The Island

Chapter 20

Erika's POV

Sparks fly as our lips touch and everything else disappears. His soft, smooth lips move against mine, creating a feeling I've never felt before. Cam pulls away first to catch his breath, "Well," he pauses breathing heavy. "I wasn't expecting that."

I smile, realizing I caught him off guard. The next thing I know, his lips are back on mine, catching me off guard this time. He moves his lips against mine expertly and I know if I were standing my knees would likely give out.

He pulls away with a smirk on his face as if he knows. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

I blush, finally knowing for sure that he has feelings for me. I never thought that he would ever care for me and yet here we are, sitting in a boat floating by a waterfall. "So, is this a good first date?" he asks with hope in his eyes.

"Usually, I don't kiss on a first date." I tell him with a smile. "Yes, it's a good first date." I confirm and I would pay anything to see the smile that appears on his face again. A smile anyone could tell is adoration maybe even....love?

We sit in the bay and watch as the water falls from somewhere above us. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this. It is both beautiful and surprising. Beautiful for the experience and surprising that Cam went through the trouble of arranging all of this. Strangely it brings warmth to my heart, a strange feeling in my chest that seems heavy and light all at once.

Shortly after, Cam takes us back and to be honest, I didn't want to leave. I had been enjoying the time we spent together. I secretly hoped he wouldn't disappear and leave me alone. Though he didn't seem to be in a rush to get away and that alone lifted my spirit.

"Do you want to spend some time on the beach?" he asks as we walk up to the house.

"Sure." I respond, happy that he wasn't disappearing on me.

We walk into the house and go our separate ways to change for an afternoon on the beach. When I get to my room, I search my bags for a bathing suit. I have a couple options and it takes me a moment to decide.

I decide on a black two piece. Once the bathing suit is tied up, I head to the bathroom to inspect myself. Turning in front of the mirror, the bathing suit fitting perfectly, my long platinum hair falls at the middle of my back. I decide to put my hair up into a ponytail and finally decide that I look good enough to leave my room.

I walk down the hallway and see Cam standing by the stairs deep in thought. He didn't even notice me walk into the foyer. What is he thinking about? I notice he's wearing a blue pair of swim trunks without a shirt. His tattoos and muscles freely out on display, it makes my mouth water.

I shake it off, walking up to him and touching his bare shoulder. "Cam?" I ask.

He jolts and looks at me surprised. "I, uh, spaced out." He says shaking his head.

He looks at me and does a once over, looking me up and down before looking at my face. "You look beautiful." He continues with a smile on his face, which only makes me blush like a tomato.

We walk down to the beach and spend the day absorbing the sun's rays, kissing and rolling around in the sand.

***

The afternoon had been lovely and now sitting at dinner with everyone in the house just completes the beautiful day. Sophie chats about the day she had with her friends, Gordon talks about work and Cam keeps looking at me with a sad expression. I wonder why he looks sad.

When dinner is over Cam takes me outside to watch the sunset. While walking the beach he asks, "Do you like it here Erika?"

It takes me by surprise. I didn't think he cared about my opinion of this place; didn't think it would matter to him. I look over at him and notice that he seems worried about something. He's been acting strange since we got back from our adventure by the docks.

"Yeah, I like it here. Why wouldn't I?" I ask, looking over at him when I finished and see that he relaxes.

"Would you ever want to leave?" he asks.

"No, but if I had to, I would." I tell him honestly. "Cam, what's wrong? Why do you have so many questions?" I ask wondering what made him so nervous.

"It's better if I show you." He says and takes my hand leading me back to the house before being able to see the sunset. When we get to the house, Cam takes me to the TV room. He grabs the remote and turns on the flat screen TV. The American news is on and there's a picture of me on the screen with the caption: MISSING. I listen and realize my father is ill, which I already knew about. "How long have you known about this?" I wonder.

"Since this morning." He replies and I sigh. The press loves to make a big deal of everything. So, this is why he's been acting strange all day.

"Are you wanting to leave?" Cam questions and I look over at him. He has the saddest expression on his face that reminds me of a sad puppy.

"No." I reply, and he looks up at me with surprise. "My father and I never really got along. I'm only reported missing because I haven't been returning the emails that my friend and boss keep sending me. I don't want to respond to them because then I'd have to report about the island and many other things that the world doesn't need to know about. The press enjoys reporting on my father because he's related to me. My father has been sick for a while Cam, I know he's going to die."

"But shouldn't you go see him before?" Cam asks.

"I don't want to." I tell him grabbing his hand and feeling the warmth his touch brings. "But I should go. It sounds like it got worse and he may die soon. Even though we're not close, he's still my father." I tell him before kissing his cheek and walking out of the room to go pack but mostly read my emails.

Cam follows me down the hall to the room he gave me. "You promise that you'll come back?" he asks almost seeming desperate. I turn and look at him.

"I promise." I tell him with a smile before opening the door to the room. I hear his footsteps leaving down the way he came and I close the door behind me.

I look around the room and realize there's nothing to pack into bags. So, I head over to my computer bag and pull out my laptop to read my emails.