On the Island by Garvis-Graves Tracey

Author:Garvis-Graves, Tracey [Garvis-Graves, Tracey]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: beach read, survival, desert island, forbidden love, teacher-student
Publisher: Tracey Garvis-Graves
Published: 2011-09-02T16:00:00+00:00

***

Chicken walked over and plopped down in my lap.

T.J. laughed, reached over, and ruffled her feathers. “It cracks me up when she does that,” he said.

We didn’t have to keep Chicken penned up anymore. I let her out once and forgot to put her back in, and she wandered around but didn’t try to leave.

“I know, it’s so weird. She really likes me for some reason.” I gave Chicken a gentle pet on the head.

“It’s because you take care of her.”

“I love animals. I always wanted a dog, but John was allergic.”

“Maybe you can get one when we get home,” T.J. said.

“A golden retriever.”

“That’s the kind of dog you want?”

“Yes. One that’s full-grown, that nobody wants. From a shelter. I’m going to get my own apartment, and I’ll adopt it and bring it home.”

“You’ve thought about this.”

“I’ve had time to think about a lot of things, T.J.”

A few nights later when we were in bed, T.J. groaned and collapsed on top of me, breathing hard.

“Wow,” I said, feeling his body relax.

He kissed my neck and whispered, “Did that feel good?”

“Yes. Where did you learn that?”

T.J. laughed, still trying to catch his breath. “I have an excellent teacher. She lets me practice all the time until I get it just right.”

He rolled off me, pulling me toward him so I could lay my head on his chest. I snuggled closer, content and drowsy. He rubbed my back.

It wasn’t until I was twenty-six or twenty-seven that I even figured out what I wanted in bed. When I tried to tell John, he didn’t seem all that thrilled about taking direction. T.J. hadn’t been shy about asking what I liked, though, so I decided not to be shy about telling him, which was working out spectacularly.

I sighed. “You’ll make a woman very happy someday, T.J.”

His body tensed and he stopped rubbing my back. “I only want to make you happy, Anna.” The way he said it, and the rejection I heard in his voice made me wish I could take it back.

“Oh you do, T.J.” I said, quickly. “You do.”

He didn’t talk much the next day. I waded into the water while he fished and stood next to him. “I’m sorry. I hurt your feelings and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.”

He kept his eyes on the fishing line. “I know this never would have happened between us in Chicago, but please don’t talk about saying goodbye to me while we’re still here.”

I put my hand on his arm. “When I said that, about you making another woman happy, it wasn’t because I was the one who said goodbye, T.J. You were.”

He turned to me, confused. “Why would I say goodbye?”

“Because I’m thirteen years older than you are. This might be our world, but it isn’t the real world. You still have a lot of things you haven’t experienced. You won’t want to be tied down to anyone.”

“You don’t know what I want, Anna. Besides, I don’t think about the future anymore, and I haven’t since that plane didn’t come back.

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