed, and I looked at him confused.

"Why? I asked, feeling tentative.

"I want to check on the bites there. Is the saltwater helping the pain?"

"Oh, okay... and yes. Telling me to come in here was a good idea." I thanked him, while turning around and moving my hair from behind my back and putting it over my shoulder. He was silent behind me, and the waves lapped and swayed me in the water.

"Oh... your skin. You have a lot of these bites on your back. If it's helping, you should come back in the water periodically. These bites are only going to get worse. I'm pretty sure we were attacked by fire ants."

I turned around in the water, and noticed Derick was also covered in tiny red bumps too. "You're outdoorsy and a nurse too. Just remember to take your own advice." I teased, starting to work my way out of the water and to the shoreline.

"I'm a jack of all trades, master in a few," He informed me with a wink. I could easily tell he had many hidden talents. He seemed to know at least something in every subject. That was commendable in my eyes. He liked knowledge and sought it. I enjoyed the fact he was a strong leader, a fighter, determined, respectful.

All the things I liked about my boss.

As I looked back at him, his body glistened with the water droplets. I guess I hadn't really thought of how he was quite attracti-

"Do you hear that?" Derick asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I listened, but all I could hear was the sound of the crashing waves. I kept listening, but I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary that I hadn't been hearing the last few days.