by Eric Vall
“Not to worry, ladies,” I said, and I reached into the pockets of the pants I had worn earlier and pulled out my multitool.
“Oh, thank God,” Bailey whispered. “I’m sure everyone heard us down there.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” I chuckled.
“We weren’t exactly trying to be quiet,” Anna laughed.
“And tipsy Tav is pretty loud,” Tara added.
“Uh,” I scoffed. “I’m the loud one?”
The girls all looked around at each other.
“Yup,” they said in unison.
“Do you want this wine open or not?” I teased.
“You are the quietest of all,” Bailey said with mock seriousness.
“Thank you, Bailey,” I laughed and screwed the corkscrew into the bottle.
I pulled the cork out easily, took a drink, and passed it to Paige. The wine was dry and sweet, with a slight bitter taste at the end. My mouth watered for more.
“You know,” Tara said as she took a drink, and then passed the bottle to Anna. “I was surprised you agreed to this.”
“It’s Christmas,” Anna said with a shrug, and she took a long pull off the Riesling.
“Yeah, but you aren’t really one for group sex,” Paige explained.
“Well, I’m glad you were here,” Bailey said with a smile.
“Yeah, ‘cause she ate you out the whole time,” Tara snickered.
“I feel no shame about it,” Anna laughed.
“You shouldn’t,” Paige said.
“Yeah,” Tara said with a frown. “I’m sorry, I really was just teasing. You were great.”
The girls all grew quiet and looked at Tara.
“What?” the platinum blonde asked with a slightly angry tone. “Can’t I be nice without it being a whole thing?”
“You can,” Paige said. “But it’s just strange.”
“Well,” Tara said. “I know I tease a lot, but I really wouldn’t want anyone to ever feel uncomfortable sexually. I’ve felt that before, and it’s really not pleasant.”
“You’ve felt uncomfortable sexually?” Bailey asked with astonishment.
“I’m surprised by this as well,” I said with a small chuckle.
“My first boyfriend that I had sex with was kind of a dick,” Tara said softly. “And he made me feel bad for doing things that felt good to me because he thought they were weird. It really sucked.”
“Dang,” Paige said. “I’m sorry. I think we’ve all had that happen.”
“The first blowjob I gave him, he told me to watch the teeth,” Tara said dryly.
“Ouch,” Anna said with a grimace.
“Maybe he thought you didn’t know,” I said, slightly confused, and all the girls looked at me with death glares. “…Or he was just an asshole.”
“Everybody knows not to use their teeth,” Bailey said.
“Yeah,” Paige agreed. “It’s pretty insulting to tell someone that.”
“I see,” I said.
“But anyways,” Tara said. “I just wouldn’t want anyone to feel bad.”
“Well, thanks,” Anna said with a grin. “But I feel great right now so no need to worry.”
“Great enough to do this again sometime?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Not every day,” Anna chuckled. “But maybe on the next holiday.”
“New Years is in a week,” Paige said with a grin.
“How about birthdays and Christmas and New Years,” Anna laughed.
“Deal,” I said.
The girls and I continued to pass the wine around, and I looked out the window to see that the snow had picked up. It came down in large flakes that landed below and dusted the landscape with another layer of white.
It looked like something out of a postcard with the snow below and the stars just visible through the clouds.
“What are you looking at?” Tara asked, and she looked out the window.
“Just watching the snow,” I said softly.
“It is pretty,” Paige said, and she snuggled closer to me.
“It’s nice to be able to relax a bit,” Bailey said. “I’m glad we blew the bridge.”
“It’s gonna be a bitch come spring though,” Anna sighed.
“True,” I chuckled. “But I’m okay with that trade off if it means I get to be here with you all.”
“Awww,” the girls all mocked.
“So sweet,” Tara said with a wide grin.
“You already got us in bed,” Anna teased. “No need to work so hard.”
“There’s always a need to work hard,” I said seriously. “I may have you all now, but in order to keep you I have to always remind you of what you mean to me.”
“You really are the best boyfriend I’ve ever had,” Tara said with a smile.
“Compared to that one you told us about earlier,” Paige said. “I think Tav wins boyfriend of the decade.”
