"Well, one good thing that came out of that horrid situation...we have more supplies!" Tavin was commenting as he looked through our new additions that were brought from the scarring encounter back then. "Dude...we have a compass, too! Our one must've fallen into the sea when we hauled ourselves into the boat the night the ship sunk."

He held up a rusty, old compass and inspected it, lightly dusting it off. A glimmer of hope lit in my heart as I huddled beside him and gazed at the small device. Perhaps this could help us find our way back to civilization. This was something that could potentially save our lives. "We have a map!" I exclaimed, and Tavin whirled around in surprise, "A map? Why you didn't tell me?"

I nodded towards the drying paper lying on the boat, "I found it from the other boat. Unfortunately, when I found it, it was floating in the sea...I think it happened when we overturned that boat. I could hardly see its letters, but let's see what we can do with it once it's completely dry," I continued, trying to remain optimistic. Despite the uncertain circumstances that we found ourselves in, the discovery of the map and the compass gave me hope. We could possibly find a way to escape with these.

"Well, that settles it," he said before looking down at his body. He furrowed his eyebrows as he hooked a finger around the corner of one of the blankets that were covering him with questioning eyes as if seeing it for the first time. He looked up at my stiff face in confusion. "Uhm, why am I naked and covered in robes like a monk?" he asked, his voice tinged with bewilderment.

I struggled to get my words out, "W-Well, you were shivering uncontrollably and you obviously needed to be warm...so, I found those extra blankets in the other boat and they were the warmest things I could find for you," I explained, feeling slightly embarrassed at the situation.

"Oh," he said before that familiar grin grazed his lips, "So you stripped me naked? Wow, I didn't think you were a girl like that! You were always objected to the idea of getting it with me but who knew you were one to attack during someone's state of defenselessness?"

"It's not like that!" I immediately flew into my defense, "It was the required thing to do since I didn't want you to die!"

"Tell me, you secretly ogled my God-carved body, right?" he stated without question, flexing his biceps into my face as I averted my gaze from them.

"I did not! There is nothing to ogle at!" I snapped at him, trying to forget the fact that I, in fact, had actually given in to my curiosity in admiring his ridged body.

"I won't blame you... after years of going to the gym and training, I know that my body can't be looked away from!" he continued to gloat while I shook my head slightly. He was so self-centered, but I felt a sense of internal relief that the atmosphere had shifted away from the emotional and depressive mood that had been lingering just a few minutes ago.

I was all for anything to diminish the dark and dim mood that prevailed due to what we had experienced; we had taken the lives of someone after all- it was hard to move on from it, but I would prefer to listen to Tavin's gloating rather than being reminded of what had happened. If wallowing was Tavin's way of distracting him, then who was I to stop him?

He continued to boast about his physique, his gym days and how girls fought over him, while I discreetly felt to see whether his clothes were dry. After making sure they were dry, I tossed the white shirt and brown pants onto Tavin, who was still running his mouth off about his player days. Tavin winced when they smacked him right on the face, effectively cutting him off.

"Woah, thanks, Candy," Tavin smiled at me before. "Please, don't call me that," I cringed with a shudder. Looks like he wouldn't forget that awful nickname any time sooner. Tavin unwrapped himself from the dark blue blankets before glancing at me with a grin. "I can give you a special bonus, only exclusive for you, though," he winked at me when he was left with a single blanket. Naïve me could only catch onto what was going to happen only one second before Tavin mischievously beamed at me, holding the corner of his blanket eagerly. "I present to you, this God-carved body of mine-"

"-NO!" I yelled out and whipped my head away from his strip show with a red face- but, I caught a little glimpse of his defined chest and sculpted abdomen.

Ugh, why!?

All I heard was the cackling laughter of Tavin from behind me as my eyes squeezed shut in mortification. "Wear your clothes, right now!"

"Sure, sure," he chuckled, "There, now you can look."

I scowled and turned my head, but immediately let out a high-pitched scream, quickly covering my eyes with my hands, trying to shield myself from the image in front of me as my heart pounded in my chest.

I did not need the image of a pant-less Tavin.

Tavin's laughter only intensified as he saw my reaction, holding his dried pants up in the air as he presented his...lower body to the world. Why do I always have to be his sole audience for his one-man performances?

"Can you please wear your pants!?"

"Okay, for real now," he laughed and pulled his pants up his sturdy legs, "But you are still watching through your fingers."

"I'M NOT!"

° ° °

The setting sun had cast an ethereal glow of purples, pinks and oranges painted on the sky and mirrored on the calm waters of the sea. The clouds were tinted with a myriad of shades, even with some appearing as if they were on fire.

"I've never watched a sunset properly," Tavin broke the silence from beside me.

"What kind of man has never watched a sunset before?" I inquired, feeling a little letdown and shocked that he hadn't given the time of his days to admire a sunset while my fingers itched to pick up a paintbrush and capture the stunning view on a canvas.

