Day Six

Morning soon came and I slowly regained consciousness. My eyes flickered open, and shut again as I recalled the happenings of the last few days. We were one team member down. There was a rotting corpse underneath the sand. The person who put it there was on the island.

And I was loved by a gorgeous Spanish singer.

So I guess it's not all bad.

As I turned over to lie on my side I noticed Jesse beside me, smiling in his sleep. He was so perfect. From the scar resting on his eyebrow, to his broad shoulders, and all the way down to his tanned legs. One of his eyes opened to look at me, and he smiled cheekily, resting his hand on my waist. I smiled in reply, leaning forward slightly to kiss his mouth.

"Good morning beautiful" he whispered, before pulling me on top of him.

I gasped in surprise at the sudden connection of our bodies. It felt far too good, pressing myself against him like that. His hands, previously on my waist, slid down below the small of my back causing me to sigh. Every time he touched me it felt new and fresh, like I was only starting to feel things again. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked at him. I could tell I was grinning like an idiot, but I couldn't help it.

"How was your sleep?" he asked, as his fingers drew patterns on my back.

"Rather good actually, considering all that's been on my mind lately. You?"

All of a sudden he flipped me over so that I was lying on my back and he was propped up on top of me. He lightly touched my hair with one hand and then traced the outlines of my face with a finger.

"I had the most marvellous dream about you". My face flushed at his answer and I could feel myself getting hot. He had more control over my body than I did! I nodded at him to continue.

"I dreamt that you were beneath me and your legs were wrapped around me. You were kissing me and whispering my name. I didn't want to wake up, but look where we are now. My reality is my dream. Nothing is better than this."

I replied by wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling his head down to meet mine. He started off by kissing me softly, his lips only lightly grazing my own. It was torture. His kisses trailed down to my neck and back up to my ear, causing my breath to come in short gasps. I couldn't take it anymore. I twisted my fingers in his dark, curly hair, and caught his mouth with mine. I could sense he was beginning to lose control. His kisses were getting more and more passionate and he moaned deliciously as I pushed back into him.

He pulled away, cheeks flushed, eyes wide, and mouth slightly open. It was reassuring to know I also had a strong effect on him physically. When I tried to pull him back down, he shook his head.

I was surprised at the whiney tone of my voice, "But why? Things were just getting interesting?"

He laughed heartily and kissed my cheek, "It wouldn't be right. I want to take things slow with you." I pulled a face and he chuckled again. "It's not that I don't want to- trust me I REALLY want to. Now is just not the time." I guess he had a point. In a while the others would be getting up and it would be time to face the day.

Just as I was coming to terms with the idea of getting up, I heard a raspy voice.

"If there were rooms here, I'd tell you guys to get one" Lily yawned, stretching to her full height. Jesse sighed and rolled off me, but not before kissing my nose.

As I slipped on my shorts I noticed Matt King's trailer and a few other vans rolling past. I looked back to find Jesse and the others in conversation so I decided that no harm could come of a little investigation…

I followed the procession of vans at a safe distance. Hopefully this would lead to clues on our next challenge, or maybe another food-well?

Just as I was thinking of giving up and heading back to my team, the cars stopped. Right on the well Jesse and I had found the other day, the same one that housed Savannah's corpse. A few camera-men got out and set up tents around the area. I had been meaning to explore that well a little more in hopes of finding relevant evidence relating to Savannah's murder. I guess that's not going to happen now.

Matt stepped out of his trailer and caught my eye. He beckoned me over.

"Why aren't you with your team Suze?" He asked before I could reach him. I tried to reply but he stopped me mid-sentence. "I suggest you go back to your group as an important announcement will be made shortly". By the tone of his voice, it wasn't open to discussion. An older, lanky man approached Matt and the host shooed me away.

As I walked away, I looked back at Matt and the man. They were both soon joined by a younger man with a sturdy-looking build and continued what looked like a serious conversation. I wanted to say I knew them from somewhere, but I just couldn't pin it down.

I put them all at the back of my mind as walked back to my team for the announcement. I should stop being so nosy- it only ever gets me into more mischief!

Upon reaching the rest of my team, I noticed a few more blue shirts than normal. Team Milan had joined us for the announcement. I walked over to stand between Jesse and Brian.

Lisa, the director, was holding a box with a wide smile on her face.

"Today is your lucky day kiddies! As a wee surprise, we've decided to let you each have a special phone for one hour, to call whoever you would like. You only have an hour, so choose wisely!"

She began handing out big chunky mobile phones that looked more like small printers. She explained that they were able to get reception to the mainland, which accounted for their size. I was dubious to say the least. But hell, at least I could talk to my family!

The minute I got my phone, I dialled CeeCee's number, out of habit. After a few seconds, a voice came on the other end.

"Heeeelllllooooo you're speaking with CeeCee!"

I smiled like a loon; it was so good to hear her familiar voice! "CeeCee, it's me". Then silence.

Suddenly, a loud scream broke out from the other end, I had to hold the phone away from my ear it was so high-pitched.

