Mia looked up at Gina and realized that this was the first time that they had been in a room alone together since Katie had arrived on the island. Mia looked up at Gina longingly and was very unsure what and if she should do anything. Her heart was longing to get closer, but Gina had given her no signals one way or the other. It was like everything that Gina had continued going through was keeping her so busy that she couldn't think. That left nothing extra for Mia and what she wanted.
This was the first time that they were alone, and they were not busy cooking or cleaning. Mia looked up into her eyes and was just hoping to see just the smallest amount of the love that she had been giving to her in return.
Gina saw that Mia was looking at her strangely, but it was not like it was the first time that Gina had noticed Mia looking at her longingly. Gina knew that it had been weeks since Mia had confessed her love for her, but she was just as confused as she was when Mia first told her. But there was one thing now that had not been before and that was Jake had kissed her.
Before that, Gina had never been kissed by a boy in any real way. Gina thought back to how it felt to her. After all, even though it had been a surprise to her, and knew that on her side there had been no real feelings in it. Jake had thought that she was Katie. The way that he was acting Gina could tell that there were a lot of emotions for him, and he was really trying to show them to her through the kiss.
To Gina he was rough it was almost like he was forcing for more as she resisted. It was from the sudden shock of being grabbed. Gina thought about the kiss that she had gotten from Mia it was all tenderness it was like she could feel the longing that was coming from her. Gina felt the want and need as well as the giving of everything that she was.
Gina felt the want and need that had been coming from Jake, but she could tell that it was a lot different from what she had felt from Mia. It was like she could feel that Mia would give everything that she was and had. Where with Jake he wanted to take everything from her, and the more that she had pulled back the more that he clung to her and pulled her in.
Gina knew that she was not ready to swear off men and just settle down with Mia, but she did like the way that she had felt when Mia kissed her. But then again there was something that she liked when she kissed Jake. Even if it was Jake that she was kissing. Gina thought about where she was and that there were other guys, that were onboard and thinking about them some of them were kind of cute. Then Gina thought about the situation that Katie was in. It was that if she was not onboard the ship with him all the time. It was going to come down to only seeing him for a few hours every couple of months. Out of everything that sounded so bad to her. If she did fall for someone, she would want to see them more than a couple hours every few months. Unless she really loved them, she wouldn't want to be with them constantly, never able to get away from them day and night. If she did really love them, she would never want to be away from them and she didn't see how that could work onboard the ship. It was not like the captain and Will would let them share her room.
Then Gina thought about the problem that Katie was having being able to see him even though they were on board the ship together. The captain, Will, and Mistress Snow all trying to keep them apart. Gina knew that if she found a guy onboard the ship it would be no different for her either in fact, it probably be worse because she had to mind snow where Katie could choose not to.
Gina looked at Mia who now had started looking deeply into her eyes, it was like she was just entranced. She was waiting for something or more precisely waiting for her to do something. Gina looked at her and knew that no matter what she was telling Mia to do she would do it even if she didn't want to or would get in trouble for doing it. She thought back to what Katie had asked her to go against the wishes of Mistress Snow. As she looked into Mia's eyes, she knew that if she told her to she would have done whatever she had said. Even if it meant that they would be leaving Miss Kathy and Mistress Snow.
Gina thought about that hard as she looked deeply into Mia's eyes knowing that she had so much control over her. Gina felt a little scared at that point knowing that whatever she said or did from now on it was going to affect Mia and her life. Gina knew that she had never asked for that responsibility but there was no way away from it without totally crushing and destroying Mia, at least mentally if not physically as well.
Gina knew from the look and the way that it had felt that Mia had given her heart to Gina and there was no way of not feeling things for her. Gina knew that she loved Mia but it was not an all-or-nothing love like what Mia seemed to have for her but that didn't mean that she would not have the love grow in her.
Gina felt something in her, it was a tingling feeling and a strong pull from deep inside her and the desire to kiss her. It was the first time that she had ever felt something like this. She had kissed all the girls that were at Miss Kathy's but there was never a desire in her to do it before, it had always just been a greeting like a hello or a goodbye.
Gina moved in close then closed her eyes and waited to see just what she was going to feel as Mia kissed her. There was a tingling feeling that ran throughout Gina's body, and she felt herself start slightly trembling. She wondered if this was what Katie felt when she kissed Jake. Gina felt Mia trembling a little as well and all she could think of was this was true tenderness. She doubted that anyone else would ever be this way with her it was so much to feel.
They both fell off of the bench that they had been sitting at waiting as they heard Tug say, "Hi."
