Corn, Cows, and the Apocalypse (Part 1)

by Felicia Jedlicka

  “Who…” I tried, but stopped. “Why do you think Devin would like the blue one?”

  “Because he likes a dolled up woman. He likes dresses, perfume, make-up, and all that bullshit.”

  “Do you think Devin would like the pink one?” Garrett shook his head slowly with just a hint of severity in his eyes. “Would anyone like the pink one?” He nodded his head slowly refusing to grant me any help in translating his message. “You didn’t like the pink one.”

  “I didn’t say that. I said you don’t want the pink one. Unless I read you wrong. I’m not very good at reading women, as I said.” I opened my mouth to say something, but he grabbed the bag from me. “I’ll put this in my satchel. Bag up those wet clothes before you bring them out.”

  I stood by the counter after he left trying to figure out how blue and pink had become such a difficult decision.

  -Cupid’s Arrows-

  Despite Garrett’s obvious hint about choosing him over Devin, he hadn’t made any attempts to seduce me beyond being a little less brusque. I had all out refused to do anymore training, but he talked me into working on my archery skills. Since I was already good at that, I didn’t feel like it would be too much trouble.

  Famous last words.

  “Five! Eight! Twelve! Six! Two! Faster Lenore!”

  “I’m dizzy!” I said after the second attempt at the two o’clock target went into the cab of a rusted out car instead of in the circle drawn of the door. I put the bow down and closed my eyes.

  “Lenore.” My name was more often a scold than an address from him.

  “I can’t go that fast.”

  “Turn your head first and then your body.” He said manually turning my neck and then forcefully turning my hips. It made me falter, but he held me up.

  “Okay!” I ground out and took a few deep inhalations that didn’t help the dizziness but kept me from punching him again.

  “Are you ready?” He said walking out in front of me.

  “I think so.”

  “Are you ready?!”

  “Yes!” I yelled. “Are you going to move, so I don’t hit you?”

  “If you’re as good as you claim, then you shouldn’t hit me.”

  “Are you willing to bet your life on that?”

  “Yes.” He said without hesitation. I frowned at him for the overconfidence. “Nine!”

  He continued to yell out numbers and I proceeded to pull arrows and fire. I slowed when I had to hit a target near him, but the extra half second insured a bull’s-eye. I managed to increase the speed between the targets while still getting a good aim. When all the arrows were used we collected them again.

  “You are pretty good.” Garrett said as we came back to my mark.

  “Ooh, a compliment; are you sure my ego won’t burst my head. I’m actually surprised you haven’t erupted into flames for offering it.”

  “That’s funny, Lenore.” He said placing the arrows in my quiver.

  “Is it? I can’t tell tin man.”

  “Just because I don’t guffaw like a jack ass, doesn’t mean I don’t have a sense of humor. Line up to the twelve o’clock target.”

  “Guffaw!” I snorted while adjusting my position. “Shit I’d be happy with a smile.”

  “I said line up.” Garrett jerked my hips to a closed stance despite my preference for an open stance. “What is this day one of archery class?”

  “Yes, sir.” I saluted. “Would you like me to lick your boots, sir?”

  Garrett repositioned in front of me and offered a fake smile. “How’s that?”

  “It’ll due.”

  “Damn you are spicy today. Anything in particular bothering you today, other than my demeanor.” He raised his hand to his ear when I didn’t say anything. “So, nothing else is bothering you other than me just being me.” I shook my head. “How about this Lenore? How about you straighten your damn shoulders, shoot that target,” he pointed to the target like I might have been confused about it, “with every last arrow as straight and true as you are capable.”

  “That’s it? Just shoot my arrows at one target. What’s the catch?”

  “The catch is I’m going to be distracting you. Don’t pay attention to me, just shoot. If you go outside the target line even once, then you cook and clean tonight. Deal?”

  “Deal,” I said without concern for losing. “Just tell me when.”

