With a shake of his head, he placed the five fish on the stick grill.
“I wonder what they are? I don’t recognise any of them. My fish normally comes grilled and covered in sauce. Do you know what they are?”
“I’m not exactly a wildlife guy, Hollywood. They’re fish. That’s as far as I get with this.”
“The most important part is that they’re less likely to poison us than the unidentifiable fruit the monkeys keep throwing at you.”
As though prodded by her comment, their monkey stalkers lobbed another piece of fruit at them. This one hit his shoulder. Beast looked up into the canopy. He couldn’t see them, but he could swear the noise they were making was laughter.
“Bet monkey tastes nice too,” he said.
“Don’t feel bad. I’m pretty sure they aren’t targeting you. You’re just bigger and easier to hit.”
“Thanks, I’m relieved.” He watched the flames grow taller under the fish. He could smell it now, and his mouth watered. “You think the grill should be higher?” The flames were licking up and around the fish, and he worried they’d burn.
“I don’t know.” Belinda’s brow puckered as she studied the fire. “It looks fine to me. The main thing is that they’re cooking.” She slicked back her still-damp hair, and Beast’s cock began to stir within the tight confines of his underpants. Part of him wanted to say to hell with cooking and spend more time with her instead. The sensible part of him knew they had to eat.
He picked up a stick and poked at the fire because, well, that was what men did, right? It seemed important that he poke at the fire. As though he was doing something other than hanging out in his underwear in the middle of the jungle with a Hollywood actress he’d just made scream with passion.
As they watched, oil from the fish dripped down into the flames and fed the fire, making it spark and leap. The smell was wonderful. Belinda must have thought so too because her stomach rumbled loudly.
“Sorry,” she said, her cheeks flushing again.
Another piece of fruit flew out of the trees and headed for Beast. This time he saw it coming and stepped to the side. Those monkeys’ days were numbered.
“No!” Belinda screeched and lunged past him.
It was too late. The fruit hit the grill. The sticks, which were partly burned through, snapped. And the fish fell into the flames.
“Get it.” She lunged for the fire, but Beast pulled her back.
“It’s too late.” He held her out of reach of the flames and they watched their only meal in two days go up in smoke.
“I’m beginning to really hate those monkeys,” Belinda said.
“We can catch more fish.” Although it was getting dark, and the chances of catching dinner before the light disappeared were slim.
Another piece of fruit landed on the ground beside them, and there was a loud rumble from above. As though a switch had been flicked, the rain started. It didn’t come on gently, a few drops here and there hitting leaves around them. No, this rain fell in a torrent, as though someone had tipped a bucket over their heads. They were instantly drenched. The ground around them became a series of mud puddles, and the noise was deafening. It was no pitter-patter. This was the roar of a waterfall crashing down on the forest. Branches bowed under the weight. Plants flattened close to the earth and streams of water poured off leaves like faucets had been turned on everywhere.
“We need shelter,” Belinda shouted over the noise. “We should have made shelter first. Instead of trying for dinner.”
The water had doused the fire instantly, but the fish was unsalvageable. It lay in charcoal-black pieces amongst the hissing embers.
“The tree.” Beast pointed to the V shape formed by the massive buttress roots of the kapok tree. “Get in there. We can use palms to make a roof. Keep some of this water off us.”
She shook her head, water pouring down her face. The sheet wrapped around her was slick and transparent from the rain. “We can’t be on the ground. It isn’t safe. Most of the animals and insects are on the ground.”
“Hollywood, we don’t have a choice. This will have to do for now. Once the rain stops, we’ll find something better.” He rushed through the ankle-deep mud to a large palm and chopped off some of the leaves.
Belinda had obviously decided not to argue, as she was quickly gathering up their things and heading towards the tree. “The ground’s turning to mud,” she shouted. “We need to go higher or we’ll get flooded out.” She pointed up at the wide branches overhead. Two branches met close to the trunk, making what looked like a large platform.
Beast considered the option. They could climb up one of the massive roots and swing onto the branches. The space was wide enough to support them both for the night; although he didn’t think sleep would be an option. The leaves spanning out above the branches would serve as shelter. It was better than being in the mud, but it was going to be a long, long night.
“Okay. You climb up first and I’ll hand everything up to you.”
She didn’t hesitate. She hiked up her sheet, tied it in a knot at her hip and began to climb. Beast hovered underneath her, in case she slipped. She didn’t, making it to the joined section of branches easily. Holding on tight, she leaned over and reached for their things. Beast tossed the bundle, wrapped in the other half of the sheet, to her, following it with their clothes, shoes and her tiny bag of wonders.
Against all reason, the rain actually got heavier. It was hard to breathe through the sheets of water pouring over him, and the ground was running with streams.