10. Nathan

10

NATHAN

“I’ll take her to bed. I’m beat anyway.” Micah scooped Tori up off the couch and cradled her sleeping form in his arms with a wink. “Good night.”

She looked so serene when she was sleeping, and I couldn’t get over how easy it was to be with her in our home. It was like she belonged. She was what had been missing this entire time.

“No fair.” I pouted. “I wanted to take her to bed.”

“You’re welcome to come to bed with us when you’re ready.” He turned around and walked slowly into the bedroom, careful not to jostle her awake.

“Good night,” I grumbled, shifting on the couch.

“Night,” Calix whispered after them until they had left the room, and his eyes snapped to mine. He swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair as he sat on the recliner. “Tori’s incredibly sweet and proactive about my space. I wasn’t expecting her to be so kind.”

“Well of course she is.” I rolled my eyes. “Micah and I wouldn’t bring in someone who wouldn’t respect you.”

“Thanks.” He went silent for a moment, his leg bouncing with nervous energy. “It’s just that I’ve never liked anyone’s presence as much as I like hers.”

“Not even Micah and me?”

“Not the same way.” His cheeks tinged pink as he ducked his head down. “I…almost… I think I want to touch her. Her hair looks so soft… At first, the germs…they made me feel sick, but now, as long as she’s clean—and she is—I really want to hug her. Like how Micah was with her on the couch most of today, and you were cuddling her in bed this morning. It’s—“ He paused for a breath as he seemed to gather his thoughts. “It’s hard watching you both interact with her when that’s something I want to do too but can’t.”

My eyes widened as I stretched my arms behind my head and took in the gravity of what he was saying. Calix had never wanted to touch anyone before. The only person who he spoke of touching before was his mother, but even then their hugs had been very limited in his childhood since she was more of a germaphobe than he was.

“Honestly, I get it. I like her a lot too, and it’s such a different feeling than anything else I’ve ever experienced. She’s just a ray of fucking sunshine in our sad world.”

“That’s a great way to put it,” he murmured. “Micah seems just as taken with her.”

“He brought out the box of books for her.” I scratched at the facial hair on my chin. “And the way they were all over each other was like they were both seeking comfort. I walked in on their conversation today accidentally, and he told her about Kelly.”

His brows shot up. “Wow. He’s only mentioned her in passing to us.”

“I walked away before I heard too much, but he really opened up to her.” I slapped my hands on my legs and got to my feet.

Since Micah went to bed with Tori, I was stuck on dish duty. I went over to the red bin and grabbed the second red bin from the shelf and brought them both into the bathroom to the sink.

I filled the dirty dish bin with soapy water and the other bin with only water before bringing them back to the kitchen and setting them on the counter. I grabbed a red kitchen towel and set it next to the bins for the dishes to dry.

Calix ambled into the kitchen area and paused a few feet from me. “How will this end?”

A lump formed in my throat as I busied my hands with scrubbing and rinsing. “With Tori?”

“Yes. I mean, us three are family now. I’d never want a woman to come between us, but Tori isn’t just some woman either.”

“I’m not sure if they’ll go back to the ranch or not,” I admitted, placing the rinsed dishes onto the towel. “I’m sure it’ll be a disaster when we go check it out, but they may want to rebuild.”

“But what if the horde comes through next year? Which it probably will. Wouldn’t it be smarter to stay here?” He fidgeted with his gloves.

“It’s something we’ll have to warn them about, but it’s ultimately their decision.” I heaved a sigh and kept scrubbing. “As for Tori, if she does stay, I wouldn’t be opposed to sharing her with you two. She obviously is interested in all of us, and we are into her too. We’d just be a bigger family.”

“Share her?” Calix sputtered, his entire body stilling. “Oh my God, the germs.”

I gave a weak chuckle. “It’s not unheard of. We have a throuple in the Oasis, you know. Besides, you can still have your relationship with her without touching us.”

He tilted his head and went quiet for a moment before nodding. “I would just have to get over your germs on her, I guess.”

“If she’s worth it, you’ll figure it out.” I finished rinsing the last dish and placed it on the towel.

“She’s worth it,” he murmured. “I’ve never had a relationship of any kind that involved touch, and she’s the first person to ever make me want to touch her. I’ll do whatever I have to—as long as she wants it too.”

I smiled, grabbing the bins and walking back to the bathroom sink to dump and wash them before bringing them back to the kitchen. “Get some rest. I’m going to bed.”

“Enjoy it,” he called after me, and I could hear the envy in his tone.

My heart went out to him. I couldn’t imagine feeling the way I do for Tori yet not being able to act on it because of an intense phobia of germs.

Calix had gotten better over the years he’d been here. At first, he refused to leave his room and had panic attacks regularly every time we’d try to check on him. He lost so much weight from not eating. But the longer he was with us, the better he adapted.

The first time he’d gone out to scavenge with us, he’d been paranoid as hell about the virus and other possible contagions. But we’d found a crossbow in packaging like new, and he learned it quickly. That way he could stay back away from the infected and shoot them that way.

He was coping, and I was grateful that he wasn’t as bad as what he said his mom was like. She wouldn’t have survived this world. Not like Calix was.

My chest swelled as I stepped into the bedroom and pulled my shirt off.

Tori was fast asleep on Micah’s chest, and his arm was draped around her. He stared down at her with an indiscernible look on his face, not even acknowledging me coming in.

I hadn’t seen Micah like that before. We didn’t know much about her, and maybe it was because we hadn’t been around a single woman in a long time…but I think it was because she was something special.

I climbed into bed with them and laid down facing them. “She’s perfect.”

“She is,” he murmured. “I want her to stay.”

“We all do. Calix likes her too.”

“I know. We all do, and I’m fine with that. The only thing is if she’ll have us all.”

My heart thudded in my chest as I stared at her. I hoped to God she ended up staying—with all of us.