  Garrett moved around behind me and gave me the go ahead. I managed to get two clean shots off as he clapped his hands by my ears. He pulled a cluster of hair from my head, but I hit my target.

  For an arrow or two he did nothing and I braced myself for something painful. When I felt him press his body against mine I floundered for a moment. “Keep shooting. Pause and you forfeit.” Garrett warned.

  I shot true even when his hands reached under my shirt to caress my stomach. He pinched me hard, but I ignored it. I could see his plan and I wasn’t going to let him distract me with pleasure or pain.

  I cleared my mind of assumptions and pressed on to finish my task. When he kissed the back of my neck, I nearly fell over from shock, but the arrow made it to the target. Barely.

  His hand went farther up my shirt, not bothering to stop at just threating the gates of the castle. “What…” Was all I really got out.

  “Keep shooting.” He whispered as he pinched my nipples.

  I couldn’t believe how far he was taking it. I also couldn’t believe that I was letting him. Cooking and cleaning didn’t suck enough to be manhandled in this way. My arrow hit the bull’s-eye, which surprised even me.

  “That’s good Lenore, three more arrows. Do you want to quit?”

  I grabbed for another arrow and his hands went back down my shirt. I hit the target. He skirted the waistband of my jeans, but he kept his hands above the denim as he traveled down. I hit the target, but just. I reached for the last arrow and I could feel my hands shaking. I was fully aware that I was taking a little longer with the last arrow.

  I aimed as his hands gripped my thighs just out of reach of where I now wanted them. I held my breath for the aim and out of anticipation. He released me just before I released the arrow. The sudden lack of support behind me made me realize how much I was leaning against him. The arrow faltered as much as I did and landed in the grass behind the target.

  “Oh, so close.” Garrett smiled at her. “You were this close.” He offered nearly closed fingers for effect. “How unsatisfying for you?”

  I’m not sure what glaring expression I wanted to offer, but the smile on his face which was at my expense was snuffing out my anger with another emotion. I nodded. “Yeah.” I headed to the house, not bothering to collect my arrows.

  “We aren’t done.” Garrett called after me.

  “Yes,” I turned to face him so he could see how serious I was, “we are. I’ll fix dinner and I’ll clean up, but I want you out of my house tomorrow morning. I can tolerate the bruises. I can live with the cold, incommunicative personality, but I won’t stand for this teasing game. I’m not lonely enough for that.”

  He didn’t offer the sheepish look I expected. He just looked stoic as usual.

  -The Last Supper-

  I made a quick meal of spaghetti o’s and Vienna sausages. It was hardly a meal fit for an adult, but I didn’t want too many dishes and I didn’t want to spend more than a few minutes preparing it.

  I was surprised that Garrett hadn’t argued about leaving. He packed up his bag and set it buy the door like he planned to leave that night instead of in the morning. When he came back in with his jacket on I expected he might skip the meal as well.

  He looked over the microwaved meal with disdain before looking to me. I didn’t offer anything that might be construed as an opening for appeal. He came in and sat down at the table. He didn’t bother offering the standard, “looks good” before diving in with his spoon.

  It was apparently a race against awkwardness, so he didn’t bother to swallow between bites. The faster he ate the
more my stomach felt too sick to eat. I knew we had gotten off to a rocky start. I also knew that he wasn’t a great conversationalist, but I thought perhaps he might attempt to mend the situation. I watched him practically choke himself to get through our last meal together and it made me feel like a piece of gum on the bottom of his shoe.

  I didn’t bother excusing myself when my eyes started to water. I just slipped away from the table and went upstairs to my bedroom. As much as I wanted him to be gone I still hated hearing the front door slam shut.

  I buried my head in my pillow so I didn’t have to hear his motorcycle distancing the house. I tried to remind myself that I wasn’t alone. My friends would be back, hopefully soon. Garrett was a difficult man to get to know, but he was still a better conversationalist than the walls.

