GAIA
 
A lie never lives to be old. - Sophocles
 
But it does. At least, it lived for nineteen years. 
 
When I told him a lie years ago which destroyed our relationship, I thought I wouldn’t see him again. He’d vowed as much. He’d screamed in dark fury that he will never ever set foot on my island again. 
 
But then, here he is. Right here, right now. 
 
With me.
 
Only the two of us, stuck in this island, stranded by a devastating hurricane.
 
And though being with him brought back all the bittersweet memories of our youth and made me want nothing more than to stay in this island forever with him, I can’t. I shouldn’t.
 
I’m scared that when I let my guard down, he’ll learn the truth. . . that I lied. 
 
That I lied—not about the truth—but about the lie.  
 
And this time, I know I wouldn’t be able to live past this. The stakes are much too high. This time, the end result would mean losing everything.
 
It would mean losing him all over again. 
 
But the worst part?
 
It would mean losing her, too.
 
 

NOLAN
 
She’s here. Right in front of me. The vision I’ve always dreamed of. The woman whose face adorned my days and haunted my nights. . . every single minute of the past, lonely nineteen years. 
 
No. What am I thinking? How could I let myself succumb to her charms? She’s not as pretty as before. She has laugh lines now. A wrinkle or two on her forehead. She gained some weight. She’s not pretty anymore. She’s. . . she’s alluring. Deep and mysterious, and all the more bewitching.
 
No! Stop this, Nolan. You hate her, remember? You hate her!
 
Yes. I hate her. I hate her for ruining love for me. 
 
I hate her for killing my child. 

She was deliberating whether to get the pineapples or bananas for her serving of sliced fruits when she heard a whisper close to her ear.

"The pineapples are a bit sour. Take the bananas. They're sweet."

She swung around, arching her brow. Her heart did a somersault, pleasantly surprised to realize he was addressing her. Directly.

"Mr. Alvez. Really?"

He didn't correct her, telling her to call him Rome. Which hurt, for the third time this morning.

"Yes. Really." He was still wearing a poker face.

Pricking a slice of banana with her fork, she held it up between their faces. Her eyes fastened to his, she murmured softly, "Hmm. I don't know. Looks sour to me."

Fleetingly, a hint of a smile appeared on Rome's lips at her sarcasm. In a flash, he clasped her hand holding the fork, and gently brought it to her lips. It took a superhuman effort for Alex not to gasp out loud at the electric shock which surged through her at his touch.

"Why don't you open…your mouth…and have a taste," he prodded.

As if hypnotized, she did as she was bidden, receiving the food given to her, their eyes locked to each other. Slowly she chewed the fruit, outwardly taking her time savoring it. Inside, she was a hot mess of nerves.

At last she swallowed, her tongue licking her lips. His tantalizing eyes followed its movement, after which his lips formed a genuine smile.

"Sweet…and utterly delicious," he whispered, his half-lidded eyes focused on her lips. "Wouldn't you say?"

"I…," she swallowed again, this time, not the chewed food in her mouth, but the invisible lump in her throat. "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, I think you do, Miss Hernandez," he smirked. Grasping her arm, he steered her outside, despite her feeble protestations. They came to the patio overlooking the dock. He sat her down on one of the dining chairs, taking his own place across the table.

"Mr. Alvez," she blabbered. "If you really insist, yes, the bananas are sweet. I just want to have my breakfast in peace. And then have a worry-free, relaxing swim with my neph…" 

He cut her short. "Who's the better kisser?"

"W-what?" Fazed, she breathed out.

"Tom, or me?"

"I…please, Mr. Alvez, stick to the essentials. We're here for a vacation, not play Jeopardy!" She couldn't very well tell him she was the one in jeopardy now, could she?

He ignored her.

"I think you know I'm the better kisser. I can kiss you to oblivion, you know. Slowly, gently at first, I will take my time nibbling on your lips. Then with my tongue, I will pry them apart and explore the delectable inside of your sweet mouth with a ferocity you haven't experienced before, and you will respond to me with the same intensity, moaning out my name several times in a breathless whisper."

"Careful, Mr. Alvez." She clamped her lips in a firm, straight line, glaring at him. "You're bordering on harassment."

"It's not harassment if we both want it."

"Who said we both do?"

"Sometimes words aren't necessary."

"Well, I don't want it. There you are, the words." Then she added hurriedly, "And don't you dare tell me again I'm a liar."

"I won't." He smiled in a roguish way, leaning his back on the chair.  "I leave that up to you entirely when you're alone and you're imagining me kissing you the way I described it."

She shrugged, attacking her plate for want of something to distract her from the thought. "Whatever. I'm eating. The food here is excellent. Talk all you want."

"I can give you a better quickie too."

She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth. Her cheeks were raging hot. Abruptly, she stood up, her plate almost falling from the table. He returned her glare with an innocent, disarming grin.

"Mr. Alvez. You made me lose my appetite. I'm going to see to my boyfriend now.” She didn't wait for him to respond. She spun on her heels, her heart racing.

He called out to her. "Miss Hernandez."

The harsh, imperious tone of his voice left her with no choice but to swing around and face him again. His eyes were on fire as he seriously and flatly stated, "Consider that a warning."

Alex felt a cold chill crawl up her spine. But it was accompanied by a strange kind of excitement which can only be described as dangerous.