The next morning, for the first time since we'd arrived on the island, I woke up next to Edward. The sun was streaming through the windows and the air outside the blankets was cool. Edward was holding me against his chest, one hand down the front of my loose pants. I smiled at that. Acclimation.

I hadn't said anything to him, but the idea of sex at the same time excited and terrified me. His hand resting against me was comforting, though, his body against mine sheltering and soothing. I could feel a morning erection pressing against my back and I bit my lip, debating the wisdom of shifting my hips a bit.

He shifted against me instead, pressing harder against me and moving his hand and rubbing against my bare skin.

"Are you awake?" I whispered.

"Yes. Are you?"

I laughed softly and nodded. He moved his hand in my pants and gently rolled me so I was facing him. He kissed me softly and I sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Edward, I'm not sure."

He nodded, still kissing me. His mouth moved along my jaw and down my neck. "There's no rush, B. I may get blue balls, but there's no rush."

I laughed softly and shifted some. "I think we need to do acclimation stuff. Get me used to you."

"What does that mean?"

"Naked spooning?"

He pulled back from me then, looking surprised. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

He studied me for a moment and then shook his head, laughing softly. "You never cease to amaze and surprise me." He pulled away completely and lifted his hips, shimmying out of the loose pants he was wearing and tossing them over the side. I raised my eyebrows as I realized now that he was wearing scrubs.

"Why scrubs?" I asked, pulling off my own clothes in a similar manner.

"It's all they had. They raided a hospital for medical supplies and ended up taking all the sheets and towels and scrubs."

"What about all the shit we brought?"

"I was too tired to get something out of that pile and the scrubs were handy."

I chuckled. "Laziness for the win."

I shifted backwards towards him. He was still aroused so we aligned our bodies so he wasn't uncomfortable but was still in contact with my body. My heart rate picked up slightly when the head of his penis brushed against sensitive skin. He wrapped his arm around me, holding me close to his chest.

"Is this ok?" He sounded slightly anxious.

"It's fine. Just give me a second."

I closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. After a long moment, I felt better. I shifted slightly and he groaned softly.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." His breathing was ragged. "I may need to apologize in a second, though."

I blushed and pulled away from him, sitting up.

"Shit, sorry, B. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"No, its fine." I turned on the bed and studied him. I pushed him onto his back and swung my leg over his, sitting on his thighs, his penis standing tall and against my lower body.

"Fuck, B, what happened to acclimation?" he gasped as I braced a hand on either side of his chest and lifted my hips.

"I've never been very patient," I admitted. "I figured the best way to learn was by throwing myself into anything." I wiggled my hips slightly, aligning our bodies. I slowly lowered mine onto his and he groaned, his eyes fluttering shut. I stopped when I was sitting on him, his body fully in mine. His hands were gripping my hips tightly at this point, so tightly I was sure he'd be leaving marks. I sat still, letting my body adjust to his.

I sat for a long time, his grip tightening the longer I was still.

"If you don't move I'm going to go insane," he finally gasped.

I smiled and leaned forward, my lips brushing against his. "Tell me what happened with your family."

His eyes were black and he narrowed them at me. "Low blow."

"I'll move if you talk."

"I'm not sure both are possible simultaneously."

"So talk, then I'll move."

He groaned and closed his eyes. "Fine."

I moved my hips slowly and slightly and he panted softly for a moment before licking his lips and kissing me lightly. I sat up and looked at him expectantly.

"When I was about your age, I got a girl pregnant. She came to me, freaking out about what we were going to do. I was actually kind of excited because…" he closed his eyes and moaned softly as I ground against him a bit harder. "Fuck."

I grinned. "Keep talking."

He nodded and took a deep breath. "I was excited because I love kids and wanted like, a million of them. I told her I'd marry her and take care of the baby and her."

"Tanya?"

He shook his head, his hands pulling desperately on my hips in a futile attempt to move me faster. "Her name was Veronica. Anyway, my parents decided having a grandchild by their teenage son was not in their best interest so they paid her off. She moved away and had an abortion. When I found out, I left. I didn't speak to them again until I heard about the infection. As pissed as I still was, they're family, you know?"

I nodded and moved harder, increasing my speed now that I'd heard the story. I'd have been pissed and honestly, I wasn't sure I'd have forgiven them myself. Of course, I was a girl so I would have been the one sent away and paid off.

I was lost in my thoughts when Edward suddenly jerked me off his body and rolled away from me, groaning loudly as he finished. I lay on the bed, confused for a moment.

"Edward?"

"Can't risk a pregnancy right now and you didn't exactly give me warning so I could get a condom."

"Oh." I sat up and looked over at the mess he'd made. "You get to wash the sheets."

He laughed softly and collapsed on his back, pulling me down with him. "Fine. But in the future you have to give me a heads up."

