What I wouldn’t give to peel Maya out of those jeans and really get to know her sweet ass.Maybe give it a squeeze.Or press myself against her, settling my hard length between her cheeks as she pushed back.Drag myself through her wetness, line up and—
“Liam?”
“—give her a workout!”
Maya cocked an eyebrow at my outburst, expecting an explanation, and I scrambled to come up with something, anything, less X-rated than what had been going through my brain.“I was thinking that despite the workout I got, after the cost of all this stuff you bought, the warehouse store is not cheaper than a gym membership.”
“Do you need somewhere to work out while you’re in town?You should check out Get Fit and Die Trying.”
I shook my head, setting aside thoughts of her sweet ass for another time.Later, in the shower, possibly.“No, I haven’t.Why would I want to die while trying to get fit?”
She laughed.“Not die,die.Like the singular of dice?It’s a combination gym and game store.Board games, card games, RPGs, video games.We have the fittest nerd community for miles around.”
“Playing games and working out?Sounds too good to be true.”
“They have special tables with stationary bikes and treadmills that fit underneath so people can pedal or walk while they play board games.They also have a role-playing league where people can improve their stats with workouts in the weight room and by taking some of the combat classes they offer.Other stuff like that.You don’t have to play to work out, though.You can lift weights like you usually do.I mean, you know, if that’s what you want to do.Or normally do.”She swallowed hard, her face turning a brilliant fuschia.“Or whatever.”
Aha!I knew she’d been checking me out.“What makes you think I lift weights?”I asked, feigning innocence.“Maya Parker, have you been fantasizing about my muscles?”
“You must be joking.”She lifted an eyebrow, her voice pure snark even as her cheeks burned.“It looks like you’re smuggling tree trunks in your pant legs.That’s what gave it away.I’d think about working on the biceps more, though.They’re a bit scrawny.”She closed the lid of the trunk.“Are you ready to go?I still have to put all this stuff away before we make dinner for Nana.”
She grinned again, and just like that, shopping didn’t seem so bad.
sixteen
zombie apocalypse, here we come
Maya
“Damn,”hesaidwitha low whistle, eyeing the neatly organized stockpile I was normally so proud of.With Liam here, the relief I usually felt around my stockpile soured into nervous tension.
My apartment was small, even for one person.The tiny kitchen combined with a decent-sized living space, one cramped bedroom, and an equally cramped bathroom didn’t leave much room for all the items we’d bought at Costco.Liam wasrightto wonder where I would put all this stuff.But that was before he’d seen the wall-to-wall industrial shelving system I’d installed for thisexactpurpose.
“You really undersold it when you said you had some shelves in your place.That isanimpressivecollection of supplies.”He nudged me with his elbow.“I know who I’m hanging out with during the next zombie apocalypse.”
The tension melted off my shoulders at his teasing.He didn’t think I was weird for having a general store’s worth of products tucked away on my shelves.He seemed almost … thrilled.
I could live with that.
“I like having extras,” I explained, stacking cereal boxes onto the shelves.“I never want to be without the things I need.”I knew all too well what it was like to go without.I’d spent years with no storage space, no fridge, and no money—and no reliable way to keep myself fed.
I would do whatever it took tonevergo through that again.
“I can see that.”Liam scanned the tiny apartment.“I’ll go get the rest of the stuff from the car.Be right back.”
Sure, my home was more storage-focused than that of the average twenty-three-year-old woman, but it suited me.Despite being surrounded by a stockpile of cereal, crackers, and toilet paper, I felt at home here.
Scratch that.I felt at homebecauseof the stockpile.Nothing felt better than knowing where your next meal was coming from.
“I have a thought.”Liam appeared in the doorway, a stack of boxes balanced in his arms.“Nana’s place is twice the size of this one.You should move in there when she eventually moves out.Then, this entire apartment could be your storage room.Ooh, I bet you could get one of those rolling rack systems so you can store more stuff.You know, the ones on tracks that move back and forth when you turn a huge wheel.”
My heart stopped.Did Nana tell him she was moving?Was she making plans with him to leave her home?Why would he tell me to move in there?
He was right about one thing: Nana’s apartment next door was much bigger.Two bedrooms.A laundry room.Space.But I could never move into it.
“I can’t.”I choked back a sob.“I … can’t lose her.”
Panic clawed up my throat.I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Nana.I’d only had her for two years.That wasn’t nearly long enough.
