The End of the Ice Age

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou," she whispered into Jonathan's neck, her face pressed against his shoulder. "I love you. Oh god, I love you! You saved my life, you saved...Thank you, thank you! I love you. I love you so much."

She knew that she sounded like a babbling fool, like a hysteric teenager backstage at a boy-band concert. She didn't care. She meant every word, and then some. He had been everything to her. He had cared when noone else had. And he had opened his heart, bared his soul to the frozen girl. She knew this man better than she knew herself. How could she not love him? He had been her world for ten years. She wanted to be his world forever.

Jonathan took the girls head in his hands, looked into her eyes and smiled a warm smile. "Hello there. Nice to meet you too."

Lori laughed, the tears of her emotional overdose still rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I freaked, didn't I?"

"Don't worry, you can freak all you want to, I don't mind. I'm just so glad to finally be able to hear your voice. You got a really nice one."

"You should hear it when I'm not crying. Right now I sound like a raven with a sore throat."

"Then I adore sore-throated ravens." he said. He took a pause just looking at her face before continuing. "I was so nervous coming here today. When they told me that you had been listening, I wasn't sure how to react. I mean, a part of me always hoped that you could hear. But now that I know you did, I kind of freaked too. I couldn't decide, should I be happy or should I be scared senseless?"

"Scared? Why?"

"Because...you know me. Talking to you were like therapy to me. You became my own secret diary. You know all of me, Lorelei. My opinions, my ideas, my thoughts..."

"...your dark secrets, your wildest fantasies, your sexual kinks?" she said, making Jonathan blush a little. "Yes I know them all, and I love you for it. But it's not fair, is it? I know everything about you, but you know virtually nothing about me. Uh...oh shit..."

Again, Lori's world tilted slightly as she felt her fatigued body catch up with her too high ambitions. Still her heart was weak, and her head was slowly being drained of oxygen. She knew she needed to lie down. Jonathan felt her slump in his arms.

"What's the matter?"

"Tired. Lie down. Help me."

He carried her limp frame to the bed. As soon as Lori was in a horizontal position she could feel the blood return to her head. She looked up at Jonathan, who had sat down beside her.

"Sorry." she said. "Too weak."

"It's the medicine. The big guy outside said that the cancer treatment includes some heavy duty chemicals that drains you of energy. He thought you'd be back on your feet in a day or two."

"Jonathan?"

"Yes?"

"You're not gonna go away, are you? It's for real this time, right? I don't want you to go."

"Lorelei..."

"Lori." she interrupted. "Lorelei was my grandmother. I'm Lori."

"Ok. Lori, the only way I'm leaving this room before you do is if someone puts a gun to my head. I'm not going anywhere."

"Good."

They just waited in silence for a minute. Neither of them quite sure of what to say. Lori was the first to speak up.

"Come here. Lie down with me for a while. I want to look at you for real this time."

"For real?"

"I couldn't move my eyes you know. I couldn't focus. It was only when you were in exactly the right place that I could see what you really looked like. And that happened, like, once maybe?"

Jonathan laid himself down beside her, trying awkwardly to keep a respectful distance in the narrow bed.

"So well behaved," Lori chided as she edged herself closer to him. "such a waste of good upbringing. Don't you get it? Come here, hold me, snuggle up. I'm yours Johnny boy, you can do whatever you want to with me."

"Uh...I can?" said Jonathan.

She smiled. What a lovely boy.

"Well, stuff that includes heavy work-out will just have to wait. I'm way too tired. But don't you worry. Pretty soon I'll be yours to screw silly, and I'll be really disappointed if you don't. I haven't gotten laid in fifty years, so I've got a lot of catching up to do. And you are the man I want to catch up with."

She realised what she'd just said, and hesitated for a second. Talking like that was really not how she usually behaved, she was just in such a funny mood for some reason.

"Look," she continued, more serious now. "I know that this is all really weird, and that you don't really know me. So you probably don't know what to feel, am I right?"

He just nodded.

"Thought so." Lori continued. "I've given this a lot of thought. You know, what I would tell you if i ever got out. And here I am. So first of all, this is all too different from normal life to go through all the standard trite. Dating, movies, blah blah blah... No, I love you Jonathan, in all kind of ways, as simple as that. Could you possibly love me? Or maybe just fuck me a little?"

