Zombie Playlist: A Rock Zombie Romance

by Kirsty Dallas

  Gesturing for me to follow, he led me down the narrow hallway, through a doorway into a bedroom and opened a wardrobe standing to one side. It was filled with clothes. He nodded towards them, then left the room. More clothes. While the thought was sweet, there was no way I was wearing someone else’s clothes. I guess there would come a time when I’d have to suck it up and deal, but right now, I just needed to cut some length of my jeans. Following him back into the living room, I asked, “Do you have scissors?”

  With a nod he pulled them out of the first aid kit, and I sat on the floor beside Noah and pulled my jeans into my lap. Noah was still staring at the TV like it held all the answers to our problems.

  “You okay, Boo?” I asked, nudging her shoulder with mine.

  “Do you think Nan and Pop are alright?”

  “They avoid town like the plague,” I said with a snort. “No pun intended. I think they’ll be fine. If they’ve stayed away from town while all this has gone down, they would have avoided the Red Rage.”

  Noah nodded thoughtfully and after a short silence, she sighed. “I’m tired.”

  “Give me five and I’ll take you down to one of the bedrooms.”

  Noah gave me a sideways glance. It was a look I knew well, one that said she had something to say but was unwilling to spit it out.

  “S’up, Boo?”

  She sighed again and whispered, “Are you ready to go to bed?”

  “Not just yet,” I admitted, feeling a whole lot better now I was clean.

  Standing I shimmied my way into the new shorts without removing the towel while Lawson tried hard to be the perfect gentleman, only casting me one quick glance as the towel lifted high up my thighs. I would be a liar if I said his noble manners were awesome and refreshing. I was more than happy for the soldier to cop a look. Noah ignored us both, picking at a worn spot in the carpet.

  “What’s going through your head, Boo?”

  “Nothin’,” she said sulkily.

  “Noah, just spit it on out, babe.”

  “I don’t want to go to bed by myself,” she finally admitted.

  It had been many long years since Noah had problems with the dark, but after everything we’d been through I could understand why she might have reservations again. To be honest I was feeling a little clingy too. Over the past few nights I’d enjoyed sleeping close to Noah and having Lawson nearby.

  “I’ve got an idea.”

  Making my way back down the hallway, I found the guest bedroom, and pulled off the dirty sheets, throwing them to one corner. After stripping the bed I pushed the mattress off its base and began to wrestle it down the hall. Lawson, the ever-chivalrous soldier, jumped up to help me, and we pushed the sofa to one side and laid the mattress out. Noah and I redressed the mattress in clean sheets, and she curled up on her side right smack bang in the middle with a pleased smile on her lips.

  “Thanks, Shy,” she murmured. “Love you.”

  Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to her forehead and kissed her as she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

  “Love you too, Boo.”

  Once the night had stolen the light of day, I found my way out onto a small, narrow back patio where I currently sat with my legs hanging through the old, wooden rail. The air was still warm, the moon low in the sky casting long shadows across the barren land before me. I’d always found the desert ugly and dry, but right now, with silver light spilling over the rock and dirt, it almost looked pretty. A cheap bottle of whiskey sat beside me. Lawson found it on the lower level of the home which was dedicated to tools and car parts. He’d shared a few sips straight from the bottle with me, but for the most part I’d been hording the tangy amber liquid. My lost bottle of Grey Goose crossed my mind more than once in the last couple of days. Whiskey wasn’t my liquor of choice but hell, it gave me the same kind of lazy buzz, so it would do. Lighting up my half smoked joint, I sucked greedily on the filter. On a long, slow exhale, I blew the sweet scented smoke out into the air and relished the burn that filled my lungs. Lawson looked my way with a raised brow when I let out a long, satisfied groan.

  “Better than an orgasm,” I whispered feeling a little warm and fuzzy.

  With my hand wrapped around the smooth, glass neck of whiskey, I took another mouthful while offering Lawson the joint. He didn’t look convinced by my statement, but still took the joint. Taking a toke, he passed it back and I shrugged.

