Deep End – Chapter Four
Francis raised his head just in time to see Nick pull Jenny out of the safe room.
Won't jump him, huh? Francis thought, grinning. He heard the faint thwack of Nick's machete, which told him that the gambler was probably killing some Infected. Hell yeah, making sure you're not going to be interrupted. Smooth, Nick.
Francis chuckled, turned on his side, and closed his eyes.
Outside, Nick looked at Jenny. Admittedly he had become annoyed when Jenny asked him to tell her more about himself, but now it was slowly receding. Jenny was looking at him warily, as if expecting him to blow up at her in anger.
"I was scum, Jen. I still am," Nick said. "That's all you need to know. I lived by stealing and cheating, and I was always trying to keep my ass out of jail. I've done some things in my fucking life that you probably don't want to know. Frankly, I'm not the kind of guy you'd bring home to mom and dad."
Jenny stared at him for a long time – or so it felt to Nick. She then walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Lifting her head, she brushed her lips against his ear and whispered: "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Nick laughed softly. He was afraid that she'd back away, tell him she couldn't be with a guy like him, that she was too good for him. But here she was, holding him as if she was afraid she'd slip away into nothingness if she didn't.
It was at that moment that Nick knew, despite all his previous misgivings about women being emotional train wrecks and love being something that only weak people felt, that he was in love with her. It was so sudden, so unexplainable, why he had fallen in love with a girl nearly half his age.
Jenny suddenly grabbed his machete, pulled away from him, and stabbed an Infected that was about to launch itself at his back. The Infected fell, and Jenny raised the machete again and sliced the top half of its skull off.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to interrupt?" she groused, handing the machete back to Nick.
Nick took it from her and returned it to his sheath. He then grinned at her. "Now where were we?"
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "You need a hug?"
Nick shrugged noncommittally. "Come near me and find out."
She hesitated, as if debating whether she should follow him or not. Finally she walked back to him, looking at him curiously.
Nick pulled her close. "You know, I don't think that guy you dated for two months kissed you properly. If he had, you wouldn't have dumped him after two months."
"He dumped me," Jenny corrected him. "He actually liked my ex-best friend."
"What an asshole," Nick said, frowning. "I'll kick his ass."
Jenny just smiled.
Nick took it as a sign that she was waiting for him to kiss her, and was taken completely aback when she filled in the remaining space between their lips. At first her kiss was soft, almost pliant, but when Nick quickly regained his composure and kissed her back, it became more passionate, more…urgent. Nick flicked his tongue inside her mouth and Jenny gave a soft moan.
Her fingers trailed down the curve of his shoulders, finally resting on his waist. She used this "handhold" to pull herself even closer to him, until the only thing truly separating their bodies were a few inches of cloth.
Nick knew he was hard – hell, he'd gone hard for her the second she had kissed him – but Jenny didn't seem to mind.
When they broke apart, they were both breathless.
"So," Nick said after a second or two, "How's that for your first real kiss?"
Jenny laughed softly. "Much better. Tyler was obviously clueless about what he was doing." She glanced down, smiled, and looked at him. "You seem to have a huge problem."
"I'm painfully aware of that fact," Nick said, trying to figure out if she was dropping hints. Jenny wasn't one to mince words, however, for she shook her head slowly.
"As much as I'd like to help you get off, I'd much rather do it somewhere that isn't in the middle of nowhere," she said, going up to him. "Preferably someplace that has a bed."
Nick had to agree with her. When Jenny made no move to go back to the safe room, however, he grunted. "Still want to make out?"
Jenny shook her head. "Tempting, but no. I don't think you'd want to go inside with your…problem. Francis or Ellis may still be up."
"Fucking hell," Nick cursed. "Okay, go inside. I'll deal with this."
Jenny looked at him for a second, nodded, and then went back in. She didn't close the door completely, and he heard her snap the safety of his assault rifle off, ready to shoot any Infected that got too close, no doubt.
Nick sighed, ruffled his hair, and leaned against the safe room wall, trying to think of anything else but her. Unfortunately Nick's brain seemed to be releasing all of his pent-up fantasies that night, which did nothing to help him lessen his now throbbing erection.
Inside the safe room, Jenny gripped the rifle, smiling. She could still feel the pressure of Nick's lips on her own, and it had clearly taken all of her self-control not to give in and agree to have sex with him outside.
There are zombies, she told herself. Zombies. Fucking Nick in a forest full of zombies kind of takes the passion and desire away, don't you think?
But her less rational, riskier side told her that she'd be hard pressed to get rid of her desire for Nick. It was there, like a flame that refused to go out. Jenny reached up and rolled Nick's ring between her thumb and pointer finger and leaned her head against the wall. She was about to go out and see what was taking him too long, when the door opened and he stepped inside.
"What happened?" she asked, worried. "Did you run into some Infected?"
"A few," he replied, lifting the bar back across the door. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
Jenny noticed that his hands seemed to be a little wet, and she seemed to understand what he'd done while she was outside. Patting the space on the desk beside her, she moved a little to make room for him. Once he was seated, she leaned back against him, her rifle still in her hands.
When the time came for Francis and Ellis to take the second shift, it was Nick who prodded the biker awake. "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. I'm not your prince, so don't fucking expect me to kiss you."
Francis swung his arm at the conman, trying to knock Nick off his feet. Nick jumped out of the way just in time, cocked his head, and proceeded to wake Ellis. "Hey heehaw!"
Ellis snorted sleepily, waved his hand as if he were swatting a fly, and continued sleeping. Nick was about to slap the Southerner awake when Jenny knelt down beside Ellis and gently shook him awake.
