Caroline & The Blue Lagoon
Chapter 3
Rated 'R' for sexual content
By:
*****~*****
--More than a month had gone by, and Richard and Caroline fell into something of a routine, gathering food and water, searching for new foods, and maintaining their bamboo hut. Their clothes became tattered and near unusable, so they made coverings from pieces of their clothing and fur from animals they'd killed to eat, the garments looking something like loincloths.
"We look like Tarzan and Jane." Caroline chuckled, and Richard looked at her with a confused expression…
"Who?"
"You don't know who Tarzan and Jane are?"
He shook his head 'no'.
She imitated the classic 'Tarzan yell' and looked at him expectantly… he just shrugged. She rolled her eyes and started to walk away… "Never mind…"
"What? Who are they?"
"Classic characters. Movies. Books. TV shows."
"Oh."
"You sure you weren't raised on a deserted island?" she teased as she walked ahead of him…
"I'm sure." He smiled a slight smile, of which she didn't see. He was quite taken with her… she had an innocence about her, but also an inner strength. She didn't want to sit while things were done for her, she wanted to help and be productive, but at times, she seemed like a frightened child. He knew he was falling in love with her, but he felt it inappropriate to act on those feelings. Instead, he kept an emotional distance… his reserve not seeming to affect Caroline, which just intrigued him all the more.
--Caroline was deep in thought as she headed for the fresh water source, a beautiful waterfall with a small cove at the base. She had feelings for Richard, she knew that for certain, but she wondered if it was only because of the current situation. Sure, she felt a twinge of something when she saw him and met with him on the ship…
The ship. It seemed like ages ago, and the thought of never being rescued plagued her mind often. She was even starting to forget what Del looked like… and Annie. Her Mom and Dad were probably hysterical… well, her Mom at least. She wished she could let them know that she was ok, but dwelling on those thoughts didn't do any good. They needed to focus on what it was going to take to stay alive.
--Richard watched as Caroline walked ahead of him, her curvaceous body taunting him, begging to be touched. He quickly wiped those thoughts from his mind and concentrated on the tasks of the day.
--When they reached the waterfall, Caroline jumped in, yelping from the cold…
"Water cold?" Richard asked, a smug smile on his face…
"Why don't you join me and find out?"
"No thanks, I'll pass…"
"Oh, come on! Its not that cold!" she whined… but he just shook his head. "You know, I could make you come in here…"
He smiled as he scoffed… "Oh, sure! Somehow, I seriously doubt that."
"You don't believe me?"
"No, I don't."
"Fine, I'll show you then…"
She climbed out of the water and started to approach him, but he backed away, awaiting an attack on her part… "If you think you're gonna get me in there by force… think again…"
She smiled wide and rushed at him, but he was too strong for her and she ended up back in the water with a large splash.
"See?" he teased, waiting for her next move. He watched and waited for her to come up for air, but she didn't. "Caroline?" he called to her, his voice just at the edge of panic… "Caroline?!" his voice was in full panic and he jumped in after her, frantically searching for her…
"See?" Caroline's voice could be heard behind him, and he spun around to see her smiling face, gloating… "I told you I could get you in here…"
Richard swam to her and grabbed onto her, holding her tight… "Don't you EVER do that again! You scared me half to death!"
The smile dropped from her face and she held him back… "I'm sorry…"
He pulled back and looked deep into her eyes… "It's ok, just please don't do that again. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you…"
She nodded… "Ok, I won't…"
He hugged her to him and sighed… "Thank you."
*****~*****
--While sitting in the sand near their makeshift house, Caroline and Richard watched the sun set silently.
"One thing about this place…" Caroline broke the silence… "The sunsets are beautiful."
"Yeah." Richard agreed, drawing various distinctive images in the sand with a stick.
"A sunset like this would be best viewed with a loved one. Enjoying it together…"
He didn't reply, he just continued his sand drawing.
"What are you drawing?"
He shrugged… "Just whatever comes to mind…"
"It's pretty."
With a quick motion he scribbled across the drawing, erasing it… "It's nothing special…"
Caroline sighed at his indifference…
"Do you have someone waiting for you, Richard? Back home?"
"Waiting for me?"
"Yeah, like a girlfriend…"
He shook his head… "No."
"Have you ever been in love?"
He was unsure if he wanted to answer her question, and his gaze returned to the sand, creating something new…
"Is that too personal a question?" she asked, his expression harder to read as the sun disappeared.