  “I guess I’ve been a little neglected in that department. I’ve only ever been with Cullen, so I’ve got nothing to compare it with. Maybe there are better orgasms to be had.”

  Surprise shot into his features and he held up one finger with an arched brow.

  “Yes, only one. I’ve been with Cullen since I was sixteen. I’m pretty sure he had a small dick too. The only other dick I’ve seen is in porn and those dudes are monsters, but Cullen was pretty damn small in comparison.” Lawson silently chuckled and I sighed. “Now I’ll never know if I wasted eleven years on mediocre orgasms and his small penis because most the dicks left in the world are rotting zombie dicks.”

  Reaching across my body for the whiskey wrapped in my greedy fist, Lawson’s bicep gently brushed my breast, and I jerked in surprise as he pulled the bottle away from me and took a sip. From the smirk he was wearing he knew he’d made contact with my girls, and he only had to glance down to see my peaked nipples in response. That one, small touch lit a fire inside of me and I clenched my thighs together before snatching the whiskey back. Pointing at his lap, he nodded.

  Snorting I shook my head. “Yes, you have a dick, but I am not going there.”

  Like a puppy trying to make sense of something, his head titled to one side, and he raised his hand in a why not gesture.

  Why not indeed.

  “It would complicate things,” I said, struggling for a good enough reason. “You’re nice…like ridiculously nice, and I’m not. I’m a moody bitch with a mountain of baggage, I’m rude, I steal shit. And as I’ve just revealed, I’ve only ever experienced one lover, who F.Y.I cheated on me three times, and just because the worlds gone to shit doesn’t mean I’m going to jump on the first hot guy I come across.”

  Three fingers sprung up in front of my face, an angry scowl marring the quiet soldiers handsome features.

  Shrugging I passed back the whiskey. “I know, I suck. I don’t know why I stayed. Habit? Love? Addiction? What I can tell you is that he broke me, hard, like three times, but I mended like a motherfucker and grew harder and stronger each time. If the zombie apocalypse hadn’t of hit, I wouldn’t have gone back to him. It was our “the end”, and it was ugly and painful, but just knowing I was done made me feel like I could breathe again.”

  After a short silence Lawson gave me a sensual smirk and whipped out his notebook.

  I’m not that nice, and I know you aren’t that bad.

  My mouth opened to reply yet nothing came out. My mind was too blissfully satiated with weed to come back with some sort of snappy retort.

  “We are not going there,” I said, trying to sound strong and convincing. I didn’t and I wasn’t. Lawson shrugged and rested back on his palms.

  “Let’s change the subject. What’s with the buxom blonde glued to the wall in your converted garage?” Lawson’s pretty, full lips grew into a large smile. “I kind of assumed you were either a hormonal teenager who couldn’t get laid if you paid for it, or some asshole biker who liked to keep women in their place, like straddling a bike in a bikini, which is completely unrealistic.”

  Just a hormonal thirty-year-old who can only get laid if he pays for it.

  Tossing the note back in his face, I made a loud, obnoxious pfft sound.

  “I call bullshit. You could get laid just like –“ I snapped my fingers.

  Lawson was still grinning, and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Well fuck … we were talking about sex stuff again.

  “I call subject change. Again. So, you’re a soldier, or, you wer
e a soldier?” Lawson kept watching the inky, star filled sky before us, but held up two fingers which I assumed indicated the later of the two. “Is that because of your voice? Or lack thereof?” He nodded. “You lost your voice while serving?”

  This time he did look at me. With one hand he lifted his shirt, my gaze dropped and found washboard abs, and horrific scars.

  “Crap, that must have hurt,” I whispered.

  Lawson smiled, but nodded.

  “What happened?”

  Cupping his hand, he began to move it around in front of him, and I was pretty sure he was mimicking a car. Then, he made an explosive gesture, pointed to the burn scars on his stomach and chest, then pointed to his throat.

  “Well shit.”

