Page 19 of Wild Life

He shook it at me again. There was something off-putting about mystery meat. I wouldn’t let just anything in this mouth.

Okay, this wouldn’t have been the wildest thing to have passed my lips.

Before I could take it, a hand gripped my chin. His hold didn’t hurt, but it was firm. I tried to pull away and pushed against the stone wall that was his bare chest. “Let me go!”

I had succeeded only partially because my jaw was free, yet his thumb rubbed at my lower lip, coaxing it to relax. The pad was rough, like sandpaper. My lips tingled, nerves firing wildly, almost as if I liked it.

His pupils trained on my mouth, as if it was his toy to play with, and I sucked in a shaky breath, unintentionally allowing my lips to part. He moved quickly, slipping a shred of meat inside, grazing my teeth with his fingers as he pushed it into my mouth. My tongue briefly swiped his index finger, tasting the charred essence of his offering and the salt of his skin.

Our eyes locked as I chewed the tender meat, its juices exploding in my mouth. The taste was mild, much like chicken. Then again, everything tasted like chicken at first bite.

Far too familiarly, his hand closed around my throat and stroked my sensitive flesh, urging me to swallow.

I obeyed, my throat working against his grip. In the silence between us, I realized I wasn’t the only one breathing heavily, loud enough to overshadow the crackling sounds of the fire.

His intense stare cast a shiver down my spine, despite the suffocatingly hot and humid air enveloping us.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

He moved to feed me another piece of meat, but I intercepted it before it met my lips. “I got it from here.” It was insane how the most mundane interactions between us became charged, and I was a freak for enjoying it. I might’ve been craving closeness more than ever on this desolate island, but I needed space. These emotions he brought out in me were far too strange for my liking.

The urge to pull away must’ve been contagious because the stranger went back to the fire, as far away from me as possible. We ate in silence, exchanging fleeting side glances yet pretending the other wasn’t peeking.

I wondered how long he had been here. From the state of his hut, it must have been a while. He knew how to survive out here like he had been doing it his whole life. Certain things about him were peculiar, like the length of his facial hair. I would’ve imagined if someone had been here for years, their beard would be overgrown and scraggly, except his wasn’t very long. Like it had been trimmed regularly. I could see his full lips through the fuzz, and the hair was neat and free of any dirt. Did he take a sharpened rock to his jaw every now and again, giving himself a good barber-style shave? One slip of the wrist, especially without a mirror, and the man would have been a goner if he had sliced his jugular.

I chuckled at the morbid thought, which earned me a tight glare from Mr. Almost-Naked Sweeney Todd.

Without warning, a deep yawn overtook my mouth. I set the empty meat skewer aside and stretched my arms overhead. It was late, and I could barely keep my eyes open any longer. I needed sleep.

He must’ve shared my feeling, because he rose to his feet and moved to the wood barrel next to the hut, reaching in and extracting a brown plastic container. The wordsbutter spreadwere printed on the side.One man’s ocean litter is another man’s water cup.

I sat dumbfounded as he splashed the water onto his face. Tiny droplets dripped down his facial hair and neck. He swished some fresh water in his mouth and spit it out before reaching for a thin twig, one of many resting in anotherbutter spreadcontainer on top of an old stump that he used as a table. He rubbed the stick against his teeth as if he were brushing them and then gave it a quick chew. He groomed himself like he had been doing it every night…as if it was part of a routine.

Who was this man? And why did he sometimes act like he was from another world—from my world?

I was suddenly aware of my own hygienic needs, but fuck if I was going to ask to borrow one of those stick thingies. I missed my toothbrush and face wash.

Finished with his bedtime routine, Mr. Dental Hygienist put the fire out, blanketing us in darkness. My vision took a minute to adjust to the lack of light. I could barely make out his massive frame trudging up the steps of the hut, his heavy footfalls creaking the wood underneath. The front door opened, and the pig went trotting merrily in, ready for slumber. His human didn’t move. He turned to me, as if waiting for me to come inside with them.

The pit of loneliness in my stomach begged me to get up and follow him, my desire for companionship battling with my logical brain.

This was weird. I didn’t know this man, yet too much questionable shit had already happened between us that shouldn’t happen between two strangers. His hands had already been all over me and inside my mouth. He had seen me naked when I was unconscious, as I was certain he was the one who had undressed me.

No.

Sharing a sleeping space with him wasn’t appropriate at all. But God, what I wouldn’t have given to share a bed with someone to quell my anxiety.

It took all my willpower to shake my head and decline his offer.

Oblivious to the deranged battle going on inside me, he shrugged and closed the door behind himself, leaving me to spend the night with my old friends: abandonment and loneliness.

Chapter 10

Man-Just-Go

Maris

It’s official. I’m never getting any sleep in this place.

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