by L. A. Boruff
When I get there, he looks up with a tired smile and I swallow my bite. “Mind if I sit?” I inquire.
He shuffles over and I take a seat next to him, sitting in silence and watching him work on what looks like a clock.
“I need to check you over,” I admit, keeping my voice low so the others can’t hear me.
“For what?” he counters, dropping the clock and facing me. Of all of us, Cole seems to be struggling with our situation the most.
“Just to make sure you’re okay after being exposed,” I hedge.
He nods, looking unsure. “You think I’m not?”
Damn it. “No, it’s just to be sure,” I say, offering him my most professional smile.
He nods and looks around. “Now?”
“Yes, please.” I stand, trying to hide my urgency as he rises slowly. “Come on, we can do it in the bathroom.” I turn, and when I hear him following I relax a little, even as my doubts and thoughts push me to make sure my diagnosis is correct.
Jacob watches us with narrowed eyes as we walk past him to the bathroom. “What’s going on?” he asks, and a part of me hurts at the lack of trust that I see in his eyes. I thought we’d got past that, but apparently not.
“Toni just wants to check me over, you know, because of the radiation and everything,” Cole replies, shrugging and following after me.
“Is this a service she’s offering to all of us?” Jacob retorts with a pointed glare.
“Ooh, I’ll take my shirt off for you, Toni,” Cooper yells, breaking the tension his friend caused. I don’t think he even realized he did it, but I’m betting he did it a lot growing up.
Rolling my eyes at him, I ignore the comment and walk into the bathroom, although I’m grateful I don’t have to respond to Jacob.
Turning around, I watch as Cole gently closes the bathroom door behind him before he turns to face me. Suddenly face-to-face in the confined space of the bathroom, I give him an awkward smile. I’m used to dealing one-on-one with patients in my job, but something about these four throws me off and I can’t seem to keep things professional like I need to. Maybe it’s because we aren’t in a hospital setting, but either way, I force myself to act like I normally would even though my heart races and my palms turn sweaty. “You’ll need to take your shirt off.” I try to make it a joke, but my voice is tight.
Cole just smiles and removes his shirt, and seeing the bumps I instantly fall into nurse mode again. He has a couple of small patches on his chest, but nothing too serious.
“Any sore patches of skin? Burning, stinging, or peeling?” I ask almost absently, as I closely examine the small welts on his chest.
“Well…” Cole trails off and I pull my gaze away from his chest to look at his face. He’s avoiding my gaze and I feel my stomach drop.
“What is it?” I press, praying that my voice stays stable. Instead of answering me, he just spins around and I can’t stop the gasp that escapes my lips. His whole back is a mass of red, angry looking welts.
“Oh, Cole.” My words are whispered as I examine him more closely. He must be in agony. None of the wounds are open yet, but he must struggle to lie on his back. “How is it so bad? Why just on your back?”
“When the bomb dropped I got out my car to see what was going on, like everyone else. Then the wave of heat came and I dropped to the ground and turned away. My back got the brunt of the heat,” he answers with a shrug.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were more injured than just your head on day one?” I cry out. I doubt there was much more I could do to help him, but he’s left it for so long. “You must be in so much pain,” I murmur quietly, wishing I had something that could help him.
“It’s okay. I think Jacob has some whiskey stashed down here if we really need it,” he says with a smile, but it drops from his face. “Is it that bad?”
I don’t want to say it, to tell him the truth, but I won’t lie to him. Instead, I pull my shirt sleeve up and show him the blisters on my arm. He doesn’t say anything, but pulls me into his embrace.
Standing in the long ago, forgotten dusty bathroom, we seek comfort in each other’s arms—both of us knowing the truth. It must come from his job, always being logical and one step ahead, but I think he finally realized how serious this situation is.
When we come back out and see the others, the room is silent and tense, with Jacob sitting at the table glaring at Rob, who’s glaring back from his perch against the wall. Cooper is also at the table, looking as happy and confused as ever.
“What’s going on?” I ask, but they all ignore me, going back to whatever they were doing.
