Chapter Seven:

I burst into the shelter and flung myself on the hammock, making it swing slightly. Tears flooded out of my eyes, rolling off the leaves of the bed and onto the floor. I sobbed uncontrollably. How could I be so stupid? I knew that I couldn't keep that big a secret from Micky for that long.

"Ginny?" called a calm voice from the doorway. I sat up and looked through my tears. Tall, dark-brown hair, green hat…

"M-Mike," I sniffled. I quickly got off the hammock and ran over to him, throwing my arms around his shoulders. I squeezed my eyes shut. After a few seconds, I heard the door quietly close behind Mike and I felt his arms weave around my waist, hugging me tightly. "Mike, I…I'm so stupid," I sobbed.

"Shh," he shushed me, rubbing my back. "No you're not. Micky was the stupid one for ever letting you go. He didn't exactly give you a second chance."

"He's right though," I cried. "I feel horrible!" I dug my face into Mike's chest and sobbed some more. Mike stroked my hair gently. It felt…good. Really good. I sighed in pleasure. "I like that." Mike chuckled and curled a lock of my red hair around his forefinger.

"Ginny, when you came to see our show on that ocean liner I really wanted to make you mine," he told me. Through one ear, I could hear what he was saying. Through the other, I could only hear his heartbeat. It was slow, steady, and loud. Then, what he said registered in my mind. I pulled away from his chest and looked up at him. His soft, brown eyes stared steadily back.

"You did?" I asked. He nodded.

"I did. I still do." Mike cupped my face in his hands and stroked my cheek.

He looked so kissable right now. His lips were shiny and puffy and I imagined pressing my own lips to them. That feeling was fantastic. I…wanted to test my theory, so I slowly kissed him. It was like we were the only two people in the world. Whether we were or not was another story. When we pulled apart, Mike rested his forehead on mine.

"I love you, Geneva Robinson," he smiled.

(-)(-)(-)

Later that night, I realized that I was now horribly attracted to all four boys on the island. My mind replayed episodes from the Animal Channel and I blinked, attempting to keep those images away like I always did when I got freaked out. What was that thing about bucks butting heads if they liked the same doe? Ooh! That would be painful!

"No," I said out loud, shaking my head vigorously. "They aren't deer, Geneva. They're adult men. They'll find a better way than violence."

My mind flashed to…the History Channel? Oh God! Dueling knights fighting for the honor of their lady fair! I whimpered and screwed my eyes shut. I had to stop this. I had to pick a guy before someone got hurt. Quickly found a place on the beach, stared out at the waves, and did some serious thinking.

Peter: the adorably cute one. I hadn't had that much to do with Peter, yet I still liked him. He was more of my little brother than my lover and there was something lacking when we kissed. Not that I didn't think he was still adorably cute. I just hated to see him waste his time with me when he could be off with a girl that loved him ten times more than I did.

Then there was Davy. He was an amazing kisser. That much was for sure. But did I actually love him? I thought he was incredibly attractive, yes. And sometimes that accent made me melt into a little puddle. But I decided a long time ago that love required more than just a pretty face and a hot accent.

And there was Micky. I paused for a moment while I thought about the possibility. I did love the way he got excited about small things and the way he treated me and trusted me. And he said he loved me. Honestly, I was pretty sure I loved him back. But then, I remembered the argument we had. "I thought I loved you," he had said. Maybe he didn't love me anymore. Besides that, he did abandon me without even giving me a second chance to prove I was sorry. No. It wasn't him.

Finally…Mike. He was so sweet and gentlemanly. He'd never drop me like a hot potato just because I was hanging out with another guy. Mike was more level-headed than that. He'd give me a fair chance before convicting me. I smiled, finally at peace with myself. When the time came, I would gently tell the other boys that I picked Mike. He was the one for me.

(-)(-)(-)

A few days had passed and the nights were starting to get colder. I was a little worried about how I was going to keep warm in my little, tattered nightgown which now had lost three whole centimeters off the bottom. It now came exactly two inches below my behind. If I lost much more, I wouldn't be able to walk around the island without giving the boys a good show.

"It's getting late," Mike told me as I sat on the beach, watching the stars. "You should get to bed. Might get too cold out here." I looked at him and smiled.

"I'm not sleepy at all," I sighed. "You know, I think I'll take a quick walk around the island to tire me out." We had established about a month and a half back that there were no headhunters or horribly deadly animals here.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Mike asked, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Nah," I shrugged. "It's okay. I have some thinking to do." Mike nodded, kissed my cheek, and headed off into the shelter to get some sleep. I got up and dusted myself off before starting my walk.

The lovely ocean breeze kept me cool as I strolled along the shoreline. It had been approximately half a year since we'd been wrecked. But it didn't seem so bad anymore. After all, I had Mike. That wasn't such a bad tradeoff: the comforts of modern living for a nice guy who loves me. I took a deep breath of the salty air and sighed. Then, I began to hear something that wasn't a normal night noise. But it was familiar to me.

"Micky, you just don't know what you have until it's gone, hmm? You had the girl! You loved her! She loved you, you think! And what do you do? You scream at her and dump her." I smiled softly at the familiar sound of Micky scolding himself. I didn't enjoy it, so to speak, but listening to it was one of the only ways I could find out what he was really thinking these days. He never talked to me directly anymore.

I silently crept toward where Micky's voice was coming from. Peeking around a tree, I could see a little, round clearing. In the middle of the clearing, his back to me, was Micky. I sighed inwardly. Seeing him still gave me little shivers. "NO!" my inner voice shouted. "You love Mike! Get over it!"

"What do you plan on doing now, smart guy?" Micky asked the air. "How're you supposed to get her back when she's with Davy? Or Mike? Or Peter? Or whoever she's with right now." He paused for a moment. "But…if she's happy…isn't that what's important? What if I get her back and she's not happy and we end up breaking up again and then she'll hate me and not even want to be my friend and I have to go to some crazy place like Argentina so she'll be happy because she'll be away from me!" He began to sniffle.

Oh my gosh. Was he crying? I felt horrible for making him cry!

"God, I love her," Micky whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek. My mind froze in its tracks. So he did still love me…

"Tough," announced one of my inner voices. "You picked Mike, remember? You love Mike."