Fuck me a little? Did I say that? Yup. Shit. Please don't laugh, Jonathan.

Jonathan didn't. He struggled for words. "I...really want to. Love you, I mean. And well, the rest too I guess. But I don't know you. Not yet."

"That's all I ask for. So lets fix that, ok? Put your damn arms around me, and ask. What do you want to know?"

For two hours they lay there, close together. Talking, murmuring, laughing, whispering. Lori ravelled in the sensation of being held, being listened to, being able to keep someone company. And being desired. That was a fantastic feeling. But even fantastic things have to end, and this time it did when the drugs took their toll on Lori's body once again.

"Damn." she whispered with a tired frown. "I'm gonna fall asleep again. And I was having such a nice time."

"Me too, Lori." Jonathan replied.

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

"If not, I won't be far away, or I'll be back real soon. You're not getting rid of me. I promise."

He leaned over and looked down into her eyes.

"Good night, sleeping beauty." he said and planted a kiss on her forehead. Then he moved further down, and kissed her softly on the lips.

Lori's world faded away with their mouths still joined and the tip of her tongue touching his. She slept, and dreamed no longer of long, cold years and grey concrete ceilings. She dreamed of kisses, and arms around her waist, a body against her. And of other things, things that she vaguely remembered, too primitive for names.

----------

The Boy, Jonathan, had been very young when he first had appeared. How young she had not known, but after a little over hundred kisses he had one day announced that it was his seventeenth birthday. Soon he started telling her about girls he fantasized about, and eventually about girls he dated. Four hundred kisses after that birthday he told her, in detail, about how he lost his virginity to some pretty college girl.

She had felt happy for him, but also a bit jealous. Jealous of him, who got to have sex when she couldn't, but mostly of her, that anonymous beauty, who had gotten him. That particular romance didn't last more than a few more goodnight kisses, and then she broke his heart. His tears had rolled and stuck frozen to the glass window of her pod.

There were other girls too, some short flirts, some longer relationships. Lori had envied every one of them.

----------

Lori woke up to an empty room. It was daylight outside, and the shades had been opened to let the sunshine in. But Jonathan wasn't there. A short sting of disappointment came and went. He was probably just out for a while.

Lori immediately picked up the com-pen and flicked on the switch. "Hello? Excuse me? Is Jonathan out there?"

"Oh, hi!" answered a cheerful female voice. "No, he had to leave. He asked me to tell you that he'd be back tonight."

"Thanks. Hey, you're not Andy."

"Nopes." the bubbly voice said. "I'm Carrie. It's my shift now. How are ya feeling?"

"Good." Lori said, and she was. "Better than ever, in fact. I'm not at all tired anymore."

"No surprise, they took you off medication and nourishment IV some ten hours ago. Girl, you must be really hungry by now."

True. Lori's stomach was howling profanities at her. Just eat something you stupid girl, eat!

"I could eat this bed." Lori said.

The door opened and the woman called Carrie popped her head inside. She was the ying to Andy Corgan's yang. A petite reddish blond, blue-eyed girl with a cute, mouse-like face and an infectious smile. If the big, black, serene giant Andy could be thought of as a rhino, Carrie was a squirrel.

"Then come out here. We'll go freshen you up, get you some nicer clothes and hit the diner, ok? It'll be good for you to see a little bit of real life again."

Diner? She was going to eat. Eat. Another one of those things. How did food taste again? How the hell did one chew?

"But, what about the unwanted in...uuh, germs I mean?"

"Oh, don't worry. Your quarantine ended at midnight. There are some allergy pills you'll need to take, prolly for the rest of your life. Otherwise, you're all set!"

A long, hot shower later, she sat on her bed towelling her hair when Carrie came to her room with a shopping bag. The printing on the side told Lori nothing, but the content revealed it to be from a 2051 version of GAP. Carrie emptied out assorted clothing. Socks, a pair of pants, shirts, panties and a bra.

"I wasn't sure what you like, so I went with the grey, dull look. I hope it's ok, but I took some liberties with your fund to get it here this fast."

"Fund?"

"The trust fund that your dad set up to pay for the stasis and cancer treatment. After the hospital and the program have taken their fees, you'll still be a girl with a hundred grand in the bank. Not that you'd need it. A book deal and a Time-interview is probably waiting around the corner. Anyway, I had to tap off that money to get you some clothes. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. This is great."

