Page 51 of The Last Man on Earth
She looks up when she hears my footsteps. “This feels weird, right?”
I drop the logs at the base of the biggest tree out here, then roll my shoulders to get out the ache and tension. “It does,” I say. “Had to be done, though.”
“Yes.” She smiles. “We stayed in our starter home as long as we could. Now it’s time to move into our mansion.”
I chuckle at that. “You playin’, but if you want it to be bigger, I can make that happen.”
“I was kidding.” She peers at me curiously. “You want to?”
“Do youwantme to?”
She nods.
“Cool.”
I get to work. She helps this time, handing me branches, pressing her palm against my hand when we lift a beam into place, holding the corners tight when I go to tie them together. It’s hard, hot, and sweaty work, but it feels good. Something about building this new place feels like we’re taking some of our power back.
It goes quicker than the first time now that I know what the fuck I’m doing. I give us about three feet of extra room, which ain’t much, but it’s enough that Ari seems happy. I do three layers of leaves on the ceiling this time instead of two, and I reinforce the platform to support us better when we’re laying on it. It ain’t no mattress, but it’ll do.
By the time we finish building the new shelter, the sun is about to lay down for the evening, and I have just enough energy left to catch our dinner for tonight. Ari stands next to me while I rig up the line, her eyes on the horizon, toes wiggling in the surf. I can't stop glancing at her, taking mental snapshots of her pretty face. She's glowing in this light. My island angel.
An angel that won't be pure for long, if I get my way.
After I toss the line in the water, she stays close, watching and waiting, quiet until she finally breaks the silence.
“You know,” she says slowly, “I thought about our conversation yesterday. I don’t really have terms, but…I do think you could be doing more.”
I glance over at her, amused. “Meaning?”
“I told you, I’m not just gonna fall into your arms like every other woman. I need more effort.”
“Hold up.” My smile turns into a laugh. “You sayin’ you want princess treatment? On a desert island?”
“Yes,” she says sharply. “Just because I’m stranded doesn’t mean I can’t have standards.”
Sounds like she means it.
I turn away from my makeshift fishing rod and give her my undivided attention. “What does that look like to you?”
“Well…” she trails off, deep in thought. “One example could be like at the end of the night. Before we go to sleep, you could brush the sand off my feet. And rub them a little. Or, if it comes to the point where you have to start hunting, I want you to do it in my honor and bring back whatever you kill and present it to me. Like a gift.”
“Wowwww.” I shake my head in disbelief. “Princess treatment on a desert island. I done heard it all. We ain’t even got a fuckin’ toilet, but you want princess treatment.”
“Correct,” she says, eyes sparkling. “Because it’s not a dollar amount. It’s a mindset. You might be the only man here, but you still have to apply pressure.”
I burst out laughing, but not for the reason she probably thinks. She’s staring at me with those big brown eyes, lips tight with disapproval, waiting for me to shoot her down, but the truth is, she just made me want her more. I love that shit, when women get to making demands, cuz I’m the typa nigga that gets shit done.
Even on a desert island.
“Alright,” I say. “I hear you. I gotta work for it. I got no problem with that.”
My eyes follow her as she starts unpacking, and I know. I feel it.
It’s only a matter of time.
Chapter 24
Ari
