You

Ch. 22 - Dreamboat

Our plates have been cleared and washed, our glasses emptied and refilled, emptied and refilled, emptied and refilled. And the candle on the table is nearing its last leg. My chest is warm and so is my face, I can feel the rosiness in my cheeks intensify with each smile Negan flashes at me. Wine has a way of working its magic on me rather quickly, and so does the man sitting across from me.

"I wanna show you somethin'," he rises from his chair. "Close your eyes."

I do as I'm told, shutting my eyes tightly. The heat rises from my cheeks. "What do you want to show me?"

"It's a surprise, baby." Baby. Baby, baby baby. That's my new favorite word. "That's why I had you close your eyes." I can't help but laugh through closed lips. I don't want to inflate his ego more than I already have, which is a lot. His warm hand wraps around my elbow as he pulls me from my seat. I stand and would wobble if it weren't for his secure grip, now on both of my upper arms. My tolerance has expanded some while I've been here, but it's still close to nothing.

He guides me a few steps away from the table, although I'm unsure where I'm standing in his room.

"Alright, open."

My eyes latch onto the wooden bat, mounted flat onto the wall above his desk. The barrel is wrapped in a delicate razor wire, unlike Lucille's thick barbed wire. This small bat is more delicate, less bloody, untouched.

"Is that?"

"The bat you gave me on our first run?" His hands slip around my waist and he drops his chin onto my shoulder. I can feel his stare as I try to suppress a smile. I fail. "Sure is," he mumbles against my cheek, his stubble gently scratching my skin. I shouldn't be as elated as I am right now, but I decide to be selfish. He made a replica of Lucille from the bat I gave him. I never realized he actually kept it.

"I thought you got rid of it," I whisper. His weight leaves my shoulder and my back goes cold. I watch him step around me to take the bat off the wall. He holds the knob in my direction. A small J is carved right into the center. Negan named a bat after me, just like he did for his wife. What does this mean? My grin mirrors his, toothy and electrified. "You wanna hold her?"

I stare. Then I shake my head. "No, that's okay." I would only feel guilty holding it, thinking of Glenn and Abe. Maybe one day that guilt would subside.

He decides not to fuss and places the bat back on the mount, stepping in front of me afterward. He slips his fingers between mine and holds my hands. His thumbs stroke mine, back and forth, back and forth. The electricity has traveled from our smiles into the palms of our hands, surging through the rest of our bodies via a speedy current.

"I talked to your friend, Sasha, again," he smiles kindly. Circuit cut, electricity gone. He must feel it too, because he releases my hands and brushes a strand of hair away from my face. "She put that knife right in rapey Davey's head, right between his creepy ass eyes." He points right between his eyebrows.

"What did she say?"

"We'll take her back tomorrow afternoon," he smiles again as he reaches for my hand. "Don't worry, I won't hurt her."

It's my turn to rub his thumb beneath mine.

"This is the last straw for Alexandria, Jade. Now I get it, I know how much you love those fuckers. They get no more chances after Sasha is returned. They're lucky to have gotten this many. If it weren't for you, they'd be shit stains on the pavement." I think he tries to compliment me. But I'm not sure. "But before we take her back, you and I are going on a run."

"Early morning run? For what?" I ask. His smile drifts to mine and he kisses the corner of my mouth, a chuckle emitting from his throat.

"Tonight," he straightens tall and leaves me wanting more. Heat spreads through my chest and my cheeks flush pink. He looks at the clock adjacent to his desk and says, "Pretty soon."