Love & the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1, Zombie Apocalypse Trilogy) by Chelsea Bellingeri Page B

ireman?”  Cage still had his arms around Rachel.  She’d calmed down, but her shoulders still shook.
    “No.  The handyman.”
    “Maybe he was fixing the shower pipes?”  Nicky shrugged. 
    Adam rolled his eyes.  “Come on, Nicky.  Let’s go downstairs.  Rachel’s going to take a shower.  Remember what I said – no one goes anywhere alone.  We’ve officially installed the buddy system.”
    “Can I be your shower buddy?”  Nicky asked Rachel.
    Adam tugged Nicky by the collar.  “Sorry.  We’ll be downstairs.”
    Rachel exhaled.  Or maybe it was a groan.  Her shoulders slumped and she flexed her injured arm.  “That was like the fifth time I almost died tonight.”
    “Almost is the key word.”
    “Maybe I’ll try this again.  Would you mind waiting for me while I showered?”
    “Of course.” Cage tugged Rachel to her feet. 
    “Shower buddy.  That Nicky is a character.”  Rachel shook her head.  She was still breathing heavily, but it was obvious she was trying to act normal.  She grabbed a folded towel from the counter and disappeared behind the shower curtain.
    Cage leaned against the sink.   The sound of rushing water was soothing.  His heartbeat slowed to a normal beat. 
    “You’ve save d me multiple times tonight,” Rachel said from inside the shower.
    “You would’ve done the same.”
    “That’s true.  I would have.” Rachel sighed.  “I wish we were leaving now.”
    “Me, too.  It’ s taking too long.  It’s been hours since we met at Cecilia’s.”
    She was silent for a moment.  “It feels like I’ve known you longer than half a day.”
    “I was about to say the same thing,” Cage said. He wanted to keep her talking.  She needed to take her mind off what happened.  “I think Nicky has a crush on you.”
    “Eww ,” Rachel said. 
    Cage laughed.
    “How old is he?”  She asked.
    “Why ?  Are you interested?”  Cage perched himself on the sink.  He looked down at his hands.  They were covered in blood and filth.  Maybe he’d take a shower, too.
    “Of course not,” Rachel said.  “I was only curious.”
    “I think he said he was twenty-one.  How old are you, by the way?”
    “Seventeen.  You?”
    “Same,” Cage said.  “What’s your favorite color?”
    “Really?”  Rachel poked her head out from the plastic curt ain.  Shampoo bubbles covered her hair.  “Did you just ask me what my favorite color was?  Or was I hearing things?”
    “I did,” Cage said.  “Unless you’d rather talk about zombies and the end of the world.”
    She disappeared behind the shower curtain.  “Good point.  My favorite color is white.”
    “White?  That’s odd.”
    “Why?”
    Cage flexed his arms.  His muscles were sore.  “Well, most girls like pink or red or….” He trailed off, because he’d answered his own question.  Rachel wasn’t like most girls.  “Why white?”
    “I don’t know.  It ’s clean.  Unmarked.  I don’t know, I just like it.”  The water shut off and Rachel pushed back the curtain.  She had a fluffy white towel wrapped around her body.  Her long blond hair was wet and dripped to the floor. 
    Oh man .  Cage was incredibly aware that Rachel was only wearing a towel.  He hopped from the counter and kept his eyes on the floor. 
    “Were you going to sh ower, too?”  Rachel walked to the sink next to him.  “I’ll be your shower buddy.”
    “Uh, yeah. ” Cage’s face grew warm. He was sure it was beet red. 
    “I wish I had clean c lothes.” Rachel’s back was turned.  “But these will have to do.”
    Cage flipped off his shirt and tossed it on the counter.  He quickly stepped inside the stall and turned on the water, hoping Rachel hadn’t seen him blush.  Cage took a deep breath.  His heartbeat was racing again. 
    “W hat’s your favorite color?” Rachel asked.
    “Uh, b lue,” Cage said.  It was a typical boy’s color.  There wasn’t anything unique about him. He was just