Johanna was speechless.
He kissed me. The thought struck her hard and for several long moments she could do nothing but stand frozen in place.
"What are you doing? " Jo whispered, bringing her fingers to touch her lips. They still tingled under her touch.
"I knew you were slow, but do you really not know what a kiss is?" He joked with a raised brow.
"But why did you kiss me?"
"Do I really have to spell it out for you, Princess?" His tone was somewhat exasperated. She stared back at him with wide eyes.
She knew he was atttacted to her, but she never thought that he would move so quickly, so confidently. She never thought that she would like it.
He moved forward, dipping his head like he was going to kiss her again.
"Wait," she managed to squeak out.
He paused, just inches away. His hungry gaze moved to her eyes, then back to her lips.
"Wait for what?" He asked, somewhat cautiously, as if he were afraid of her answer. "I want to kiss you again."
Her stomach did a little flip and Johanna was taken aback. She hadn't expected to be so affected by his attention. She was every bit as breathless as when Arthur kissed her and twice as flustered.
"Not here," she answered finally. "Not now."
"Come on," he nodded after a moment, pulling gently on her hand which he still held tightly in his own. "Lets go eat."
The news was all over the Prydwen before the end of lunch.
Senior Knight Murdoch and the vaultie.
The others seemed much more accomadating to her, even offering smiles and sly winks as she sat at a table next to a grinning Murdoch and his friends; all of whom had treated her like dirt at some point or another.
The other knights were perfectly friendly to her now. They even attempted to include Johanna in their conversations until they found out just how socially inept the girl was. After several instances of enduring her stuttering and blushing, they regressed to safe topics like training and missions.
It seemed Murdoch couldn't wipe the smile from his face, even as he regaled the tale of his extensive hospital visit to the table of his friends, very few of whom had actually visited him from the sound of it.
Jo also noticed how he would look over at her every few seconds to find her watching him.
She couldn't help it. He had kissed her. And she had liked it.
She shouldn't have liked it, Jo told herself, feeling ashamed.
She and Arthur had never put a label on what they had, but Johanna knew he wouldn't be pleased. She knew it was betrayl.
Yet she could still feel the sensation of Murdoch's rough lips on hers, so different from Arthur's, but just as stimulating. A very large part of her lamented the fact that she was unlikely to ever experience it again. It was sweet and gentle and Jo could feel the emotion he had poured into it. She had never been kissed like that before, never felt that kind of innocence from a kiss. It was everything a girl could have wanted for her first time.
The problem was, that had not been her first kiss and Arthur was going to be furious.
He would find out soon, whether she told him or not. With the way the Brotherhood gossiped, she wouldn't be surprised if he knew already. The question was, would he let her explain? Would he understand?
"So do you play cards, Polowski?" One of the more muscular knights asked her. She didn't know his name, but she distinctly remembered when he had pushed her into the wall of the corridor they had been sharing.
"No," she managed in a quiet voice. "No, I've never learned."
"I'll teach you, if you want," Murdoch offered. "I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time."
Jo wasn't interested in making a fool of herself in front of everyone, but she couldn't think of how to tell him that so she just nodded.
"We play for anything. Caps, cigarettes, booze, you name it." Vargas offered, though she was much more reserved than the rest.
Johanna thought to her meager stash of caps and almost groaned at the thought of losing it in a card game that she didn't even want to play. She would have to find some way to get out of it.
The lunch hour waned, but still Murdoch smiled brightly as he picked up Johanna's lunch tray for her and returned it.
She wouldn't have imagined him to be so happy just from a simple kiss. It occured to Jo that she would have to talk to him, and soon.
Just... not right now. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and she wasn't sure what she would tell him.
That she was with another man?
She had a feeling that Arthur would be less than pleased should news of their involvement go out. He was already taking precautions to ensure that their relationship was seen as strictly professional.
That possibility was out.
"Are you sure you won't come to the airport with me?" Murdoch asked, tugging on her braid.
"I have work to do," she told him, glad her voice was steady.
"Oh, alright," he sighed. "See you at dinner, Princess."
Several more people gave their goodbyes, as if they were her friends and Johanna sat frozen in her seat as the mess hall quickly emptied.
One of the last ones to leave, Jo finally stood on shaky legs and walked her way back to the workshop.
Her tools were right where she had left them, the junk terminal was still waiting for her to tear it open.
With a deep breath, she began her work again, trying unsuccessfully to ignore thoughts of Arthur and of Murdoch.
She worked in silence, the bay blissfully empty except for Proctor Ingram who was working on a suit of power armor.
Jo poured her frustration into her work, finding that the ancient terminal came apart much more quickly than before. Soon she had the casing removed and was staring at the prized processors she had sought. They were undamaged, as she had hoped.
She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, glad that the hard part was over. If only the same could be said about her personal life.