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GASPING, SKY JERKED awake and sat up, sure that he was being stalked or watched. He looked around, alarm clanging in his head and adrenaline rushing through his veins. Where am I? Is it safe? It’s time to move. When he took in the bookshelves, the photography posters on the wall, and the sunlight streaming in a curtained window, his heartbeat slowed, and he was able to catch his breath.
Jude was gone, having sneaked out sometime in the middle of the night. Though he was disappointed, he wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t expected her to stay the night with him, waking him with a cheery smile and a cold glass of orange juice. He rubbed his face with both hands and paused. Jude’s scent lingered on his fingers. He reached out for a pillow, brought it to his face. Jude’s scent lingered everywhere.
Last night couldn’t have been better if a fairy godmother had waved a wand and granted all his wishes in one fell swoop. Food, safe shelter, and sex in a matter of hours. Who could ask for anything else? Regardless of the good time had by all the previous evening, Sky held no preconceptions about whether his hostess would change her mind. Despite their brief encounter, she seemed like a woman who made a decision and stuck with it.
The sound of humming drifted from the hallway. Jude was up and doing whatever it was she did in the morning. Sky rose from the bed and made a half attempt at straightening the bedclothes. He was tucking the quilt under the pillows when the toothpaste and toothbrush caught his eye. He snorted a laugh. Dental health was very important indeed.
He picked up his gift, pulled on his jeans, and went into the hallway to say good morning.
* * * *
JUDE WISHED FOR RAIN as she washed up with the bucket of rainwater she’d obtained from the cistern on the third-floor deck. Though the morning was hot and humid, the wind was kind. The usual reek of decay was much less. Looking out of the window at the backyard, she thought about her tasks for the day. She had to weed the garden, then pick the fruits and veggies that were threatening to overripen. The tomatoes had been so plentiful that she couldn’t eat them all. Wasting them saddened her, but she didn’t know how to preserve them. Keeping her mind on those mundane tasks kept her from dwelling on last night’s events.
It was a onetime thing. It happened. It’s over.
In the hallway, the floorboards creaked, startling her out of her reverie. She started to reach for the gun hidden in the bathroom cabinet, then had to laugh at her knee-jerk response. Going back to washing, she rubbed the wet washcloth over her face and contemplated how nice it was to have someone else in the house.
“Jude?”
“Be right out,” she said. Damn him and his sexy morning voice. She rinsed her washcloth and wrung it out, tossed it over the towel bar. She pulled her shirt over her head before she entered the hallway.
“Hi,” she said.
“Good morning.” He yawned. “I got your gift. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Unlike her, he was shirtless in the late-morning light. Jude couldn’t help but take a moment to let her gaze roam freely over his bare chest and arms. A ribbon of wicked tension coiled in her belly as the events of the previous night rolled through her mind in full, hot color. Her face heated, and she hoped he wouldn’t notice. She looked down at her hands, then at a picture on the hallway wall. Get thee behind me, temptation.
“Are you hungry?” Jude struggled to keep her gaze from dipping below his waistband but couldn’t resist a quick glance. She didn’t see the gray band indicating underwear, so either the briefs were riding lower on his hips, or he wasn’t wearing anything under those jeans. Distract yourself.
She took a step backward. “You can wash up. I have washcloths, towels, and I left you a half bucket of water.” She paused. “If you want to shave, there are razors and shaving cream under the sink.”
“Thanks.” Sky ran a hand across the bottom half of his face. “I’ll be glad to get rid of this before I go.”
Before he goes. She pushed that out of her mind and kept talking. “You still only get a half bucket of water. It’s up to you what you want to do with it.” His eyes, she now noticed, weren’t brown like she’d thought, but a beautiful dark blue. He had the kind of looks that sneaked up on a person, with the long lashes, straight nose, and surprisingly full lips that made her want to bite them, again. “I’m going downstairs and rehydrate some stuff to eat. When you come down, you can pick what you want.”
As she walked past him, he touched her arm, a brief brush that set her nerves jangling. Everything about him was now tied to a physical memory. “I want to say I appreciate this. If it weren’t for you, I’d be sleeping in a dirty bathroom somewhere.” Those blue eyes were oh so dreamy and sincere.
“Sure,” she said, touching the spot where his fingers had grazed her arm. “You saved me first, so turnabout, fair play and all...” She let the sentence trail off as she noticed his lips again and scrambled to pick up her train of thought. “So, yeah. Stuff’s in the bathroom. Check out my brother’s closet and come down when you’re ready.” Jude scrambled for the stairs before she did anything foolish.
* * * *
JUDE SAT AT THE DINING room table eating from a plastic bowl full of what resembled gray library paste and reading a book. A few bottles of water and brown paper packets were scattered on the glossy cherry surface. She glanced at him when he sat at the table, then widened her eyes at his new appearance.
