Page 131 of His to Burn

Even as I braced myself for the inevitable reminder of how fragile it was.

THIRTY

Asia

Two Weeks on the Road

“Not so bad of a day today,”I said.

Jack finished setting up the perimeter and circled with Miles at his side.

Two weeks out on the road, and we were pretty good at this.

We hung cans on string around four or five trees to create a sleeping area.

Another setup a few feet away served as an early warning system.

I smiled as Jack walked up. Thestubble on his jaw was well on its way to a full beard and sprinkled through with gray.

“Who would have thought the end of the world would make your hair turn gray?” I said.

He rubbed his cheek and then shook his head.

“I don’t know if it was the end of the world that did that. I’ve never let it grow out this much.”

“That’s surprising,” I said.

“Why?”

“You don’t strike me as the type who’s super into manscaping or beard-scaping? Whatever.” I shrugged.

“You ever had a beard?” he asked, his brows raised.

“Not this lifetime.”

“They’re itchy as shit.” He rubbed his jaw as if to emphasize the point.

I smiled, and Jack turned his lips up in a soft almost smile that I knew was just for me. That expression did something to me.

It made me feel things more dangerous than zombies.

“Can I get some help over here?” Caitlin cut in.

“Your girlfriend’s calling you.” I met Jack’s eyes, amused as I waited for his response.

He denied me that pleasure, though, and marched over to Caitlin without another word. I shook my head and smiled, refusing to be annoyed by Caitlin’s helpless routine.

She was very smart and excellent at reading people, but when it came to Jack, she had blinders on. I wondered if that had more to do with me than him, though I couldn’t blame her. And as much as I tried to ignore it, she and her antics got on my nerves.

Deep underneath—though not nearly deep enough—there was some jealousy, too.

Utterly ridiculous given the circumstances, but there nonetheless.

Not that Jack ever overtly responded to her advances. But that didn’t mean anything.

He didn’t treat me any differently than he did the others. In fact, Miles, and a distant second, Bridget, were the only ones of us that he treated with anything like tenderness.

Asia, it’s the end of the world and you’re worried about dick. Ridiculous, girl.