  “You forgot to take your bags out of the satchel.” Garrett’s muffled voice said. I lifted my head from beneath my pillow. I was certain he could see my tears, because he already looked uncomfortable. My hair was no doubt a mess from the pillow, but that was nothing to trifle about now. “Your clothes.” He said waving two bags from the clothing store we had gone to the other day.

  “Just put them anywhere.” I said baffled that he was making the effort to bring them upstairs when he could have just left them downstairs, or strewn them through the yard if he preferred.

  He dropped the bags right below him, taking the “anywhere” part literally. “What about this one?” He pulled a small bag out from under his jacket that was from the same store. I recognized it immediately. It had been stashed in with my wet clothes. “What do you want to do about this bag?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He pulled the pink nightgown out of the bag and dangled it on one finger. “What are we going to do about this?”

  “I don’t know.” I said again irritated that I was on trial for having the pink nightie when he was the one who had put every last innuendo into the damn thing.

  “This is a beautiful nightgown, but I can’t keep it.”

  “I’m not asking you to.” I cringed with confusion.

  “I like the way it feels.” He continued with his rant. “I like the way it moves. I would love to lie next to this nightgown night after night, but I don’t have that to offer.”

  I took in a deep breath as a gleaned the meaning of his words. “You’re just here to train me. You’re going back to Chicago when we’re done aren’t you.” He nodded. “How long?”

  “Not long. I’ve been wanting to explore this, but for reasons even beyond time limits, I didn’t think that was fair to you. I see my waffling has made me seem like a tease. I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to put you on the roller coaster with me.” He stepped forward and handed me the negligee and sat on the bed with me. “I didn’t argue with leaving because I thought it might be best if I leave before I make you hate me for more reasons than you already do. The truth is, you either need to put that on, or I need to get the hell out of here. Either way I’m still going to be the son-of-a-bitch who runs out on you.”

  I looked down at the night gown. I already knew what the answer was. I still had mixed feelings about Garrett’s personality and his motives, but in the end there weren’t a lot of men to choose from in the new world. One night stands and flings were about as good as it got.

  “Will you ever leave Chicago?”

  Garrett took my hand. “I have responsibilities there.” I glanced down at his hand.

  “So I shouldn’t turn down all the marriage proposals I get after you leave.” He smiled and even chuckled at that, but didn’t necessarily answer.

  I stood up and took the nightgown into my walk in closet to slip it on. When I returned Garrett had lit the emergency candle I kept beside my bed. It was a little gesture of romance, but I appreciated it.

  He looked me over with tensed urgent attraction. It had been a long time since any man had looked at me that way, if ever. When he pulled me to straddle his lap, my hands started to shake. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” I said with a tremor in my voice. “I didn’t get a lot of practice with sex prior to the world ending.”

  “Oh,” he said leaning back on the bed. “It’s a good thing I’m your trainer then.”

  I smiled and leaned over to kiss him. He tasted like mint, and I wished I would have brushed my teeth. When he finally pulled me back from the kiss he proceeded to instruct me on what to do, starting with removing his pants.

  At first I thought the scene seemed a little too directed and unromantic, but since my past experiences were hardly worth mentioning, anything was an improvement.

  We experimented with several different positions until I found one that actually did for me what any position did for him. He brought me the satisfaction I had been missing from my other experiences.

  “Thank you,” I panted into his ear, still dizzy from euphoria.

  He chuckled and caressed my cheek. “You say that like we’re done. Always trying to get out of your training early.” He clucked his tongue.

  “I hope this isn’t a work me until I puke training session.”

  “No, but I’m pretty sure I can get you to exhaustion.” He kissed me deeply. It took a moment before I could get used to the fervor of it, but once I did I was offering it right back.

