by Roberts, EM
She livened things up a bit when she broke into a popular rock song. Surprisingly, most of the group knew it, and Roe even convinced Carlos to dance with her. The two twisted their hips and laughed as they danced about the room. Ella’s father sat in his rocking chair and took in the scene with a smile on his lined face.
After the song, they made their way into the kitchen for dinner. There, her father bowed his head and prayed:
Thank ya Lord for this food we are about to receive. Bless Jackie, who provided
us with this meat. Bless Ava, Roe and Ella who washed our clothes today. Bless
Dean and Austin who risked their lives to find us some more gas for the generator.
Bless little Carly, who always makes us smile and who helped do the dishes today.
Bless Carlos and Margie for standing guard over the property today. Bless our new
addition, Griff, fer the supplies he has donated to us. Please look over all of the other
survivors out in the world and help them get through this event. We thank ya for
giving us our lives and for allowing us all to meet and come together. In yer name,
we pray, Amen.
After the prayer ended, the group made their way to the side buffet where the food waited. Theo had modified the kitchen after Jackie, Ava, and Austin had joined the group. He’d built a buffet into the wall where food could be placed, and he’d fashioned a table that would seat ten people. Ella had rustled up an extra chair for their new arrival. Tonight, the table was a little crowded with the extra person, but they all still fit.
The menu consisted of roast venison, green beans, mashed potatoes, and homemade biscuits. The venison had cooked outdoors on a smoker all day, but the biscuits Ella had made in the oven. The stove was a gas stove connected to the propane tank outside, but the oven wouldn’t run without electricity and that meant using the generator. The farm had two generators, one her father had already owned and another Jackie had confiscated from the local nursing home. They only ran the generators when they had to because of the gas it took to power them. Also, they’d noticed the noise from the generators attracted the infected. There were a lot of things they did to conserve energy. Her father’s mentality was Waste Not, Want Not.
They used large plastic barrels to collect rainwater for washing clothes and washing themselves. They wouldn’t waste the gas using the automated washing machine or the dryer. They had a well on the property, but her father wanted them to conserve water, and catching rainwater was one way of doing that. In addition to that, two days a week were designated shower days, and once a week was clothes washing day. Both she and Ella had become accustomed to wearing the same clothes more than once. These were the rules her father expected visitors to follow.
Trash was sorted. What could be burned was put in a burn pile, and what could be used as compost was placed in the homemade composting unit. Anything that could be recycled or used again was saved. Ella’s father was very set in his ways, and he’d done a lot of recycling and green living even before the outbreak. Anything that could be done to conserve the gas or water, he would take advantage of. Theo Johnson had grown up with eight brothers and four sisters. He knew how to conserve and make due. He wasn’t used to anything fancy or complicated. He knew what he could live with and what he could live without. His experience worked to everyone’s advantage.
“Who’s on guard tonight?” Dean asked as he helped clear the table.
Ella glanced at the chart on the wall behind her. So much for that good night’s rest. She’d forgotten it was her turn to take the night shift detail. There were two people on watch at all times. One in the front and one in the back of the property. Lately, they’d been a little lax by letting everyone come in for supper at the same time. She probably needed to put a stop to that. It didn’t pay to be careless. Carelessness lost lives.
“Well, Dean, it looks like you can sleep in. It’s mine and Austin’s turn tonight,” she said making her way across the room and depositing her dishes in the sink. She was glad it wasn’t her turn at the dishes tonight. She’d rather stay awake all night than do dishes.
“But, have fun with the dishes, now,” she told him as she sailed by and climbed the stairs. It was the end of April and still a little chilly at night, so she needed to grab a coat.
A little while later, she sat in the lookout stand her father and Jackie had built. Jackie got the idea from a deer stand he’d used on his own property. The small, wooden shack sat about ten feet off of the ground and was very sturdy. There was enough room for maybe two people in it. There were windows on all sides, so Ella had a good view of the front of the property. She heard the murmur of voices inside the house. A couple of windows gave off the soft glow of candle and kerosene lanterns. Those would soon go out. Her father required that all of his guests turn the lights out by midnight. Early to bed, early to rise was his motto.
It was a starry, clear night, and with the moon out, she could see quite well in the distance. She had a bottle of water, a pair of binoculars with night vision (courtesy of Jackie), a walkie talkie, and a flashlight with her. Of course, she also had a shotgun, a pistol, and a knife. If only one infected person came around the fence, Ella would and had ordered the sentries to ignore it. If more than three or four came around, then she’d call the house, and they’d deal with it. This had only happened a couple of times.
Her main worry was the living, uninfected people. There’d been several times when people had tried to sneak in. Anytime this had happened, it was usually because the person or persons wanted to cause trouble. One of those had resulted in the death of a sentry, a young man named Russ. Instead of calling for help, he’d tried to stop the intruder on his own. After hearing the gunshot, Ella and father had come out, weapons drawn. They’d frightened the intruder away, but Russ was killed in the skirmish.
“Hey," a voice came from the bottom of the shack. Ella jumped. She hadn’t been expecting anyone. Sometimes, Roe would come out and join her, and they’d gab for a few minutes, but she hadn’t been expecting anyone tonight.