"I HAVE seen sunsets before!" he explained defensively. "It's just...I hadn't given time to stop and admire one. But now that I have almost experienced death twice, I feel like I need to slow down and take a second look at everything around me."

I took in his words as the boat gently rocked with the waves. The sun sank lower and lower, its last rays irradiating the clouds, casting a warm glow over everything in sight, including our faces that felt warmly blissful against my skin. "You are right," I softly agreed, "We don't know if we may live to see tomorrow's sunset."

"I'm surprised that we lasted more than a week like this. I'm sure I've lost pounds by now," Tavin said while rummaging under the tarp before holding up a mineral supplement. "Here," he tossed it at me and looked into the horizon once again.

"Oh, thank you," I said and took my phone and turned it on while swallowing the supplement, puckering my lips with a gag. I switched on my camera and took a picture of the stunning sunset.

"Why are you taking a picture?" Tavin probed, and I answered him after taking four more pictures from different angles, "To paint it, of course. This is one of the most majestic sunsets I've ever seen. For some reason, this sunset surpasses all the ones I witnessed while I was on the ship."

A smile took over my face unbeknownst to me, as I carried on snapping pictures of the sky, the sea and the sun. Then I halted, irked by the sudden silence in the boat. I looked at Tavin who was watching me wordlessly with a small smile. A gentle breeze caressed my hair in a delicate dance with the wind.

Tavin blinked his eyes, his gaze fixated on me and he smiled warmly, "I've never seen you smile like that before. You look beautiful."

My breath caught in my throat, and a warm flush spread across my face. It was because I felt the sincerity behind his words; I could tell that he wasn't playing or taunting me this time. Until now, his words and gestures had been suggestive and provoking, making me think less and less of this man personality-wise. But that one word -beautiful- got me thinking otherwise.

No, Candace, you should not be this easy.

What will the world come to if all the girls were this easy?

I recomposed myself, giving him a laugh that sounded too forced, "Th-thanks, I guess " I said, still feeling the heat on my cheeks that I willed to go down.

"No need to be shy to hear the truth," Tavin said, with that same earnest smile that looked so foreign yet enticing on him. I kept quiet, the phone in my hand trembling as I tried and failed to get a good focus on the disappearing sun. The last time I felt my heart warm like this was when I was with my ex. Since then, I had not allowed any other men into my life, keeping my guard up at all times.

"I am excited to see the completed painting when you finish it when we get back. Consider me the first ever guy to buy a painting from you."

My eyes widened at the unexpected words he had just said once more, "Wh-what? Why? You haven't seen my paintings yet, they might not be to your liking..."

"Why should you draw 'my liking'?" he asked with a confused frown. "You should draw to please only yourself and to the way you want. Your face lit up with a smile and your eyes sparkled when you spoke about painting. I could tell that you were talented and passionate about it. So, I do not doubt that your work will be excellent."

"This kind of talk does not match you," I opted to say finally, willing to hide my flustered state somehow.

Tavin chuckled dismissively and tottered over to crouch beside me, "Give me that," he took the phone out of my hand and held it in front of us, "We should take photos of our moments throughout our journey...and we could call it; 'The Stranded Series'!"

I let out a bewildered laugh, "'The Stranded Series'?"

"Yep! Our own series told through your paintings!"

"Who told you that I would draw everything that I'll capture on camera?"

"It'll be awesome! If you don't like the name I gave earlier, I could come up with something else later..."

"Who gave you the authority to name MY series of paintings?"

"I am the main character too! You paint, and I'll name it!"

"You are being ridiculous."

"Aw, come on," Tavin put his arm around my shoulder and brought me closer to him, "Let's start with our first official picture together, say cheese!"

A click of the camera went off, and Tavin inspected the photo he just took of us with a smile, "Marvelous! If we had gone to the same school, we would've been chosen as the Prom King and Queen, or better else, the 'Best-looking Couple of the Year'!"

"You never miss a chance, do you?" I asked dryly as he continued to take selfies of himself and some with me, with the almost disappeared sun in the background. "Ah, man, do I miss my phone and selfie time. I used to take multiple selfies per day and upload them daily onto my stories. My followers probably think I'm dead by now," he said, setting down my phone with a pensive look. "I never considered that there'll be a time when I would be actually considered dead before I became very old. I always assumed I'd live until my 80s, sporting the handsome old."

I tried to suppress a laugh. "You cannot be that dense. You are being senseless. Give me that," I said before snatching my phone from his grasp.

Tavin didn't seem the least bit bothered by my jab, still mumbling about what his friends and followers thought about his current state as I powered my phone off with a shake of my head. I didn't know what to think about him anymore.

Just moments ago, he was holding onto me for dear life, weeping and mourning the loss of his family. Now, he was zoning out and wondering about his status in his social circle. Well, as I had thought earlier, he might be doing this to distract himself from thinking about his family constantly.

Either way, I kept quiet and chose not to push him further on the matter.