Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty-seven of "Dark Desire." This chapter has lots of Tommy/Kim. Kim's parents will be introduced in the next chapter. The other Rangers, Zordon, and Alpha will return as well. Tommy's parents make their return in the one after the next. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-eight.
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Chapter 27: Here is a Little Cooking
Tommy and Kim sat before a burning fire close to their hut nearly an hour later. A skillet lay on top of two stones and contained six frying eggs. Two plates with forks in them lay on another stone nearby. Neither of them noticed a southern king crab crawling along the shoreline. It headed for the beach and went further down. Another one joined it.
Kim used a spatula to check the underside of each egg. She was thrilled she and her boyfriend managed to collect plenty of firewood and ten more eggs. They agreed to have some for breakfast tomorrow morning. He showed her how to strike two stones together in order to create a spark and blow on it to get a fire going. She revealed she wanted to try it herself to which he agreed to let her. She managed to get a fire going on the first spark. He said making a fire in this manner was much better than it was using matches because they could use them only once. She tapped the side of the skillet with the spatula twice.
"It is nice to be able to eat whatever kind of food whenever we want now," she said in much sweetness.
"Yep," he replied with a smile. "It doesn't matter what we eat or when we eat. All that matters is how good it tastes."
"Some people eat junk food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Kim grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "That is just asking for trouble."
"I knew kids who ate that stuff all day back in Moore. Their parents didn't give a damn if their health suffered," Tommy commented in bluntness.
"It is important to eat a balanced diet, but it isn't always possible to get it that way," Kim whispered.
"On Earth, fruits and vegetables are part of a healthy diet. On Clovis, there aren't any vegetables whatsoever. That is unless some natives live here and managed to grow their own," Tommy explained.
"Because we don't have any veggies, we have to eat more fruit to make up for the lack of some vitamins that can only be found in them," Kim added.
"Exactly," Tommy agreed with a soft sigh. "We eat more protein to add more balance to our diet."
"It is said the healthiest people are those who eat a diet consisting of much fat and protein," Kim responded thoughtfully.
"When you live in a region where you can't grow food, you have no choice but to eat meat," Tommy said seriously.
"The same goes for living in a region where you are constantly on the move because your food is," Kim murmured, pressing her lips together.
"That's right," Tommy said, nodding slowly. "For us, we really don't have to go very far to find our food." He smiled in a warm manner. "The hardest task is collecting firewood."
"That isn't even hard to do at all, especially when there are sticks and twigs laying everywhere," Kim squeaked in joy.
"If someone dared me to take a stick and jam it up my butt, I would dare them to do it first," Tommy said and spoke gibberish.
"So would I," Kim responded, waving the spatula in the air. "I bet they would be too afraid to do it."
He nodded in agreement and let out a contented sigh. He cupped his chin in his hand. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. He looked at his girlfriend, a big smile crossing his lips.
"Kim, how would you like to learn how to prepare coconut tomorrow?" Tommy wondered.
"You're kidding, right?" Kim responded, raising her eyebrows. She bit her lip before licking it and the other one. "I love coconut, though I never ate it prepared from the plant itself. I ate it on coconut cake."
"I'm not kidding," Tommy said while shaking his head. "My parents taught me how to prepare it when we went to Florida five years ago." He wiggled his eyebrows. "It was really easy."
"I would love to learn how to prepare coconut. It has plenty of calories and fat to keep us nourished," Kim said, happiness radiating from his face.
"Coconut has thirty hundred fifty calories and thirty-three grams of fat per one hundred grams," Tommy pointed out truthfully.
"In The Blue Lagoon, Richard and Emmeline prepared and ate coconut. They even threw coconuts at each other when they were arguing about leaving the island," Kim said, giggling quietly. "It was so funny when she hit him on the head after he began making fun of her having breasts."
He made a funny noise. "She was immediately remorseful after it happened. She went to him and apologized."
"He slapped her and said he wished she was dead and buried. He threw her and her stuff out of their hut," Kim muttered, tensing a bit. "Hormones can be such a bitch. It was more stressful for them because they had never been told about them."
"I know," Tommy said with a nod. "At least Richard and Emmeline made up from their fight. She stepped on a stonefish. She asked him to take her to God when he found her in her makeshift hut looking very sick. She wanted to be on the altar on the other side of the island, where she believed He was. He took her there and said what little he remembered of his prayers. She recovered."
She emitted a warm sigh. "Afterward, they spent time swimming in the nude. They ate some fruit. He asked her to kiss him. She was uncertain because he was sticky. She kissed him, and he poured fruit juice all over her. Then they discovered passionate love and sexual intercourse."
