Airborne

08. Watering Hole

Chloe

After our incident with the Rabids, our journey is going surprisingly smooth. No Raiders, Rotters, Rabids, or Bestials. The only part that's been off is Brody, he hasn't uttered a single word, and it's stupid because it's Brody—he's always doing something playful whether it's an action or something verbal. To say it's bugging me is accurate, and it's occurred for what would be approximately thirty minutes in the normal world.

Is he tricking me into talking to him?

This is crazy, I'm an adult for heaven's sake.

"Why are you being quiet?"

His eyes swing to me for a second as his shoulders lift with his huff and fall roughly. "I'm pissed about what I did, OK? It was stupid, and I shouldn't have worried you like that."

Great, he's still beating himself up over it. If anything, I thought it was water under the bridge. Thinking hard on what to say, I consider taking a 'Brody' approach.

"Why don't the infected make good dance partners?"

The visibility of his lips curling up signals I'm on the right track, so my failure of a punchline shouldn't matter.

"Because they can't cordyceps."

Brody makes a pointed look at me, and embarrassingly my cheeks heat up.

Turning away, mumbling, "You know, coordinate steps, cordyceps?" for a poor explanation.

A booming laugh fills the overgrowth, and it sends tingly vibrations through my system. It was one you could tell belonged to a young man in his prime, yet it was soft and musical. There has never been a laugh quite like his in my life, and as much as it shouldn't, it puts me on edge.

"You're learning, that makes me happy." Brody's eyes twinkle as they stare into my own.

Biting my lower lip, following the movements of his limbs lazily stretching high over his head. Pausing on the way down, he hesitantly inches his face toward the pit under his arm. Taking a quick whiff, his nose crinkles like a rabbit's after scenting something before resuming a natural position.

"I stink."

Keeping pace, I retort, "That sounds like a you problem."

Brody tugs at the fabric fitting his upper half, and there are in fact faint damp patches under his arms, around the collar, and faintly over his chest. "Come on, you must smell too, we did do a lot of cardio back there."

Walking pass, I share a quick, "I'm fine."

Warmth envelopes my wrist before I'm spun around, something firm pressing into my back. Judging by the prickling, it's bark and Brody is inching from me as he inhales softly by my neck, the exhale from his lips tickles the skin and my body instinctively squirms.

"I think you need to clean as well . . . we need to keep as many of those things off our scent as we can."

Controlling my breathing along with my slumping posture, his eyes look like they're lighting up in amusement until he glances down at our nearing bodies. Backing away with a quick clear of the throat, his cheeks gain the faintest of flushes.

"Sorry, we should make a move." He swings his arm to the side to allow me the space I need to take the lead in the direction we were heading in the first place.

Brody isn't wrong, I need a bath too and the fact that a Bestial and a Rabid could sniff us out if our odour is too strong is correct too. On the other hand, I'm not comfortable bathing with a man nearby.