Thanks to luvtaread for editing
A couple of weeks had passed since that memorable first trip to the natural hot tub. In that time Brandon had been able to develop a few more things to make life a little easier for him and his companions.
One of the first things he had to work on was a way to divert and clean the stream water before it reached the pool. This had become an issue when Katy had bathed in the pool one morning. After that they had begun taking water from upstream and used the pool there like a natural bathtub, a cold bath but a bath tub nonetheless.
In the process of diverting water he was also able to develop a crude shower. It worked pretty well, but it was solar heated so really only one person could use it per day. As a result they cycled through with each one getting to use it every four days. Funny thing was Katy never got fully clean on her days, usually because she would invite someone in to 'help' her and never quite got around to the shower before the limited water ran out.
All and all the group had settled into island life pretty well. They had grown accustomed to their diet of mostly fruit and fish, of which Brandon was now quite good at catching using a combination of a spear and a small net. They would occasionally use some of the canned food for a treat as well.
Despite their comforts, the growing amount of time spent on the island weighed on Brandon a bit. While he certainly enjoyed spending time on an island with three gorgeous women, the fact it had nearly been a month since the storm landed them here and there had been no sign of planes, helicopters, or boats in the area concerned him.
When they first landed Brandon had prepared for the worst, but hoped he was over reacting. His initial thoughts were that it would not be long until Katy's family noticed she was missing and sent out a search, but that hope died in the week they were building the shelter. As it was unlikely that their island, with the signal fire he silently kept lit, would have evaded notice from searchers.
After that first week he became concerned that something had had happened to the ship. In that case it was likely to take a few weeks to get every thing sorted out and figure out that four people were missing. Even if you assume that, for some reason, something had happened to Katy's family to prevent them from sending help and you took into account that Ashley's cared little for her, there still were people who would notice their absence. Mel's mentor and mom would probably raise a fuss about Mel and Katy. Not to mention he knew his family would try to find him.
The problem was it had now been almost three weeks from when the cruise was supposed to end, so even that possibility was fading by the day. Brandon was beginning to fear their absence would never be noticed and began to wonder if he would need to set out on a raft to find help soon. He was also greatly stressed by the fact that it was now hurricane season by his rough estimate.
He sat alone staring out to sea wondering just how much longer the four of them could sustain their existence on the island. He also felt guilty because a part of him, specifically the part getting showered with the attention of two hot women nightly and potential a third, did not want to return home. He suspected it was this part of him that kept him from building a raft and searching for help.
Brandon was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice someone behind him until a soft hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to see Ashley behind him.
"Dinner's ready" He heard her say before she apparently saw the look on his face. "Brandon what's wrong?" she asked with concern on her face and in her voice. Brandon thought about denying it and Ashley seemed to interpret his silence, "And don't tell me its nothing darling, something is seriously bothering you." She said as she sat down facing him and took his hand in hers.
He looked into her blue eyes and seeing the concern in them began lining out an abbreviated version of the thoughts he had been pondering for the better part of an hour. He did leave out his guilty feelings though.
After he had finished she said, "I hadn't thought about it that way."
"I know that was kinda the point, I didn't want you three to worry about it."
Ashley looked a little upset at this and said, "What us innocent little girls can't handle the truth is that it?" with a hint of anger in her voice.
"NO, NO it's not that at all." Brandon said defensively, "It's just that most of survival is mental, keeping a cool head and the less you think about the worst, the better. The more you believe you're going to be okay, the better you handle the mental strain. So my thought was better to keep this to myself and not instill doubt into the camp. It's not a criticism on any of you three, you are all pretty tough and I have no doubt you can handle these thoughts. In fact you all may have had them like I have. I think its best to not broadcast them."
"Just like a guy," she said smiling and shaking her head. "You do realize that Mel and I have been discussing this topic for weeks now?" Brandon looked at her surprised and she said, "Thought not, well we have and we agree that telling Katy is probably not the best idea as she might not take it too calmly."
"But..but..but you just said..." Brandon stammered out in shock.
"I know what I said, and I was making sure you weren't losing sight of the type of women on this island with you darling."
"So then why not tell Katy?"
"I love Katy, she is my new best friend after all, but she would panic. Mel and I, not so much, we've dealt with hardships in our lives and we're realists. Katy, she's been pampered she does not deal with adversity too well. Between the three of us we have given her a kind of island vacation.
"The thing I have discovered about her is that as long as she's getting laid frequently she's pretty laid back and easygoing. It's when she gets horny that she gets irritable and pessimistic; I swear sex is like a drug to that girl and boy is she ever addicted."
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that that discovery had something to do with your sudden interest in other women and the plan that landed her in my shelter after that 'bet' you guys had a few weeks back."
"Well sort of, my interest grew out of the fact that while being held captive the three of us would comfort each other and after giving it a try I found it was fun. As for the bet, I'll admit it was my primary reason, but now I have others."
