Page 34 of The Last Man on Earth
At some point, he takes off his shirt, and I’m staring at his tattoos again, and his back. His muscles. His face. His eyes. And I realize something disturbing, something I hadn’t expected at all.
I’m starting to want him.
Chapter 17
Villain
The night is loud.
It’s the loudest it’s been since we’ve been here, or maybe I’m just fully alert for the first time. I didn’t drink or smoke today. Dinner was crackers and some shit Ari called bresaola.
Now, we’re in bed listening to the waves crash against the shore, steady as a heartbeat. The leaves over us shift in the wind.
Ari’s beside me. When she moves, her arm brushes mine. A tiny spark in the dark.
“You smell like me,” she murmurs.
Her voice is sexy as fuck.
“I didn’t have my soap. Had to use yours.”
Earlier, I washed while she cleaned up the letters I made. I wasn’t prepared at all, but I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by. She said she didn’t look, but I don’t believe that.
“I hate to bring this up,” she says, “but I think we only have another few days worth of food.”
The words land heavy. I stare at the roof and blow out a breath, trying to muster up some optimism.
I think I’m fresh out.
“If it comes down to it, I’ll fish. Or hunt.”
She props her head on her hand, looking down at me. “With what? You don’t have poles. Or a gun.”
“Don’t need ‘em. I’ll spear a muhfucka if I got to.” I stare up into her eyes. “The last thing I’ma do is let you starve out here.”
She settles on her back again, staring up at the leaf canopy. “Big promises.”
“Which I always keep.”
Silence stretches. Not uncomfortable. The opposite, really. Which is different for me.
Laying up with Shemari, I swear to God, that girl was always yappin’. She hates when it’s quiet. I don’t know how she does it after being with JR all day. I know his loud ass be disturbing the peace. You’d think she’d relish the quiet, but nah. Yap, yap, yap.
“What’s your deal?”
I turn my head toward Ari.
“How did Vincent Newcastle become Villain?”
“Oh, you want a nigga’s life story, huh?”
“Might as well. I need something to put me to sleep.”
I laugh at that. “Always with the jokes.”
“Seriously,” she says softly. “I’m listening.”
“It ain’t no fascinating story, really. My cousin Crown…the one who was…on the…”
