thirty-nine
Ender
There’s a weight on my chest. I blink, staring at an ugly ceiling. This isn’t my bedroom, and this hard surface is not my premium mattress exported from the capital with the high-density foam and specialty fabric. I glance down to find Haven lying on my chest. Her hair unspooled from its braid overnight and now drapes me like a blanket.
Her entire body rests on top of me. Her head is tucked into the crook of my neck.
Warm air tickles my throat as she exhales.
When the hell did she climb on top of me? And why didn’t I wake up?
I’m a light sleeper. Being a soldier means always being on guard. Yet I didn’t rustle when a whole person rolled onto me. And that’s not the worst part. My palm lies flat on her ass, gripping her flesh like my life depends on it.Shit. What the hell are my greedy fingers doing?
I slowly loosen my grip.
Haven groans, stirring in discomfort. Her eyes flutter, and her head raises.
I slacken my body and pretend to sleep. I refuse to acknowledge whatever led to this scene.
Let Haven Warrick figure this out for both of us.
“What the fuck?” Haven whispers. And then, frantically. “What the fuck?”
She rolls off me and then curses some more under her breath. I pretend to rouse, staring at her in confusion.
“Were you just on me, Warrick?” I ask calmly.
“What? No,” she rushes. There’s a faint pink tint on her cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I sit upright, staring at her pointedly, waiting for her to explain.
“Mercy says I’m an active sleeper,” Haven says, at last, when the silence drags on for several minutes. I’m nothing if not patient. “And there were no blankets around. I was probably cold.”
“You could have warned me,” I say, annoyed. “I would have been more prepared.”
“How?”
I wouldn’t have touched her for starters. I would have kept my hands to myself. I stand upright, shaking some feeling back into my legs and avoiding her gaze. She eyes me suspiciously while she plucks her toothbrush from the pack and starts to brush in the corner.
Once she’s done, she offers me her toothbrush, with a line of mint, and I snatch it, shoving it into my mouth.
“You’re gross,” Haven says, even thoughshewas the one who handed me her brush.
I roll my eyes and lean against the wall, brushing my teeth, before I spit in the corner.
“Never minded a good old spit swap,” I say.
Haven straightens as if she made a grand realization.
“Wait a minute, you woke up first, didn’t you!” Haven accuses. “That’s how you knew I was on top of you.”
“We have ground to cover, Warrick,” I say. “Let’s focus on returning to our unit.”
“And when you said ‘prepared,’ I presume you meant you weren’t going to grab my ass all night?Thatexplains why I’m so sore.” She glares at me. “I’m sure if I look, your damn fingerprints will be all over it.”
“You invaded my space, not the other way around,” I say, folding my arms across my chest.
“Did you like it?” she taunts. “Is that why you’re acting so cold and distant?”
