The Battles of Rock Harbor: A Bugging In Tale of the Apocalypse

by J. B. Craig

  He pulled her back on the bed by the back of her t-shirt, turned her around and kissed her. The kiss lasted a long time. “You know, I could call what you just did to me sexual assault. But I won’t. Thank you, beautiful. I won’t push, but you know I want more, if you ever do.”

  She kissed back, and put her tongue into his mouth. He finally got to find out what she tasted like. Her lips, and her passion were smooth, firm, and knowing. He could feel her body getting more pliable. “I’m sure it will be one day soon, big guy. But not today. Thank you, and you know I still love you. I just have stuff to work out in my own head.”

  “Can I at least have your panties as a souvenir?” He smiled.

  She slapped his cheek, but playfully, and walked to the door. Her ass was as fine as ever.

  “Kill me now, Lord”, He said, and she giggled.

  After Jennifer went back to her room with Annie, Greg rested, and fought with his conflicting thoughts. After about 30 minutes, he got up, with a surprising spring in his step, and spent the next few hours bullshitting with the night crew. Several of them were wondering about his jokes, and the spring in his step, but nobody wanted to ask, or get an answer. They knew that he wasn’t getting laid, because they all totally knew when Gunny and Manuel were getting busy. Sound carried on the post-apocalyptic quiet nights in Rock Harbor, especially with all of the windows open, and only screened over, in the August heat.

  Date night.

  Greg knew that canning and preserving the garden vegetables, like tomatoes, would be an important exercise to get through the winter, but they had a long way to go before winter survival became an issue. That said, they’d have to prepare long before it arrived. Late Summer brought a bounty of fresh food. On offer tonight were crabs, as usual, with some perch. They were done up in a nice seafood soup, which Ethyl called Cioppino. There was tomato, basil from the herb garden, some potatoes and onions, which were just starting to be readily available, and the inevitable Kudzu filler.

  Ethyl splurged and had fried chicken from a few of the butchered chickens that had stopped laying. Everyone only got one small piece, and the breasts had to be cut in half, pounded flat and fried with a kudzu flour, to have enough for everyone. Greg and Jennifer were both on day shifts, so were getting off after a day of patrolling. There was increased activity from the Montross area. Gunshots meant the approach of more bad guys. Greg worried every day that their preparations would not be enough, but the toys brought from the Dahlgren group would help in making mass-casualties (of any invaders) more likely.

  Greg and Jennifer sat down, facing each other. Next to them were the peninsula “lovebirds”, Gunny and Manuel. They were conversing with others around them, but occasionally would speak in lowered-voice Spanish to one another. A few times, Jennifer looked at Greg like “did you hear that.”

  Gunny, while being 100% Marine, was at least 200% woman. She wasn’t a “swoon if you whisper in my ear” kind of woman, but her love for Manuel was clear, and she showed it. She was never a woman who would paint her nails, but since she and Manuel got together, and eventually moved in together, she just seemed more – Greg couldn’t put a word to it – but she seemed to exude more sexuality when he was around.

  Nobody would dare ask her about the change, or they’d be arm-barred, and whimpering for mercy in the dirt. If you were to ask her, she’d say she “dabbled” in Mixed Martial Arts, but Greg had seen her during their guard workouts, and she was quick, slippery, and deadly, much like a King Cobra might be. Yes, Greg knew snakes weren’t really slippery, but the term fit for Gunny.

  After Dinner, Jennifer asked Greg if she could “tour the perimeter” with him. As they carefully navigated the mine alley, she reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned to face her, and she looked into his eyes. “I never said Thank You for bringing us back in and moving us in next to you. I will always appreciate it, but I have to admit, I don’t like living in the Mansion as much as I did when we lived under the Osprey Nest. The other night was a gift, too.”

  “I’m still trying to figure the other night out, Jen. Not complaining, for sure. I needed to be held as much as you did. I didn’t face my loss and have needed to be held for a while. The mansion is a little cramped, and when we’re on the same shift as Gunny and Manuel, it can get a little, um, loud.” Greg laughed.