He had gone in the door and noticed that there were people in the room but since he was concentrating on what he was carrying he had not gotten a good look. He thought that he saw them kissing but was not sure as they dropped out of sight before he could get a good look. It all happened so fast that he had no way of being sure of what he saw.
The girls looked up at him startled and slightly embarrassed at what and where they were doing it. Gina quickly said, "Hi Tug this is..."
Then she froze, not wanting to say just in case someone came looking for Katie. Gina knew that he knew what Katie looked like but since he had not gotten a good look at Katie lately and there was kind of a resemblance to her she said, "We were waiting on you. So, we could get things started. Some of the things that I have planned will take a little longer to prepare because they need to marinate, and then rest in the sauces. That we will be making for them."
Gina was hoping that if she got him busy and distracted, he might forget what he saw when he walked in. If he did see what they were doing. Gina rattled off a long list of spices that she was going to be putting together for the marinade. She had remembered one of her favorite flavors but at first, she knew that it was a lot harder than normal and only provided a slightly better flavor than one that would cost less and not be so time-consuming.
While Tug wrote down all the spices that she was listing off Gina mouthed to Mia that she needed to keep an eye out for Katie. Mia understood and after getting the kiss that she had been waiting for, for so long she was going to do anything that Gina wanted just to make sure that she didn't disappoint her.
Gina knew that with Tug having to write everything down a long and complicated recipe that was hard and time-consuming would easily double and she was hoping that it would be enough for Katie to get back without anyone noticing.
Tug did his best to keep up with the things that Gina was saying that she wanted to mix together but he had to stop her three times so that she could go over the spices that she had just said. When he had finished writing them all down Gina had him list them so that she could check and make sure that nothing was missing. Even though he had to stop her and make her repeat several things Gina was pleasantly surprised that he had gotten everything down as accurately as he had.
With a smile, Gina said, "Well done. Now if you want to collect them, I will go through them and how much you need when you bring them back." Gina would have normally had Mia help them both find all the spices that she wanted. Making it faster so they could get it going, but she wanted Mia to keep looking out for Katie. While this was mostly a way to slow Tug down. Knowing that she could teach him the shortcuts that would speed things up once Katie was there.
Tug went through the list of spices that she had given him and most of the ones on the list he had never used, or even really knew just what to do with them. He had not wanted to blend together the wrong things. Where it wouldn't turn out right or would taste bad or just too strange. Tug tried to smell them as he pulled them from the shelves but after a while, they all just seemed to blend together enough that he was not able to tell one from the other.
Tug decided that he was going to have to wait until Gina had told him what to blend and how much. So that he could try and describe it in a way that he would be able to reproduce it again. Gina had forgotten just how massive it looked when you got them all together like this. But most of the things that they were adding just wound up being just a pinch. So that it would add to the flavor of the others and none of them would overpower the rest.
Even though it had taken a long time for him to separate everything there was still no sign of Katie. Gina began to wonder just what was taking so long and if she was planning on coming back to help out at all. Then a thought hit Gina what if someone did catch her? Was she in trouble and if it was Snow that caught them just how much trouble she was going to be in for trying to cover for her? Gina thought if it made Katie as happy as she was thinking that it was going to it wouldn't matter how badly she was punished.
As the time marched on Gina knew that they couldn't wait for Katie any longer, they were going to have to start the food for real. Gina knew that they would have a little playroom because no one would yell at them if they were a little late, but she figured if she was off by more than ten to fifteen minutes they would start asking questions about why they didn't start things earlier.
Gina told Tug just which spices to start with and the exact amount that he was going to need so that the flavor profile would turn out the way that they wanted. Gina still found herself wishing that his sense of taste would be working but the notes he was taking seemed to help him get it right. Once they had about half of the spices mixed Tug could see what a difference that the smell was changing and evolving into something more. Gina watched as each ingredient was added and how it affected the powder. Gina smiled as she watched Tug note everything that he saw and smelt along with the exact amounts of everything that was used.
Once the powders were ready, he added the liquids to create the perfect marinade. Now it was just getting everything chopped and put in it before they could cook it giving it as much time to rest and absorb the flavors.
Gina kept Tug busy cutting and chopping everything else that was going to be needed once the meat was ready to cook.
The closer they got to getting the cooking part started the more nervous Gina became. Because she remembered the reactions of the sailors to the aromas that were released as they cooked the food. She figured that once they started cooking Katie and Jake would be stuck where ever they were hiding until the meal was over. She knew that with them all sitting with the captain, Will, and Snow Katie would be missed, and they would look for them until they were found.
Just as they were lighting the stove the Gally door was flung open.