"Here, is this your size?" she held up a plain white bra. "I had only Andy's estimate to go after, and that is a guy with big hands." As Lori stared at her, she laughed and continued, "Hey, I'm just kidding!"

The bra fit just fine. And so did the rest of the clothes. Beige cotton pants and a black, short sleeved, tight shirt in a material that Lori couldn't pinpoint, but that stretched easily and showed off her curves nicely.

"So," Lori said, turning around. "how do I look?"

"Spiffy. I'd do ya." Carrie answered with a grin. "If there was even the tiniest bit of gay in me, that is. Come on, let's go eat."

"Oh yes, please! I'm starving."

The walk through the winding corridors of the hospital was a bizarre experience. Just walking normally was a chore at first, but her spine got the hang of the basics pretty fast. She saw lots of unfamiliar things, small devices and computer terminals straight out of some SF movie. But that didn't interest her all that much, she was too busy looking at people. So far, she had only encountered one or two at the same time, but now they were everywhere. Doctors, patients, nurses, visitors, janitors, all milling around like a bustling hospital-blue ant hill.

She also noticed how some men stole a quick glance at her breasts as they met her in the corridor, as if she wouldn't notice. Yeah, she remembered that. Guys were still the same after half a century. Silently she enjoyed their wandering eyes. It had been a while since she had felt sexy.

They took the elevator down to the diner, more like a glorified cafeteria, ordered at the counter and sat down at an empty table. Minutes later, two steaming omelettes and two big glasses of orange juice were served. Lori's worries were justified, the whole eating and tasting process had to be approached slowly. So while she carefully ate, drank, chewed and swallowed, she and Carrie had plenty of time to chat. Lori asked question after question about the world as it looked today. Everyday routines, culture, new technical gadgets, fashion, and the world situation.

Middle east? They're still bitching since 9/11. What's 9/11? That's right, you weren't there. Any flying cars yet? Nope. The environment? Doing pretty ok. Global warming? A little, no disasters. What happened to Britney Spears? Who's that? Oh, never mind.

Then Lori asked. She asked what she had been pondering in her head ever since she woke up. She had to ask someone, so why not?

"Carrie," Lori said between mouthfuls. "can I ask you something? Or I don't know if you can answer, maybe I should ask some doctor instead."

"Shoot! I'm only weeks away from a PhD myself. And I know more about you Sleepers than most doctors anyway."

"Ok. Well, I guess you have heard all about my non-sleep by now."

"Yeah. Scary shit."

Lori couldn't had said it better in a million years.

"You have no idea. Anyway, I haven't been really up and about since the 20th century. So I don't know what my body can take. Will I get wasted if I walk stairs and stuff? I'm not sure how much physical activity I should engage in."

"I see. You wanna get laid, right?"

Lori turned lobster in a second.

"No I don't! Well I mean, I wouldn't mind, but that's not what I... Geez. Is it that obvious?"

"Girl, you have a big, blinking 'I Need Sex'-sign in capital letters on your forehead. And yes, go ahead and do it 'til you pass out! You actually should. Your body needs the exercise, and your heart needs to get the pulse racing now and then." She leaned over the table with a wicked smile. "So tell me, is it him? That Jonathan guy?"

Lori nodded, still blushing.

"Wow. Good choice. Let me tell ya, if you don't jump his bones, I will. That man is so sexy. Get him! I'll guard the door." Carrie said with a wink.

That was it. Lori finished her first in a long row of lunches, and they headed back to her room. Discovering the world could wait until some other day. She had a whole different world to rediscover.

When Jonathan came back later that night, she was prepared.

Carrie had taken her to the hospital's Scope terminals. Scope, it tuned out, was a virtual reality interface to an ocean of online services, like games, advanced chatrooms, cybersex, and online malls. They logged in to shop for some nicer clothes and ended up spending hours figuring out Lori's own approach to the current fashion, which Lori concluded with a surprise was a rather tasteful mix of two rather untasteful components; 1980's neon colors and japanese kitch. They ordered enough clothes to fill a minor closet and asked for express delivery.

An hour later the packages arrived, and Lori picked out a silky white dress that showed off all of her assets in a remarkable way. Other than that she only wore a pair of skimpy white panties. And no bra. Lori had always taken pride in her breasts, and the fact that they could "hold their own" as she put it. The Ice Age hadn't changed that.