  Tilting his head in an obvious nod, he pulled his shirt back down, and we sat in silence. I’d never been up close and personal to a soldier like this. It made me think of things I’d never given much consideration. While I was living it up like a rock star, there were men and women out there who were risking their lives to save others.

  “Is that how you got the medal?”

  Another nod. Even though I understood its significance, I still kinda wanted the damn thing back. Stupid obsessive bitch I was.

  “Well, thanks for your service,” I meekly said, wishing I had something more profound to offer.

  Lawson snatched the bottle from my hand, took a long drink and handed it back. Reaching for his notepad, he wrote down the words, you and Noah?

  “She’s my sister, there’s nine years difference between us. Even though I’m the big sister, she’s the responsible one…and she’s my rock, always has been. She keeps me centered and humble.” Lawson arched a brow. “Well, mostly humble. We’re as different as dark and night. She has faith and believes in God, I don’t. She likes bright colors, I like black. She loves Justin Bieber, I definitely do not. My parents adored her, they could barely stand the sight of me.”

  It was getting easier to decipher his gestures and expressions, but the questioning look he wore now was a commonly used one. Why?

  “I was a brat, I was noisy, spontaneous, unfiltered, everything my folks weren’t. They had no idea what to do with all that energy. They tried silencing it with meds and therapists and when that didn’t work they tried punishment, like locking me in my room, skipping meals, or my dad’s belt across the back of my thighs. When all that failed they basically gave up and forgot I existed. I could have easily dropped out of school, they wouldn’t have cared, but I was so close to finishing and I just wanted to prove I wasn’t the reject they believed I was. So, I got myself dressed in the mornings, walked myself to school and home again, and learned to cook mac and cheese so I didn’t starve. Then they started going to a new church with some self-proclaimed religious leader called Dusty Creedance.”

  Lawson arched a disbelieving brow. “I’m not shitting you, that was his name and way to desecrate an awesome band, Creedance are fucking awesome. Anyway, I digress. Dusty was something of a purist who didn’t think the Catholic church was doing a very good job and chose to push his own twisted ideals and beliefs which were far more authoritarian and archaic, hell, he even believed in polygamy and encouraged my dad to take another wife…perverted fucker. So, it was decided I was some sinful demon spawn, and I moved out and bounced around my friends’ sofas until I met Cullen, and then I mostly lived with him and his parents.”

  He pointed back towards Noah and gave me a thumbs up.

  “Yeah, she’s a good kid. I did my best to cushion her from my parents’ twisted beliefs. They loved the heck out of her but tried to force their religion down her throat. Noah’s strong minded though, so she made up her own mind about certain things as she got older. Like being gay… my parents were definitely against that kind of lifestyle, but Noah and I talked about it, and she decided that there was nothing sinful about love.”

  The profound conversation was ruining my high, so I decided it was time to lighten things up.

  Flicking my burnt out filter to the dirt below, I said, “you know what I think?” Lawson shrugged. “Well, Jesus was resurrected, right? He died on that cross and then rose from the dead.” The corner of Lawson’s mouth twitched as if he knew what I was about to say. “He was the first motherfucking zombie,” I continued pointing a finger at his chest. His shoulders lifted and fell with silent laughter, and he ran a hand down his face. Reaching for his notebook, he scribbled something and lifted it to show me.

  Shiloh Summers, you are one interesting girl.

  I’d been called a lot of things, but never interesting. I wasn’t sure what to do with that, was it a compliment or a veiled insult? Lawson’s gaze dipped to his military I.D tags that had slipped outside my shirt and for a moment I thought he was going to ask for them back. Instead he simply smiled before standing and stretching, his shirt riding up above the waist of his military style cargo’s and giving me a teasing glimpse of the slightly scarred male V that pointed to what I’m sure would be something impressive below. It stole my thoughts right away and left me sitting and staring, dumbfounded and lustful.

  With a playful twinkle in those lazy eyes, Lawson stood over me. His gaze shifted from his groin, to me and back again, asking an obvious question. Somehow I managed a short and quick shake of my head. With a perfect grin and a cheeky wink, he left me alone on the patio.