“You look so much different!” She dropped her spoon in the plastic dish, a delighted smile curving her mouth. “You look younger.”
Perhaps embarrassed by her outburst, she immediately picked up her spoon and resumed eating. When she spoke again, her voice was politely neutral. “I hope you found everything you needed.”
“I did, thanks.” The packets were instant oatmeal, he realized. He had his choice of cinnamon apple, brown sugar, maple, and plain. “Oatmeal?”
“Instant.” Jude finished her meal, scraping the bowl for the last gluey bits. “This is only the tip of the iceberg, so take what you want. My parents were sort of hoarders. To be fair, they camped too, but mostly they stored food.” She waved her spoon. “Help yourself. Have one, two, or all three.” She chuckled. “They taste pretty much the same.”
Sky chose the brown sugar, because that was his favorite flavor, and poured a half a bottle of water over the grainy powder. He tasted it. It wasn’t half bad, especially since he didn’t have to eat it while looking over his shoulder. Being constantly on the alert for zombies, killers, and thieves could take the enjoyment out of eating.
Jude appeared to be reading but was frowning as if she were thinking of something more serious than the book she was reading. She caught him studying her and raised her eyebrows. “Yes?”
“About last night,” he began.
“Yeah.” She tucked a piece of paper in the book, closed it, and set it on the table. Her expression was thoughtful, if a bit guarded. “It happened. It was nice. Really nice. Maybe we don’t need to, you know, talk about it too much.”
He spooned the tasteless goo into his mouth to give him some time to think. She was right. There wasn’t anything to talk about. He kept eating, ignoring the fact that she was watching him, until the plastic bowl was empty. Then he drank the rest of the water. Now what?
No longer frowning, she let her gaze roam over his face, down to his tattoos, and back up again. “Science teacher, huh? Show me some science.”
“What?” He wasn’t sure what she was talking about.
“Some science! Show me what you taught.” She clasped her hands on the table.
Sky stared at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You’re serious.”
“Yes.” She made a hurry-up gesture with her hands, her corkscrew curls bouncing around her face and neck. “Teach me something about science.”
He racked his brain, recalling the tons of teacher workshops he’d had. “You got a plastic comb, some salt and pepper, a wool coat or sweater?”
She was back in a minute with what he needed and watched eagerly as he poured out the two spices and mixed them together.
Sky brandished the black comb. “Now, with the magic of physics, I’m going to separate the pepper from the salt.” He rubbed the comb on the red wool sweater, then hovered it over the pile of grains. The pepper pieces lifted out of the pile to attach themselves to the comb.
Jude clapped her hands once, her eyes as bright as a child’s. “Ooooo! How does that work? Did you make a magnet? Is pepper metal? Do I sound like a total idiot?”
His face warmed with pride and a little bit of embarrassment at her enthusiasm. If he’d half that type of energy at the workshop, he would have volunteered to present every year. “It’s the principle of positively charged and negatively charged electrons.” He explained to her the bare bones of static electricity, then showed her if he held the comb close enough, it would pick up the salt too. “Lightning is a form of static electricity.”
“Well, I sure learned something today.” Her smile faded a little. “I’d tell you something about history, but I don’t have cool props like you do. Maybe I should have been a science major.”
The glum tone of her voice made him laugh. “It’s fun now, but trying to teach it to a roomful of teenagers? Yeah, not so much.”
Jude gave him a long look. “That’s the magic of teaching. It’s not about what you know, but how you can show others.” She got up from the table. “Let’s go outside. I’ve gotta dump the trash and weed the garden.” She picked up both plastic bowls and dropped them in a blue bucket of water.
“Garden?” He helped her push the sideboard away from the back door.
“That’s right, science teacher. We’re going to study some botany.”
* * * *
THE BACKYARD OF JUDE’S house was nothing he expected. The mainstay of the property was the tall concrete wall that enclosed the backyard. On one side of the house, there was a cast-iron gate guarding the cobblestone driveway, which led to the garage.
Jude’s garden was a medium-sized patch of land containing tomato plants, a tangle of strawberry vines, and what looked like zucchinis. A substantial area was occupied by greenery, which he assumed were some sort of herbs. Tall sunflowers stood in clumps at the end of the row closest to the wall, their brown-and-yellow heads reaching skyward.
Rain-catching cisterns sat to the side of the garage, out of the tree line. A small portion of the lawn appeared to have been hacked down with a scythe or some other bladed instrument. Sky turned in a circle, taking it all in. Given how most survivors were probably living, the gal had it all.
“Jude, this is amazing.”
“It is rather oasis-like, except for the occasional smelly breeze.” She bent down, pulled a few weeds from around a strawberry plant. “It’s safe too. The concrete walls keep people out, and the gate is secure.” She touched the key around her neck.