Tommy and Kim kissed tenderly. It didn't take long for their kiss to become passionate. Their tongues wrestled each other for control. Moans came out of their mouth. Suddenly, she regained her senses. She broke the kiss, though she was reluctant to do that.
"As much as I want to keep kissing you, I need to check on the eggs," Kim commented in regret.
"Okay," Tommy replied, giving her a kiss to her temple.
She checked the undersides of all the eggs, finding they were done. She grabbed the first plate. She picked up the first three eggs with the spatula and put them on it. She gave it to him and got the second one. She scooped up the last three, placing them on it. She laid the spatula on the stone before taking the skillet off the fire. She laid the skillet next to it.
She picked up her fork, as did he with his. They stared at their eggs for a minute before licking their lips. They cut pieces of them and poked them. They placed them in their mouths. They chewed at a slow yet steady pace. They swallowed before emitting loud gulps. They looked at each other, big smile forming on their faces.
"These eggs are fantastic, Kim!" Tommy exclaimed.
"They sure are," Kim squealed in great joy. "Who would've thought tropical bird eggs would be so tasty?"
"No kidding," Tommy responded, cutting another piece of egg. He got it on his fork. He popped it into his mouth. He proceeded to chew. "We are fortunate that no birds caught us taking their eggs."
"Some bird species will lay another clutch of eggs when theirs are taken," Kim said matter-of-factly. "It helps keep their populations stable."
"In Return to the Blue Lagoon, Sarah took a bird's egg out of a nest. She gave it to Lilli. Lilli tried to hold it, but she dropped it," Tommy said, swallowing. "The egg landed on a rock and cracked open."
"It was Richard who found the hut that he and his parents lived in. When he, Sarah, and Lilli went inside, they found it a big mess due to the tropical storm. Sarah cleaned it up quite well," Kim explained.
He smacked his lips. "I found Parker's hut fairly clean when I first ventured inside, though it had been some time since his death."
"It was nice of him to give whoever found it permission to use it," Kim whispered gratefully. She made a cut of another piece of her egg. She slipped it on her fork. She put it in her mouth and started chewing. "He didn't want it to go to waste."
"His parents taught him about preserving resources very well," Tommy said, smiling. "It is important to do that."
"Humans are trying to preserve Earth's resources, but it's not easy with the wrong people in power," Kim muttered sadly and swallowed with a quiet gulp. "Money seems to be much more important than saving Earth is."
"The Navians have so much respect for their world according to entries in Parker's journal. Nava is thriving, though it does have advanced technology," Tommy murmured.
She giggled. "It'd be so cool to see Parker's spaceship."
"Would you like to see it tomorrow?" Tommy asked curiously.
"I would love to," Kim replied in much eagerness.
"Great. Don't think of trying to fly away in it," Tommy teased with a snicker.
Kim laughed in sarcasm. "Very funny."
The lovebirds made more cuts of pieces of their eggs. They poked their forks into them and popped them in their mouths. They chewed quickly before swallowing. They ran their tongues all over the insides of their mouths.
"I am amazed at all the things I did today. I located bananas and passion fruit. I prepared passion fruit. I found eggs in tree holes. I collected firewood. I started a fire with stones. I cooked eggs over it," she exclaimed.
"You did fantastic at all of that," he said proudly.
"Thanks," Kim commented in much sweetness. "You are a fantastic teacher."
"Thanks. Of course, your day of learning to live with nature isn't over. You will learn how to make soap from ashes, water, and lard later," Tommy pointed out matter-of-factly.
"I have to say I am looking forward to that," Kim commented, smiling widely. "Not once did I think soap could be made from ashes."
"I was surprised when my parents told me about it," Tommy admitted and scratched his cheek. "Once we run out of lard, we can use the fat from the animals we hunt."
"I admit I am a little nervous about learning how to skin an animal such as a deer or a pig," Kim murmured, her body shaking a little bit.
"It's not a pretty sight, but it is necessary," Tommy commented in a low but firm voice. "You will get used to it. I promise."
"I shouldn't forget about cleaning fish," Kim responded as she pointed her fork at him. "I am a little nervous about learning to do that too."
"I understand. The bright side is cleaning a fish will be easier than skinning a land animal will be," Tommy said, winking at her.
"Just don't let the fish come back to life and scare us," Kim joked and snickered under her breath.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha. That was so funny that I died laughing," Tommy retorted, sarcasm lining his voice. "Now, let's get back to eating our eggs."
Kim kissed Tommy's cheek before rubbing it gingerly. They cut more pieces of their eggs. They poked their forks into them. They put them in their mouths and proceeded to chew.