Nerd in Shining Armor (Nerds, #1)(27)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

"Well, I’ve been thinking." She knelt on the sand behind him, snapped open the lid, and squeezed out some lotion. The slurping sound made him think of sex, and the strong scent of coconuts made him think of sex. When she started smoothing the cool lotion over his back, he had to casually splash water over his penis to keep it subdued.

"About what?" He listened to her breathe, trying to tell if she was the slightest bit turned on. He couldn’t tell.

"About what you said before, that they wouldn’t look for us down here." She re-capped the lotion, and gave a couple more swipes over his back; then she swished her hands through the water before sitting cross-legged on the towel beside him.

"They might not."

"I agree with you." She picked up a guava. "They’ll be down around Maui, because that’s where Nick was supposed to be headed."

"I’m afraid so."

"Then we need to do something to get a lot of attention if we expect to be noticed." She licked the guava juice from her hand.

"Probably." Jack thought Gen in a bikini licking guava juice from her fingers should do the trick, or at least it would for him.

"I think we need to climb to the top of this rocky cliff and use my clothes, and whatever you can spare,

to make a big X that a plane could see."

He’d been considering the same thing, although the thought of scaling that cliff turned his insides to water. But as scared as he was to make the climb, that wasn’t the worst part. Once they left their little section of paradise here on the beach, they wouldn’t climb all the way back down again. Their interlude would be over. That was the worst part.

She handed him a juicy piece of guava. "What do you think?"

He knew exactly what Adam had felt like when faced with that apple. The poor sap had known he was screwed, but he’d had no choice. He was going to be kicked out of paradise. "I think you’re right," he said, and took the dripping piece of fruit.

Chapter 16

An hour later, Gen stood beside the hideout with Jack. Leaving this spot felt a lot like leaving the Hollow. In many ways being marooned here had been like a trip back home, and she was glad for that. The girl who had left Tennessee at fifteen still lived inside her, and Genevieve wanted to renew the acquaintance. Maybe she wouldn’t go back to being a hillbilly, but she wouldn’t be so ashamed of her roots, either. They’d helped her survive.

"We did a pretty good job of making a hideout," Jack said.

"I wish I had a camera to take a picture of it. If we ever come back here, it will probably be gone."

"You never know. It’s pretty sturdy."

"It’s a wonderful hideout, Jack." She could tell he was proud of having built it and hated to leave it to the elements, as she did. But if they ever hoped to be rescued, they had to climb to a high spot and concoct

a signal that a plane would see. "But it’s served its purpose and now we have to go."

He gazed at her for a long, silent moment.

She wasn’t as psychic as her mama or Lincoln, but it didn’t take a psychic to read what was going on in Jack’s genius brain. He was thinking of a very specific purpose the hideout had served. They still had one condom left, packed into her pink suitcase along with six guavas, their clothes, and the last of the rainwater. They hadn’t discussed it, just packed it in with the other stuff.

All in all, she thought they’d made good use of the materials at hand. They’d rinsed out her shampoo bottle and funneled the water into it using Jack’s cupped hands. Because she’d ripped the original handle off the suitcase, she’d had to come up with a way for Jack to lug it along with them. She’d cut the cord off her curling iron and put that through the holes made when the handle had pulled out.

The cord was long enough to loop over Jack’s shoulder and across his chest so the suitcase sat against his right hip. While they’d rigged that up, she kept thinking about how he’d hog-tied her with the cord. From the look in his eyes and the jut of his fly, he most certainly remembered it.

He cleared his throat. "Guess we’d better get started. Sure you don’t want to use the glasses first?"

"No, you first. You’re leading the way." He looked like such a manly man right now, if you didn’t count the pink suitcase attached to him by the curling iron cord. She’d made cutoffs out of his pants, and although he was still wearing his belt, he’d decided against a shirt. The women at Rainbow wouldn’t recognize him now. If she could take a picture of him looking like this, without the suitcase, of course, he’d have about a million dates in no time.

He gazed up at the rocky cliff. "Yeah, like I know how to do this."

