Harem Survival System: Stranded On An Island With Beautiful Women
Chapter 45: Back To Camp

Chapter 45: Back To Camp

Her wet clothes clung to her like a second skin.

Her shorts, soaked through, stuck to her body in a way that left very little to the imagination.

The fabric hugged her thighs, accentuating her toned legs, and the way the material pressed against her —

Lucas forced himself to look away, feeling warmth creep up his neck.

But then, as if she could sense it, Nina turned her head, catching his eyes just as he quickly looked back at the water.

A smirk curled at the edge of her lips.

"Like what you see?" she teased, one hand on her hip.

Lucas let out a short laugh, shaking his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Not my fault you’re practically putting on a show."

Nina rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it.

Instead, she reached for her bag again and pulled out her dry clothes, holding them close before she turned her back to him.

"Alright, no peeking," she said playfully.

Lucas raised his hands in surrender, stepping a few paces away. "Not looking."

She laughed lightly before beginning to change, and Lucas took the moment to stare out at the ocean.

The sun was starting to dip lower, casting a golden glow over the waves. The sound of the water, the occasional rustling of leaves in the distance, it all felt so peaceful.

For a moment, he let himself just exist in the quiet.

Then, after a short while, he heard Nina clear her throat.

"Okay, you’re good."

Lucas turned back around, finding her now in a fresh, dry outfit. She had changed into a simple tank top and new shorts, her damp hair still slightly dripping but now loosely tied back.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," she replied, stretching her arms above her head. Then, after a pause, she looked at him again, her smirk returning. "You sure you’re done staring?"

Lucas chuckled. "Can’t help it. You do look good."

Nina rolled her eyes but didn’t seem annoyed. If anything, she seemed... amused. Maybe even pleased.

"Come on, let’s head back before people start asking where we are," she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

Lucas nodded, falling into step beside her as they made their way up the shore.

Lucas stretched his arms behind his head, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin as he walked along the worn path leading back toward camp.

His hair was finally dry, and after parting ways with Nina, he felt like he could breathe a little easier.

Not that he minded her company — far from it — but something about the way she had been watching him just before they left made him feel like he was being examined.

’Whatever. Probably just overthinking things.’

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling out to him from the distance.

"Lucas!"

He turned his head and saw Maya waving at him with a bright smile.

A small grin tugged at his lips as he made his way over.

’It’s been a while since we actually talked, huh?’

The two of them had been busy — him with the whole raft-building operation, and Maya, well... he wasn’t exactly sure.

They hadn’t had time to catch up.

As he reached her, he playfully bumped his shoulder against hers, causing her to stagger slightly before groaning.

"Hey," she muttered, rubbing her arm dramatically as if he had actually hurt her. "What’s with the cheap shot?"

Lucas shrugged. "Felt like saying hi with some impact."

Maya rolled her eyes but let out a small laugh. "Yeah, yeah. You’re hilarious."

They began walking together, their strides naturally falling in sync. Lucas had almost forgotten how easy it was to talk to her.

With everything going on, he hadn’t realized how much he missed her and her curvy ass.

"So," he started, glancing at her. "What’ve you been up to while I was off playing lumberjack in the forest?"

Maya smirked. "Oh, you mean while you guys were sweating your asses off chopping down trees?"

Lucas chuckled. "Basically, yeah."

She hummed, folding her arms. "Not much, honestly. The teachers had some of us help with sorting food and making sure we had enough supplies. And, of course, making sure the geniuses don’t do anything dumb."

"Sounds like a full-time job."

"You have no idea." She sighed, shaking her head. "Some people seriously think we can just survive without planning ahead. Like, what do they expect? We all sit around, hold hands, and magically get rescued?"

Lucas snorted. "That’d be nice, though."

"Yeah, and completely unrealistic," she said, rolling her eyes. "We have to do something. If we don’t keep rationing, we’re just sitting ducks."

Lucas nodded. It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about that before. There was still so much they didn’t know about the island and much they would find out.

Plus as of now, he didn’t mind living on the Island as some kind of king with a harem of beautiful women.

Before he could respond, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

It was Nina.

She was standing a little way off, watching them.

Her posture was relaxed, but her eyes... they were sharp, calculating — like a hawk assessing its prey. She looked weird like that.

Lucas met her gaze for a brief second, and instead of looking away, she simply stared.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it.

’Does she have a problem with Maya? Or is this about earlier?’

Maya followed his line of sight and raised an eyebrow. "What’s up?"

Lucas snapped his attention back to her. "Huh?"

"You just went quiet." She tilted her head slightly. "Something wrong?"

He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah. Just... thinking."

Maya didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press further.

Instead, she nudged him with her elbow. "Well, if you’re having some sort of dramatic internal crisis, at least try to make it entertaining for me."

Lucas smirked. "Not everything has to be a spectacle, Maya."

"Says the guy who got staring at a girl’s a — "

"That was one time — "

"And it was hilarious," she cut in, grinning.

Lucas groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "You’re never letting that go, are you?"

"Not a chance."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

The sound of crashing waves and laughter filled the air as Lucas found himself being dragged along by Maya, her fingers wrapped firmly around his wrist.

He could have easily pulled free, but there was no real reason to resist — besides, she seemed excited about something.

Her glasses bounced slightly with each step, and so did... other things, though he did his best not to let his eyes linger for too long.

’Focus, Lucas. Focus.’

She was leading him toward the shore, where the others were playing around, splashing in the water, and tossing handfuls of wet sand at each other in a way that would probably lead to some kind of argument later.

The newly built fence surrounding the rafts stood tall in the distance, an added layer of protection against whatever — or whoever — had destroyed the previous ones.

The teachers had been patrolling at night, which meant the rafts were safe, at least for now.

"Come on, slowpoke!" Maya called over her shoulder, tugging him forward.

Lucas sighed but picked up the pace. "You’re acting like we’re in a rush."

"We are! I need to show you something!"

Maya huffed but didn’t slow down. "Trust me, you’re gonna like this."

Eventually, she led him to a small area near the shore, away from where the others were messing around.

The sand here was smoother, undisturbed by the chaos of running feet and impromptu wrestling matches.

With a triumphant grin, Maya gestured to the ground. "Ta-da!"

Lucas looked down.

At first, he didn’t see anything particularly special — just shells.

A whole bunch of them, laid out in a rough pattern. Some were small and delicate, others were large and slightly broken, their edges smoothed by the ocean.

They were different from the ones she had shown him last time but nevertheless... they were just shells.

He crouched down, picking up one of the bigger ones.

It had a spiral shape, like something straight out of a nature documentary.

The texture was rough, but the colors — pale pink mixed with streaks of white — stood out.

"You’re still collecting these?" he asked, glancing up at her.

Maya crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. "It’s a hobby for a reason."

Lucas turned the shell in his hands. "Well you could look for other hobbies though."

She gave him a look. "What do you mean look for other hobbies? They’re pretty. And it’s not like I have anything else to do when I’m not babysitting the idiots around here."

Lucas chuckled. "Fair enough."

Maya plopped down onto the sand next to him, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Besides, if we ever get out of here, I wanna take some of them with me. Y’know, as souvenirs to give my... Cousin."

Lucas studied her for a moment. "You really think we’ll get out of here?"

Maya was quiet for a second, then shrugged. "I mean... we have to, right?"

He didn’t respond right away.

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