“It’s very private.”
“Yes.” She threw the bag of trash over her shoulder, waving off his attempts to carry it for her. “Follow me.”
They walked, single file, down the hand-cut path almost to the rear of the property where it divided into two paths. Jude took the left path, and he followed. About twenty feet after the turn was a pit in the ground. Several white garbage bags were already there, and she tossed hers in.
“Today is garbage day.” She brushed her hands together, then crossed her arms, studying the white bags fluttering in the breeze. “Well, any day can be garbage day.”
“What’s down the path that goes to the right?” The sun was high in the sky, and beat down on his head.
“My parents.” She stood very still, her arms locked beneath her breasts, her hands hugging her elbows.
He put his hand on her shoulder, briefly, to offer comfort. Silence stretched between them. Sky let her have a moment, unable to find anything appropriate to say.
Jude hadn’t moved when he touched her, but seemed to pull herself together.
“Let’s go back to the house, Jude,” he said finally. “I gotta get packed and get on the road.” The earlier he started, the more miles he could cover before sunset.
Brushing the hair out of her eyes, she turned to him. “About that.” She started down the path back to the house. “You can stay longer if you can stand the company.” Her words carried back to him over her shoulder. “I’m going to weed the garden now. You can help, or you can sit on the deck.”
“I’ll help.” Sky followed behind her, a feeling of relief loosening the tension in his shoulders. Traveling alone was tough work, and he hadn’t been looking forward to resuming his trek so soon. He watched her push her hair off her neck as she walked, her bare brown arms glistening with perspiration.
When they reached the garden patch, Jude wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “My turn to teach you.” She pointed at a leafy bush. “Those are tomato plants. It’s hard to pull up a tomato plant, because not only are they large, but they also have tomatoes.”
She had several tomato plants with fruit in various sizes dangling from green stems.
“Got it.” He gestured at a group of plants with pointed jagged leaves and fuzzy-looking blossoms, off in their own corner of the garden. Feigning ignorance, he asked, “How about that plant?”
“That?” Jude laughed. “That, my friend, is pot.” She knelt in the soft dirt, pulling more weeds. She glanced up at him, the swell of her lovely breasts exposed. “These weeds aren’t going to pull themselves, teacher.”
* * * *
DONE WITH THE GARDEN and a quick lunch of tomatoes, saltines, and strawberries, he happily accepted the water bottle she offered him. Jude settled onto the dark green sofa next to him. “Next on the agenda is rest after that exhausting yard work.” She winked and pressed her arm against him. “This is how things usually go around here. Not much entertainment.”
“Be right back.” He made a quick dash inside and retrieved the soda and gum from his pack. He offered them to her, pleased at the way her face lit up at the cinnamon gum and doubly gratified at the quick kiss she planted on his mouth.
“Thank you,” she said, unwrapping the pinkish strips. She shoved two pieces in her mouth and chewed. “Jesus, that burns like hell.” Dropping her head on his shoulder, she blew out a cloud of cinnamon-scented breath. “But I like it.”
The ability to close his eyes without being on constant alert was a luxury Sky hadn’t experienced since he beat his zombie roommate with a bat. He put his arm around Jude and leaned back into the cushions. Lucky did not even begin to describe how he felt at this moment.
They sat for a few minutes, not speaking.
“So,” he said by way of conversation. “You’re growing pot.”
Jude opened her big brown eyes. “What?” She blinked. “Continuing my parents’ legacy. My mother grew a lot of medicinal herbs.” A sly smile crept across her face. “You interested in a sample?”
“Maybe.”
“You’re a bad teacher, aren’t you?” She slid off the sofa and fastened her hands around his forearm, pulling him up. “Come with me.”
He followed her back into the house and to the cellar. In a cubbyhole under the stairs, there were shelves lined with dark-colored screw-top jars about six inches tall. Each was labeled with its contents.
The top three shelves held jars of different strains of marijuana.
“I...don’t quite know what to say.” He had never seen so much at one time. What he got came in a little slider bag and was mostly stems. This was professional grade.
“It’s good stuff too.” Jude laughed at the expression on his face. “Don’t look so shocked, teacher. It’s totally scientific, right, like botany?” She pressed her palms together, chest height, in mock prayer. “Please don’t send me to the principal’s office.”
He chuckled a bit. “Not me.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “You smoke?”
Jude let her mouth twist in a wry grin. “Do I look like a pot tease to you?”
“Pot tease. I like that. Especially the fact that you’re not one.”
Jude shut the door. “I have some upstairs that’s ready to go. Wait for me on the deck.”
* * * *
SHE EMERGED FROM THE house with a wooden box. “Grade A stuff, totally organic.”