  “Agreed. With no air conditioning, and screened windows open for a breeze, there’s not a lot of secrets in the mansion. I wanted to go on this walk for many reasons, but that’s another one. They’re going to head back to the room and get busy. Did you hear that talk?!?!”

  “I heard Spanish, but mine is not optimized for bedroom talk… yet.” He looked away from Jennifer, embarrassed. “Um, I mean, you know… I learn a little more every day, but Este doesn’t usually whisper sweet nothings in my ear.”

  Jennifer made a very un-lady-like snort, and laughed loud enough that the guard in the Deuce-and-a-half called out “Jennifer, You OK?”

  “Just walking the path, Bill! No problem”, she yelled out. Then she turned to Greg. “Maybe I’ll teach you some more Spanish, then.” She winked at Greg. “Like I was saying, I wanted to Thank you, but I wanted to spend some time talking through some stuff with you. I knew before today that Mike is gone, but it took a while for me to accept it. The other night helped.”

  “That night was torture, and re-birth, if that makes any sense. How is Annie doing?”

  “She’s 3 years old. She cries sometimes, but remember how she never really asked for Mike when we were under the Osprey Nest?” Greg nodded. “She saw him even less at Dahlgren. She’s with Regina tonight. I asked a favor, and she’s babysitting all evening, if necessary. Don’t give me that look, mister! I’ve got a lot to get off my chest.” At his eyes roving down to that part of her anatomy, she smiled, and said, “Zip it, I’m up here, pervert!” She pointed to her eyes. “Let’s check out the circle defenses.”

  Jennifer let go of Greg’s hand when they exited the path, and they separated and chatted with the fire team around the tree stand, making their way past the rest of the residents leaving the community center. They could see the kitchen crew inside cleaning up, and Greg waved at Ethyl, and blew her a kiss. She turned around, and shook her 80-year old behind at him, and Jennifer squealed in delight.

  “Let’s check out the view from the balcony on the Osprey the Nest. Make sure no bad guys are coming.” Greg informed Jen that the team had stored the 90MM in the hidden closet, with 2 crates of assorted charges. The trade-off between security and response time was mitigated by the scouts they had deployed.

  The Adirondack chairs under the Osprey Nest were still on the deck, facing the sand-bar, and the gorgeous sunset. The colors were more brilliant these days. Some said it was because of the lack of electric lights dimming the horizon. Greg privately worried that it was because of more ash particles in the air, from the nuclear detonations in Atlanta and NYC, or melting down power plants. He remembered reading a quote that said something like “Nuclear blasts are great for beautiful sunsets.” So far, people who knew better than him (i.e. the Rangers) said that there was no danger from radiation, and this far after the detonations, he felt good about the prospects.

  Greg and Jennifer sat down and enjoyed the sunset for a while. “So, what were Gunny and Manuel talking about?”

  “He was veiling his words, because there were folks around them, but at one point he asked her how long dogs in heat are stuck together.”

  “Wow! Romantic! Greg laughed, but understood the nature of the proposal. “That was a pretty good line, for the right woman. After all, we are Sheepdogs!”

  Jennifer slapped him on the hand but laughed at his joke. “Seriously, I just wanted to spend time with you, and this is a beautiful view. I miss this place, and I miss the 2 of us with our joking and flirtations. Is there any chance we can move back here?”

  “We can do anything you want, but it’s a security issue that we should discuss. I would raise eyebrows, but I don’t care wh
at they think at this point.”

