Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
I bounced high in my seat when Vaughan couldn’t avoid a pothole and slid into Nelson. I had no idea how he ended up next to me in the back of the van, but he here was. And now I was in his lap.
“Finally,” Harrison groaned and filled in the space I had previously occupied.
“Hey!” I complained. I scrambled to a crouched half-standing position, as far from Nelson’s lap as possible.
“Nope,” Harrison crossed his arms and shook his head. His long, gangly legs spread out widely in front of him and his shoulders seemed to bulk up and expand in the less confining space. He was seventeen going on Hulk Hogan- which seemed impossible since our last meal consisted of a two cans of creamed corn that we shared.
Nelson’s warm, strong hands gripped my waist and pulled me back down to him. “Let him have some room. You’re fine here.”
A flash of warmth burned in my stomach and then it was gone, leaving me somehow confused and suddenly hot. God, Nelson. I didn’t even know what to do with him. He was so…. caveman.
He was lighthearted and at times hilarious, always the laid-back brother. Except with me. For whatever reason, I brought his alpha male dominant gene to the forefront, club and all. He was ready to start this whole thing with me and I was still trying to figure out his favorite color and if he had a deviant sexual past.
Harrison stretched out next to me, sticking his legs far up the aisle, and resting his incredibly long arms along the back of the seat. He did look happier.
“Fine,” I agreed, wiggling just a bit to drive Nelson a little crazy. The grip on my hips intensified, his fingers digging beneath the hem of my tight long sleeved tee. “But in ten minutes we’re switching and you get to sit on Nelson’s lap.” I raised my eyebrows, daring him to defy me.
Which he did. Not a second later.
He burst into riotous laughter and shook his head. For a seventeen year old, he was kind of rude. “Like I would go near that, after you’ve been bouncing around on top of him.” He pointed in the direction of Nelson’s…. uh…. fly.
I blushed the deepest red. Ugh. Nelson chuckled from beneath me, his chest rumbling against my back. These boys were always doing that to me!
And then we went over a stretch of rocky pavement and the issue in question moved.
Gah!
My flush intensified to the color of a strangled eggplant and that same powerful ache bloomed in the lower part of my tummy again.
Here’s the thing…. It had been two years since I was even around boys in any consistent environment. I had seen boys since the infection broke out- but that was literally the extent of our interactions. And before that I wasn’t exactly the most relational creature.
Sure, I loved a hot and heavy make out as much as the next semi-slutty cheerleader. But, I never let anyone get close enough to make something monogamous out of me. I had issues- brain issues. And I liked to keep my weirdness as far down on the down low as possible.
That meant keeping everyone at a distance.
Except for Reagan, of course.
The ticking of my internal time-bomb brain hazed into background music with Nelson so close to me, with his body practically vibrating with heat and want. That was unheard of for me. Nothing had ever worked to ease the insistent pounding, except music. Now I had Nelson, and I didn’t know what to do with him. But he eased my racing mind- I could at least be grateful for that.
Up until now, everything between us had been light flirting with a tendency to get awkward whenever he looked at me- so, it got awkward often. Well, awkward for me; I had no idea how it felt for him but sometimes the heat behind his eyes gave me a little insight. I pretended to be oblivious to all his advances thus far and I couldn’t tell if it was wearing on him or not.
Mostly because I avoided looking at him.
It was harder to ignore now though, with his body touching almost every inch of me, his hands clutched against my hips, his breath fanning out across my nape. I shivered- it couldn’t be helped.
Reagan glanced back at me from one of the captain’s chairs in our wood paneled, dated Chrysler Town and Country and gave me an “are you Ok” look. I tried to smile at her, but my body was shaking with nervous energy and I knew I looked pathetically unnerved.
Page was sleeping across her lap, sprawled out and heavy with exhaustion, but Reagan wiggled her arm around the back of the chair and took my hand. I relaxed a touch.
We were in this together, joined at the soul. We were Zombie Apocalypse sorority sisters; there was no one who had my trust or my respect more than that raven-haired vixen.
The van was relatively quiet as we traveled through rural Arkansas. The last several days had been taxing on all of us.