After the End

by Bonnie Dee

  "The water's cold but it feels great," Julie announced. "And everyone else is pretty much finished so you should have it all to yourselves." She smiled and winked at Lila.

  Lila felt her cheeks grow warm and willed herself to stop blushing. There was no shame in having a fling, or whatever she was having with Ari. But she hated everyone knowing and talking about it. It was like being in middle school and having rumors flying through the class before a couple had even finished the note-passing stage of their courtship.

  The pool room was as dim as the rest of the building and the pool itself was an ominous, flat, black sheet. Lila imagined frightening things under that dark surface waiting to grab and pull under anyone foolish enough to dare to enter the water. She shook off her paranoia.

  A few of the others were still in the room. Derrick was helping Ronnie dry her hair, while Gloria put a fresh diaper on Ian. Sondra stood looking at the hot tub and combing her straight, black hair. She brightened and smiled when she saw them—saw Ari, Lila corrected herself. Sondra hadn't been too subtle in her attempts to get close to him over the past few days, asking him specifically to look at her ankle, leaning on him or offering him coffee and coy looks.

  "Hey guys. The water's nice." Sondra took off the towel wrapped around her body to reveal a trim waist and blood red bra and panties that hugged her curves. "Maybe I'll take another dip with you."

  Gloria snapped Ian's onesie and lifted him in her arms. "Sondra, don't be dense. Leave them alone." She gave Lila a pointed look. "Sondra will be rooming with me."

  Good God, even Mrs. Patton knew about their flirtation. Lila was embarrassed but grateful to Gloria for helping her out. She felt more of a connection with the quiet, mourning woman than she had since meeting her as Gloria gave her a brief smile before ushering the others from the room. Sondra pouted but went with her leaving Lila and Ari alone in the empty, echoing pool room with not even the hum of a pump to disturb the quiet.

  Ari took off his shoes and socks and tested the water with one foot. "Well…I guess people have, uh, some expectations about us."

  "Guess so." Lila played with the hem of her tank top, not quite ready to pull it off in front of him. "Wonder where they got those ideas."

  He smiled. "Are they wrong?"

  She shrugged and played it loose. "Time will tell." Flirting was not her thing. She felt silly indulging in this kind of banter, but she could hardly come straight out with "Yeah, I fully expect to sleep with you tonight and screw your brains out."

  Then Ari stripped his shirt off and tossed it aside and Lila's heart stopped for a second. Damn, his body was fine, muscles upon muscles that made her appreciate what the U.S. Army could do to a man other than turn him into a killing machine. Without hesitation he undid his fly and took off his pants leaving him clad in a close-fitting pair of boxer briefs.

  Lila swallowed. Enough girlish wavering about showing a little skin. She took off her shoes, her top and shimmied out of her jeans. Her bra and underpants were mismatched and modest, unlike Sondra's scanty set. Every naked bit of her flesh burned as if she had a fever as Ari swept a glance up and down her body. She hadn't felt this way around Doyle in longer than she could remember. Maybe it was because Ari was practically a stranger, someone new and sexy and very different from the guys she'd dated in the past. Maybe it was the situation they were in or maybe it was simply him. But Lila was so hot she thought she'd spontaneously combust and she felt dizzy. If he grabbed her and tossed her down right there on the tile floor beside the pool, she'd have had her legs around his back faster than Jesus Christ turned water into wine.

  But instead of turning toward her, Ari dove into the pool, cutting cleanly through the water and swimming with steady strokes toward the shallow end. Lila followed his example, dousing her overheated libido in the chilly water. It was a wonder steam didn't rise.

  Taking a lap and a half back and forth across the pool, cleared her head and calmed her down. She emerged, dripping, in the shallow end and sat on the steps to watch Ari swim a few more laps.

  At last he surfaced. Crouching in the shallow water by her feet, he looked up at her. "So, you never answered the question you asked me. What would you be doing on a normal Friday night?"

  "This," she said. "Sneaking into a hotel pool and swimming."

  "You and your boyfriend did a lot of that?"

