Ahhh! Air rushed into my lungs and back out with exhilaration, as my eyes shot open, blinking away the harsh sunlight searing down from the cloudless blue above.

  A shadow crept over my face and blocked the light. “That was a close one, huh?” Jack's brow unfurled, and a sense of ease overcame him.

  “A close one?” I mumbled, trying to recall anything past the darkness of the raging seas.

  “Yeah, you had quite a scare here. You don't remember the compressions?”

  “No?”

  “Well...everything is on-the-ups now, right? Got a little rest too.”

  “A little rest?” I groaned, unable to consult my anger in this state. “You pulled me to shore?” I said, rubbing my forehead circularly to will away the nagging headache due to dehydration...and nearly drowning, I presumed.

  “With a little training and a little more luck,” he winked. “See, I told you we'd be fine.”

  “Is this what fine feels like,” I squinted, praying for clouds to blot out the sun.

  “That,” he nodded to me, “not so much, but this...” he turned to acknowledge a lit stone fire pit that was a makeshift construction, using random debris, billowing a small stack of smoke under a large pair of skewered fish...mouth watering...tantalizing fish. “Maybe this fits the bill more.”

  Mere moments later, I found myself voraciously tearing off the fleshy flake exterior , surely adding to the look of a deranged and disheveled woman who'd just washed ashore a random island with nothing besides a thicket of forestry behind her.

  “I'd be more angry if this wasn't so good,” I muttered in between oversized bites.

  “Seconds?” A shirtless Jack did his best Aquaman impression, his glimmering pecs rising out of the water slowly, and just as exciting, another pair of skewered fish flopping faintly at the end of his metal rod. The makeshift spear that is.

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  Jack affixed the spear over the flames, and safely handled some water he'd boiled using an old pot that had conveniently found its way across the seas. It reached for it rapidly. It went down smooth and easy, unlike the situation we were facing.

  “Has anyone tried to contact us?” I asked, sipping in huge gulps.

  Jack looked at a comm-link bracelet that was sitting on a stone near the fire. “Base will be able to track us to this location...”

  “Phew,” I exhaled. “That's a relief.”

  “Assuming it still works,” he added, picking up the comm-link and shaking little droplets of water out of its sides.

  I slumped back on my knees, defeated. “Maybe you should've led with that.”

  “I've been in much worse. Siberia 2019...” Jack started up in reminiscence.

  “How about here 2023?”

  Jack brandished a sheepish grin, once he saw my own, even briefly. “I promised I'd never let anything happen to you...” his tone grew serious, “and I'm a man of my word.”

  The sun dipped in orange, while time seemed to stop upon our gazes. Wild chirping cut through, along with the shaking of brush around us.

  “Maybe we'd better get working on a shelter.” Jack said, following my startled eyes to the brush behind us.

  I watched on in my usual state of fawning, as Jack used a fashioned piece of metal to chop through the thicket and tie together pieces to construct a roof next to a tree a little ways into the depths of the secluded island forest. I helped as best as I could, mainly by collecting leaves to help pad the ground, and see what type of shiplap Jack could somehow manifest out of sand and dreams for this new construction.

  As the darkness fell upon us, Jack helped migrate the fire to nearby, and gave me the grand tour of our new home for the night. The life I always dreamed of...but this was a starter home, for sure. “You can stay in here, and I'll keep watch outside.”

  “No,” I countered, “you stay in here, and I'll keep watch outside.”

  Jack laughed. “I built this shelter for you.”

  The wild sounds uttered by creatures veiled in darkness cut through our conversation with their night moves and dangerous inflections.

  “There's room for both of us,” I started up.

  Jack smiled. “Is that fine with you?”

  I nodded overeager, “of course!”

  “Thanks,” Jack said, as we sank to the matted floor.

  “You did a nice job on the shelter.”

  “Thanks...Siberia 2019.” He grinned.

  I shook my head, amused, as we lay next to each other. Close to his face. Taking in his amber lit eyes reflecting flame by the fireside.

  A chill of cold prickled my skin. The cold you always hear about.

  “Ever seen Naked and Afraid?” I asked, unsure of where I was going with it.

  Jack winced playfully. “Unfortunately.”

  “Don't they say...” I spoke slowly, sheepishly, softly, averting my eyes from his steely gaze.“That skin to skin is what you should do at night. To keep away the cold...” I couldn't believe what just came out of my mouth!

  Jack stayed quiet for a minute, his expressions softening as well. “I have heard that...”

  “Um...should we?”

  “....”