Page 26 of The Last Man on Earth
She chuckles softly. “I do. Especially now that I know you hate it.” She swings her legs around, getting comfortable. “Can it hold both of us?”
I crouch low to get inside, settling my weight on the platform as slowly as I can.
It holds.
But I’m more excited about being in the shade. It’s instantly ten degrees cooler, at least. The platform isn’t comfortable, and I say that as a nigga that sleeps on an eight-thousand dollar mattress at home. But it’s way better than the dirt.
Ariana leans back against the trunk, sighing. “I would give anything for a long, hot shower right now.”
“Yeah. You need one.”
She whips her head towards me, elbowing me in the side.
“Relax,” I say, laughing. “Oh, you don’t like when I tease you back, huh? Who’s sensitive now, huh?”
“I’m sensitive aboutthat,” she says quietly. “Hygiene is important to me. I’m kinda obsessive about it.”
I nod, keeping my expression neutral, but inside, I’m giddy as fuck. I like a hygienic woman, that’s for damn sure. That’s one reason I love black women so much. I know them legs, feet,andcoochies gon’ get washed, and they gon’ smell good all the livelong day.
“You got your perfume with you? In your suitcase?”
She frowns. “Yes. Why?”
“I like how it smells on you.”
I can’t tell if the look on her face means she’s flattered or scared. I meant that shit as a compliment, but who knows how she took it.
“Maybe I’ll go out again later,” I say as I shift my back against the trunk. “I’ll try to find that ocean for you so you can wash. If you want.”
It’s quiet as fuck after that.
I close my eyes and feel myself dozing. I only open them again when I feel her move. She’s stretching her hurt leg out, flexing it at the knee.
“Lemme see that,” I say, pointing. “I wanna see how it’s healing.”
She nods.
I lean forward and unwrap the bandage later by layer until the cut is exposed.
She watches me closely. “Does it look okay?”
I study it for a while, then shrug. “I honestly have no idea.”
She laughs, short and high-pitched, and I can’t help laughing too. Goofy ass laugh.
“Lemme get the kit,” I say as I climb out of the house. “I’ll clean it and rewrap it.”
I get fresh gauze and antiseptic, then return to her side. My hands move slower than they need to, careful not to hurt her. She doesn’t move or flinch, she just watches. When I finish, our eyes lock. It kinda feels different between us now, but I can’t call it. We ain’t friends, but we ain’t enemies either.
Whatever we are, it’s making me feel a way. In my stomach. In my chest. I’m sweating again, even though I’m in the shade. Maybe because I’m touching her skin, which is like silk under my fingertips. That shit is blowing me. I run a finger down the length of her calf, real soft like, just because it’s impossible not to.
She doesn’t flinch at that, either.
I clear my throat and lean back, tossing the old bandages out onto the ground. “I took inventory earlier,” I say, forcing myvoice to sound normal. “We don’t have a lot of snacks left. But we got plenty of alcohol.”
She lets her head fall back against the tree and closes her eyes. “I’m too tired to think about that right now.”
I frown at that. I thought she’d be impressed that I’m thinking strategically now.