The joint she extracted was tight and fully packed. Perfect. Jude lit the end, took a huge hit, and passed it to him.
“Cherry,” she managed to say while holding in the smoke.
He took the joint and sucked in the smoke, which hit him like a hammer. He leaned back against the cushions and gave her a lazy grin. “You’re cherry.”
Jude laughed and plopped down next to him on the sofa, not too close. “I mean cherry flavored.” She accepted the joint from him, put it to her lips, and inhaled. “Take it slow, or it’ll fuck you up with a quickness.”
Smoking is good for more than one thing. Sky sprawled on the cushions of the outdoor couch. Any thoughts of zombies and survival had floated away on the easy afternoon breeze.
Eyes closed, Jude tilted her head back and hummed a melody. When it was her turn, Sky nudged her with his forearm and slid the cigarette between her fingers.
Jude sneezed, excused herself, and went into the house. When she reemerged, she tossed a packet of tissues on the table next to the ashtray and sat across his lap.
“I’m back,” she said.
“I see.” The tops of his ears felt as if they were on fire, and his heart thumped so hard he had to look down to be sure it wasn’t jumping out of his chest.
She slid her hand around his neck to tickle the hair at his nape. “Am I invading your personal space?”
“Not enough,” he said, sliding his hand between her jean-clad thighs. “But we have the rest of the night.”
“We do, don’t we?” Using a finger, she drew a slow circle on his neck. “I like you, Sky. But you never told me your origin story.”
“My origin story?” Between the designs she was drawing on his neck, and her lush body in his lap, he was having trouble following her conversation.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Every superhero has one.”
Sky swallowed a chuckle, not knowing if she were serious. “I’m no superhero, baby.”
“Oh, but you are. You saved my life.” She leaned close, until her lips touched his ear. “Baby,” she whispered, sending a thrill through him. His body responded in kind, and his cock began to stiffen under her behind. “Tell me your story.”
He launched into a rambling narrative about hiding out in his apartment, the death of his roommate, and his surprisingly uneventful journey from home to the drugstore where they’d met. In the middle of his story, she laid her head on his shoulder, and her breath puffed against his neck. By the time he wound down, she became so still against him that he thought she’d fallen asleep, so he stopped talking.
She lifted her head, her eyes on the sexy side of sleepy. “Don’t stop. I’m listening. I like hearing the sound of your voice. Why’d you stop in the drugstore?”
When he told her about the soda and the cinnamon gum, she laughed. Her hot exhale against his skin made his nerves hum with tension.
“Our craving for sweets brought us together.” She brought the joint to her lips in slow motion, puffed on it to bring the dying ember to life. “You know, I just realized that I never got any candy out of that.” Another inhale. “I got you. Even though you’re no chocolate bar.” She wiggled on his lap. “You have potential.”
The setting sun striped the heavens with a vivid palette of orange, violet, and pink—a virtual paint box for anyone who cared to look. He stared, fascinated at the beauty of the colors, the end of the joint held in one hand.
“Give me that before you start a fire.” Jude took the joint from him, took one last toke, and stubbed it out in a ceramic ashtray that had seen its share of pot butts. She sat and rested her head in his lap.
He slid his hands into Jude’s prodigious amount of hair, gently rubbing her scalp until she sighed and lifted her head. She kissed him and nuzzled her nose against his face.
“Hi, Sky.” She smelled like strawberries and coconut and cherry marijuana smoke, or in a word, heaven. “You like the weed? It’s nice, right?”
He stroked her hair some more, rolled the tiny curls between his fingers.
“The weed’s wicked, baby, but the company is even better.” Her head was nestled in his lap, and her T-shirt had pulled up to show the satiny skin of her belly. His erection, which had wilted to half-mast when he drifted off, sprang to vivid life again. In his head, he groaned, realizing that despite his readiness, he was too high to do anything.
“You’re thinking so hard I can almost hear you.” Her hand drifted up to pat his face.
The low timbre of her voice vibrated through him, revving him up even more. She has to feel it. She’s right on top of it.
“Relax, Sky.” She gestured at the horizon. “Watch the sunset.”
With a great effort, he tore his gaze from that tempting strip of skin and watched the evening colors fade.
Jude shifted her head on his lap and sighed. “I’m hungry.” She heaved herself up to a sitting, then a standing position, robbing him of her body heat. “Wow,” she said, stretching. “That was something, wasn’t it? How long have we been sitting here?”
“No idea.” His throat was parched, and he wanted to make sure she didn’t fall and crack her skull open, although he wasn’t in the best shape himself. “Let’s go inside.” He stepped behind her through the sliding door that led to the kitchen. “We’ll go out, hit the diner. Maybe get some burgers.”
“Yeah,” she said, disappearing into the dark kitchen. “You’re driving.”