Page 14 of Desiderium
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I reply. “This looks amazing! Meat, potatoes, vegetables…” Jax ignores me and starts pouring us each a glass of whiskey from a bottle he got from only God knows where. “Andfucking hooch! Man… we’re just a spoiled bunch of bastards.”
He shrugs again, not convinced he’s the shit. I get it, though. He’s always been the one to take care of us. To look out for us. When he can’t do something or doesn’t feel like he’s done enough, regardless of the circumstances, it gets to him. Makes him feel like he’s not contributing enough. Which is bullshit if I have anything to say about it.
“Bro. Seriously. It’s the end of the fucking world. We could be eating dirt or grass right now and you’re making us fucking meals. Full on pre-apocalypse type shit, man! Who the fuck cares that it isn’t exactly how you would have made it before?” I step up next to him and grasp his shoulder. “This is perfect, Jax. Thank you for taking such good care of us.”
“Ditto. This looks awesome, man,” Cole says quietly as he walks over with a still sleeping Aly in his arms and sits at one of the chairs. The hike must have really taken it out of her if she’s this tired. Granted, our packs are pretty full and weigh about as much as the person carrying them.
While me and the boys are used to forced ruck marches in the military, Aly isn’t. I didn’t think we packed her backpack that heavy but obviously, we were all wrong. We’re gonna have to take that into account for the rest of the trip. That’s ok, though. No one here is in a real rush to get anywhere. Especially when our ‘home’ is already with us.
We each take a portion of the meal Jax prepared, leaving some for Aly for when she wakes up. Jax lifts his glass of whiskey, bringing it to each of ours before saying, “To finding our next little patch of Heaven.” We echo histoast and down the measure of alcohol before he pours another round, the heat of the liquor warming my insides almost instantly.
“What do you think it’ll be like?” Cole asks as he digs in. “Apart from the cabin, we’ve never really left the estate or the town ever since all this shit started. What are we going to do if we come across a horde? There’s not exactly a convenient place to take cover if we get surrounded in a field.”
Jax takes a bite before answering. “I think we’ll just have to rely on our instincts and previous training to get us through. When we were overseas, there were plenty of times that we knew there would be potential danger around every turn. It’s the same here, just on our home turf. The most we can do is keep our weapons ready and be vigilant. Never get complacent when we’re on the move. Even more so now that Aly’s with us.”
Cole and I nod. A somber memory creeps into my brain, however. “Man, not that I’m complaining, but it would be so much easier if our fourth was still around.”
Jax looks at me curiously. “What do you mean?”
I put down my fork, tenting my fingers in front of my plate. “Out on missions, we were always used to having four-man fire teams. Think about it, we could have used a diamond formation the whole way to New Bern—put Aly right in the middle of us. No worries about her being flanked or taken from behind. With only three of us, it leaves an opening. Not that we can’t handle it. I’m positive we can take care of our girl and each other but….”
Our fourth… Cruz. Not the fourth in our fire team, but fourth in our group of friends—Me, Cole, Jax... and Cruz. He was in the same squad as us, though. And when we were together, we were thick as thieves. Inseparable.
But all that changed in an instant when he chose to stay in. Even when the shit hit the fan with all the virus outbreak stuff, he never turned away from the job. ‘They’re gonna need all the help they can get,’ is what he said the last time I talked to him. He never left his post here in North Carolina. I guess, now, he never will.
The base was one of the first places to be completely taken over during the spread. They locked everything down, keeping all the personnel that was in,in... and everyone else out. Unfortunately, the virus was already there. I’ve no doubt he probably didn’t make it.
“Damn, I miss him…,” I continue, hanging my head and taking another swig of the whiskey in front of me.
“To Cruz….” Cole raises his glass and we toast to our fallen brother in arms.
Jax snorts a little after he downs his and shakes his head. “Aly would’ve loved him.”
I laugh under my breath. “Of course, she would have.Allthe ladies loved his Puerto Rican ass.” And he loved women. Not to go to bed with or anything like that, but just women in general. Cruz had an infatuation with the beauty that women simply were, deep down. He took it upon himself to make every woman he met feel safe and powerful and sexy and know they were a verifiable force to be reckoned with.
He’s right. Alywouldhave loved him.
Chapter Eight
Cole
It’s the middle of day two, still pissing down rain at the farmhouse, as I toss my last card down on the table with a curse.
“High, low, and game, fuckers! Time for y’all to pay up. Now gimme them undies!” Hawk’s excited ass crows while sporting grabby hands.
We’ve been playing this game for a bit—wins and losses all around the table—but one such fucker seems to have all the luck tonight. Thankfully, I’m not the only one about to get completely naked. Aly is in the same predicament, but her soon-to-be attire is completely appropriate, and not just because we love to see her beautiful body in its most natural form, but because it’s her birthday tomorrow. The woman we all love and adore is turning twenty-eight, which makes Jax the baby of the bunch. Surprising, I know.
How does the youngest end up being the leader of a motley crew such as this? I certainly don’t know but for some reason it works. The only thing that doesn’t? Having a birthday without some sort of celebration… or in Aly’s case, acake. That’s straight up sacrilege and not allowed if I have anything to say about it.
But first thing’s first….
Aly stands in front of Hawk, Jax, and me, her perfect breasts already on display and looking beautifully enticing. It’s been a task keeping our hands to ourselves during the game, especially since her top was the first item forfeited after losing the first round of cards. I think it was a strategic move on her part, intent on luring our focus away from the game so she could, potentially, win more hands.
The rules were simple:
Play strip pitch - because Aly doesn’t know how to play poker.
The last one with any clothing on wins.
