Dustland Requiem (A Bard's Folktale)

  Chapter 28. Ms. Brightside

  “Know the difference between sex and love.”

  – Alma’s Diary

  Los Tios, Mexico

  Alma climbed out of the truck’s passenger seat, heading into an old rustic inn with Adelais. Pooling their money and selling off the bits of salvage they didn’t need, they had enough to afford two rooms for a couple of nights. The two went their separate ways, Adelais heading to his room while Alma headed to hers. Closing the door behind her, she landed on her stomach, sprawling out onto the freshly made king-size bed. She closed her eyes, finding only a moment’s reprieve before Kody entered the room.

  “Any luck?” he asked.

  “We sold the rest of it. Even had to hawk Lorena’s crutches. But we made enough to get by until the end of the week, at least.”

  “Good. We have a few days to sort everything out.”

  Alma rolled over onto her back, staring at another ceiling. She waved her hand slowly in front of her face, letting it drop back onto the mattress. She alternated kicking her feet back and forth.

  “Bored?” Kody asked.

  “Just a bit. I’d head back home—or somewhere, I guess—right now if I could find Jake. You?”

  “Same. Sans the Jake part.”

  Alma stopped kicking her feet and sat up. She watched Kody, who sat slouched near the door with his head rolled back onto the top of the chair.

  “Why are you still here? I mean, you said your whole deal was to find me, and you did that, so shouldn’t you be running back to wonder tits by now?”

  Kody chuckled as he raised his head. “Wonder tits? Really? She used to be your friend, you know. Anyway, I tried calling G, but I couldn’t get ahold of him.”

  “Uh huh, that’s great. But it doesn’t answer my question. You’re the only one of us with an out who isn’t taking it. Why?”

  Kody sighed, casting his eyes to the side. After a minute, he took a deep breath and shrugged. “I guess I don’t like the thought of leaving people behind. Ever since Glenn…we should all go back together.”

  Alma scrunched her lips together, bringing them to one side. She squinted, carefully observing Kody. He looked at her only momentarily, averting his gaze to some bad motel art they’d both spent more than enough time examining. Bringing her finger across her chin, Alma devised a plan to test a theory. She interlocked her fingers, stretching her arms out in front of her body. She then raised them over her head to stretch her abs. She arched her back, keeping a keen eye on Kody as she did so. She caught him subtly sneaking glances at her before turning away.

  “I knew it!” she exclaimed.

  “Huh?” Kody’s eyes widened as he reeled back.

  “Heh, nothing.” She laughed to herself. “How’re your burns? Feeling better?”

  “I’ll live.” Kody eyed her suspiciously.

  “Good. I’m bored.” She looked around the room, putting together an idea. “Gonna go take a dip in the pool.”

  “There’s a pool?”

  Alma got up and headed through the lobby of the small inn, pulling an abandoned tarp off the ground as she got outside into the bright afternoon sun. Small creatures skittered and scattered as the tarp came off the ground, exposed to the harsh light of day. Alma continued behind the inn, with Kody following close behind.

  She dropped the tailgate of the truck, carefully lining it with the tarp as she looked around for a nearby hose. Glancing at it, Kody followed her line of sight and handed it to her, turning it on shortly after. Alma hopped out of the back of the truck, closing it up and leaning against the side of the tailgate as she waited for it to fill. Once full, she killed the hose and stripped down to her bikini underwear, hopping in the newly improvised truck-pool.

  The waves of faucet water washed over her sweaty legs. She sank slowly into the truck-pool, the water coolly creeping its way inch by inch along her spine, all the way up to her neck. Eventually remembering Kody had followed her out, she turned to him. He watched her awkwardly.

  “You can stop staring any time now. Really, it’s okay.”

  He shook his head and turned it back toward the motel, apparently debating whether to go back inside.

  “There’s plenty of room in here, if that’s what you’re wondering. Promise I won’t try to drown you. Wouldn’t wanna mess up my new pool.”

  He walked over and pulled his shirt off, wincing as it touched his mild burns. He looked around and hesitated as he dropped his pants.

  “What’re you so shy about? No one’s around, and it’s not like I haven’t seen your boxers or their fun surprise before.”

  He climbed up onto the tire and dipped a toe into the truck-pool, pulling his foot back as soon as it touched the water. Alma reached up and grabbed his ankle, forcing his foot into the water and pulling him down with it. Kody cringed as he adjusted to the relatively cool water of the truck-pool.

  “See? Isn’t that better? Finally a bit of relief from this crazy heat. And tell me that doesn’t feel good on your burns.”

  “Kinda stings a little.”

  “Oh hush, you big baby.”