"You don’t?" So maybe he looked more manly than he was. Once again, she’d made the mistake of thinking he’d had a normal childhood. She’d assumed he’d want to lead this expedition. "You’ve never climbed a ledge before?"

"Nope." He started toward the rocks. "But there’s always a first time."

"Wait." She admired his grit, taking on the challenge without having a lick of experience. "I don’t want you to fall down and break your leg. You’d better give me the glasses."

"I suppose you’re a climbing expert."

"No need to take that tone with me, just because you’re feeling testy."

"I’m not feeling testy."

"Oh, yes, you are, mister. You’re ready to bite my head off because I might know a little bit more about the outdoors than you do." Her mood wasn’t the greatest, either, come to think of it. The good sex was over and now they had nothing but climbing and signaling and trying to survive on guavas.

"Well, then, take the damned glasses." He whipped them off and shoved them at her.

"Thank you, Your Prickness." She took them, glared at him, and put them on. "You’d think some people could be a little more grateful, instead of starting a fight with the very person who is about to save their sorry—" She paused as he began to grin, his teeth white against his beard. She frowned at him. "Now what?"

"It’s the glasses."

"What about them?"

"They just don’t go with that hot little bikini of yours. You look like a cross between Jennifer Aniston and my high school English teacher."

She thought the Jennifer Aniston part was a nice compliment, but she wasn’t sure about the rest. "Did you like your high school English teacher?"

He didn’t answer her, and his grin softened as he continued to gaze at her. His eyes got sort of dreamy, too.

"Jack?"

"Gen, I suppose there’s no guarantee about how this will turn out. I don’t think we’ll be stranded here forever, but. . . the thing is, I just want you to know that I—"

"We most certainly won’t be stranded here forever. Not if I have anything to say about it. Come on. I’ll show you how we’re going to shimmy up these rocks in no time." She headed off toward the most likely spot for hand- and footholds. If they stayed there another second, Jack was going to say something embarrassing, something he’d never be able to take back.

That would be bad enough. The trouble was, she might say something just as embarrassing in return. They needed to get themselves rescued before she gave in to that temptation. It was only being stranded here together that was making her think that she was falling for Jack. She’d figure that out once she got herself back to Honolulu.

* * *

"I need a boost, Jack."

Jack gazed up at Gen’s bikini-dad bottom hanging about two feet above him. He didn’t dare look down. The only way he could deal with this climb was to pretend that the sand was exactly the same distance away that it had been twenty minutes ago.

"Hey, you down there!" she called again. "A little help, please! I can’t quite reach the next handhold."

"Uh, wait a sec."

"How long of a sec?"

"I’m assessing the situation."

"Assess this, boy genius. I’m holding onto a piece of rock no bigger than the hind tit on a sow, and if you don’t give me a boost in the next two seconds, I’m liable to lose my grip, fall down on top of you, and send us to the bottom, which is about a hundred feet. How well do you bounce?"

"A hundred feet? We’re five stories up?" He saw spots in front of his eyes.

"God bless America. Are you informing me at this late date that you’re afraid of heights?"

"What if I am?"

"You could’ve opened your trap and told me, is what! Here I am needing a boost, and you’re afraid to let go and give me one. A fine kettle offish this is. I should be carrying the suitcase, too."

"You mean in case I don’t make it, you’ll have the supplies?" The sweat poured down his back. His hands were sweaty, too, but he didn’t want to think about what might happen if they got too slick to hold onto the lava rock.

"No, that is not what I meant. The suitcase is adding to your problems, maybe throwing you offbalance a little. You could probably climb better without it."

He hadn’t really thought of that, but now he started sweating even more. She was right. The suitcase could be the death of him.

"Listen, Jack, if it’s you or the suitcase, I want you to take that thing off and drop it."

"No way." He hadn’t forgotten how much she loved the silly thing. "I couldn’t take it off now, anyway. I’d fall for sure."

"You’re not gonna fall."

"Right." He swallowed hard.

"Forget giving me a boost. I’ll just stretch a little higher and get that handhold."