Ella looked down and groaned. Of course, it was Dean. Who else would come out here to see if she was doing her job? The man lived to annoy her.
“What?” she whispered, fiercely.
“I brought you a cup of coffee. There was something I wanted to talk about. Can I come up?” he asked, holding out the coffee cup enticingly.
“Yeah, but only because I can smell the coffee from here,” she replied inhaling the aroma of French roast, her favorite.
She heard the groan of the small ladder as Dean climbed, one handing holding the coffee, the other gripping the rungs.
He ducked into the small room, and took a seat on the bench beside of her. She scooted over a bit to the edge. He made her a little uncomfortable with his proximity.
“So, um, here’s the coffee. I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been thinking that we should make another trip for supplies sooner rather than later, and I wanted to volunteer.” he said, handing the mug to her.
She wondered why he wanted to go on a trip that could possibly be dangerous. Or was it this was his way of trying to gain power with the rest of the group? He always wanted to be in charge of everything. This was her father’s farm, hers someday. Could the man not understand and respect that? Just because there were no authorities didn’t mean people could just do and take what they wanted.
“We’ll be going soon. But, not to Knoxville. I went there, and it was rubble. I salvaged a few things. I guess when the bombing occurred, the U.N. thought it would control some of the outbreak, but there were still a lot of the infected there. Roaming around, missing limbs, dragging themselves. I barely got out of there alive,” she replied, remembering the horror of that day and shuddering.
“Yeah, I left before they evacuated the city. I went to take care of my mother and father in North Carolina. They both died from the virus. After that, I returned this way and skirted around Knoxville. I saw the sign your fathe
r put on the billboard outside of town and thought why not? I confess I was worried you guys might be luring me out here to eat me or do away with me. But, in the end, it turned out okay,” he smiled. Jeez, she thought, even his teeth were perfect! They literally glowed in the darkness.
“So, were you married?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee and sighing in satisfaction.
“Yeah, but it got to the point where I hated her and she hated me,” he replied.
Ella swallowed and cleared her throat. What was she supposed to say to that?
“Oh my God,” he laughed, “You ought to see your face. I’m just being honest. We got divorced a couple of years ago. No kids, thank God.”
“Anyway, getting back to this plan of yours,” she stated, taking the last swallow of her coffee, "I guess we can go next week. I’ll see if Jackie wants to go with us. Maybe we’ll hit I-40 West towards Nashville and see what we can find.”
“You know,” he said, “When I first met Jackie, I thought he was the biggest redneck I’d ever met. He still is, but he’s a good guy who knows his shit,” Dean said, surprising her with his admiration for Jackie.
She nodded her head in agreement. Jackie was a redneck, but he was a good guy.
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll head back now,” he said starting to stand.
“Oww,” she cried as he stepped on her foot. Startled, he leaned down to see what was happening at the same time she leaned over. Their heads smacked together. Ella saw stars…This scene was straight out of a movie.
“For fuck’s sake, Dean. Not only did you crush my foot with all your bigness, you probably gave me a concussion with your big ass head,” she hissed, rubbing her scalp.
He squatted in front of her. He grabbed the hand rubbing her scalp and replaced it with his own. His fingers probed the area of her injury.
“God, I’m sorry. You do have a knot there, but I doubt you have a concussion, and I doubt my so called bigness crushed that giant foot of yours,” he said teasingly.
She looked into his bright blue eyes and a strange thing happened. She felt attraction. A fierce, she wanted to suck his face, kind of attraction. She thought she might vomit in her mouth. She could not, in any way, shape, or form harbor any kind of attraction for this man. He was cocky, conceited, and bossy--all the things she detested in a man.
“Ella, you okay? You’re not going to punch me, are you? Because if you are...punch me for this,” he said as he grabbed the back of her head and pressed his lips to hers.
Umm, Ella thought, as he kissed her deep and long. It felt so good to be in a man’s arms and to feel his mouth on hers. She could feel herself getting wet just from the kiss. He slid his tongue into her mouth and played with her own. She gave it back to him. What the fuck was she doing? She didn’t even like this man.
“I don’t even like you,” she murmured in between kisses. She needed to stop this. She’d convinced herself she didn’t miss this. But she did, oh yes, she did miss this.
“I know you say you don’t like me,” he replied, sliding his hand under her shirt and up to her bra.
“Seriously, you’re an asshole,” she whispered, licking the side of his neck. He tasted a little sweaty, and for some odd reason that made her super hot.
She grabbed his sweatshirt and yanked it off. Pushing him back onto the floor of the shack, she shed her own shirt and bra. She leaned over him, her hair falling around his face and onto his chest. For someone who’d only been with two other men, she was suddenly feeling brazen and confident of herself.
“I love your hair,” he muttered, “It was the first thing I noticed about you.”
She leaned down and kissed him, relishing the feel of her breasts on his naked chest. He ran his hands down her back and gripped the cheeks of her ass. She moaned. That felt so good.
“And, of course, I noticed your tight, round ass,” he smiled as he squeezed it again.
