The Billionaire And The Waitress (gxg)

64 - a bottle

MUSE let Adrien feed her spoonfuls of canned tuna and sips of bottled water.

      I love you. I love you. I love you. 

      The words echoed in her ears with every steady pulse of her heartbeat. She felt better after eating―even if it was tuna―and drinking water. Her ribs had begun to hurt again, too, but Adrien had assured her that was a good thing. It meant the adrenaline had worn off, and her body was functioning more normally. 

      "Thank you for finding the food," Muse said. 

      It felt surreal to be sitting on this lounge chair in the lobby with her fake wife, among the wreckage of their honeymoon resort. In the past twenty-four hours, they had survived a fall to the ocean and an entire tsunami. Only a day ago, this entire gilded glass castle had been perfect and pristine. Now, everyone on the island had fled but the two of them.

      Trapped alone on an island in Hawaii, on what was supposed to be their honeymoon vacation. It almost made Muse giggle hysterically.

      After Hawaii, they were going to get officially divorced. The entire plan had been to be just friends and save Sherry.

     But the natural disaster had tilted the axis of Muse's entire future. She didn't want that anymore. She didn't want to get divorced. She didn't want to be just friends. Right now, she didn't even care about Sherry. All she wanted was Adrien, and she wanted all of Adrien―every piece of her, every bit of everything she was.

     "We should talk," Muse said, swallowing.

     "Talk?" 

      "Yeah, with words. You know."

      "Shut up, smartass," Adrien said, screwing the lid back onto the tuna. "Talk about what?"

      The sun had reached its peak in the sky, the light glowering down on them like some kind of malevolent deity. 

      Muse felt her face getting warmer. She felt restless, her leg bouncing in its crossed position. Adrien, seated across from her, kept her trapped in a heated gaze. Her black eyes speared and impaled Muse, keeping her paralyzed.

      "Why don't we go sit on the beach?" Adrien asked, as if she could sense Muse freezing up.

      "Okay, sounds―"

       Before Muse could even finish, Adrien had picked her up bridal-style, and began walking over the shattered glass. The shuffle of her slippers over the ruined ground made Muse want to giggle again. None of this felt real. She had to be dreaming.

       They were stuck on an island together. For God knew how long. 

       Had the universe arranged this? Had the stupid stars and planets aligned in some way, so that fate could give them this one last chance together? Divine intervention at its finest?

       Adrien set her down on the beach, close enough to the shore that if she stretched out her legs, the water would lap gently against her feet. The sand looked surprisingly clean. It had been pure white before, but was now marbled with black. Veins of grainy dark rock intertwined, like capillaries to a dying heart. 

       Muse dug her fingers into the sand, grabbing a handful. It slipped between her fingers in a slow stream, reminding her of an hourglass. Time falling away with each grain.

       "Are you okay?"

       "I want to start from the beginning," Muse blurted out.

       "The beginning?"