Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

boss of something.”
    “You can be the boss of Buster.”
    “No, not da dog. Dat’s not da boss of anything, really.”
    “Fine. You can be the boss of … I don’t know. Kissing.”
    Bodo stopped putting on his shirt, his eyes taking on a special gleam, making me almost regret I had said it. “Oh, dat’s good. I like dat a lot. I am da boss of da kissing. Dat means you haff to kiss me when I say do it.” He smiled, pulling his shirt over his head. “Okay, dat’s a goodt deal. You can be da boss of me, den. I agree to dis plan.”
    I didn’t argue with his ridiculous deal. I was still too happily glowing to bother, and figured he couldn’t get me into too much trouble with a few kisses. Besides, kissing Bodo was no chore. He was so damn good at it, I was kind of hoping he’d demand one soon. I was too shy to ask for one, and I knew he didn’t mind being forward about what he wanted. This is totally going to work out to my advantage. Kissing Bodo and bossing him around. A perfect relationship.
    Once we had our clothes on, we walked back to our hut. Halfway there he demanded his first kiss.
    “Bryn, da boss of kissing says you have to do it now.”
    I sighed, acting all put-out, but secretly happy. “Fine. Get it over with.”
    “You are breaking my heart with dose mean wordts, but I don’t care. You have to kiss me anyway.” He grabbed me around the waist and planted a heavy lip lock on me, getting us both breathless all over again. I pushed him from me before we could go too far. It was so easy to do with him, lost control like this. I was going to have to be very careful not to let him get under my skin too much or I’d be a useless heap of worried girl, always wondering what he was thinking and feeling. I hated that.
    “Come on, loverboy. We need to get back. Peter’s probably wondering where we are.”
    “He’s busy with da Creek. He doessn’t care what we are doing.”
    “Yes, he does. And I have work to do tomorrow. I have to get ready for it.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I’m picking candidates for the scouting and rescue.”
    “I want to be da boss of you so I can say no. I don’t like you to do dat dangerous stuff.”
    “I know you don’t, Bodo, but I have to.” I laced my fingers in his as we walked, silently thrilled at how big they were compared to mine, enjoying the warmth they brought. “These people, those kids … they need me. What kind of person would I be if I just ignored that because I was worried about myself?”
    “A living one.”
    “I’ll be fine. I wouldn’t do it if I thought I could die.”
    “Well, den you are being foolish. Becausse you can die. Dat’s a fact.”
    I squeezed his hand. “Let’s not talk about this now. I don’t want to fight.”
    “Me neither. I will make anudder deal with you and den no more fighting.”
    “What’s that?”
    “You promise dat I can go with you. Den I can make sure nothing happens to you. I can watching your back. No … I can watch your back.”
    “I don’t know.” I knew it wasn’t fair, but I was thinking about how I didn’t want to have him there, out of a sense of needing to keep him safe - which is exactly what he was trying to do with me. It seemed kind of hypocritical for me to tell him he couldn’t go, so I stopped short of doing that.
    “If you can pass the tests in the sessions tomorrow, then you can go.”
    “What are da tests?”
    “I don’t know yet. Strength, agility, reflexes. Basic fighting skills.”
    “Oh, okay. Dat’s not a problem. I can do dat.”
    I was sad, thinking to myself that he probably could do all the things I would use as tests to qualify guys and girls for our team. Now I was going to have to figure out how to keep both of us alive and unscathed as we entered enemy territory and rescued our prisoners of war. I was going to be studying George’s journal tonight as long as the firelight would let me.

Chapter Three

    I FELL ASLEEP IN BETWEEN Peter and Bodo as usual, but got a much better goodnight kiss from Bodo than I did the last time; and at some point during the night, Bodo came over and joined me on my mattress. I woke up in his arms and laid there for a few minutes just enjoying the sensation of having someone hold me, making me feel safe and loved. I wondered if my dad were looking down on me and approving. I liked to think he was, and it made me smile.
    Buster saw my eyes open and the happy look on my face, and wiggled over to lick my chin, taking