Michael made a face and showed her a box of condoms.
“This place is nuts.” She slid off the bed, straightened her clothes, and kissed Michael goodnight one more time. Which turned into several more long, wanting kisses. “See you tomorrow. Sleep well.”
February 19, 2014
Sophie slept poorly and awoke later than usual, feeling chilled and jittery. She chalked it up to her body having a reaction to the intense stress she had been under for so many months. A hot shower would do her a world of good, she decided. She briefly contemplated going to see Anjali for a checkup, then rejected the idea.
As she approached the showers, she could hear someone in there. She slowed, not wanting to barge into the unisex shower and see more of her coworkers than she’d ever wanted to. Listening for a moment, she smiled, realizing that the occupant was Michael. She tiptoed into the room, hearing him enjoying the hot water. Suddenly, he made a low sound of pleasure that sent a shiver shooting down her spine. Clearly, he felt better.
“I hear you’re enjoying your shower,” she said from just outside, making him yip with surprise. “You sound really sexy in there.”
Michael shut off the water and stepped out with only a towel wrapped around his waist, dripping and grinning mischievously. “You are a dirty-minded woman.” He grabbed her, and Sophie shrieked, trying to twist away. They ended up against the wall, her thin scrubs soaked and his towel more off than on. He stopped her squeals of protest with a long kiss. Despite the illness and the medications running through Michael’s veins, she could feel his body reacting to hers.
“Need some help with that?” She pushed her hips against his growing erection under the towel. “Or were you helping yourself when I came in?”
Michael reddened, and ran his mouth up her throat to her ear. “Yes, you make me touch myself sometimes,” he whispered. “You always have. Do I make you do the same?”
Sophie blushed furiously, unable to look him in the eye. “I’m not answering that question…yet.” She felt a little breathless at the thought of Michael pleasuring himself. “But I will tell you that even when I have lain with other men, I have thought only of you.”
He groaned and ground against Sophie’s pelvis. She let out a squeak that was half surprise, half pain as an unexpected cramp shot through her belly. “Stop! This is…” She struggled for the right word in Orlisian. “…an unseemly place,” she finished with as much dignity as she could muster.
Michael laughed, his voice echoing in the shower room. A moment later, however, his laughter turned to coughing, and he spent a few moments bent double, trying to catch his breath.
“Very well then, mana mila,” he said at last. “I can wait until we get to a more seemly place before we continue any further. But I do not wish to hear any complaints if I drive a little faster than you are accustomed.”
Michael gunned the engine as the highway in front of them became reasonably smooth. Having cleared the worst of the bombardment damage, he was ready to put some miles behind them. He looked in the rearview mirror again, but no vehicles had followed them; clearly the Soviets had given up tailing the countless coalition vehicles that went in and out of the area to collect supplies.
He glanced over at Sophie sleeping restlessly in the passenger seat beside him. She hadn’t put up a fuss when he’d asked to drive, much to his surprise. Considering how green she looked by the time they cleared the town of Parnaas, he could see why.
“I’m okay,” she’d said when he’d asked how she felt. “But someone should call the Soviet Public Works department about that road.” Her eyes had fluttered shut soon after. Even in her sleep, she protested against his driving, wincing and moaning every time he jammed on the brakes or swerved quickly. Typical American.
It took well over three hours to get to Kaliningrad, complicated by the fact that she made him stop multiple times for bathroom breaks.
“I do not remember you having such a small bladder in GYL,” he said as she emerged from the ladies room at the rest stop. She gave him the finger, making him laugh.
Michael had to shake her awake when they arrived in Kaliningrad at the home of family friends who were holding his passport and identification. Sophie squinted at the little house, mouthing the address posted on the mailbox. Michael saw unexpected recognition cross her face, but before he had a chance to ask her what was familiar, an elderly couple appeared on the porch. Their expressions were wary until they realized who had arrived on the doorstep, then they cried out with joy.
Michael leaped from the car and sprinted to embrace them. Velna and Nikolajs had known him since he was a baby, having lived many years in Orlisia. They were thrilled to see him alive and well. He introduced them to Sophie, and Velna looked at him with a knowing expression that made him feel like he was thirteen years old again.