‘I hope that’s your knee in my back,’ Lockie jokes.
I think he’s trying to lighten the mood but I feel my cheeks flush.
‘Can we just try to sleep, please?’ Ozzy asks, clearly not amused.
‘Yeah, sorry,’ I reply.
The hard part was fitting the three of us in the bed. Now for the impossible part: actually sleeping like this.
Lockie shifts again, a slow, maybe deliberate move that brings his feet up to mine, our toes touching. It’s the dumbest, smallest thing, but it feels like electricity. I stare at the back of his head, willing my heart to quiet down and hoping Ozzy can’t hear it from behind me.
With Ozzy’s warmth at my back and Lockie in front of me playing footsie and just, you know, the threat of a tropical storm returning at some point, while we’re stranded on an island, surely anyone would struggle to sleep, right?
Scratch that. Lockie’s breathing evens out, slow and steady, and I’m pretty sure he’s sleeping already.
There, see, it’s easy. I just need to do the same.
And then I feel Ozzy reach around, place his hand on my hip, and give me a brief, reassuring squeeze. And then he leaves me to sleep.
Yep, this is awkward. I think the only way this is not awkward is in a porno, andWelcome to Singledomis really not that sort of show (except according to some snooty reviewers, at least).
I just need to sleep, I just need to sleep. And do everything I can tomorrow to avoid spending another night on this island. I just have no idea what that is yet.
23
Unsurprisingly, I can’t really sleep.
I think I have slept, a bit, on and off, but I’m awake again. I think it’s going to be like this all night.
It’s only as I come around a little more that I realise I’m on Lockie’s side of the bed – and he’s not here.
I sit up quickly, the feeling of uncertainty compelling me to get out of bed. Luckily I spot him right away, sitting by the firepit, poking at the embers with a stick.
‘Hi,’ I say quietly as I approach him.
‘Hi,’ he replies. ‘Can’t sleep?’
‘Not really. You?’
He shakes his head. ‘I thought I’d give you a bit of space,’ he replies.
‘That’s a shame, I thought you’d keep me warm,’ I reply with a smile.
He laughs.
‘I was worried the storm might come back, but I think it’s blown over,’ he tells me.
‘The weather or the drama?’ I check.
‘Both,’ he says with a smirk.
For a moment, we just sit there, watching the sparks drift up into the darkness.
‘I knew this was going to be strange, being on the show,’ he starts, pausing briefly to gather his thoughts. ‘But I didn’t think it was going to be this strange.’
‘Yeah, winding up stranded and deserted on a tropical island isn’t all that common, is it?’ I reply. ‘But, if movies and TV have taught me anything, then we’re probably doing it all wrong. Aren’t we supposed to, like, sculpt a big SOS into the sand, or stick a message in a bottle and send it out to sea?’
‘You can try those tomorrow, if you like,’ he replies with a laugh. ‘We’re lucky we have Ozzy, he knows all about survival. Survival takes priority over rescue, right?’
