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Chapter forty-two
Maddie wiped a small bead of sweat from her brow.
The mid afternoon sun beat down against her forehead uncomfortably, and she pulled the sleeve of her hoodie down over her thumb before wiping away the prickling sweat that pooled on the bridge of her nose beneath her sunglasses.
Saff hadn’t said much of anything to her in the time since they’d left. It wasn’t that she was particularly worried about that, but it still left her slightly uneasy.
Maddie cleared her throat softly. “Do you wish I hadn’t come with you?”
Saff was quiet for a moment.
“No,” she finally answered, her voice gentle, as if she could sense the unease in her. “I’m glad you came.”
Maddie’s hand slid down to her wrist, fiddling with the beaded bracelet. “Really?”
Saff let out a slow breath. “Its more dangerous where we’re going, so obviously I have to consider that. But I think I would’ve had a harder time not knowing exactly what was happening with you guys while I was gone.”
Maddie nodded, every bit of the previous anxiety fading. Then she smirked. “I kind of missed having alone time with you, anyway.”
Saff snorted. “This counts as alone time?”
Maddie smiled, a light laugh escaping her lips. “Of course it does. Don’t get me wrong, I love being with my family, but I did kind of get used to it just being you and me all the time.”
Saff chuckled.
“So,” Maddie continued after a moment, “you really didn’t date anyone before the outbreak?”
She felt Saff’s arm pull up in a shrug. “Casual stuff here and there, I guess. But nothing serious.”
Maddie could imagine that. Saff didn’t exactly strike her as the serious dating type. “When was the last time you went on a date?”
Saff loosed a breath. “A while. Maybe when I was in college.”
Maddie smiled. “I can’t wait to take you on a date. That’s one of the first things I want to do once we get settled in at the safe zone.”
Saff laughed then, a real laugh, and Maddie’s smile grew wider.
“What kind of date?” she asked, and Maddie could hear the smile in her voice. “There won’t exactly be restaurants or movie theaters there.”
Maddie slowed them slightly, reaching her other hand up to Saff’s shoulder, trailing it around to the other side of her neck and face. Then she pressed up onto her tiptoes, leaving a soft kiss on her cheek.
“I have something in mind,” she whispered. “But it’s a surprise.”
Saff chuckled again, taking her hand and leaving a kiss on her palm.
The feeling of her lips against her skin sent warmth through her body. And the thought ran through her mind that it was something she would be happy feeling forever.
***
After another two hours of hiking over the uneven ground, Maddie grew hot beneath her jacket.
They stopped, and she pulled the backpack off her shoulders, careful not to let the strap drag over her still painful burns.
“We’re getting close,” Saff muttered, as Maddie stripped off the jacket and shoved it into the top of her pack.
“We need to be more careful now and stay quiet.”
Maddie nodded, returning the backpack to her shoulders, then slinging the strap of the shotgun over her arm. The first day carrying it had been a struggle, but now she’d grown used to the added weight.