Shrugging my shoulders I head over to the table and spend the rest of my day playing battleship, which Cooper found. At three PM Cole jumps to his feet and brings the radio over, and we gather in our usual order. I don’t reach over for either hand this time, not sure of my welcome, but both Jacob and Rob grab mine as the beeping starts.
“Hello, America. If you made it through another day, congratulations. I fear I only have more bad news, our scientists have been working hard and from their calculations, the fallout resulting from the bombs will last for years. I do not have answers on what this means for you—or for the world. I am, however, working with other leaders to establish a plan. Until then, I pray you will hang on. Life will prevail. This is the President, signing off for today.” The beep sounds again and we all sit back heavily.
Years?
We’re going to die, I think with a cool detachment, the truth resonating in my bones. If the fallout we received when outside doesn't kill us, we’ll run out of supplies and die of starvation or dehydration.
We are fucked.
We’re all silent and when I lift my eyes, I find tears streaming down my face. They all have the same shocked, detached expression. I can’t save us, I can’t stop this…
6
Day Eight
The next few days pass in a blur of shock and anger until we all finally settle on resignation. The men still seem upbeat, Cooper more so than the others, but it has to be an act. The messages we receive every day on the radio only get bleaker and bleaker until I wake up on the eighth day of being down here. Angry and needing to do something. I have that itchy feeling under my skin, like I can’t stop moving.
Getting up, tired of trying to sleep, I head to the bathroom, shoving my hair back and washing my face and teeth. Like my new morning routine, I check over my body. The burns only seem to be stretching across my skin and when I brush my hair, some of it comes away. Shivering in horror, I turn away before curling up into a ball and I don’t get up again for a long time.
Getting dressed without looking in the mirror again, I head out to face the others. When I get to the table I notice how tired they all look, the last few days have been taking their toll on us, and I’m betting it’s the radiation affecting us as well.
Sitting down, I eye the dwindling food laid out before us. We decided to ration our food a day or two ago, and it seems we only have enough for the month—not that we’re going to live that long if the deterioration of our bodies is anything to go by. I haven’t told them that though—it's my burden to bear.
“We found some booze,” Cooper says, still cheerful, even if it seems to be wearing on him, but the worse we all get, the more he tries as if he can’t help himself wanting to lift the atmosphere. I try to smile at him as much as possible, since his whole face seems to light up when I do, but that’s been getting more and more difficult the last few days.
“Fuck it,” I murmur and they all look at me. “Let’s get drunk!” I yell, pointing in the air dramatically.
“Best plan you’ve had yet,” Jacob jokes, smiling at me to lessen the blow of his words.
Cooper whoops, jumping to his feet and going over to the shelves, bringing over bottles of whiskey and what looks like moonshine. I raise my eyebrows at Jacob and he smiles. “Don’t look at me, Coop uses this area like a storage facility. Most of this crap is his, not mine.”<
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Rob pushes away from the table and returns with glasses in his arms, placing one in front of each of us as Cooper opens the bottle of whiskey, filling all of our glasses up to the rim. I raise my eyebrow at him as I pick up the glass, which is so full I struggle not to spill it. Guess I should start as I mean to go on. Tipping the tumbler back, I down the drink, enjoying the burn of the alcohol as it goes down my throat. Normally I wouldn’t drink in the middle of the day, especially not whiskey, but this is hardly a normal situation and I find that today, I just don’t care.
The others do the same, tipping it back, and within the next twenty minutes the alcohol begins to take effect. It might be the rationed water or the lack of food and sleep, but I giggle as Cooper dances around the room, pulling a grumbling Jacob after him.
Sipping my drink, I snap my card down. Cole found some hidden away and we’re playing a drinking version of Go Fish, which seems to involve a lot of cheating as far as I can see.
“Do you have any…sixes?” I ask, and Cole shakes his head but I narrow my eyes. He grins and I jump over the table, leaning on the cards, and grab his.
“Aha!” I shout, holding them in the air when I spot the six.
Laughing, he grabs my hands and holds them still as he plucks the cards from my grasp. My laughter trails off when I notice how close we are. His eyes drop to my lips when I lick them before I sit back in my seat, trying to pretend nothing happened.