  Alma laughed at him, splashing water at his face. He tried to dodge before retaliating, splashing her and soaking her hair. The two played back and forth for a few minutes, soaking everything in the immediate area, including their clothes lying on the ground. After a while, they took a break to kick back and relax. They sat next to each other, resting their heads against the back of the truck’s tailgate.

  “I think this is the first day that hasn’t sucked since I got here.” Kody turned his head to Alma.

  “I noticed you’ve been Mr. Tightpants lately. Just need to loosen up a bit. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my brother, it’s that life is too short to spend stressed all the damn time.”

  “Not a bad philosophy.”

  “I didn’t think so. Wake me up before I bake?”

  “Sure.”

  Alma closed her eyes, drifting in and out of consciousness as she lay in the truck-pool. She walked her fingers along the bottom of the tarp, running into Kody’s hand and walking her fingers away again like a coy crab.

  The sun gradually began to warm the water, and her skin with it, but she’d have some time before she’d have to worry about a sun burn. The cab side of the truck sank in, followed by a loud splash. Opening her eyes, she saw Adelais and Lorena in their underwear at the other end.

  “Look who it is! Was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see you two out and about. Was starting to think you two wouldn’t ever leave your room, you crazy love birds,” Alma joked with them.

  Lorena and Adelais exchanged looks, Lorena frowning as she looked away. She lifted her leg up, resting it on the side of the truck. She rotated her somewhat swollen, purplish ankle, showing only little pain. “Last thing on my mind is love. ‘Sides, what about you?”

  “I’m spoken for,” Kody said.

  Alma patted him on the back, nodding toward Lorena.

  “This guy right here? The most loyal stallion you could ever find. Look at his blind devotion to his mistress. Spent—” Alma turned to Kody. “What was it, honey, a week?” She turned back to Lorena. “Spent a week with her, and already acts like he’s married. No risk for infidelity here, no ma’am.”

  Kody turned to Alma, unamused. She offered him a cheery smile of pearly whites, but it seemed to do little. “What, am I wrong? Surely, you’d never do anything to betray dear Crissy’s trust. Least of all flirt with your ex—her former bestie, no less.” Alma puckered up her lips at Kody, offering him a kiss. He climbed out of the truck, snatching up his clothes and heading back around the building.

  “The hell was that about?” Adelais asked.

  “Just messing with him. He likes to forget he’s kind of a tool. Decent enough in the sack, but I wouldn’t trust him with a Klondike bar.”

  “Alma, ya’ were kinda harsh,” Lorena commented.

  “I guess. But enough about him. Who’s up for a threesome?” Alma lean
ed forward enthusiastically, smiling wide.

  They both stared back at her, confused, before uncomfortably looking at each other.

  “C’mon…! The last few days have sucked! Can’t we have a little fun?”

  “Um, Alma, I’m not really—” Lorena spoke slowly, trying to find her words.

  “I was kidding about the threesome. It was a joke! I just mean the last few days have been rough. Figure everyone needs to lighten up a bit.”

  They both continued to stare at her. Alma threw her arms up and climbed out of the truck. She grabbed up her clothes and headed back inside. Still soaked and dripping in her underwear, she offered a wink to the inn manager, who seemed grateful for any kind of attention. After an extended moment of fumbling with the door, she finally got into the room. She walked in on Kody lying nude on the bed during his personal man time.

  “Damn, I just say the chick’s name and you’re already beatin’ off. She’s not that hot.”

  Kody scrambled to cover himself up, wrapping himself up in a blanket and rolling to face the other direction.

  “Don’t worry about it, champ. Gonna catch a shower, so you have some time. Go ahead and finish up.”

  Alma stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it for a moment, keeping her ear pressed on the frame. She ignored her own shallow breaths, continuing to grow louder and louder, and listened for any sign he was continuing. Pressing her body closer into the door, a gradual, filling warmth spread over her as she became wet. Her fingers instinctively wandered toward her hips, grazing over her waistline before she heard Kody shuffling around just outside the door. She quickly shook her head and dropped her underwear, starting the cool shower.

  Alma hummed Cobra Starship’s club mix of “You Make Me Feel…” to herself as she washed off and cleaned up. She took her time, turning up the heat and enjoying the luxury of a lukewarm shower in spite of the desert heat. Finishing up, she stepped out of the shower and toweled off, realizing she had forgotten to grab a change of clothes. Left with no other option, she wrapped up in the towel and stepped back into the motel room.

  Trying to sneak in quietly, she found Kody sitting at the edge of the bed in a dirty pair of pants, avoiding eye contact. She looked around for her bag, trying to find a change of clothes. With it nowhere in sight, she spoke up.