"Ellis? Ellis, time to get up," she said.
"Jesus it's like you're waking a baby," Francis muttered. "Next time just pour water over him. Let's see if he won't wake up."
Jenny gave Francis a disparaging look, but the biker returned it with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Jenny rolled her eyes.
Once Francis and Ellis were fully awake – the latter admittedly taking longer to slap sleep away from his eyes – Nick and Jenny lay down. There were no blankets; Francis had dismantled a few of the boxes to make "beds," so Nick took off his jacket and covered Jenny's upper body with it.
She gave him a sleepy smile and rested her head on the crook of his arm, her hand on his chest.
"Look at them," Francis said, jerking his head in the direction of the two.
"Now ain't that nice." Ellis smiled. He was glad Nick finally found someone; ever since Ellis met the gambler, Nick had been nothing but a constant pain in the ass with all his disparaging remarks. Still a hell of a shooter, but sometimes his pessimism really got to Ellis. "Glad to see him be other than his usual self."
"A-fucking-men, Ellis," Francis agreed, nodding. "Wouldn't surprise me if they got married."
"Heck you think they will?" Ellis looked elated at the very thought. "I hope they do. They look cool together."
"Not to mention they're obviously so into each other," Francis added. "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
Ellis nodded. "Yeah. But, damn, I hope they do get married. I'd make a great Uncle Ellis. I'd teach the kid how to shoot, kill them zombies, and tell him all about me and my buddy Keith. Which reminds me, there was a time when Keith used the ball park in Burger Tank and he stepped in poop. He said the kid probably took a shit in the pool, and then…"
Francis grunted. He automatically drowned out the sound of Ellis's voice. The kid sure could go on and on with his stories. Francis felt tempted to shut the kid up, but he decided against it.
He regretted his decision when several Infected poked their heads through the safe room bars, and Francis slammed his crowbar over their heads with much gusto. Blood dripped down the door and Francis's crowbar.
"Kid, you'd better keep your stories until morning, otherwise we'd have more Infected at our asses," Francis said, dropping the crowbar onto the table.
"Yeah, they probably were interested to hear what happened to Keith." Ellis grinned, but thankfully he stopped talking.
Morning soon came, and Jenny was the first to wake up. She found out that Nick was now the one sleeping on her arm, and that his hand was on her stomach. She slowly eased her arm from under Nick's head and ever so gently folded his arm and laid it on the ground beside him. She shrugged into Nick's jacket as she stood up; it was much too big for her (Nick was pretty buff), but it had that distinct smell that reminded her of the conman.
"Morning," she greeted, her voice taking on that early morning tone. She seemed to notice the blood on the door, for her forehead creased slightly. "Infected?"
"Yeah, nothing we couldn't handle," Francis told her confidently.
Jenny smiled at him and proceeded to fix them breakfast. They still had enough food for three more meals, and she hoped that they'd reach Bradbury by nightfall. Behind her Nick woke up with a slight start, as if surprised to learn that she wasn't beside him.
"Rise and shine," Jenny said, turning towards Nick.
"Hey." Nick stood up, dusted himself off, and walked over to Jenny, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"Well good morning to you too, suit," Francis called gruffly from the other end of the safe room. "Good to see that you're as nice as ever."
"Yeah yeah, morning," Nick greeted, waving his hand dismissively. "So what's for breakfast?"
"Sandwiches," Jenny announced, holding up four sandwiches. "I hope you're hungry."
"Hell yeah," Nick replied, as Jenny handed him one. She then gave Ellis and Francis their sandwiches, before she unwrapped hers and bit into it. It tasted a bit stale, but it was much better than having nothing.
"Hey Jenny, why you wearing Nick's suit jacket?" Ellis asked in between mouthfuls of sandwich. "Looks kinda big on you."
"Oh, sorry," Jenny said, putting her sandwich down.
"Don't," Nick said. "I'll get it from you when we're back on the boat."
Jenny smiled while Francis tried hard not to grin like an idiot.
Once they finished their breakfast, they quickly checked their things and left the safe room. Just as Jenny expected, Francis had a field day shooting the Infected, which seemed to have increased overnight. Jenny took a few Infected down as well, including a Hunter that was hiding near the boat.
"Impressive," Nick said, winking at Jenny. He then cut the boat's mooring rope before wading in the river and climbing aboard. Jenny had now removed his jacket and handed it to him; he shrugged into it while admiring the way the tank top hugged her curves.
"Ooooh can I drive the boat?" Ellis asked excitedly. "I've always wanted to drive one!"
"Ellis, the only time you'll have your hands on that steering wheel is when I want to die," Nick retorted.
"Aw come on Nick, just this once?" Ellis begged. "I promise I won't crash it or anything."
"Remember the last time you wanted to operate something? Remember your fucking whirlybird? Remember what happened that time? It crashed, Ellis! It fucking crashed," Nick replied.
Jenny sighed. "Nick, leave him alone."
"What? I'm just saying he might crash the boat," Nick said defensively.
Shaking her head, she patted Ellis's shoulder as the mechanic sat down beside her. "We'll find another boat for you to drive, Ellis."
"Yeah, thanks Jen," Ellis said. "Nick's right, though. The only time I drove a boat was when I was with my buddy Keith."
"How many adventures have you had with him?" Jenny asked. "Nick told me you had tons of stories about you and Keith."
"Oh man, we had a lot! I don't think I can even keep track of all the stupid things we've done." Ellis was back to his old self, and Jenny had to admire the way he always walked on the sunny side of the street. Ellis launched into another of his Keith stories, and he was grateful that none of his companions complained – although Francis tended to gun the engine more than usual.