Truth
or…Truth (Ashley's Perspective)
"Well,
let me see…All there is a can of Coke, and one of those mini-cereal
boxes." I said, as a peered into the boat's small refrigerator.
"Then
that'll just have to do." Nick answered.
We were both starving. We hadn't eaten since
we left Paradise Island the day before. We were so rushed to leave and catch
the ship that we forgot to bring extra food. We had three more days, including
that day, to make it to Summerset Island in time to catch up with the ship.
Although the storm had set us back a bit, we were making pretty good time.
"Is
there any place we can stop and go food shopping?" I asked Nick as he
joined me on the lower deck.
"Humm,
I'm not sure. Let's check the map." He reached into one of the over head cabinets
and grabbed the map which George had told us he stored on board. Nick spread it
out on the small table, and sat next to me on the small couch. I eagerly opened
the Coke and took a sip before passing it to him to do the same. The heat
during the day was overwhelming, and it was starting to get to both of us.
"Well,"
Nick said before taking a sip of the Coke and passing it back to me. "It
looks like if we veer off our course a little bit, we can stop there." He
pointed to La Tropica Island.
"Will
we loose a lot of time?"
"Probably
not. But we have to eat right?"
"Right.
Ok, La Tropica Island it is!"
We rationed the dry cereal, and shared the
sole Coke as we let the boat drift through the calm waters.
"Hey
Nick?"
"Yeah
baby?" He asked, sitting back and pulling me into his lap.
"I
kinda have mixed feelings about going back."
"You
mean going back to the boat?"
"Yeah.
I know it's stupid, but…"
"Hey!
Let's get one thing straight! Nothing you say is ever stupid, and I know
exactly what you mean. You and I are scared to go back to the boat because
we'll have to face Brian and Lindsay."
"Yeah!"
I smiled at him. "How'd you know?"
"I
already told you. I know you better then you think!" He winked at me.
"Riiight!
Why don't you prove it then, Carter!" I answered, challenging him.
"Fine,
what do I have to do?"
"We'll
play a little game called 'Truth.'"
"You're
on. How do you play?"
"Well,
I ask you a question, and you have to answer it honestly. Then you have to
guess what I would answer to the same question, and vice-versa."
"Ok,
shoot." He answered, his macho attitude taking over.
"Ok.
Umm, what's your biggest fear?"
"I'm
petrified of losing someone I love." He replied seriously.
"Really?"
"Yeah.
Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with death as much as some of the guys-- I
mean, some of my friends had to. How about you? What's Ashley Daniel's biggest
fear?" He asked, putting his arms around me and looking deep into my eyes.
"Actually,
it's the same as yours. And, like you, I haven't had to deal with death much
yet."
"See,
I told you I know you better then you think!"
I
laughed. "But you didn't guess that….oh, nevermind. Do you want another
question?"
"Hey!
My turn! Were you ever in love?" He smiled at me, and tightened his grip.
"Actually,
no, I was never in love…"
"Oh…"
He answered, looking down at his feet.
"Wait,
you didn't let me finish." I said, gently raising his chin so that he
looked into my eyes. "I was
never in love, because I am in
love." He smiled happily. "Now you answer."
"Ashley,
I am in love with you too." He kissed me passionately, and I responded to
his kiss. After a few minutes, I pushed him away gently and replied playfully,
"Who
ever said I was in love with you?"
He smiled and then we leaned back in for another amazing kiss.
That night we fell asleep in each other's
arms, no longer worrying about what Brian and Lindsay would think. It was clear
to us that what ever we had was bigger then the both of us, and couldn't be
stopped. With the open ocean before us, and two more days in our own little
"paradise," Nick and I were quite content to forget everything and
everyone else for a while and concentrate on us.
***The
next morning***
I woke up before Nick. His arms were still
wrapped around me and his head was rested on my shoulder. His dirty-blonde was
hair falling into his closed eyes, and his full, red lips were drawn up into a
smile. I gently brushed the hair out of his eyes, and let my fingers linger
over his face. He stirred at my touch and opened his eyes. He smiled when he
saw me and pulled me closer to him.
"Morning!"
He said groggily.
"Good
morning to you too!" I answered, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Did
you have any good dreams?"
"Why
dream when every waking moment with you is like a dream in itself!"
"Leave
it to you, Mr. Carter, to be sweet, and suave right after you wake up." I
replied with a smile before leaning in to kiss him.
***Later
that day***
"We're
here!" Nick said as he expertly steered the boat into the harbor of La
Tropica Island. The quaint little island was about 20 square miles all around,
with miniature harbors on each side.
"Finally!"
I replied.
Nick tied the boat to one of the docks, and
we went off in search of a grocery store.
***20
minutes later***
"How
about some Lucky Charms?" Nick asked, grabbing three boxes of the cereal.
"You
don't know much about shopping, do you? Honey, we're only going to be on the
boat for two more days. We don't need four different kinds of cereal." I
replied, gesturing to the many boxes of Cheerios, Captin' Crunch, and Froot
Loops that already threatened to overtake our cart.
"Ok,
I guess you're right." He pouted, returning two boxes of the boxes of
Lucky Charms.