“Like, I said, you’re an asshole. Of course, you would notice my ass. Never mind the fact that I’m smart, funny, and kind. But, I won’t lie, I did notice your smoking hot body,” she replied grudgingly. It wouldn’t hurt, would it, to simply let go this one time?
She continued to kiss him and nibble on his ear and neck while he rubbed her back and massaged her ass.
“So, do you wanna fuck or what?” he asked bluntly.
She rolled her eyes. It was going too good to be true. Maybe she should just tell him to not talk because he really did annoy her when he talked. But what did she expect? Romance and flowers? She’d just told the man she didn’t like him.
“Yeah, I wanna, but this doesn’t change anything. This is simple sex.” She wanted to be clear on that. The last thing she needed was him trying to use sex against her.
She stood and unzipped her pants, kicking them off. She glanced out each of the windows to make sure that nothing was happening. As she was doing this, Dean peeled off his pajamas and boxer shorts. She grabbed the flashlight and turned it on smiling in satisfaction at the size of his erection.
“What are you doing?” he asked, shielding his eyes.
“I want to see you without clothes. Nice, very nice,” she whispered as she came over to him. Was she sure she wanted to do this? No--Yes, she needed to do it.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked, catching a nipple in his mouth and sucking.
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to go down on you,” he said, pushing her to the floor and moving her legs apart.
She’d only received oral sex from one man and had only slept with a total of two. She wouldn’t lie or play coy; she’d really enjoyed it with the other man. If Dean wanted to give her that pleasure, she wasn’t going to resist. Some of her friends had complained their husbands only did that special activity when they wanted the favor returned. Then, the women complained, it was grudgingly given. Dean seemed excited about the prospect.
She felt his tongue slide over her clitoris. It felt so good. He licked some more, sucking on it lightly. He lifted his head and rubbed her clit with his finger.
“Baby, you are so wet. You sure you hate me?” he whispered, sliding a finger inside of her.
“Umm, yeah, umm, I hate you so much,” she murmured, sliding her fingers through his hair. She meant it. She hated the fact that it was he, cocky Dean, who was making her feel so good--so alive.
“I like the way you taste,” he said as he lowered his head and licked again. She wondered if that were true or if that was simply something men said to try and please women.
Ella felt ashamed. How could she have sex with this man when she really didn’t like him? When there people just a few hundred feet away, especially her father? But, what he was doing felt incredible. The other two guys she’d had sex with had been men she really cared about and admired. She didn’t love them, but she’d at least liked them. She couldn’t say the same for Dean, but the talent of his tongue overrode her dislike of him.
He pumped his fingers in and out of her as he licked her clit, causing her to squirm and move her hips in a rhythmic motion. Her heart felt like it was about to burst through her chest. The pleasure was so intense. She didn’t want to orgasm just yet. She wanted to make it last a little longer.
“Okay, okay,” she whispered, out of breath. She pulled him up.
“I suppose I need to return the favor,” she said as she grabbed his engorged cock and started stroking it.
“No, I just want to shove my dick inside of you,” he growled, impatiently.
“That sounds good,” she replied breathlessly.
“How do you want it?” he asked his eyes on hers.
“Doggie style,” she replied as she grabbed his sweatshirt and knelt on it. She didn’t want splinters in her knees. At least, she could think somewhat coherently enough to worry about the ramification of getting fucked on an unfinished wood floor.
He leaned behind her, and guided his cock into her. She thought she might die from the feel of it. It felt so damned good.
“Oh my fucking god,” he whispered, “Your pussy is so tight. It feels so good.”
“Just fuck me already,” she commanded. She didn’t need any pretty words or conversation.
He pumped in and out, grunting with the pleasure of it. She was so close to an orgasm. The feel of his cock inside of her was amazing.
“Squeeze my ass again,” she commanded, gasping as he thrust deeply into her.
He complied with her request and went a step farther and smacked it, the slight sting from his hand feeling good against her bare skin. She could hear his balls slapping her ass as he fucked her, and it felt so dirty and hot. Never in a million years, did she imagine she would ever act like this. What in the world was wrong with her?
“Baby, I’m about to come, so if you’re gonna get off, do it soon,” he instructed, panting as he continued thrusting.
“Fuck me harder and deeper,” she moaned.
With one hand, he grabbed her hair, and with the other he grabbed her shoulder. He rutted her pussy hard and fast just as she’d requested. She exploded and couldn’t breathe for a minute. She thought she might pass out from the strength of her orgasm. It’d been so long, and she’d never quite had an orgasm like that before.
“Don’t cum in me,” she cried wildly, remembering she wasn’t on the pill.
He jerked his cock out and sprayed the warm, hot fluid on her back, grunting as he did so. She knelt there for another minute as he used his boxers to wipe the semen from her back. When he was finished, she dressed quickly and turned around to face him. She knew it wasn’t a foolproof method of birth control, but she had been so caught up in the moment, she hadn’t even thought of the consequences. Maybe, the next time she was out, she would find some condoms or other emergency contraceptives.
“Okay, then. You’d better get back to the house and get some sleep.” She didn’t know what else to say. The man had just given her the most mind blowing orgasm of her life. What was she supposed to do? Thank him?