  "Absolutely." She smiled then sobered a little, reflecting on Doyle, their relationship, and where he might be now. "No. Doyle and I weren't what you'd call an exciting couple but we were content. Happy even, I think. For a while. There just wasn't anything keeping us together any more."

  "I'm sorry." Ari moved closer, climbing out of the water to sit beside her on the steps. "I know you're worried about him."

  "We're all worried about someone." She shrugged. "But let's not think of that right now."

  He took hold of her wrist, his thumb stroking over the pulse point. "No. Let's think about... getting you back in the water." He suddenly lunged backward into the pool and pulled her with him. They grappled and splashed and laughed as she fought him off. He pulled her into his arms and dragged her over into deeper water. She clung to him to keep from going under.

  And then he was kissing her, his lips cool and wet from the water, but warm underneath. Her mouth opened to the pressure and her tongue darted out to swirl around his. She gripped his slippery wet shoulders and held on, skin sliding over skin. The water might be cool but heat pulsed between her legs with every beat of her heart.

  Suspended in the water but supported by Ari's arms, Lila felt safer and lighter than she had in days. The bobbed there, kissing and holding one another until he miss-stepped and they both plunged under and rose, sputtering.

  Coughing and laughing, he rasped, "Are we done swimming now?"

  "I think so." Lila backstroked into shallower water, and he followed.

  They climbed out of the pool and found a couple of thin hotel towels on one of the deck chairs. Wrapped in the rough fabric, Lila scooped her clothes and shoes from the floor. She glanced at Ari also gathering his clothes. When he straightened, the damp towel around his waist molded against his groin, giving a nice view of the bulge she'd felt pressing against her in the pool. The gooseflesh popping out on her arms had little to do with being chilled from swimming.

  Ari walked over to her and her breathing went shallow. She licked her lips, prepared for more kissing, but he merely slipped an arm around her waist and guided her from the room.

  Passing the lobby, Lila glanced toward the front windows where Deb and Julie kept watch. The two women leaned toward each other, talking earnestly. She thought about what Deb had told her about their commitment ceremony and their plan to adopt. There might be a lot of orphaned children needing homes by the time this situation was resolved—assuming it ever was.

  Ari went to the room Deb had assigned him and unlocked the door for Lila to enter. This time her shiver was nerves more than lust. There'd been too many new rooms containing too many horrible surprises for her to feel comfortable entering a dark bedroom.

  Ari went to the window to make sure the drapes were completely closed before turning on his flashlight to guide her way. The room was stuffy and smelled faintly of cigarettes even though they were in the non-smoking area.

  "Sorry there are no candles to make it a little more romantic." He glanced ruefully around the standard bland motel room.

  "After the places we've slept the last few nights, this is heaven," Lila assured him as she went over to one of the two queen-sized beds and pulled back the covers. Her heart was tripping along in a much more pleasant way than when zombies were chasing her. She was a little nervous, but an excited, happy kind of nervous.

  She dropped her wet towel to the floor and combed her fingers through her damp hair, trying to smooth it out a little. It was tangled mess, but it felt so good to be at least a little cleaner.

  "Leave it. You look fine." Ari's husky voice sent a renewed flush of heat through her. He cast
aside his towel and walked toward her, all lean muscle and naked skin, the gray briefs leaving little to the imagination. He pulled her to him with enough force to startle a gasp from her.

  Lila's arms went around him. She slid her hands up his smooth, warm back and curved one hand around the back of his shorn head. Had she scoffed at his military crew cut when she'd first seen him on the subway train? The soft stubble of hair felt sexy as hell scraping her palm, the hard skull underneath, solid. She tipped her head back and her eyes fell closed as his breath brushed her lips, and then his mouth sealed over hers drawing her into a deep, exploring kiss.

  For long minutes, they kissed, hands roaming, desperate to feel every part of each other. He unfastened her bra and she took it off. His mouth descended on her breasts, sending waves of shimmering heat through her. Then he bore her down to the bed, pinning her beneath him. She loved the feel of his weight on top of her. It made her feel secure, safe, grounded in reality at last.