  -One Night Stand-

  There are details in conversations that you often miss the first time. It isn’t until you go back over the dialogue that you notice what you missed. Garrett had been completely honest with me about not being able to stay with me. He said he would have to go back to Chicago. He also said we didn’t have long. Little did I know, that meant he was going to leave immediately after I fell asleep from our lovemaking.

  It was alarming at first. I kept looking for him, in case he was just hiding somewhere in the house. When the day went by without his return, it was clear that he wasn’t out getting supplies. When he wasn’t back the next day it was also clear that I might run out of supplies and I had no transportation to get more.

  I built up a warm fire that second night and planned out my journey to see Priest the next day. To my knowledge, he didn’t have a vehicle, but I assumed one of his harem could give me a lift into town. If their druggy stupor didn’t land us in a ditch, I might survive another week on my own.

  When I heard the Dodge truck pull into the drive my heart leapt. I peeked out the kitchen window and saw the four-wheeler loaded in the back. There was no sign of the motorbike. That meant Devin and Haden were back, but not August. I watched them both climb out of the cab arguing about something. I resisted the urge to run out and greet them. It had been a hard three months for me, and an even harder last week, so I wasn’t going to make them feel like heroes just for returning.

  I moved back to the fire and warmed my hands. Devin stormed in like he had never left. “I don’t care, I won fair and square. Lenore!” He caught sight of me and rushed over. I couldn’t help but smile at his energy. He picked me up in an all-encompassing hug, and twirled me. “Oh, sweet thing, I missed you.” He set me down and kissed me. It was a wetter kiss then I expected, but I didn’t pull away. “Did you miss me?” He said still holding my face.

  “Endlessly.”

  He smiled and pulled me into a tight hug. “Are you okay?” He whispered in my ear.

  “Yeah.” I whispered back.

  He pulled away again. “You would not believe how much fun I had. We went to the tournaments in the Metro and I won!” He did a little dance to show his enthusiasm.

  “Devin.” August’s voice carried over from the kitchen door. She looked serene and magnanimous as usual, but seeing her reminded me of every hit I took from Garrett in her name. The pain I endured to live up to her expectations of me. The still forming scars that were proof that I was forever changed into the woman she wanted me to be. It was always hard for me to be angry at August, but in that moment, anger was the only emotion I did hold for her. “We can talk about that later.”

  “Hello, August.” A said
rather coldly. Devin backed away giving us space to stare across the house at each other. Haden managed to find something of interest to do in the kitchen cupboards, so she didn’t interfere with the showdown.

  “Hello, Lenore.” August said as she strolled over to me. She was offering a little bit of a smile, but I couldn’t match it. “How did everything go?”

  “Well enough. I’m sure most of the evidence of my work has started to heal, but I assure you the scars remain.”

  August looked a little hurt by that statement, but she smiled anyway. “I hope you understand now why I did what I did.” She moved around me toward the fire. I wasn’t sure if it was Garrett’s training, my self-professed psychic ability, or just my understanding of August, but I already knew what she was doing.

  “Yes, I understand your purpose.”

  August grabbed the fireplace poker and whipped it at my head. It took everything I had not to block it, especially since I could have kicked it out of her hand before she brought it up to swing. The poker stopped millimeters from my face. August looked disappointed, but in the realization that I hadn’t flinched, she found a different kind of disappointment.

  I perked an eyebrow at her. “Shall I dance for you now? Or do you prefer to play marionette with my strings?” August lowered the poker. I saw her glance to Devin. She didn’t even know how to handle me. “We’ve disappointed each other. I haven’t lived up to your expectations of me and you certainly haven’t lived up to mine. Don’t worry though. I understand what you want now. I can be the person that you want me to be.”

  August took the stinging concession like a punch in the gut, but she didn’t try to offer anything to make me feel better about being abandoned for three months. “Well,” Devin said rubbing his hands together behind me. He pressed them down on my shoulders and squeezed like he might be able to release the tension in the room by easing the tension in my shoulders. “How’s about you start dinner while I tell you all about my feat of bravery?”