  “Where’re my clothes?”

  “Adelais picked them up. They’re doing laundry, I guess.”

  “So you gave away my only remaining clothes.”

  “It was that or put those soaking dirt rags back on.”

  Alma considered his point as she debated between the chair and the bed. Feeling the weight of her karmic debt, she took a seat next to Kody.

  “Look, I’m sorry about earlier, okay? I might’ve been a little harsh.”

  “A little?” He cocked an eyebrow.

  “Don’t get me started. I know you’ve been through a lot lately, so me giving you a hard time was probably the last thing you needed.”

  “You’ve been riding my ass ever since you got here, Alm. I know I’m a piece of shit for what I did, but I fucked up exactly once. You’ve been treating me like Zoidberg when I’ve done nothing but have your back the whole time we were together, before and after.”

  Kody turned away from her. For the first time in a long time, her heart started racing. Her face flushed, heating up. She grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face her.

  “Damnit, Kody! You don’t get to do this to me! You don’t get to make me feel like shit because of what you did! I fell in love with you!” with light tears now streaming, she lowered her voice. “I fell in love with you. As much as I hated life and everything else, I started believing in having a future—because of you. With you. I started believing in us. I opened myself up to you because you were wonderful to me. Because you loved me. Even now, when they wanted to take Jake, you did have my back. But how am I supposed to just forget that you betrayed me? How am I supposed to just accept you back into my life?”

  Kody took Alma’s hands into his own, holding them in his lap. “I don’t have an answer, Alm. But we can’t keep fighting each other. Especially out here. Adelais and Lorena are all we’ve got, and there’s no guarantee the shit won’t hit the fan and they’ll decide we’re more useful as bandito bait. At the very least, we’ve got to stick together. I need to know: Can I trust you have my back?”

  Alma hesitated as her fingers explored his calloused hands. She licked her chapped lips.

  “Only if you swear to watch mine.”

  She leaned forward, resting her head away from him on his shoulder—her old familiar perch. He released her hands, wrapping his arms around her as his fingers drifted along the base of her neck. She turned her head, bringing her forehead into his collar. She inhaled, her body quivering as it remembered the steps. He continued to hold her close, drawing his fingers further along her back, like old times, allowing them to explore the arch of her spine. She shivered slightly, lifting her head to kiss his neck as the filling warmth returned.

  “What was that for?” he asked.

  “For having my back.”

  She lifted her head up, looking into his eyes—the eyes that had once been meant only for her. She leaned forward, bringing her lips to his. Met with no resistance, she pressed on. She wrapped an arm around his head and his back, leaning into him and remembering everything she’d been missing the past few months. She forced his mouth open with her tongue, intermingling the two. His hands still on her back, the towel began to slide off. With it stuck around her waist, she pushed him back onto the bed, climbing on top of him. The touch of his rough hands grasping her breasts caused her to lean into him, feeling the bulge of his pants.

  “Hey, didn’t you…?”

  “I couldn’t. Not after you walked in.”

  Alma climbed off him, keeping the towel wrapped around her waist. He looked up at her, focused on her breasts. She drew her finger from her nipple up to her eyes.

  “Heh, you know there won’t be any sexy time happening, right?”

  He looked at her like a guilty puppy.

  “Not for you, anyway. And not because I give a shit about Cris, because I don’t. I’m about as worried about her feelings as you are, but that’s not the point. The point, which you will keep in your pants, good sir, is no joystick in the glory hole. You lost that privilege.”

  Alma wagged her finger at him before drawing it above the towel, across her waist.

  “However, if you want to start making it up to me, there are several more,” she paused, “recreational ways you can convince me you deserve a second shot.”

  Kody couldn’t keep his eyes off her, but made no move. She stood before him, sighing. A knock came at the door, getting their attention. Alma pulled the towel up around her chest and answered. Lorena stood at the door with new clothes. She tilted her head, handing the clothes over.

  “It’s not—just don’t, okay?” Alma said curtly. “What do you want?”

  “Get dressed.” Lorena looked over Alma’s shoulder. “Both of ya’. Somethin’s come up. Once ya’ have some clothes on, come over ta’ my room.”

  Alma closed the door as Lorena walked off, getting dressed and handing Kody a fresh shirt. She set her stuff down and took his hands, pulling him up.

  “Look, I don’t care what you do, hun. I’m over you, although personally, it’s been a while and I could use some good foreplay. But if all you’re gonna do is tease me and sit around guilt tripping, then do it on your own time, ‘kay? Apparently we have work to do.”

  Alma waited for no response as she dragged him along, taking him with her as she headed out the door and down the hall to see whatever catastrophe awaited them next.