  “Why don’t you care now? Blue balls? Just kidding!” She blushed. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Well, that too – but after last night, it’s not terminal!” he shot back, smiling. “The ‘came over you’ was just gratuitous on your part, but for the record, I was under you. What I’m saying is that Atlanta got nuked months ago, and you heard about the unrest. Leigh is likely dead, was divorcing me anyway, and if she’s alive, she’s probably with her new man. If she decided to come here, she’s got a snowballs chance of getting here. I’ve also come to terms with the fact that my daughter probably won’t be here, but if she showed up, that’s a different equation than what we’re discussing. My baby boy was at Georgia Tech, close to the airport. I hope he went quickly, but if anyone could figure out a way to survive, Jared, my junior prepper would. If, that is, we’re discussing what I think we are! I know it’s only been about 5 months, but 5 months in the apocalypse, when you can die any day is a lifetime, and I can’t mourn any more. I’ll always miss them all, and there’s a snowball’s chance that Leigh will show up here, but I’ll deal with that when and if the time comes. Even if she gets here, we’re good. She chose not to stick with me. And there’s plenty of houses that aren’t this one to move into. We had a great life together, but I’m not holding on to it. Getting your heart broken that way sucks, and I’m not going to lean into it again.”

  “Your face is getting red, Greg. Calm down. I just need to talk through this. I KNOW my husband is gone. I saw the fireball. I’m worried about what you’ll go through if we do this. I’m telling you that I want to do this, but I don’t want to pressure you. I love you first for who you are, and what you’ve done for us so far. I also know that I’d like to get to know you a lot… better.” I’m tired of hearing Gunny and Manuel do what they are, knowing that we could do the same – but I don’t want to do it there.”

  “I don’t want to be too forward, but we’ve been working hard, and I haven’t had a shower in weeks. I saved up some water and would like to enjoy a shower with you again, but without, um, so much in between us.” Jennifer was now the one to blush, as she looked at him.

  Greg jumped out of his chair, and said “I’ll fire up the propane, Jen!”

  “There isn’t any more propane here. It’s been scavenged. It’s tepid, clear rain water. But I made sure the towels on the rack and the sheets on the bed were clean. We can warm up after.”

  Because it was Summer in Virginia, the water in the bucket turned out to be a not-unpleasant lukewarm temperature. Greg put in a few drops of bleach, so that no nasties congregated in them afterwards.

  “Aye Aye, Gorgeous”, Greg said, as his eyes soaked up her body. He was, once again, not thinking about any kind of leadership or defense strategies. She had lost some weight since he saw her through the curtain months ago. Some of it was in her breasts, as he recalled, but she was solidly built, with a hint of her ribs showing under those beautiful B/C-cups. He was never going to be able to look at a woman and guess her size, but his Dirty old Sea Dog, Uncle Brian used to say ‘More than a handful, and you’ll sprain your tongue.” Hers were the perfect size to his eyes.

  She walked in the door, and started dropping her clothes on the floor, much to his delight. First, he got a prime view of her ass. Maybe she was exaggerating or not, but he was mesmerized by the way each butt cheek moved up and down separately as she walked. Then she turned around, and wiggled her finger to wave him into the bathroom. Gone were the days of the “Brazilian” bikini wax, and that was fine, to Greg’s way of thinking. He’d never been with a red head, and he was mesmerized by her hair down below. She was indeed a natural Ginger. Tonight was theirs, and he was not going to waste a minute of their time together.

  At first it was awkward, as the tub was narrow, and the shower curtain stuck to them. Trying to fool around standing up in a narrow shower is more difficult than some might think, but others around the world know this very well. It sounds good on paper, but the physics and geometry of it is difficult in a standard-sized tub. They finally found a good position, where she was standing on a few washcloths on the lip of the tub (so she didn’t slip) and leaned against the wall on a towel. Greg was able to kiss her, and they were able to have a very fast and furious first session. While it wouldn’t be at the top of Greg’s list for the longest, it rivaled his honeymoon for the hottest. Lots of gasping, and panting, and nibbling, as they climaxed together, within a few minutes. It had been months since Greg had real sex, and he was just thinking of this as a warm-up, stretching session. Luckily, the other night took some of the edge off, and he was able to hold his own, and wait for her. There was much more to come if she would allow him several hours.

  “Get out, Mister!” She finally panted after catching her breath. “I’m going to do a quick scrub-up. I’ll be in bed, scrubbed fresh and clean in 3 minutes. How about we use that last gallon to rinse off. I’ll give you a splash, then clean up and be in your bed in a few minutes for round 2.”