"I was in love once. At least, I thought it was love…"
"Tell me about it?"
"Her name was Julia…" Richard started the story, placing more sticks, including the one he had been drawing with on the fire… "I met her in Italy when I was studying art there. She was unlike anyone I had ever known… and she was interested in me. ME." he emphasized… "She was so beautiful and sophisticated… but, she broke my heart."
"What happened?"
"Her father didn't like me… her wealthy father. He made her choose between me and her $3 million trust fund. The $3 million won."
"I'm so sorry."
"It's ok. I'm no stranger to love lost."
"Me either…" Caroline admitted…
"Yeah, but you have Del now."
She shook her head.
"You don't have Del now?" he asked, confused.
"He's moved on by now… thinking I'm dead."
"Already?"
"Yeah. That's the way he is. He's not the type to mourn for long…"
"Then why would you want to marry him?"
"I don't know. I guess cause I'm not getting any younger. And cause I saw him as my last chance for happiness. I was more in love with the idea of marriage than in love with Del."
"That's never a good reason to get married…"
"I know. I've never been one to make great choices… especially in matters of the heart…"
"Yeah."
After a few moments of silence, Caroline changed the subject… "What do you miss most?"
"Painting. I miss my art." He stated sadly… "When the world seemed to crumble around me, I could always count on my art. It was my only solace most of the time, and I could always vent my problems through to the canvas. Some of my best work was created when I was the most upset or depressed about life…"
"Have you always been like this?"
"Like what?"
"Gloomy and depressed…"
"Yeah, pretty much. My childhood was rough…"
"How so?"
"My Dad left us when I was pretty young, and my Mom was a drunk lunatic…"
"Wow. I'm sorry…"
"It's ok. I learned to get past it… use it to my advantage." After a moment of silence, Richard asked… "What about you? What do you miss most?"
"I miss drawing 'Caroline'… my strip for me was like your art was for you… a way to vent and cope with life's problems. Something would upset me, I'd draw a cartoon about it. Like, this one time, Del refused to go to the opera with me--"
"Why?" Richard asked, cutting her off…
"He just doesn't like opera…"
"How could anyone dislike opera?"
"You like opera?"
"Yes."
"Huh." Caroline seemed to be deep in thought over his revelation, but quickly went back to her story… "Anyway, I drew a comic strip about it…"
"Did it make a difference?"
"With Del? No… but everyone else thought it was funny…" She chuckled, then continued… "And I my best friend Annie…"
"Yeah. I'm sorry you're stuck here with me."
"It's not so bad…" Caroline admitted, and smiled when he reacted, looking to her abruptly… "I mean, if you gave me a choice, I wouldn't want to be stranded here like this. But, the company here is good…"
Richard smiled, looking to the ground… "I agree."
"Do you think we'll ever be rescued?"
He shrugged… "Not sure. It won't be by a rescue party if we are. It'll most likely be by someone who happens upon us…"
"I kinda figured…" she replied, followed by a shiver… "It gets colder at night… I've noticed…"
"I noticed that too."
"Do you have any ideas--?"
"I'll see what I can come up with…" he interrupted, heading for the shelter door… "You coming?"
"Yeah…" she stood and followed him into the shelter, the nearby fire only providing a small amount of light inside.
They settled in to their beds, trying to get comfortable, but it was too cold. Caroline brought her knees up to her chest in an attempt to generate warmth, but it didn't help. Richard noticed her position and swallowed hard…
"Are you ok?" he asked softly…
"Yeah. Just cold."
He inhaled sharply and crawled out of bed and to her, snuggling up to her in the spoon position…
"Richard? What are you doing?"
"Two bodies together create more heat…" he replied factually.
She pressed herself harder against him, grateful for the warmth and contact… "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Goodnight, Richard." Her voice was soft and timid.
He noticed her tone of voice and smiled… "Goodnight, Caroline."
--Sleep was evading them both, their desires keeping their senses on edge, preventing them from relaxing.
"Richard?" Caroline whispered, not sure if he was still awake…
"Yes?" he whispered his reply…
"This feels nice…" she admitted, nearly holding her breath as she waited for his response.
"Yeah, it does." He agreed, nuzzling into her hair… "Try to get some sleep. Dawn comes early."
"Ok."
And after time they were finally able to doze off, wrapped in each other's arms, the first indication of feelings exposed.