Dust and Kisses

by Smith, Dean Wesley

  But Matt’s apartment was another matter, and she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was, other than Matt himself. She just felt safe and comfortable with him, and he made her feel completely welcome in his home in his every move.

  The first bag of popcorn had just finished when the elevator door opened and Matt came out carrying a movie. He locked up the elevator again as she put in the second bag.

  “I love the smell of that stuff,” he said, flipping the DVD onto the counter in front of her.

  She picked it up and then smiled at him, not believing that he had picked one of her favorite old movies. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, in Roman Holiday. A movie about two people meeting and escaping from their real lives to fall in love. She loved this old movie and, almost as much, the modern remake called Notting Hill staring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.

  “That all right?” he asked, grabbing a bottle of pop and opening it, smelling to make sure it hadn’t spoiled over the years. “You did say escapism and classic remember?”

  She laughed. “It’s one of my favorite movies. I could watch it over and over. And have. And would love to do so again tonight.”

  “It’s one of my favorites as well,” he said, starting toward the living area with two glasses of pop. “Bring the movie and the popcorn.”

  She did as she was told, putting the popcorn on the coffee table in front of the couch, right beside where he had put the two glasses. He took the movie and indicated she should get comfortable on the couch.

  The sofa was as soft and inviting as it looked, and she sank into it with a sigh.

  “It’s been an amazing day, hasn’t it?” he said as he put the movie into the player and then moved to dim the lights.

  “It has,” she said, watching him come toward her. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” he asked, sitting on the couch beside her and picking up the remote.

  “For everything,” she said, not really knowing what to say or how to say it. “For trusting me, inviting me into your home, giving me a chance to see there might be a possible future for all of us left.”

  “After three years alone,” he said, turning to look into her eyes, “I’m finding it hard to grasp that I might not have to be alone any more. Aren’t you?”

  She laughed. “I’m having a hard time grasping I’ve met you, let alone that there might be hundreds of thousands of people left alive out there.”

  “Yeah, me too,” he said.

  He picked up his bag of popcorn, sat back on the couch, and started the machine. “Then let’s watch a movie and give all this time to sink in.”

  “I love the idea,” she said, taking her bag of popcorn and settling back beside him.

  She was sitting on a couch, watching a movie, with a man she hadn’t even known yesterday morning, let alone believed existed. Yet she felt completely comfortable with him, and very attracted to him. Just having him beside her felt right.

  By the time a quarter of the movie was over she had put her popcorn aside and was leaning against his strong shoulder.

  Sometime before the middle of the film she could no longer keep her eyes open.

  The next thing she knew, Matt was moving her, stretching her out on the wonderfully comfortable couch, putting a pillow under her head and a soft blanket over her.

  “If you need something,” he whispered to her, brushing her hair off her forehead gently, “you let me know.”

  She was so tired, all she could do was sigh and nod under his soft touch. What she really wanted was for him to fall asleep beside her, holding her.

  But she didn’t even have enough energy to ask.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  MATT WASN’T SURE who fell asleep first. All he remembered was that he woke up and the sleep mode on the DVD was floating a logo around his screen like an old pong game. The room was silent, the air almost chilly.

  Carey was curled up against him, her breathing regular, her head against his arm. He had been sleeping with his head on hers, leaning toward her, the two of them holding each other up. Her hair was soft and smelled of raspberry shampoo. He pulled away slowly, making sure to not pull any of her long brown hair.

  She was as beautiful in sleep as awake. Her face was peaceful, her light skin smooth. He studied the lines around her eyes, her eyebrows, her soft lips, her faint freckles, trying to memorize every detail. Her mouth was slightly open, and the feel of her soft breath was wonderful against his neck and face.

  He wanted to take her in his arms and hug her, but he refrained. The last thing he needed to do was scare her. They had only been together a short time, and considering everything they had both been through over the past three years, falling asleep together was a great trust on both their parts.

  He eased himself away from her, leaving her sitting for a moment with her head on the back of the couch, breathing softly. Then he clicked off the television and went for a blanket and pillow.

  He got the pillow in position on one end of the couch, then gently eased her head down, covered her, and brushed the hair from her face, enjoying the touch of her smooth skin against his fingers. She was so beautiful, all he wanted to do was kiss her and crawl in beside her and hold her. But it wasn’t the right time, and he knew it.

  She awoke a little, but didn’t object to being stretched out on the couch. She was asleep again before he walked away.

  He turned off the dimmed lights in the main area, leaving on only the hall light so she could see where she was when she awoke, and could find the bathroom again. He had planned on making up a place for her to sleep in one of the spare rooms, but for the moment, the couch would work just fine. Over the last two years, he had spent many a night on it, and he knew it was comfortable.

  He barely made it to his own bedroom, got his clothes off, and crawled in before he was back asleep as well.

