CAN'T IMAGINE

CHAPTER 6 - "I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME"

The trip back to the house was silent, and when they got to the generator shed, she helped him unload the barrels and then they took the ATV back to it's shed and locked it up. As they walked back toward the house, Shawn reached out and took her hand, and she let him. They didn't discuss it.

"There must be a place for the caretakers around here somewhere," he said, looking down at her.

"Oh, yes! We should look for that."

"Tomorrow."

"OK."

They were back at the house and it was dark now. They were hungry but they were hot and dirty, she really wanted to clean up first, and said so.

"You use the shower in the bedroom, I'll use the one down here," Shawn said. "I'll meet you back in the kitchen."

Camila watched as he left the room. There was a strange energy between them, and she wasn't sure what it was but a sudden calmness came over her. Two weeks. She had two weeks, or less if he got his memory back, to convince him they were meant to be together. When he did remember, they could sort out that part of it, but if there was one thing this near-death experience and the second chance they'd been given had shown her it was that her mother was right. Shawn was her happy-ever-after and she needed to be a big girl and fight for the man she loved. She promised herself that when they left here, she would have done everything in her power to save her marriage.

***

Shawn showered and shaved and threw on a pair of shorts and went to find Camila in the kitchen. He carried his t-shirt with him, he was still too hot to put it on. She was standing at the window overlooking the pool, arms crossed as she stared out to where the moon had used silvery brushstrokes to paint a path across the ocean to the beach. She wore an oversized t-shirt that reached her knees, large and shapeless, and her hair was piled in a messy knot on her head. Something smelled good though, and he noticed a couple of pots bubbling on the stove. He looked closer, one held dried spaghetti that was almost done and the other a pasta sauce from a jar that was heating through. She had grated a pile of cheese and it waited like a little yellow mountain on the counter.

"That smells amazing," he said, and she turned around, her eyes clearing as she took in his appearance, as if coming out of a trance.

"Are you hungry?"

"Of course," he said with a grin. A stupid question if ever there was one.

She dished up the pasta and they sat at the kitchen table to eat. She seemed strangely nervous and he felt a sense of doom. Was she finally going to tell him why they broke up? What he had done? He didn't want to know. He needed to stop her before she said anything. He suddenly wasn't at all hungry and he pushed the food around on the plate.

"Is it not OK?" she frowned at him. She stood and walked over to counter, reaching up to the top cupboard to grab down the pepper grinder. The t-shirt rode up to show she wore some kind of lacy panties that left the cheeks of her ass completely bare. His mouth went dry and his recent concerns seem to grow wings and fly out the door as she leaned over him and ground the pepper onto his food, finishing by gently stroking the nape of his neck and dropping a soft kiss on his cheek. He couldn't help himself, he put his hand on her waist then slowly stroked downwards, over the t-shirt fabric where it now covered her bottom again. He held his breath, waiting for her to pull away, he wasn't sure what this strange feeling was but he wouldn't be surprised, however she just gave him a sassy look and returned to her seat. A moment later he felt her small bare foot rub against his. By this time, he was pretty sure there was no doom awaiting him, but something quite the opposite. He ate his past quickly, his heart thudding in anticipation. Camila finished first and took her plate to the sink then turned with a yawn.