"OH MY GOD NO WAY SUZE IS THAT YOU? HOW ARE YOU TALKING TO ME? DID YOU GET ELIMINATED? WHAT IS GOING ON? YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM TO HEAR YOU! I MISS YOU A TONNE! I'VE BEEN WATCHING THE SHOW RELIGIOUSLY AND YOU ARE SO GOOD AND ADAM IS HERE AND HE SAYS HI! THE CHALLENGES MUST BE SO SCARY HOW DO YOU—"

I had to stop her before she had an embolism.

"CeeCee, settle down. I have half an hour to talk before I have to ring my family. Put me on speaker so Adam can hear". When I had answered all her questions she shot off more until I had practically lost my voice. Mainly she wanted to talk about Jesse. Which didn't surprise me much. Adam left during the girl talk, but not before asking me where we all went to the toilet. Typical.

"I can't believe you're dating Jesse! Everyone had been talking about it, it's on E! and everything. Is he as hot in real life as he is on the tele? Of course he is. You always gave me such a hard time for liking him and now look where you are! Ha ha. A lot of other girls don't like you though; you're not that far up on the polls. They're all just jealous. What about Paul though? It seemed as if you were going to get with him at the start of the series. What happened? He is a babe! All my friends think Brian so gorgeous!"

"So you're not mad about Jesse and me?" I had to ask. It was friend etiquette.

She paused. "Um, of course not! Let's be honest, it was never going to work out between us. I'm far too good-looking for him." CeeCee snorted and continued, "Although if you could get me Paul's number after this all calms down, I would love you forever and ever".

I felt terrible. CeeCee had been obsessed with Jesse for years! I could tell that watching us together hurt her, even if she didn't say it.

She continued to talk. "It's just that… if I had auditioned for Island X I might have been the object of his affections." She sighed. "I'm sorry to bring you down Suze, I really am happy for you".

I could sense the sadness in her voice. She was entitled to it.

"Look, Jesse and I are just a fling. I doubt anything will happen when we both get home. Things are different on the island."

"You think so? I mean, you guys ARE cute together. You shouldn't let me bring you down".

I could hear the change of tone; it was hopeful. I was saying the right thing. "Yes, I'm sure everything will go back to normal eventually". Even though I was trying to sound convincing, I hoped deep-down that it wasn't true and that Jesse and I would find a way to be together when we left the island.

After a few more minutes of idle catch-up, I checked my watch.

"CeeCee, I'm really sorry but I have to go now! I'll talk to you as soon as I can. Tell Adam I say bye!"

After a quick chat to my family (mum told me to stick to one guy- embarrassing!), I placed the phone back in the box and listened to the others finishing off their conversations. Amber was talking really fast to someone about her ratings. No surprises there. To be perfectly honest, I was worried about my poll-ratings. If I wanted to avoid being sent home, I had to back off from Jesse around the cameras. I noticed that Paul hadn't spoken to anyone in the hour we were given. He caught me looking at him and smiled.

"There's no one back home that I really want to talk to". Or no one that wanted to talk to him.

Lisa strolled back over to us and collected all the phones. "Make sure you are all present tonight at the campfire for a meeting. As a warning, you will be filmed, so look your best… Or not." She laughed and went back to the vans.

It wasn't long until we had to be at the campfire, so we made the most of it by repairing our mattresses and cooking dinner. Lily had found some leaves that could be ground up and made into tea. When Brian asked suspiciously, what kind of tea it was, Lily laughed. "You don't have much faith in me, do you?"

The tea turned out to be rather nice and we all had some. Clouds were settling in overhead which blocked the sun and made the island rather cold. It was nice to warm our bellies.

We all arrived to the campfire on time. I sat down on our log, as close to Jesse as possible, soaking up his warmth. He was my rock, and I loved it. He looked down at me and smiled.

"You look more gorgeous every time I catch sight of you. How do you do it, querida?" He planted a light kiss on my forehead. I placed my arm around his waist and nuzzled my head into his chest.

Matt King approached the fire, in the middle of the two teams. He asked if we were ready for another surprise. I don't think anyone wanted to answer that.

"Alright, here we go". The camera-man gave the single to start filming, and Matt plastered a smile on his tanned face.

"Welcome back all, to Island X! Tonight you have seen what appeared to be a normal day here on the island. No-challenge days are boring, aren't they? We thought we would be generous and give everyone here the opportunity to call their loved ones. Little did they know that their calls were being recorded and we now have a few tasty treats for you all at home!"

How bloody sneaky! No wonder the phones were so big, they doubled as recording devices!

A few men brought over a large speaker as Matt continued, "This is, not only the first time you will be hearing the recordings, it is also the first time our contestants will be hearing each other's. Without further ado…"

Someone hit play and Becky's voice came on the speaker. She seemed to be talking to an older lady. Most likely her mum.

"Darling, make sure you are putting on the ointment I gave you for that rash."

I looked over at Becky and she had her head in her hands. Poor girl! That's not fair at all. I tried to catch her eyes and give her a reassuring smile but she was far too humiliated to look up.

We heard many things after that. Lily yelling on the phone to her agent, Amber nagging all her friends to vote for her, Jesse speaking Spanish to a family member.

And just when I thought it was over, my blood turned cold.

"Look, Jesse and I are just a fling. I doubt anything will happen when we both get home. Things are different on the island."

The warm, muscular arm around my waist retreated.