  The next thing, he knew the sun was lighting up the city outside his large bedroom window, and his security alarm was going off, the loud beeping more annoying than any alarm clock could ever be.

  As always, it took him a moment to realize what it was.

  “Damn deer,” he said to himself. He crawled out of bed, nude and headed for the door. He got a half a step into the hallway before he remembered he had a guest.

  Carey!

  His world had changed, and changed drastically. And more than likely this alarm wasn’t a deer, but more of the group coming into town.

  He had not been jolted so awake, so fast, in a long time.

  It took him a long few seconds before he could pull on a pair of exercise shorts and a sweatshirt and get out of his room again.

  The couch in the living room was empty, the blanket folded under the pillow on the coffee table. A glass of orange drink sat half-full on the counter top.

  Carey must have already been up when the alarm sounded. Her backpack and rifle were still against the wall near the elevator, so she hadn’t left. That realization made him feel even better. He didn’t want her to leave.

  He headed for the security room. Carey was in there, shaking her head at the monitor, sitting on the chair they had moved there for her yesterday. Her hair was wet and she had on clean clothes.

  “Morning. What’s happening?” he asked, dropping into his chair and trying to make sense of the images on the monitor.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to turn off the alarm,” Carey said over the noise. She smiled at him, sort of a fond grin. He realized he must look a mess. Most of the time he awoke in the morning with his hair going in all directions and he had no doubt this morning would not be an exception.

  “Right here,” he said, punching off the alarm and then running a hand through his hair to try to smooth some of it down. He was going to need a shower as well.

  The alarm that had been triggered was on the Chambers Street exit off of I-405. A dozen people were working their way along the wrecks blocking that exit and off ramp, and along the area on the freeway below the exit. They were
opening the car doors and putting the bodies, clothes, purses, and all, in black garbage bags. They even emptied the glove boxes of the cars into the bags and checked the trunks.

  Matt stared in shock. They were doing as they had told them they would do. The bodies were being treated carefully, and the bags, once sealed, were put in certain areas beside the road.

  Up at the top of the exit, where they were clearly done with the body removals from the cars, a large bulldozer was shoving the wrecks to one side, clearing the street. Matt remembered that same bulldozer being down on a construction sight about four blocks east of the Hilton. These people had people who knew how to operate heavy equipment, and get it started again after three years. They had come prepared, that was for sure.

  Three others were loading the body bags into a pickup truck. Another pickup quickly took over as the first left with its load and disappeared out of the camera range.

  “They’re starting on the road clearing to the airport,” Carey said. “It sure seems that what they were telling us was the truth.”

  Matt just stared, nodding. “It does seem that way, doesn’t it?”

  They sat and watched. Matt didn’t know what to think, other than he had to use the bathroom and take a shower.

  He turned to Carey. “Nothing we can do now but watch and think about our choices. But first I need a shower, then some breakfast. I have more eggs and all that stuff. You up for that omelet I offered a few days back?”

  “I’d love one,” she said. “You take your shower, I’ll get out the supplies for breakfast and get started.”

  “Good idea,” he said. They stood and headed for the kitchen.

  “You sleep all right?” he asked, stopping in the hallway and watching as she opened the refrigerator door. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a bedroom set up for you.”

  “The couch was great,” she said, pulling out some eggs and placing them on the counter. “If I had one that comfortable in my place, I’d never get off of it.”

  “I know that feeling,” Matt said. “I spent many a night on that thing, too tired to even bother to get up and go to bed.”

  “Climbing poles putting up cameras will do that to you,” she said, laughing. “Now go get that shower before we both starve to death.”

  He smiled at her, then turned and headed down the hall, the sounds of another person in his kitchen the most wonderful noises he had heard in over three years.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  WAKING UP on Matt’s couch had been a shock.

  The sun was bright in part of the room, flooding the entire main area with more light that she thought possible in a room. It had taken her a moment of squinting to remember exactly where she was.

  She had climbed off the couch and looked around, checking out everything, including her backpack, making sure it was still where she had left it. She didn’t expect it to be moved, but after living alone for so long, she found it hard to trust anyone. Even Matt, no matter how much she was attracted to him.

  The apartment was quiet, the sun already high in the east over Mt. Hood. She stood, staring at the fantastic view for a moment, then turned and headed quietly down the hall. The first bedroom was Matt’s and she glanced in at him through the open door, feeling a little like a peeping tom as she did so.

  He was breathing evenly, not really snoring as he lay on his side. He had one bare leg thrust out from under the blanket. She stared at his bare skin, wanting to touch it.

  There was something about this guy that hit her buttons. More than just about anything, she wanted to be in his arms right at that moment.

  Or maybe that was just anyone’s arms.

  Snap out of it, Carey.

  Three years was a long time to go without other human contact. She wasn’t sure yet if it was Matt she wanted, or just the companionship. Better she have a very clear answer on that before she moved any farther with him.