“How about the century,” Bailey said.
“Is that what I am to you now?” I chuckled. “Your boyfriend.”
“I mean, I guess,” Paige said with a shrug. “If we have to label it.”
“I don’t think we do,” I said. “So let’s not.”
“You don’t want to be our boyfriend?” Tara asked with a frown.
“I just don’t like that term,” I explained. “It always seemed so fleeting. You have boyfriends in high school. Most of them aren’t permanent.”
“That makes sense,” Bailey agreed with a nod.
“What would you prefer then?” Paige asked.
“He already has a nickname,” Anna chuckled. “Captain.”
“I’m okay with that,” Paige laughed.
“You can call me whatever,” I said with an eye roll. “Just as long as you call me yours.”
We finished off the wine, and I leaned back against the headboard of the small bed, and Tara and Bailey snuggled up against my shoulders while Anna and Paige snuggled against my legs.
I watched the snow flurry down out the window and listened to the laughter that erupted from downstairs. It seemed the farmers and civilians were still up and having a good time.
I smiled to myself as I watched the girls all slowly fall asleep on top of me. Their warm bodies heated me and soon I felt myself drift off to sleep.
“Tav!” I heard Rolly yell, and he banged on the door of the small dorm room.
I shot up, and the girls tousled around me. Tara rolled over too far and fell off the bed.
“What the fuck?” the platinum blonde asked grumpily as she rubbed her head.
“Tav!” Rolly yelled again, and the banging continued.
“What’s wrong?” I asked quickly, and all the girls perked up to listen.
“You have to come with me quick!” Rolly said.
“Are we under attack?” I asked as I shot out of bed and threw my pants on.
“No,” Rolly said with a panicked voice. “But there’s a message you need to hear.”
I threw the door open as the girls threw on dirty shirts of mine that were on the floor.
“Come on,” Rolly said, and it was as if he hadn’t noticed the women behind me still getting dressed.
The old man headed downstairs, and I followed quickly, still buttoning my pants. The girls were on my tail, each of them wearing one of my shirts that fit them like a nightgown.
“It’s in here,” Rolly said as we approached the laundry room, and I heard some sort of static voice come through the wall.
“What is that?” Anna asked as Rolly led us into the room.
“This crank radio,” Briar said.
“Briar got the hurricane radio working,” Rolly said quickly. “And this message came through.”
We all were quiet for a moment as we listened. The voice on the other end was obviously male, and the language was obviously Asian, but I wasn’t sure what country.
Could it be a message from China about the attack? Or a message from North Korea themselves?
“Pa
ige,” I said after a moment. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” the brunette whispered. “I don’t know what language it is.”
“It’s Korean,” Tara said.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” the platinum blonde said seriously.
“How do you know?” Bailey asked.
“My nail lady was Korean,” Tara said. “That’s definitely Korean.”
“Do you know what they’re sayin’?” Briar asked.
“No,” Tara said with a shake of her head. “I can’t speak it, but I recognize some words.”
“How long has it been playing?” I asked.
“A few minutes,” Rolly said.
“As soon as it came in clear, he went to get you,” Briar added.
“Good call,” I said. “But nobody speaks Korean.”
“Fuck,” Anna breathed. “What do we do?”
Just then the broadcast stopped.
“Did it cut out?” Bailey asked with a panicked voice.
“The machine is still working,” Briar said as he inspected the small device.
“Wait,” I said and I held a hand up to quiet everyone.
I could still hear static coming through.
We waited for a moment, each of us looking around at the others with an intense stare.
“This is the National Broadcasting Service, we are in a state of --” the words through the speaker were cut off abruptly.
“Get it back!” Paige said.
“I’m tryin’!” Briar shouted back, and he fiddled with the machine.
“What the fuck,” Tara breathed.
“This doesn’t seem good,” Rolly said with a very serious look at me.
“It’s not,” I said in a hard voice.
“What does it mean?” Bailey asked quietly.
“It means the fight has just begun,” I said.
End of book 8
End Notes
Thank you for reading Without Law 8. I’ll start working on book 9 as soon as this book has 100 reviews. So please leave a nice review here.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Eric Vall