I tangled my legs with his and nodded. "Definitely. Next time I might end up on the floor."

He laughed softly and lightly traced his fingers up and down my arm. We lay in silence for a while, basking in the bit of afterglow we had.

"Shouldn't we be doing something?" I asked finally. "It doesn't seem like the kind of place that lets people just…chill."

"Yeah, everyone has a job. Animal tending, teaching, cleaning, cooking, plants, lookout. I've been chipping in wherever I was needed."

I nodded. "What do you think they'll have me do?"

"Probably something domestic. They seem to think you'd be into that shit."

I laughed and propped myself up, looking at him. "And you don't think I would be?"

He shrugged. "You don't strike me as Suzy Homemaker, no offense."

"None taken. I'm a lousy cook and I always managed to fuck up the laundry when I had a machine. I can't imagine how good I'll be at beating it on rocks or whatever the fuck they're doing here."

He laughed again. "They've got tubs and wringers and shit."

I lay back down and sighed softly. "So what's the future got for us, Edward?"

"Dunno."

"You know, I don't know your last name."

"Well I don't even know your first name, so I feel like you're one up on me."

I sighed again and kissed his chest, rolling away. "Maybe that's better for now. Who knows, maybe you'll find some woman who's perfect for you that your family approves of and is closer to your age with a wonderful name like…Jacqueline."

He laughed. "Jacqueline?"

"Yeah, Jackie O? You could be her Jack and you could have a storybook Cape Cod romance like the Kennedys."

"You realize he was a cheating asshole, right? And she was paid to stay with him?"

"Details." I didn't roll back over to face him. Truth be told, I was afraid that even with the drastically reduced human population, he'd find someone better. Someone with a high school diploma and useful skills.

"B, what's going on?"

I sighed and sat up, facing away from him. "It's late, we should get dressed and go downstairs and be sociable. Plus you need to wash the sheets." I stood up but he reached out and grabbed my wrist.

"Talk to me."

"I've got to pee." I pulled my arm out of his grasp and pulled on my clothes. I knew my sudden mood swing didn't make sense but I wasn't in a great mindset to try to figure it out. I hurried out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom, fighting back tears. It was best to not get close. I knew that and here I'd let myself do just that.

I sat on the toilet and hugged my chest, fighting against the gaping hole I'd just punched into it. I was talented, I tell you. Good at fucking up my life when I didn't even want to.

I waited about ten minutes before going back into the room and pulling on shoes and socks and then heading downstairs. The kids were spread around the room doing what looked like schoolwork. I could hear voices in the kitchen so I followed them. Edward was in there with Esme and an older woman I didn't recognize.

"B, nice to see you up and around," Esme beamed at me. "This is Mrs. Clearwater, our teacher."

The old woman stood up and held out her hand. "Please, call me Sue," she smiled. She was exactly what you would think a retired teacher would look like, short, plump, glasses and white hair. She looked like everyone's favorite grandmother. I had a sudden urge to curl up in her lap and tell her all my problems.

"Alright Sue," I smiled hesitantly, shaking her wrinkled hand. It was soft and frail. I turned to Esme, pointedly ignoring Edward. "What can I do to help? I understand that everyone needs to pull their weight around here and I'm ready to start hauling."

She smiled. "Oh, you've been sick, no one thinks anything less of you. Even now if you want to just take on babysitting duty we'd all understand."

"How many kids are there?" I asked curiously, looking back towards the big common room. There seemed to be more kids than there had been when we'd first arrived. In fact, I was pretty sure that four of those kids hadn't been there before. And two of them looked close to my age.

"Well, there's our five, then the caretakers' two grandchildren and then the Black' three kids. Though you won't have to take care of Jake, since he's working with the men, or Rachel since she's 17. She normally keeps an eye on the kids but she's trying to focus on her school work these days."

My head was swimming with trying to keep up with everyone. I knew there couldn't be more than a couple of dozen people on the island but still. It was easier to remember one person over a bunch.

"I'm up for whatever, though I should warn you I'm not great at domestic chores. My mom banished me from doing laundry after I ruined all of my dad's work shirts twice and I wasn't allowed to cook when I somehow caught the flat top stove on fire." I grinned, hoping she'd see that I wasn't upset about it all but she and Sue were staring at me in shock.

"I'm good with kids, really. I babysat all the time before. Plus, I'm not bad with lawn equipment. My mom had a pitiful attempt at a vegetable garden."

"Well, then that's where we'll put you." Esme looked relieved at finally having a spot for me.

Edward stood up then, handing his mother his empty plate and glass. "Thanks for breakfast. I'll be back later."

She nodded and smiled as he headed out the door. He paused beside me and looked down at me. "We will talk later, B."

I gritted my teeth and looked away. Not if I had anything to do with it.