Page 98 of Doomsdate

“Mm. Because it’s the same thing I’ve wished for, one way or the other, since I met you.” I brush a lock of hair from the apple of her cheek, my hands cradling her face. “To be yours. And for you to be mine.”

Maisie sucks in a ragged breath, her chest trembling beneath me.

“Did I guess right, my Maisie?” I lean down and brush my lips against the corner of her mouth, capturing the little sigh she makes with my own. I kiss each word into her. “Please. Tell me that I did.”

“I’ve been yours since you lifted a butterfly from my hair and told me I was beautiful,” she whispers against me, her smile growing beneath my kisses.

“Well, that’s not fair. I’ve been yours since you rescued me from that tree.”

She laughs. “Right. My responsibility and all.”

“No,” I amend. “I’ve been yours since you asked whether five condoms was a reasonable amount for our first time together, and when I said not really, you went and got more.” I kiss her nose. “I love an optimist.”

“That’s when you fell for me?” She’s grinning up at me. “That first night, before I understood the limitations of your kind?”

“My kind?” I growl playfully, rolling onto my back and bringing her with me. Her chest shakes with soft laughter as she lies against mine, fully atop me. “But yes, Maisie, I fell for you that night.” I rub a lock of her hair between my fingers, like starlight in my hand. “I just didn’t believe I deserved to, or should. You woke me up, and that scared me more than your armory. I still don’t think I deserve you, but I’d like to try, especially since you seem to like this useless nerdy film professor anyway.”

“How can you possibly still think you’re useless?” Maisie whispers as her hands find my face, too. “I may be teaching you how to survive, Everett. But you’re teaching me how to live.”

And when she dives down to meet my lips, this time, we don’t part again.

Everett

All night long, I hold Maisie tightly to my chest, as if the beat of my heart could tap out a secret message between her smooth, strong shoulder blades: Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. And all night long, her body answers mine: Forever.

I just wish I knew what forever means.

As I lie in the dark, the question beats at my brain. A dozen different scenarios of what staying together might look like play out, each one more impossible than the last. Maisie staying with me at West Point and forsaking Gramps. Taking me to the bunker against his will. The two of us forsaking everyone and going somewhere different altogether. A long-distance relationship in postapocalyptic America. But the fact is, there is no perfect solution to the problem of our future. All I know is that I can’t stop living now that she’s brought me back to life. We’ll just have to decide on our own imperfect solution together. First thing tomorrow, before we get to West Point and all the pressure my parents will undoubtedly put on me, we’ll figure it out. Make a plan, so we can hold the line. Maisie and I versus the Colonels Greer. I’d be more nervous about that matchup, but with Maisie on my side, I’m pretty sure I can do anything, even stand up to my parents.

With the decision made, I finally collapse into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, however, all my plans go to hell.

I pause with my overloaded plate of breakfast balanced precariously in my hands. “We’re giving Ellie a ride?” My eyes flit over to the podcaster where she waves enthusiastically by the doorway, her bags already packed by her feet. “Really?”

Maisie shrugs as she sits down with a big bowl of congee topped with scallions, ginger, and, surprisingly, fried egg. When she sees me eyeing it, she says, “The Vietnamese family in suite 209 raises their own chickens, and the feed is clean.”

Dammit. Now I wish I’d gotten eggs.

She tucks in happily and then answers the question I actually asked. “Corinne was struggling to find space for Ellie in the caravan they’re taking to West Point tomorrow. I can make room for her in the back. Why not?”

I arch an eyebrow. “Is this because they sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to you?”

Maisie’s own brows rise innocently. “What are you talking about?”

I sit down next to her, still eyeing her suspiciously. “We don’t even know this woman, and you’re letting her into your rig?”

“Corinne trusts her, and I trust Corinne’s judgment.”

“That’s—” I stumble for the right thing to say.

Incredibly inconvenient, now that I’ve decided to have the big heart-to-heart with Maisie about our future. Completely unexpected.

“Amazing,” I settle on, because it is. Watching Maisie open up to others is like seeing a rose unfurl in real time.

Maisie’s lips flutter into a small smile.

The goodbyes are easier knowing our new friends will join us in West Point tomorrow, but the tone is bittersweet. The disclaimer if all goes well, still present if unspoken.