I feel Rob’s eyes on me as he watches Cole and I play. Lowering my card from our abandoned game, I smile at him.
“You should play with us,” I comment, smiling shyly at him.
“I’d play with you.” He puts emphasis on the words so I know he isn’t talking about cards, before he sniggers and my mouth drops open as Cole laughs as well.
“Who wouldn’t?” Cole replies, and I spin my gaze to him, unsure what to say, but luckily Cooper drops into his chair, interrupting us.
Jacob plops into his seat, playing with something.
“Well, my phone’s about to die. Who votes we listen to some music before it does?” Jacob asks, glaring at the black phone in his hands.
“Yes! Dance off!” Cooper hollers when music starts blaring from the phone. Cole grabs a cup and places the phone in it, making the music louder, and Cooper jumps to his feet, downing his drink as he starts winding his hips. Spinning in a circle, his eyes land on me, and he gestures for me to join him. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol, or if I just don’t care anymore, but I get up and surprise him when I wrap my arms around his neck. His expression turns serious for once as he recovers from his surprise, putting his arms around my waist and pulling me flush against his body.
We dance for a few minutes, losing ourselves to the music until I feel someone behind me, their chest brushing against my back as they begin to move with the music. Their hands land on my waist and spin me so I can see who I’m dancing with, and grin as I see Rob.
Placing my arms around his neck I sway against him, not all that surprised when Cooper continues to dance behind me, pressing up against my back. I realize with a smile that I’m not the slightest bit ashamed that I’m dancing with two guys at the same time, and that’s liberating. The outside world would care, but they aren’t here, and right now I want to have fun. Letting the alcohol, and sensations in my heart and belly lead me, I let go of my sensibilities and sway my hips to the music. Enjoying the feeling of several sets of eyes watching me.
It ignites something within me, something I hadn’t truly known I’d needed. When Rob leans down, I let him. He kisses me, not softly or unsure like I expected, but hard and fast. All tangling tongues and clashing teeth, both of us trying to forget, using each other. Our bodies are still winding together as hands slip up my stomach from behind until they cup my breasts, making me gasp and pull back from Rob.
“Keep going. It’s hot,” Cooper whispers into my ear, before nibbling down my neck as his hands continue to explore my body. I moan from his touch, but a noise in the corner of the room has me looking around and freezing when I see Jacob. His expression turns into a frown as he sees me looking at him, Cooper and Rob continuing as if we are the only ones in the room.
“Didn’t you hear him? He said keep going.” Jacob’s rough, commanding voice sends a jolt through me, providing me with the reassurance I hadn’t known I needed to continue.
Turning back to Rob I kiss him firmly. Knowing that we’re being watched is a huge turn on, making me need their touch even more. Feeling Cooper’s erection pressing against my ass, combined with his hands tweaking my nipples through the fabric of my clothes and Rob’s kisses, makes me feel like I’m about to combust. I feel alive for the first time since the bombs dropped and it’s addictive. If I can taste life through their hands and mouth, I plan to make sure I make the most of it before we die.
Dropping my hands from Rob’s neck, I place one on his chest and use the other to open the waistband of his pants, sliding my hand past his underwear until I find his cock. A groan escapes his lips as I wrap my hand around him, giving him a couple of strokes, and enjoying the feel of his hardness in my hands. Cooper groans into my neck, biting down lightly on the sensitive flesh there until I’m pushing back into his stiffness.
“What? No time for us?” Cole jokes, and I lift my head and turn it until I see him sitting back at the table. His legs spread as he sips his drink, watching us.
Their burning gazes and hard bodies propel me forward and add to my confidence, so I split from my place between Cooper and Rob and strut over to Cole. I straddle his lap and he grunts in surprise, and grabbing my hips to keep me still as I lean down and kiss him.
He chases after me as I consume him, but I stutter when a hand sweeps the hair from my neck and kisses the newly exposed skin, sending shivers of delight through me. “Where’s my kiss?” Jacob asks, kissing my shoulder from behind.