  He broke off their kiss at last, gasping for air. "I've wanted this for so long."

  "Me, too," she panted. Not that "so long" had been very long. As real time was measured, they'd only known each other a few days, but it seemed like years. Nothing like a monumental crisis to break down barriers and bring people close real fast. Which was kind of a sad commentary on how people interacted with each on a daily basis, always maintaining their distance.

  Ari rocked a little, pressing his hardness into her. Lila lifted her ass and pulled at her underwear, trying to get free of it. Awkward and laughing, they struggled out of the last of their clothes then crawled, shivering under the covers, seeking one another's warmth.

  "A real bed. My God, this feels good, and so do you," he flirted.

  "Mm. Maybe we should just curl up and fall asleep."

  "Uh, I don't think so."

  "No," she agreed, and grabbed his ass, pulling him to her once more and wrapping her legs around him. "Like my mom always said, 'You'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead.'"

  * * * * *

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ari's body quivered, the muscles in his arms and back shaking, but not in the "my God, I just decapitated a woman I know" kind of way. He was exhausted in a good way, all the tension drained out of him. He fell back onto the bed beside Lila and stared up at the smoke detector on the ceiling. "That was…"

  "Not bad," she completed.

  He grinned at the understatement, shot a sideways look at her smug smile and began to laugh. Damn, he'd forgotten what laughter felt like.

  She laughed, too, and snuggled up against his side, all soft curves and warm skin. He loved the way she felt and the contented sound of her breathing. He really liked her wit and sense of humor and the way he could count on her to stay calm in a crisis. There was no woman he'd rather be with right now, including sexy Sondra, who'd let her interest in him be known numerous times. That empty-headed wench had nothing on Lila.

  After everything that had happened that day, he should've been tired, but he was feeling too much of an endorphin rush to fall asleep immediately. He rose from the bed. "Want something? Water, lukewarm soda, room temperature tea?"

  "If there's any bottled water left, that'd be great." She yawned and stretched, raising her arms above her head and making her chest move in interesting ways that distracted him for a few moments.

  "Um, right. Water." He reached in his backpack and pulled out a half full bottle, all he had left. He took a small sip and gave the rest to Lila.

  "Thanks."

  He noticed she only drank a little, too, carefully conserving what was left before capping the bottle and setting it on the nightstand.

  "I should be sleepy, but I'm not. Let's see what's on." She picked up the TV remote and pointed it toward the dead television. "Ah, Gilligan's Island. The world ends and Gilligan's still broadcasting somewhere out there in the cosmos. Gives me a real sense of continuity."

  Ari smiled and slipped into bed beside her, propping up a pillow behind his back.

  Lila scooted over so her head rested on his chest and continued to stare at the blank face of the television. "Ginger or Maryann?"

  "If I say both, you'll think I'm a dog, so Maryann, of course," he replied and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Professor or Gilligan? Or Skipper?"

  "Maryann," she replied without missing a beat. "I'd join Deb and Julie's team if I had to live on that island. It's so obvious men made this show. There are no male hotties for women viewers to ogle."

  "I've seen this episode. They try to make a raft made out of bamboo and cocoanuts. Give me that." Ari seized the remote from her and pretended to change the channel. "That's better."

  "W.W.F.? Nascar? Basketball? I can't quite see. The reception's terrible."

  "Sports. Is that all you think I'm about?" he asked. "This is the History Channel. Tombs of the Pharaohs."

  "Mm. Interesting. But I've had enough of dead bodies and dying civilizations lately. Turn it to something lighter. Maybe just cartoons."

  "Classic or modern? We've got Bugs on one channel and Adult Swim on Cartoon Network."

  "If its the one where Bugs sings opera and carries Yosemite Sam up to Valhalla, leave it there for a while." She fell silent, rubbing her hand in idle circles on his bare stomach, making it twitch. Pretty soon Ari forgot about watching pretend TV in favor of more interesting entertainment. He reached for Lila again and found he had more energy left than he'd thought.

