This guy was a pro.
Or I was seriously affection-starved.
Possibly both.
“I told you I was going to kiss you today,” he whispered, his voice thick and rough.
A little dazed, I replied, “I thought you meant on my mouth.”
Nelson’s attention was then drawn to my mouth, where he seemed hypnotized by the smallest movement.
“Tell me more about college,” I suggested, hoping to steer away from wherever that was going.
He shook his head and forced his eyes up to meet mine. They were dark, navy blue with heat and shining with anticipation. I rested my forearms on his shoulders and clasped my hands behind his head. My fingers were trembling and I was embarrassed by how worked up he had gotten me just by biting me- this had to be an aftereffect of living with Zombies for too long.
Our chests brushed once, twice and then he pulled me closer to him with hands back on my waist. We were pressed together now, wrapped in each other’s body heat and hearts pounding against each other’s chest.
“Vaughan, Hendrix and I all went to Northwestern before the infection,” he shared casually, although the intensity was still in his eyes. “Hendrix swam for their team and we were close to home. My dad went there; Harrison and King would have gone there too. We were just…. comfortable. Having a good time, you know? It was where we belonged, where we wanted to be. Where I wanted to be.”
“It didn’t bother you to have both older brothers so close by?” I asked. As an only child I didn’t really get the whole sibling dynamic, but I would have felt smothered or maybe competitive if I went to the same school as my older brothers.
“We’re so close in age, we’ve always been better friends than brothers,” Nelson explained. “I liked having them close by. Who do you think got me my fake ID?”
“I hope there were enough girls to go around then,” I drawled dryly, before I could analyze the green eyed jealousy monster taking over my body. I just imagined those boys- those insanely attractive, family-oriented, good guys walking around a college campus. I felt like no female was truly safe from the seductive powers of the Parker brothers.
Nelson’s expression grew very serious, his eyes darkening even further. “Vaughan was really the only one of us ever interested in chasing girls. Hendrix was too focused on swimming and I just didn’t- I was looking for something particular and hadn’t found it yet.”
“What were you looking for?” I asked carefully. I felt like I was walking into a trap. But somehow I knew he already captured me.
“A good girl,” he smiled down at me.
I snorted cynically, “Are they hard to find in bars and clubs?”
The song changed again, this time to a slow, sexy ballad. Nelson pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me against his chest.
“Depends on the bar.” I rolled my eyes and he amended, “But no, I did not find a good girl during my wild days.”
“Maybe that was the problem,” I shrugged. “You were too wild for the good girls.”
He let out a soft laugh and agreed, “Probably.”
We swayed for a little bit, rocking back in forth in each other’s arms. His skin singed mine wherever we connected, his muscles firm and protective, his body warm and promising wicked things. I really tried to get my head out of the gutter- away from all things “bad idea.” But it was impossible with Nelson this close, this intentional about having something with me.
I’d never been pursued before, save for the occasional Zombie that wanted to make a snack out of me. The boys in my high school liked to hook up, but it didn’t ever go anywhere because neither of us wanted it to. It was hard not to fall for this- fall into this. Nelson had so many good qualities, like having saved my life several times and good teeth even with the extinction of easily accessible dental care.
I didn’t want to make my decision to finally commit based on lack of options.
But on the other hand, things didn’t have to get serious with Nelson. Just because we were doing this- whatever this was- didn’t mean this was it for either of us. This could be mutually beneficial until we figured it out.
“What were you like before the Zombies?”
I cleared my throat before answering, not really sure what to say. “Young,” I finally decided. “Naïve.”
“You’re supposed to be young and naïve and eighteen,” Nelson chuckled.
“I was popular,” I added, as if it mattered now. “Reagan and I were cheerleaders and our school was pretty small. So it wasn’t like it was this huge accomplishment, but I had a lot of friends. That seemed important back then.”