Read Online Autumn in the City of Lights by Kirby Howell - Free Book Online

tucked away, his to hold, his to hide, his to possess.
    Our hands clutched at each other. His scruff-covered chin rasped against mine, making it burn. A crinkle of pleasure pain creased his forehead. Then a fleeting thought about the tiny graves washed through my mind, reminding me why continuing down this path was so dangerous.
    “We should stop,” I whispered, wishing I didn’t have to restrain us both.
    He touched his forehead to mine, his blue eyes filling my field of vision. “I wish we could just stay here like this, all day, and that all of the troubles of this world could melt away.”
    “That sounds heavenly. Let’s —”
    Footsteps sounded on the other side of my door. There were two sharp knocks, and the door creaked open. “Autumn? You awake yet?”
    Startled, we looked up right as Connie’s head poked through the doorway. Grey leaped off the bed, dragging all of the blankets with him.
    Thankfully, we hadn’t progressed to removing any clothes yet, as I was now lying in my pajamas on the top of the empty bed. It was hard to tell who was more startled in this situation. Me, at Grey’s abrupt departure from the bed; Grey, at Connie’s sudden appearance; or Connie, at Grey’s presence in my room so early in the morning.
    There was no movement for a solid ten seconds, then Connie entered the room and shut the door behind her. She gave both of us the sternest look I’d ever seen her give, and in a tone she usually reserved for Rissi, she began to lecture us.
    “You are eighteen years old, Autumn, and I don’t even know how old you are, Grey, but not only does this set a bad example for Rissi, but it’s dangerous right now. Too dangerous.”
    I peeled my eyes from Connie’s reddening face and glanced at Grey. Her comment on Grey’s age was turning up the corners of my mouth into a smile. But Grey wasn’t smiling.
    “Especially with what’s going on right now with the lack of contraceptives and... and...” Her voice trailed off, and I knew she wanted to mention the problem with newborns not living more than a few days. She turned away toward the window for a moment, a hand covering her mouth, then spun back to face us.
    “I’m especially disappointed in you, Grey. Being a doctor and seeing all of this stuff first hand! You know more than anyone what the risks are.”  She paused to give him a pointed look.
    “Connie, you’re right. We’re setting a bad example for Rissi,” Grey said. I noticed he intentionally didn’t apologize for the rest. Yes, he was a doctor, and things were dire for couples right now, but he knew, as well as Connie, that this was our decision.
    “I just can’t believe you’d deliberately disobey the rules we set in place when we all decided to live here together as a family. We agreed! We agreed on these... agreements!”
    Her last comment broke me, and a giggle snuck through. I slapped a hand over my mouth, hoping Connie hadn’t heard. She had. She looked down at me, her eyes wide and accusing. Another giggle split my lips apart, and then it was like a dam had burst inside me. Waves of laughter crashed through me, and I gasped for air, clutching at my sides. I rolled away from her, trying to control myself and failing. It was something that might have happened before The Plague. Something so fantastically normal, and it tickled me so much to be thrust back into the old world after so long.
    The redness left Connie’s face, and she folded her arms across her chest. She looked at Grey, who stared at me, perplexed.
    “Well, I don’t really see how this is quite that funny, Autumn,” Connie said, trying to hide a smile. I lurched off the bed to go hug her, slid on an abandoned pillow, and fell to the floor laughing again.
    Both Grey and Connie helped me up. Grey had lost his blankets, and Connie seemed to have lost the will to lecture us further.
    “I’m sorry, Connie, I don’t mean to be disrespectful,” I said, my voice quaking with barely controlled giggles.