Note to the editor: There are italics in this story that I'd like to be retained. Thank you!
FINALLY HE TOUCHES ME PART 6
by
Lana Lovelace
Sam banged on the door a second time, a nervous jittering in all his limbs. The bottle neck he gripped had become sweaty in his hand, and he felt his fingers tightening around it.
This is a bad idea,
he thought casting a quick glance up and down the hallway. It was late, but not
that
late, and if someone walked by right now...
The door swished open, followed by a man's annoyed voice. "I hope you're not planning on staying long, because I was just about to binge-watch my favorite show, 'Get Lost'—oh, uh...Hey, Sam."
JR stood in the doorway, hair rumpled, wearing a dingy white undershirt and a pair of ratty sweats.
Sam ran a hand through his own damp hair as he felt a blush creep up his cheeks. He tried to play it cool, "Uh...hey, JR."
An awkward moment passed between them. The older man looked Sam up and down with a quirked eyebrow at his too-tight T-shirt and well-worn pants. Sam shifted his weight between his feet and cleared his throat.
"So, were you, like, in the neighborhood or something?" JR asked, eyes on the bottle in Sam's hand. "Just some light evening walking and drinking?"
Sam jumped, fighting the sudden urge to tuck the bottle behind his back. That would just make him look even more suspicious. "No, I...uh..." he stammered, "I came to talk to you." He glanced down the hallway again. "Can I come in?"
JR looked over his shoulder, but Sam knew he had no partners tonight. Mara was out of town on a recon mission, but just to be safe, he'd hacked into the security camera footage in hallway. No one had entered JR's room but the man himself.
"Yeah, sure," he said, shuffling aside on bare feet. "Sit down." He gestured to the battered orange couch in the corner that looked as if it had seen more than its fair share of good times.
Sam sat. Perched on the edge, he suddenly felt like a student who'd gone to the principal's office to be scolded. With a thinly concealed shaky breath, he scooted back, trying to look casual, though springs poked him in the back from every angle.
"That's better," JR said, sitting down next to Sam and pulling his feet onto the couch after him, knees against his chest in a very uncharacteristic JR pose. "You're too damn tall now."
"Good genes, I guess," Sam gave a small laugh. He'd surpassed JR's six-foot height years ago, but every time JR brought it up, he made it seem like it was something new.
JR cast a quick look at Sam's lap, but then flicked his eyes back up. "You as tall as your father yet?"
"Taller, by an inch or two, I think."
"Damn," JR replied with a shake of his head.
Another awkward silence hung over them, but this time it was Sam who broke it. He lifted the bottle, still clenched in his white-knuckled hand. "I um, was wondering if I could ask a favor. I brought a bribe."
JR peered at the bottle. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's
baiju
," he began, studying the slightly yellowish liquid inside, "But we're not in China. So...hooch?"
Sam swallowed hard. "I'm not sure what that is," he said, voice cracking, "But if 'hooch' means home-stilled liquor that tastes like lighter fluid, then you'd be right." His heart hammered in his chest. This was where JR could either accept the gift or turn him into the generals.
While beer was allowed on the base, hard liquor was much more closely controlled. In addition to the real thing being difficult to get, the generals tried to prevent the exchange of these home-made concoctions. Getting caught with it would land you in the brig with a month of hard labor and limited rations—if they didn't kick you out entirely.
JR took the bottle, flicking open the crude lid with an audible
pop.
He took a sniff, then recoiled with a face. He turned that face to Sam. "Lighter fluid indeed. Where the hell did you find this monstrosity?"
Sam hesitated. He didn't really want JR to know he'd made a deal with the Wasteland Savants, genetic mutants whose Skills made his and JR's seem like child's play. "Oh ya know," he hedged, "Around."
The man shrugged. "Well, gets drunk the same. Whaddya need?"
This was the question that had given Sam anxiety all the way here. But, instead of trying to dance around the subject, he decided to just come out and say it. Better for JR to eject him quickly than to die a slow, embarrassing death beneath JR's stinging wit. "I want you to teach me what you know."
JR took a sip of the liquor with an audible cough, wiping away a clear trickle that ran from the corner of his mouth. "I'm not sure I want to ask you what you mean by 'what', but I already think I know..." He passed the bottle to Sam.
Sam eyed the spirit warily.
"C'mon, kid," JR said, nudging Sam's hand with his toe, "I'm not drinkin' alone."
Steeling his resolve, Sam took a swig, immediately choking as the fumes hit the back of his throat and crawled up into his nose. Droplets sprayed over JR. What little Sam had managed to swallow trickled down his throat, burning like liquid droplets of sun. A warmth grew in his stomach, even through his coughing fit.
JR
tsked,
though a smile creased his eyes. He wiped the hem of his undershirt over his face revealing a muscular stomach, six-pack softened with age. The fuzzy trail below his belly button was the same color as his golden hair.
"I see you're still new at this," the man said, laughing. He leaned over and pulled two thick-walled glasses from a crate.