  Track Fourteen: Marvin Gaye, Let’s Get It On (or not…)

  CHAPTER 14

  A proud nod, sublime grin, and a pat on my arm turned my dark and dusty insides to something bright and shiny. I’d been given plenty of compliments in my time, most were from people who wanted something from me, occasionally they were honest and felt nice to hear. However, Lawson’s obvious happiness with my shooting made me feel like the motherfucking queen. Lowering the handgun, I grinned and gave Noah a quick wink.

  “What do you think Boo, do I look like a badass bitch?”

  Noah rolled her eyes and shook her head, but she was smiling. Yeah, she thought I looked badass too. Lawson had found a safe on the lower level of the house and we hit the motherload. Two handguns, and a stack of ammunition. Lawson was determined to give me a lesson in gun safety before we hit the road, and he was also interested to see if I could hit a target. I hustled that man like a finely tuned instrument, for over the years I’d clocked up plenty of time at a local shooting range. Firing off a few rounds at a target was a great way to release anger. I’d never crossed the line of actually owning a gun, always worried that I might one day shoot Cullen in the ass for being a cheating bastard.

  Lawson pointed at the safety switch on the gun and I flicked it on, blowing across the end of the barrel with a shit eating grin. The gun felt comfortable in my hand, adding another level of security. It meant I didn’t need to be quite so up close and personal to the stinking zombies to kill them. Lawson had the other handgun tucked down the back waistband of his cargos and I did the same. Well shit, that was uncomfortable as hell.

  “Is there a holster or something?” I asked, wiggling my butt about as I moved in the hope the weapon would somehow settle into a more comfortable position.

  Lawson chuckled and shook his head. Checking the weapon and making sure it was hidden beneath my shirt, he gave me a nod, his silent seal of approval. I saluted him before turning to Noah who sat at the bottom of the stairs plucking the petals from a daisy.

  “Ready to hit the road, Boo?”

  She shrugged, her lips turned down in a sharp frown. She was wearing nervous tension like a big, ugly, oversized trench coat. I was feeling good today, well rested after getting a little buzzed last night, and I was really, really happy with the new weapons. I may also have been spending a lot of time wondering about Lawson and his dick. Shaking that thought right out of my brain, I sat down on the stair beside Noah. Lawson turned away and strolled over to our packs, pretending to check them over again. I knew it was to give us the illusion of some privacy. This is what I meant about him being too g
ood. I would never do something like that. Glancing sideways at Noah, I wondered what had created her stink of a mood. Nudging her shoulder with mine, I grabbed her hand and linked our fingers.

  “S’up, Boo?”

  Noah’s answering sigh was heavy and downright miserable.

  “I don’t want to leave.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the house at our back. I knew exactly how she felt. Having a roof and walls around us was like a big ol’ hug. It felt good, familiar.

  “You feel safe here.”

  Noah looked at me and pushed her glasses up her nose, nodding.

  “Well, the thing is, it’s not really safe. We don’t know if the person who owns it is going to come back. It’s really close to the road so anybody can see us. It’s also as ugly as a butt crack.”

  Noah snorted. “It’s not that bad.”

  “Boo, it’s like a concrete box in the middle of a sand pit. It’s ugly, so ugly if it were a haunted house the ghosts wouldn’t even stay.” Noah smiled. “So ugly I bet the coyotes wouldn’t even piss on it.”

  “Shy!” Noah cried out with laughter.

  “Seriously Boo, we can’t stay here, it’s disgusting. We’ll probably catch something from the sofa. Anyway, Nan and Pop will be waiting for us in Elmendorf.”

  She didn’t look convinced. I lowered my voice and said, “Mom and Dad might be there waiting too.” Lying to her like that, using her love for our parents like that, well, it made me feel like the sludge left over inside a fryer. Guilt weighed heavy in my chest, and I cast Lawson a quick glance to see if he’d heard me. If he had he was doing a good job of pretending he hadn’t. Noah sighed again and stood to her feet.

  “You’re right,” she drawled, completely unimpressed that she was admitting that.