It was all a bit too revealing for her to be really comfortable with, but this was for Jonathan. For him she would had dressed like the biggest slut in history, if she had thought that was his cup of tea.

"Damn, what a waste of money." Carrie said as she eyed the scantily clad girl. "When Jonathan sees you in that, he's gonna rip it off in a second."

"He will? Great!"

"Nasty you. Well, I'll be outside if you need anything. Have a...nice evening."

With a wink and a laugh, she left the room. Another twenty minutes of nervous waiting later, Carries voice on the com woke her from her daydreaming.

"He's baa-aack!"

Shit! Already? She rumbled about the small room, straightened up the bed, straightened out her dress, took one last look at her hair and took what she thought to be a sexy but not too obvious pose by the window.

The door opened and Jonathan entered, he closed the door behind him, turned back and froze, as he took in the stunning sight before him. The sunlight shone in on the back of the white dress, making it almost transparent.

"Wow!" he said.

Lori giggled. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up. You're so beautiful."

"Hot? Sexy? Fuckable?"

"Are you kidding, in that, you're the textbook example of hotness."

"Then come," Lori said. "do it now. Make love to me Jonathan."

Still he paused, now with a slightly pained expression on his face.

"Lori, please. Don't tempt me like that. You don't have to do this."

"Oh, will you cut it out?" she snapped. "Don't be such a fucking angel! I'm not standing here like this because I'm trying to be nice to you. This is not a sacrifice, not your damn reward! I want this. I need it so bad. I feel like a goddamn junkie who haven't gotten a fix in weeks."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad."

She wasn't gonna take it no longer. The need was calling like a siren, aching like a cramp inside of her. And that stupid man was just standing there, trying to be polite about it? That wonderful, wonderful boy. But that was it, no more pleading. She had been locked in a steel pod for ages while he was out there fucking girls left and right for years. If he cared at all about her, he owe her this. The world owe her this.

"Jonathan!" she shouted at him. "Shut the hell up and fuck me! Now!!"

Their eyes locked, Lori's burning like stars, Jonathan's slowly clearing as the seriousness of her voice, and how sincere her request was finally dawned on him. For almost a minute they stood there, barely daring to breathe.

"Ok." Jonathan finally said. "I'll do it."

Lori's heart skipped a beat.

"Y-you will? Now?"

He nodded.

"Isn't that what you want?"

"Oh god, yes!"

"Then come here." he said and held out a hand.

She walked a few trembling steps and took his hand. Jonathan stroked her palm with his thumb for a few seconds before letting go, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. She gasped when her belly and breasts were pressed up against his torso and he pushed her further against him with his hands on her back. He put one hand firmly on her ass, forcing her crotch up against his. Her longing pussy grinding up against him felt so good, so incredibly satisfying.

Jonathan let the hand around her back roam up to her hair, her neck and around up to her chin and cheeks. She couldn't believe the sensation of hands caressing her bare skin, fingers tracing her lips, the line of her nose, around her eye and back to the mouth again. This time in between her lips, brushing the tip of her tongue, the row of her teeth, and further in, until reflexes took over, and she eagerly sucked his index finger down to the second knuckle. Pulling it out, he let it trace a wet line of saliva over her lower lip, her chin and further down her throat as she instinctively tilted her head back. He let the finger turn into a whole caressing palm as it travelled further down into her cleavage.

With her throat exposed, Jonathan grabbed the opportunity and placed his parted lips at the base of her throat. Lori gasped as the wetness and softness lightly caressed that sensitive spot. But not for long. Jonathan's wet tongue shot out and licked her throat all the way up to her chin. At the same time, his roaming hand went down inside her dress, two fingers swiftly flickering a nipple before cupping one breast and gently squeezing it. Lori yelped out, as that familiar wave of sensations rushed over her, weakening her knees and heating up her pelvic area until it was almost unbearable.

Then, suddenly, Jonathan broke off, let go of her and took a step back. Lori gasped and gaped at the sudden change. She felt her body scream for more attention. She couldn't think straight. Had she done something wrong? Was that all she was gonna get? Jonathan?

"Still wanna do this?" Jonathan asked.

Oh, no. Was it gonna be this kind of pleasure? This kind of torture.

"Yes! Please, don't stop like that!" she pleaded through watering eyes.