Howl by Annalise Grey Page A

smiled. His college diploma was
prominently displayed next to a family portrait. I leaned closer to
examine the countenances of those who smiled back at me. Jaime has
his dad’s nose and his mom’s bright eyes.
    The open living room walls were lined with
bookshelves ready to bust from the weight of hundreds of books.
Where there was no more space, Jaime had stacked piles of books
that resembled numerous Leaning Towers of Pisa. I was pretty sure
they would topple over if heavy vehicles drove by or if a strong
gust of wind shook the building. I walked over to the closest shelf
and titled my head to examine the cheerfully colorful spines. Books
on wildflowers, edible plants, ecosystems of deciduous and
coniferous forests, hunting, etc. stretched as far as I could
reach. Each book I examined was dog-eared, stained and battered as
if Jaime had devoured the information in every page time and time
again.
    “You could teach me a few things.” I didn't
try to hide the admiration in my voice.
    Jaime came up behind me, wrapped an arm
around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. “The great
outdoors is my passion.” He said simply.
    I grabbed a book titled 'Building Emergency
Shelters: How to survive outside in any season'. I flipped through
a few pages with diagrams and directions on building snow forts,
rain shelters, and more. “Have you ever tried actually building
these?” I asked, remembering how the first time I'd ever seen
Jaime, he was camping in a tent.
    “A couple of them. The pine lean-to was the
most fun and it smelled the best.” He took the book from my hands
and flipped to the page with instructions on building the lean-to.
“But in all honesty, none of these would do very well in the
long-run. These are just short-term fixes.” He tossed the book onto
an already dangerously tottering pile and turned toward the open
door into the bedroom. “Come.” He tipped his head for me to
follow.
    The bedroom was down a very short hallway
from the living room/kitchenette. Everything smelled of Jaime – all
sugar, woods, and earth. His scent hung in the air like a light
cloud of heaven, enveloping and invigorating. I couldn't avoid
setting my sights on the overly large bed. The slate-colored
comforter and messed up pillows brought to mind the image of my
lover stretched out lazily as I undressed....
    Jaime must have caught on to my thoughts for
he smiled shyly and played awkwardly with a book in his hands
before reaching it out for me to grab. “You can never be too
prepared for a zombie apocalypse.”
    “What?!” I laughed so hard it took me more
than a minute to recover. “Did you really say that?”
    Color rose in his cheeks. “Hey, at least I'll
be prepared and you'll be coming to me for shelter and food.” He
put the book in my hands.
    “Jaime, you know zombies aren't real, right?”
I tried to stifle a giggle.
    “Excuse me Miss-Know-It-All, just because you
haven't seen one yet doesn't mean that they can't occur. There are
plenty of diseases out there that could mutate at any minute and
turn the population into salivating, flesh-crazed, zombies.” He
gave me a look that said 'I would know these things because that's
what I do'.
    “Sure.” I stretched the word out as far as
three heart beats and arched my eyebrows. I glanced at the book but
didn’t catch the name. “So you’ve got a plan, then?”
    “Of course. I’m ready for anything,
babe.”
    “Even a vegetarian who’s hungry? Because I’m
starving.”
    “I think there is something around here for
you.” He headed back into the kitchenette and started rummaging
through the cabinets. I laid the book down with my jacket and
pulled up a stool to the two-seater counter that doubled as a
table. Jaime put a bowl and spoon down next to a bowl of cereal and
gallon of milk. “Fabulous, Jaime. Really classy way to feed a
lady.” I teased as I filled the bowl with crunchy flakes
    After I finished eating, Jaime took the bowl
and set it in a