  * * * * *

  Ari woke to a pounding on the door. He jerked upright, knocking Lila's arm off him. "What?"

  "Hey, wake up," Derrick's muffled voice came through the door. "We've got visitors. Living ones."

  "Okay. I'll be right there." He scrambled out of bed to get dressed, hating the feel of the stiff, blood-stained shirt, but he had nothing clean to wear. He glanced at Lila, who'd also sprung up and was searching for her underwear. A pang of sharp regret stabbed through him that their breathing space had been so brief. He wished they could've at least stayed undisturbed till morning. Hell, he wished they could've had a full week of doing nothing but lying around in this bed, watching make believe TV, and having sex and bonbons.

  He laced his shoe then rose and looked at Lila, zipping her jeans. Newcomers brought all sorts of changes. These might be their last few moments alone together. Who knew what the next day would bring. He went over to her and drew her close, cupping her cheek in one hand and giving her a kiss that might be for goodbye. When he pulled away, he said, "I'm glad we..."

  "Me, too. Very glad." Her hand was cool and soft on the side of his face for a second and then he had to step away.

  "I'm going to get going. Don't feel like you have to hurry." Ari took a deep breath before opening the door.

  Derrick waited for him in the hall. He jerked his thumb toward the lobby. "They're waiting with Joe. Two guys. They saw light in here and came to check it out."

  So much for being careful. But it only took one small, moving light, maybe no bigger than the tip of one of Deb's cigarettes, and a single pair of eyes to see it to signal there were living people in the motel.

  "Why're you up? I thought it was Joe's watch?" he said.

  Derrick shrugged. "It's almost morning anyway, and I couldn't sleep any more. I'm too hungry." He nodded toward the door Ari had closed behind him. "So, Lila. Did you tap that?"

  "Shut up, you little perv. None of your business." He strode ahead of Derrick to the lobby where Joe stood talking to the two men, who looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties. They were fit and athletic, the kind of guys Ari needed to help strengthen his group. He wouldn't mind traveling with them, unless they had an agenda of their own.

  They looked up as he approached. Joe's habitually gloomy face was more cheerful than Ari had ever seen it. "Ari, this is Walter Marsh and Taishawn Streeter."

  "Hi." Marsh was a stocky, boulder of a man, who looked like he could bench press Gloria Patton and then some. "Saw your lights. Thought we'd come over and say 'how
dy'. You should really tell your people to keep blackout at night. Even a little light can be dangerous."

  Ari's hackles rose at the man's condescending tone, but he didn't bother to explain he'd already given that order. Instead, he nodded and shook Marsh's hand and then Streeter's. "I'm Ari Brenner."

  "Taishawn. How you doin'?" If Marsh looked like a weight lifter or wrestler, his buddy had the appearance of a long distance runner. Streeter was a tall, long-limbed black man with hair shaved even closer than Ari's. "Your man Joe here says you got a whole party you're trying to move all the way to the river."

  Ari nodded. "Ten of us altogether."

  "Eleven counting the baby," Derrick added helpfully.

  "Shit. That's a big group. Lucky you made it this many days."

  "We lost a few on the way," Ari said, thinking of Ann's quivering white tennis shoe and Mrs. Scheider's last painful breath. "But we're doing okay."

  "That's tough," Marsh folded his arms and nodded. "We had a bigger group when we started out, too. We were at Colossus, working out when things started happening."

  "Did you guys already know each other?" Joe asked.

  "Not really. Just casual acquaintance at the gym."

  "You buddy up fast when shit like this hits," Streeter said. "Marsh here's got a plan. He can fly helicopters. We're on our way to the Sanilac building. They've got a corporate helipad on the roof. You could come with us."

  "That's a great idea!" Derrick said.

  "I think we're closer to the marina," Ari pointed out. He knew the office building the men were talking about and tried to calculate the number of blocks there, as well as the difficulty of climbing all the way to the top. It was hard to know whether the marina or the office building posed more dangers.