He grabs my hair and uses it to turn my head, pulling my lips from Cole’s. Blinking, I groan when he kisses me hard. He dominates my mouth, sweeping in and staking his claim. Cole’s hands move up my back, sliding under my shirt and stroking my skin, before he undoes my bra. Still kissing Jacob, I slide the straps down my arm and it drops in the front of my top. Groaning into Jacob’s mouth, I arch into Cole when his hands run slide to the front of my body and cup my now free breasts, twisting and tweaking my nipples until I’m panting and have to pull away from Jacob’s mouth.
He twists my head back to Cole and kisses down my shoulder, before grabbing the bottom of my shirt and pulling. Lifting my hands, I let him yank it over my head until I sit half naked in Cole’s lap.
Gasping, my eyes flutter shut and my head falls back when Cole locks his mouth over one of my nipples. I hear the others moving around, but I reach up and lock my hands on the back of Cole’s head.
I hear whispering and I open my eyes. Squealing, I whirl in the air as Jacob picks me up and deposits me on a mattress that wasn't there before. Placing his hand in the center of my chest, he pushes until I bounce down onto my back.
Before I can sit up, they are all on me. Jacob makes quick work of undoing my jeans and Cooper grabs one leg and Jacob grabs the other, shimmying them off until I’m in nothing but my panties. Rob turns my head, kissing me again as Cole’s mouth goes back to my breasts until I’m moaning into Rob’s mouth.
It’s too much, too much sensation everywhere, and I can’t concentrate on one for too long. Hands run up both legs as someone grabs my panties and slowly peels them down. Rob pulls away from my mouth and I look down at Jacob who sits at my feet, his eyes running over my bare, exposed skin. Cole is still laving my breasts, and Cooper is running his hands up my legs until he dips between my thighs and pushes them open.
Someone makes an appreciative humming noise, and Cooper starts kissing along the insides of my thighs before working his way up to my pussy. A moan leaves my lips as he flicks my clit with his tongue, my eyes sliding closed as the sensations overwhelm me.
“Eyes open,” Jacob call
s out.
Opening my eyes, I look over at him and bite down on my lip at the sight that greets me. Jacob is naked, his hand wrapped around his cock as he lazily strokes himself, his eyes locked on me as three other guys worship my body.
Turning my head, I see that Rob is watching me with hungry eyes, his pants still half open from where I’d been trying to free him earlier. Reaching up, I slide my hand past his waistband and stroke him again, smiling as he throws his head back in ecstasy. The sight of him biting his own lip as I work him, coupled with Cooper’s mouth, has me moaning again and arching into their touch. Rob stiffens next to me and groans as he finds his release, his come landing across my stomach. Cole takes this moment to slide a finger inside me, making me gasp as he slides in a second. It doesn't take long for my orgasm to build with Cooper biting and sucking at my nipples, and Cole sucking on my clit while finger fucking me. I come apart when Cole slides another finger inside me, my eyes closing in ecstasy.
Once I’ve ridden out my waves of pleasure I open my eyes to see Rob watching with a satisfied, sleepy look on his face, and Cole and Cooper surrounding me, their hands touching me.
“You closed your eyes.” Jacob’s voice is hard, but I hear a teasing tone in there. “You’re going to be punished for that. Turn her over,” he orders Cooper, who does as instructed.
Before I know it I’ve been flipped over so I’m on my hands and knees, Cooper behind me, rubbing the tip of his cock against my entrance, using my juices to lube himself up. Cole comes around so he’s kneeling in front of me, holding his cock in his hand, gently pumping it. Licking my lips I eagerly take his cock into my mouth, savoring the groan that escapes him. Cooper takes this moment to push his cock into me and it’s my turn to moan. Stilling, he lets me adjust to his size until I start thrusting back, needing him to pound into me, to which he obliges. Timing their thrusts, I take Cole deep into my mouth, hollowing my cheeks as I suck, making sure to flick the head of his cock just as he’s about to leave my mouth. Between them, I feel my orgasm building up again shockingly quick. I’ve never been one of those women who can have multiple orgasms, perhaps I’ve just never found the right guys?