  Buddy lay on the corner of the bed. The cat looked up at her, its eyes half-closed, then laid its head back down and went back to sleep.

  Damn she missed her cats. Both of them slept with her as well every night. She was going to have to get back to the coast soon and see how they were doing.

  She stood there in his door, silently staring at him, studying the lines on his face, the messed up hair, how he held his mouth. She really was attracted to him, more than she remembered being attracted to Paine.

  Far more.

  She wondered what he would do if she took her clothes off and just crawled in beside him. More than likely he would welcome her. But it didn’t seem right, no matter how much she wanted to.

  Actually, it seemed very right, just not yet.

  Finally, she forced herself to move on into the bathroom, picking up a fresh change of clothes from the dryer as she went.

  She took a long, hot shower, letting the water drain the tiredness and worry from her muscles. Then she put on clean clothes and headed back for the kitchen, glancing in at Matt as she went past.

  He was now laying on his back, his mouth open, snoring softly.

  She could sleep with that level of snoring.

  She shook her head, surprised at the thought. Everything seemed so normal with him there sleeping like that.

  Again, she considered crawling in with him, then forced herself to move away.

  Go slowly. You’ve only known him for two days.

  It seemed so much longer.

  She went back into the kitchen and made herself a fruit drink. She was sitting at the counter, staring out at the city when the security alarm went off. It sounded like a cross between a really loud buzzer on an alarm clock, and the siren of a cop car. The apartment had been so silent, the sudden noise startled her, making her heart pound as she looked around trying to figure out what it was.

  “Security alarm, dummy,” she said as she headed across the apartment.

  “Damn deer,” she heard Matt say from down the hall as she got to the security room where the alarm was coming from.

  The moment she got inside the security room, she knew it wasn’t deer, that much was for sure.

  She dropped into her chair, searching for any obvious buttons or switches that would shut off the loud alarm. She couldn’t see anything, and after a moment figured it was just better to not touch anything. Matt was going to want to see this.

  He came in a moment later and dropped into his chair. He had on shorts and a baggy sweatshirt that looked like he had done gardening in it. His hair was sticking out in all directions, and he had a sheet mark crease across one cheek. He looked so damn cute, she just wanted to hold him.

  She apologized for not being able to shut off the alarm as he silenced the awful racket, then they spent the next ten minutes watching the new people work clearing the road. The fact that the newcomers were actually treating the bodies from the cars and sidewalks well gave her a feeling that Dan and the rest had their priorities in the right place and really were looking to the future. With so many dead, it would have been easy to just push them aside, worry about it later, after the living were taken care of.

  But not this bunch.

  They seemed to know they were going to succeed, that there was going to be a new world coming up out of the ruins of the old one. And because of that, they were treating every body from every car, from every building, like a fallen war hero, putting the bones and clothes and personal effects in bags and handling the bags with respect. The future, if this all worked and the human race survived, would be very glad this was done the way they were doing it.

  She doubted the new people knew she and Matt were watching. This was just the way they were going to work, as Dan had told them they would last night.

  That gave her a vast amount of hope for the future. At least far more hope than she had held at this time yesterday morning. So much, in fact, that she didn’t even want to say anything.

  Finally, Matt suggested he take a shower and then cook them both breakfast, which she had readily agreed to, since her stom
ach was rumbling and his offer of omelets that first morning had sounded fantastic.

  He went off to shower, leaving her to get things started in the kitchen. By the time he got back, wet hair combed into place, she had chopped up some onions, a green-pepper, and cut some bread left over from dinner for toast.

  She had been right about the feel of his kitchen. It fit her, as if she knew where every utensil, every appliance was before she actually found it. It was exactly like something she might have designed for herself. Maybe better.

  Within minutes they were sitting at the table eating breakfast like a normal couple after sharing a night and a life.

  She and Paine had had a few of these types of mornings. Usually they had been on a Sunday, when they both sat and read the paper, sharing different things that interested them. There hadn’t been many of those mornings with their work schedules and school. Not near enough.

  Now Matt sat across from her, staring intently at her as she ate.

  “What?” she asked, using a napkin to wipe off her mouth. “I have egg on my nose or something?”

  He laughed. “No, just sitting here thinking about how beautiful you are, and wondering what you were thinking about.”

  She could feel her face blush slightly at his compliment. “Thank you,” she said. “But actually I was thinking about how nice this felt having breakfast like this, and how Paine and I hadn’t gotten the chance very often to do it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Matt said, the smile instantly gone from his face.

  Oh, damn it all, she had screwed up. She held up her hand. “No, no, it’s all right. I know Paine’s gone and there’s nothing I can do about it. I just meant that this feels nice is all.”

  “It does, doesn’t it,” Matt said, nodding.

  He took another bite of toast covered in raspberry jam, then looked at her with a very serious look. “You know, we can bury Paine and your parents, if that’s what you’d like to do. I’ll be glad to help.”