He had a sudden vision of her stretching, missing, and falling on account of him. "Don’t stretch! I’ll do it! Give me a couple of seconds to psych myself up, okay?"

"Do you want me to pass you the glasses? Would that help?"

"Hell, no, I don’t want the glasses! The only thing that’s saving me is that I can’t see what I’m doing."

"We’re almost to the top, Jack. I can see it from here. About two more handholds and I’ll be able to pull myself over the edge."

"And then we’ll be six stories up." Jack thought he might be sick to his stomach.

"Don’t think of that. Think of… think of the last condom. What do you say, Jack? When we get to the top, wanna use that last little raincoat?"

As diversionary thinking, the concept was a real winner. His prize was right above him, but he wouldn’t get it unless he let go of the rock and boosted her up. But if he let go of the rock, he’d be able to cup his hand around one of her firm little butt cheeks.

If he didn’t give her a boost, they would both fall five stories and die. It should be an easy decision. "Are you serious about the last condom?"

"Just get me up there and I’ll show you how serious I am."

Filling his mind so full of sex that he didn’t have room for any images of going splat on the sand, he peeled his right hand from the chunk of black lava rock that had been his security, got a handful of Gen, and pushed upward.

"Yee-haw!"

Heart pounding, he latched onto his rock again and stared after her with lust in his heart. She scrambled the rest of the way to the top and disappeared over the edge.

He felt instantly desolate. "Gen?"

Her head popped over the edge. "Right here, big boy. Come and get me."

He wished she’d taken that last part a little slower. He’d been used to putting his hands on the same outcropping where she’d had her feet and pretending they were rungs on a ladder. Now every outcropping between him and Gen looked the same.

"Come on up, Jack," she called again more gently.

He tilted his head to look up. Nothing showed but her head against the bright sky. She was very blurry and very far away.

Looking at the rocks right above him, he searched for a place to grab on to. Once he found a handhold, his feet usually took care of themselves. But nothing looked good. Five stories up. Five f**king stories up. His stomach pitched.

"Okay, I can see you need a little motivation. Hang on." Her head disappeared, then popped back into view. "That was a joke, Jack. Hang on. Get it?"

"Sorry. Can’t laugh. Might go splat."

"Poor Jack."

He should have been insulted by that, but he was too scared to be insulted.

"Here you go. This should help take your mind off your problems." Gen reappeared over the edge. "Ouch."

"What happened?"

"It’s just that these rocks . . . ouchy. . . aren’t exactly comfortable, but what the heck." She wiggled closer so that her shoulders came into view. "Are you looking at me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Concentrate on these babies, and climb on up to mama."

Jack blinked. Surely she wasn’t dangling her bare boobs over the ledge to entice him up there.

"Hurry up, Jack. There’s a piece of lava rock making a permanent dent between my ribs. Or maybe my twin beauties don’t turn you on the way they used to, now that you’ve seen me prancing around the beach in my birthday suit most of the day."

His tongue stuck in his throat, but finally he managed to croak out his question. "You’re hanging nak*d over that ledge?"

"Correction, I’m hanging topless over this ledge. But since you’re not moving, I must be using the wrong fishing lure."

Two things finally penetrated the fear holding him flattened to the cliff. She really would have sex with him when he climbed up there, and with all the adrenaline surging through him, it was going to be one hell of a ride.

"I’m moving." Gritting his teeth, he reached up, trusting his hand would find the right spot. The indentation wasn’t huge, but enough. He moved his other hand, then a foot. The suitcase banged against his hip.

"Jack, Jack, he’s our man! If he can’t do it, nobody can!"

He glanced up again and she was wiggling her br**sts at him. The sweat still rolled down his spine, but saliva pooled in his mouth, too. Apparently he wasn’t scared spitless. He located another indentation in the lava, and another.

"Give me a J, give me an A, give me a C, give me a K! Gooooo, Jack!"

He drew closer, focusing on those shimmying br**sts.

"Two tits, four tits, six tits, a dollar. All for Jack, stand up and holler!"