Page 46 of The Black Rider
Aeron was giddy when we got to the cart. What must have been Juana gave him a gigantic smile.
“I made your favorite, Aeron.”
“Have I told you how much I love you, Juana?”
“You’re just a pig who likes to eat. I’ll bet you say that to anyone who will feed you.”
Leif finally caught up.
“He actually doesn’t. Aeron gives compliments like someone is yanking his teeth out with no drugs. I can confirm yours are the best. Can we get enough for all three of us?”
I still had no idea what I was about to eat, but if it impressed two angels, I was ready to profess my love to Juana too.
“I only slaughtered one of my pigs to make Chicharron en Salsa Verde because Maria said you twohijo de putashave found a way to fix the world, and Aeron once wouldn’t leave my house for two days unless I made this for him.”
Juana served up three bowls, and we went to find a bench to eat on.
“What are we eating?”
“Fried pork skin in green sauce. And in case you wanted to stock up on Spanish swear words, she called us motherfuckers,” Leif said.
“Don’t ask questions. Just eat. She only makes this for special occasions. You can get it at some small cafes, but it’s not as good as hers.”
The smell wafting from my bowl was fucking amazing. I started shoveling it in my face as soon as I knew what it was. Oh, my god. I was ready to go tell Juana I loved her too. Would she call me a motherfucker too if I asked for seconds? I could have gone swimming in this stuff and died happily.
Aeron set his bowl in his lap and grinned at me.
“She always makes sex noises when she eats when it’s good.”
Leif just laughed.
“Oh, I’ve noticed. I want to dance.”
Leif yanked me to my feet, and we all went into the street with the other revelers. Aeron and Leif pressed up against me. I wasn’t familiar with any of the music that was being played, but I bumped and ground with Leif and Aeron and tried to sing along to the choruses.
I was having a fucking blast. Yeah, everyone needed a party right now. I hadn’t dealt with the apocalypse nearly as long as the people here. I slept through the war. But I had seen enough. Sure, they built something good here as they did in California, but that could be taken away at any moment.
Leif fucking did it. We still had a lot of work to do, but we could start bringing hope back to a bombed-out, zombie-filled world.
Then, we could kill my father.
Chapter 31
T
he street party was either loud enough to drown out the explosives and gunfire outside the walls, or the zombies just knew we were coming for them and didn’t come close. I could forget everything for a few hours and just pretend like I was a normal girl with two boyfriends at a party in Mexico.
We stumbled back to Leif’s apartment, but I wasn’t done celebrating yet. There were perks to having two boyfriends. They each brought something different into my life, but I’d be a total idiot if I didn’t explore what they brought together in the bedroom. I wasn’t all about Oval Office orgies with angels I’d never met, but a threesome with Aeron and Leif? Sign me the fuck up for at least seeing what that was like.
The door wasn’t even shut yet, and I already had my shirt off. It was the apocalypse, and no one could make me wear a bra anymore. I didn’t care if I nipped out, and someone wanted to stare. People had centuries to design a comfortable bra. The world was in the process of ending, and they still hadn’t managed. I was done with bras.
I shimmied out my trousers and kicked them at Leif’s face. I wasn’t looking. He was in the process of trying to get naked, too, and I got him right in the chest. When I looked over, Aeron was already totally naked and standing at attention. Aeron caught my thong and sniffed it like a pervert when I threw it at him. If Leif could just get his trousers off, we could get this show on the road. He seemed to struggle and hop all over the room.
“Man, take your fucking shoes off, or you will fall and break the table,” Leif said.
So, that was the problem. Leif finally got his shoes off and eventually his pants. Aeron swooped me up and carried me to bed because he got tired of watching Leif struggle. It made me feel a little better about myself that even angels got stuck in their trousers sometimes.
Aeron and I were furiously making out on the bed when Leif stomped in.