  Greg would always remember their first time together in the shower. That said, when Jennifer walked into the bedroom, naked and unafraid, Greg put his finger to his head, and said “Click – that’s a picture that I will play over and over, including on my death bed.”

  Jen crawled across the bed on all fours, and the way that she dragged her breasts over his legs, balls, and chest really made the kiss worth waiting for. The kiss lasted, and lasted, and then she giggled and asked, “Round 2?”

  “Yep, but round 2 is all about you.” Greg whispered. “We’re going to expand all 5 senses tonight. The sun is finally down, but I don’t want you cheating. Lay on your back, please. Put your hands up over your head.” He straddled her and lay a pillow over her hands. Then he placed a clean t-shirt from the drawer over her eyes. “You’ve had enough visual for a while, and I’m not quite done looking at you. Just imagine that you are blindfolded and tied up. If you’re not comfortable with it, you’ll actually be neither and can get out of it. You can pull either off at any time, but try to trust me.”

  “I do. I do. She moaned. Me likey.” As he started moving his fingers on her body. They weren’t long tickles. They were short, fingertip brushes in unexpected places. An inch of fingernail on her inner thigh, a tongue across her belly button, the stroke of his thumb on her armpit. Each one got some sort of twitchy reaction from her.”

  “More, she groaned, as her back arched.”

  “Actually, no more…” He said, and she stiffened. “No more words for this exercise. I want to get to know your body, and the best way is non-verbal communication. My parents wereboth deaf, and I was raised in the deaf community, so I want to teach you MY language. You can use your body to communicate, or your moans, but you cannot speak English… Or Spanish he quickly corrected, as she started to open her mouth.”

  For the next half-hour, Greg explored Jen’s body. Fingertip by fingertip. Caress by caress. He used his lips on her nipples, he used his tongue on her belly and thighs. He licked the bottom of her feet and kissed her on the neck. There was probably not a square centimeter of her body that he didn’t caress, pinch, lick, or otherwise enjoy before that half-hour was over. He came up several times for long, deep kisses, knowing that his manhood was tickling her inner thighs. Several times, she tried to shift her body to envelop him.

  “Not yet, baby. We have several months of angst to wear off. I know you also got yours in the shower, so I’m going to take my time for round 2.” Greg kissed her, and bit her bottom lip gently, then he moved his face lower, slowly. He kissed both breasts, both on the nipples and under them, where he saw Jen was clearly still passing the “pencil test.” She could put a pencil under them, stand up, and it would, indeed, fall out. This was not for lack of breasts, but her muscle tone was incredible.”

  As he moved his lips lower, and kissed her on her pubic mound, she arched up off the bed, with only her ankles and shoulders on it, and tried to push herself into his face.

>   “Yes, it’s time for that, he mumbled huskily, as he used the tip of his tongue to probe her glistening, and ready lips, apart. He gently circled, and maybe signed a few letters of bad words with the tip of his tongue, until he located her clit, swelled and wanting some attention.”

  As her moaning got more guttural, and her bottom lifted off the be, begging for more contact, as her back arched, he placed 2 fingers under his chin, and slowly inserted them into her, fingertips up, and caressed the rough spot of flesh that he was pretty sure was her G-spot, as it is with many women. She made all kinds of interesting noises, groans, moans and screams as bucked her hips as she built to an explosion. She was moving her hips into his face so hard that he had to be careful and put his lips over his teeth, so he didn’t accidently bite her. It took about one more minute for her to arch her back and climax, filling his beard with lovely Jennifer juice. She shuddered, as he rode her back down to the bed, keeping his tongue on her clit, teasing her. “Stop! Stop.”, she sighed and shuddered, “I need to breathe.” She moaned.

  Greg Crawled up her body, and tried to kiss her, wondering if she would return the kiss, which she did, hungrily! He rolled her on her side and spooned up to her. He whispered in her ear, “I lasted longer in the shower than you did, and I haven’t been laid in months!”