I
shook my head and smiled. "That's a good boy!" I said, patting him on
the head like a four-year-old. "Now why don't you help Ashley by getting a
nice big jug of water?" I teased.
"All
right, all right. I got the point." He said, laughing. We continued our
shopping until I felt that we had enough food (and cereal) to last us a few
days.
***That
night***
I knew I
shouldn’t have eaten that much food! I thought to myself. My
churning stomach had woken me up in the middle of the night, no doubt due to
the fact that Nick and I had devoured four boxes of cereal in one sitting. I
gently removed Nick's arms from around me, got up from the couch and walked
onto the upper-deck. I leaned against the railing with my eyes closed, the
fresh air settling my stomach. I sat down on the side of the boat and let my
feet dangle over the edge. The only light came from the pale moon that formed a
half-circle above my head. I looked down into the deep blue water and let my
thoughts wonder. Mrs. Ashley Carter…I
smiled to myself. I've only known him
for about a week and I'm already thinking about marriage! Pathetic, Ash!
Pathetic! I pulled my legs up and hugged them against my chest, resting
my chin on my knees. Oh, I don't care.
I've never felt this way about anyone before, not even…No! I'm not going to
think about him right now. I'm not going to think about him until Nick and I
board the boat. As much as I tried, I couldn't totally push Brian from
my mind. Why am I so worried about
seeing him again? Fate has taken over. I'm destined to be with Nick. I love
Nick. I smiled at that thought. I
really do, don't I? I love Nick! With that final thought, I got up and
tiptoed back down to the lower deck. I quietly got back onto the couch. Nick
turned over and without opening his eyes said;
"Ash?
Is everything OK?"
"Yeah,
baby. It is now."
***The
next day***
"Well,
there it is. We should be docking in about thirty minutes." Nick said,
squinting towards the horizon. I could faintly make out the coastline of
Summerset Island. Nick and I were quiet for a few minutes, silently dreading
telling Brian and Lindsay about 'us' later that day.
"At
least we'll be able to change our clothes!" I joked.
Nick laughed and pulled me into his arms.
"You
know what?" He said smiling at me.
"What?"
I asked as I playfully tapped him on the nose.
"I
love you more and more everyday. You never cease to surprise me."
"Oh,
yeah?" I replied, leaning into him, so that he was close to the edge of
the boat.
"Yeah."
He answered, pulling me down onto him.
"Well,
I just have one thing to say…" I cupped one of my hands and dipped it into
the water, drenching him.
Our splashing match continued until we were
both soaking wet. Nick took the wheel once again and steered us toward our
destination.
***11:00am***
"It
looks like we're a little early."
"Wow!
That's a first!" I joked as Nick pulled the boat into the dock.
He expertly directed Surfer Girl into one of the ports and stopped the engine. We left a
note thanking George for all of his help, and then left the boat. We slowly
walked hand in hand down the dock.
"We
have two hours before we have to catch the ship. What do you wanna do?"
Nick asked.
"Umm,
I don't care."
"Are
you hungry?"
"Not
really, are you?"
"No…"
"Hey!
I have an idea." I said, grabbing onto his wrists excitedly. "This
island is known for it's hiking trails right?"
"Right…"
"Well
how about we go buy some lunch somewhere, and go hiking!"
"If
that's what you wanna do, that's what we'll do!"
***11:45***
"…So,
now my father lives in the next town over, and my mom is living happily at
home." I finished. Nick and I had been walking and talking for a while. It
was great to learn more about him, and he seemed eager to learn more about me
too.
He took my hand as if he was reading my
thoughts, and we continued walking down the winding hiking trail. I looked over
at him and took in every feature of his handsome face.
"Ash!
Watch your step!" Nick said, as he grabbed me around the waist, stopping
me from falling straight off the trail into a huge, ravine that was dangerously
positioned off to the side of the trail.
"Oh
my God!" I said as some dirt my feet had kicked up fell, and fell, and
fell into the ravine. "Thank you!"
"Well,
you know, it really would've put a damper on my day to have you fall down
there…"
"Ha
ha!" I replied sarcastically. "Think it's time to go back now?"
"Not
yet…" He answered as he pulled me towards him, swept me up into his arms
and kissed me. Then…pretended to drop me into the ravine.
"Ahhhhh!
Put me down!"
"OK,
if you say so…" He made a tossing motion with his arms so I came
precariously close to the edge.
"Wait!
I changed my mind!"
***12:56***
"At
least we didn't have to run to get the boat this time!" Nick joked as we
arrived at the ship's dock.
We stood hand in hand as we waited for the
boat to arrive, both of us silent, pondering what could/would/wouldn't happen
when we were reunited with our friends.
"Here
it comes…" I said to Nick as the boat pulled up.
"Yeah…"
He turned to me suddenly, took my hands in his, and looked into my eyes.
"Ashley, I hope you know that you mean the world to me, so you don't have
to be worried about what anyone else thinks or doesn't think about us."
I looked at him, surprised at his sudden
emotional outburst. But somehow it eased my fears. As we prepared to board the
boat, I squeezed his hands, looked into his eyes and said sincerely;
"I
love you Nick."
"I
love you too."
With that we boldly stepped onto the
boarding platform and walked hastily onto the ship. So what does happen when fantasy leaves and reality sets in? I
guess I'll find out.