Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
My lips twitch with amusement. I'm flattered, of course, but I'm also a little shocked at his bluntness. "This is all very Tarzan of you, you know." When he cocks his head at the unfamiliar word, confused, I wave it off. "Never mind. I just…" I glance around, then get to my feet, gesturing at one of the vines growing out of the cliffs. "You can help me collect seeds."
"I will enjoy that," A'tam tells me. "No one will be better at collecting seeds than me."
"You're lucky you're pretty," I murmur. "Anyone else might not get away with all this."
He just grins at me. "So you do find me attractive?"
I give him an exasperated look. "Did you seek me out just so we could talk about how hot you are?"
"Of course not." He scoffs. "I wanted to learn your name, too."
I can't help it. I laugh. When he gives me an impish look, I decide I like him after all. He's brash and arrogant, but he also doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. Wrap that all up in a pretty package and I can already tell I'm going to fall hard. "Well," I say. "You've got my name now. Is that all you want to know about me?"
"Why do you not have a tail?" he returns immediately.
I laugh again. "Why do you think a tail is the default? What if I'm the normal one and you're the weirdo?"
"Bah. A tail is normal. Look at the creatures in the wild and tell me how many do not have tails." A'tam shakes his head, scanning the cliffs. "Show me where to get these seeds."
Mmm, excellent point. I move forward, adjusting the pouches I have slung like messenger bags against my hip. I point at the cliffs. "See the prickly-looking tufts?" When he nods and moves forward, I keep talking. "What we'll do is we have to carefully reach inside and…"
My voice dies as he rips the entire plant from the cliff wall, the roots dangling. He considers it for a moment, and then holds it out to me, a triumphant smile on his face.
Oh boy. "Next time, let's do it my way, all right?"
He shrugs, holding the plant out to me. "This is easiest."
"We're not going for easiest. We're going for the correct way to do it." But I take the plant from him, open my pouch, and begin to shake the seeds out. "You're not a very patient sort, are you?"
A'tam just gives me another wicked look. "I can be patient…for you."
Dude has definitely not learned subtlety at all.
4
BRIDGET
Flirting with A'tam becomes my new favorite pastime. He's just…fun to be around. Every day, he seeks me out, and we talk. We joke and tease each other, and there's an undercurrent of tension between us that grows greater by the day. Flor's noticed. Steph's noticed. Tia's definitely noticed. Shit, even Devi's noticed, and Devi doesn't notice much of anything unless it's dead on the beach.
Me, I'm just enjoying it. Being around him is like…well, it's a bit like a countdown to Christmas. You know something amazing is going to happen, but you also enjoy the buildup. I know eventually we're going to kiss and play at being a little more. For now, however, I'm enjoying the slow tease and “friendship.”
A'tam has made it abundantly clear he wants more than just friendship. For now, though, he seems content to court me slowly. He arrives at meals and sits down next to me, offers to help me repair nets, and basically shows up constantly. I have no idea how he manages to squeeze in time to spend with me when all of the islanders are learning how to hunt in the snowy mountains here. They're being taught how to use bone for weapons and tools—as the wood here is scarce—and they're learning the plants and animals of this place. It doesn't matter if he's gone all day; that night, I'll find him waiting by the fire with a seat for me, a sly, knowing grin on his face.
That grin always makes my heart flutter. Not in a resonance way, just in a nervous-excitement-sexual-tension sort of way. It's been a while since I've had a boyfriend and I'd forgotten how nice it is to be the object of someone's attentions.
Tia's quite the little flirt, though. She hasn't forgotten what it's like to have a boyfriend. The youngest of us all, Tia acts like all the new men on the beach mean that she gets her own personal harem, and she's doing her best to flirt with all of them. Even A'tam. I ignore it, because if he wants to be with me, he'll be with me.
I underestimate just how determined Tia is, though, because one night, there’s a kissing game.
The islanders are, of course, interested. Kissing, from what I've been told, is not a thing where they come from. They've heard Lauren and some of the others talk about it, though, and I know they're interested. A'tam stared at my mouth all through dinner last night, and I suspect he was thinking hard about kisses, but he never made a move. When Tia plunks down a bone and declares a game of spin the bottle, though, I join in. Party games like this are harmless fun, after all. It'll give me a chance to kiss A'tam without any pressure, and maybe it'll break the ice between us.