Smiling, Lori nodded in understanding.
We both blushed. Neither of us spoke for a minute.
“You know what’s weird?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“Hmm?”
“Every morning, I still wake up and look at the alarm clock. But, of course, it doesn’t work. I should just throw it out.”
I laughed. “I do that too, sometimes. A few days ago, I was dreaming about life before the rain. When I woke up, I thought I was late for work. Jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes and shoes, and then it hit me. There is no more work. The video store is gone. It really bummed me out. Never thought I’d say this, but I actually miss work.”
“I don’t. College maybe, but not work. I miss television—and music, too.”
“Yeah,” I said. “There’s a lot of good movies they were in the process of making that we’ll never get to see. The third Star Wars, and the remake of High Plains Drifter. It’s just so weird that they’ll never be seen by anyone.”
“I know what you mean.” She snuggled closer. Her breasts brushed against my forearm. Her nipples were erect and I felt myself harden in response.
We grew quiet again, lost in our own thoughts. She felt so warm beside me. I could have happily stayed there all day.
“You know what else I miss?” She said it so quietly that I almost didn’t hear her.
“What’s that?”
“The sun. I miss waking up and feeling it on my face when it comes through the window, and hearing birds singing outside. The only birds I ever hear now are those damn seagulls.”
“Yeah. Sometimes I can’t remember what the sun felt like. You know what I mean?”
“Mm-hmm.” She stretched again, and as she yawned, the sheet slid down an inch, revealing the dark triangle between her legs. I stiffened even more.
“Lori, about last night…” My voice was thick.
She pressed a finger against my lips. “Don’t say it, Kevin. Don’t say anything. You needed someone. I wanted to be that someone. Neither of us has to explain it or make excuses for it. What happened is what happened.”
I grinned. “Does that mean it can’t happen again?”
Giggling, we disappeared beneath the covers.
Later, I figured we’d go to breakfast together, but Lori went back to her room instead, saying that she wanted to fix herself up. I accepted with a smile and a kiss, but after she left, I wondered if she didn’t want the others to see us together.
Even in a post-apocalyptic world, women were still women, and I still didn’t fucking understand them. Some things don’t change, despite the weather.
The hotel’s restaurant and kitchen on the lower floors were both underwater, so we’d converted one room on the twentieth floor into a galley. When I walked in, Anna and Sarah were hard at work making breakfast, and Juan, Nate, Lee, Mike, and Mindy were already eating. I pulled up a chair and joined them.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Anna said. “Late night?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Juan, Nate, and Lee chuckled. Lee elbowed Juan in the ribs and shoved some bacon into his mouth.
I wondered where the bacon had come from, but before I could ask, Mike interrupted.
“I know so.” He grinned. “Mindy and I heard you guys all night. Hard to sleep with all that racket.”
“Mike! Stop it.” Mindy elbowed him in the ribs, making him wince. She turned to me and said, “My apologies, Kevin. Mike’s being an asshole this morning.”
I felt my ears turning red.
“Sorry,” Mike chuckled, glancing warily at her elbow, poised for another jab. “It’s cool, Kevin. We’re happy for you guys. About time, too. Nice to see that Louis and Christian and the two of us aren’t the only couples.”
Lee sipped his coffee. “Don’t forget the Taz-Ducky-Lashawn triangle.”
“That whole thing’s messed up,” Mindy snorted. “One of these days, Taz is going to figure it out, and Ducky and Lashawn are going to have some serious explaining to do.”
Sarah stirred a pot on the stove. “It’s like a postapocalyptic soap opera.”
“I hope not,” Lee groaned. “It takes a year to resolve the plotlines on those things.”
“If you hadn’t made a play for Lori,” Nate told me, “I would have. Was getting ready to, in fact. You beat me to it.”
“Shit,” Juan muttered. He sipped weak green tea from a recycled and reused tea bag. “I think you’re a little older than what Lori’s looking for, Nate.”
“I’m sorry about Jimmy.” Sarah sat a bowl down in front of me, along with a chipped ceramic mug of instant coffee. “He was a good guy. We’re all going to miss him. He made me laugh.”
“Thanks,” I said simply. I didn’t know what else to say. The lump was back in my throat again. It felt strange not having Jimmy sitting there with us. By now, he’d have been razzing Nate and flirting with Sarah.
I stared at my breakfast—fish stew with a few sparse chunks of potato, one strip of bacon, and some of the canned corn that I’d brought back the day before.
“Where did the bacon come from?” I asked.
Sarah sat down at the table. “Louis hooked a Styrofoam cooler yesterday while he was fishing. Inside was some bacon packed in dry ice and a few cans of soda. The bacon was still good, so enjoy it.”
Lee smirked. “If it really is bacon.”
“Well what else would it be?” Anna asked.
“Maybe you and Sarah are feeding us long pig.”
Anna frowned. “Long pig?”
“That’s what the cannibals used to call the white settlers that they ate.”
Anna made a disgusted face. “That’s sick.”
The others laughed.
I glanced around. “Where are Christian and Louis?”
“I sent them out for salvage duty,” Juan said, mopping up his broth with a cracker. “I figured you might want to take a break today. I hate to ask, but I don’t guess you saw Jimmy’s boat yesterday, did you?”
“Nope, just his—well, you know. His head.”
He chewed his lip. “That’s what I was afraid of. Now we’re down to one boat. We’ll have to see what we can put together.”
Lee stood up. “Well, I’ve got to get started with the kids. You ready, Mindy?”
“Yep!” She stood up and gave Mike a quick peck on the cheek. Then she and Lee left in search of Danielle, James, and Malik. Poor kids. I felt sorry for them. End of the world, and they still had to go to school every day. Lee had set up a classroom in one of the hotel suites and Mindy helped him out. When Anna wasn’t cooking, she’d join them as well.
Nate pushed his bowl away and turned to Juan. “Where do you want me today?”
“I want you on watch duty, actually.”
“Watch? Come on, man. We’ve got Taz, Ducky, Lashawn, and Salty on the roof already, hunting and fishing. Do we really need someone else up there on guard duty?”
Juan took his time finishing his coffee before he answered. He sat the mug back down and gazed into it. “After what happened to Jimmy? Yes, I think we do.”
Nate stared at him for a moment. Then, without a word, he left the room and headed for the roof.
“Prick,” Juan muttered.
I cleared my throat. “What would you like me to do, since Louis and Christian went salvaging?”
“Take the day off. Relax. Don’t do anything at all. Shit, Kevin, your best friend was killed yesterday and you’re the one who found him. I think everybody will understand if you need some time off for a few days.”
“No offense, Juan, but that’s the last thing I want to do. I need something to keep my mind off of it.”