Page 2 of Fatally Yours

August was behind the wheel again as I leaned back in my seat, wishing the wind was stronger and would wick away the layer of sweat clinging to my forehead.

We hadn’t even reached Wes and Scott’s house, and I was already damp.

It was unpleasant, but I couldn’t say that I wanted to go home. This was my idea, after all.

We finally pulled up to the house and parked the car. Our regular group of friends crowded the driveway—all except one. I glanced at August, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand, but stayed quiet.

“We’re late again,” I muttered. He turned to me with a sly grin.

“Wouldn’t be the first time someone didn’t want to get out of bed,” he teased.

“It’s not my fault you kept me up so late.”

“Only because my voice drives you wild.” He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss, and our eyes met.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you like my mouth for more than just my voice.

” My cheeks felt hot as our lips connected, and I thought back to the previous evening.

Out of the corner of my gaze, I noticed multiple sets of eyes staring at us in anticipation.

“You better behave yourself and your mouth in front of our friends,” I smirked as I climbed out of our sweltering car.

“I can’t help it when you’re so damn irresistible,” he said as he joined me outside. To my dismay, being freed from our cage did nothing to help the heat. The sun was arguably worse out here since we were directly in it. We wandered over to the others as I felt my mouth begin to dry.

“Sorry we’re late,” he said. “Natasha slept in—again.”

“Guilty.” I raised my hand and then glanced around, pretending like I hadn’t noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Devin?” I already knew the answer—he bailed because of August.

“Work,” Mandy shrugged. “He got called in, I guess.” August chimed in before I could laugh at the absurdity of that excuse.

“I hate that guy, anyway.”

“Hey—”

He turned to me. “I swear if I were to drop off the face of this planet, he wouldn’t even give a fuck.

He has googly eyes for you, Natasha.” My mouth clamped shut.

Mandy, Scott, and Wes shared a look of discomfort and slithered away to the van.

I sighed. He was right, but we all just pretended to ignore it.

“It’s harmless, really.”

“Maybe to you, but if I had some girl drooling all over me, I don’t think you’d be too happy.”

“Yeah, you’re right…” And that was the truth. For as reserved as I was, the idea of someone else doing that to him made my blood boil. Suddenly, I felt quite guilty for letting this go on for so long and my head sank in an attempt to av oid his gaze.

The sound of a horn beeping caught my attention, and when I looked up, Mandy was reaching over Wes’ lap with her palm against the wheel. “We better hurry up.” I silently thanked her for cutting this conversation off. But before I could scamper away, August gave me a look.

“I’ve been complacent with this for far too long,” he said.

“Get him to stop, or I will.” Without hesitation, I nodded hastily, knowing he was never one to bluff.

It would probably end up with Devin knocked on the floor.

Without another word, we climbed into Wes’ van.

I sat next to August, and he set his hand on my thigh.

At least everything is still okay.

Mandy gave me a reassuring smile in the rear-view mirror as Wes put the van in gear and spun the wheel.

I leaned my head on August’s shoulder, but before I could close my eyes, a loud thump jerked me from my rest, and everyone cried out.

Sitting up, I noticed the front of the van smashed in against a boulder that lined the driveway.

“Sorry,” Wes muttered.

“Are you high or something?” Mandy snapped with fire in her eyes, rubbing her neck.

“Maybe a little.”

August sighed and gave me a pat. “Dude, let me drive,” he said.

Wes pried open the door and climbed out with his head ducked as August took his place behind the wheel.

“Sometimes I think my neck is still fucked up from when you crashed after we got wasted that one night,” he said as he looked back and reversed.

“I still feel bad about that,” Wes mused as we headed down the road.

Just as we pulled into the vast paved lot of the market, August had to slam on the brakes to avoid a speeding car from taking us all out.

When I peeked behind us, I noticed the red light on the corner, and it appeared that the vehicle was trying to avoid it.

Scott stuck his hand out the window in an obscene gesture, and the driver barely glanced back as he continued his journey.

Clearly, they had more important places to be.

We piled out of the van, and the heat hit all of us immediately.

August stripped off his signature jacket and tossed it into the backseat.

Even Wes tied his hair up before we made it any further.

Mandy gave me a sly smirk and grabbed my hand—not before pausing as another car sped between the lot and the stalls, nearly splattering us like roadkill.

My eyes widened, and she screamed something vulgar as we felt the breeze from the car.

“Damn, someone’s gonna die if these assholes aren’t careful,” Wes said. August wandered over to us before we could get too far and kissed my cheek.

“Stay out of trouble,” he said with a smile.

“ I need to stay out of trouble?”

“Yeah,” he beamed. “ You need to stay out of trouble. I can handle anything this crazy place throws at me. Sasquatch, aliens, the FBI…”

“Oh, really—”

“Quit smooching!” Mandy interrupted. “Come on!” I gave him a wave as she yanked me towards the booths. The guys went in the opposite direction, heading into the building. There wasn’t adequate air conditioning in there either, so I was sure they would be just as miserable as we were.

We went through the market browsing various items, crafts, and treasures that were less than interesting.

Atop busted tables—if they had tables at all—were old tools, broken jewelry, and worn-out toys.

Even though we weren’t finding anything, being together was nice enough, even if the heat was so aggressive that I felt like my face would melt off like one of those movies Mandy loved so much.

“It’s hot as hell out here,” she said as we approached another booth.

“You probably shouldn’t have worn all black.”

“I only own all black,” she huffed. The hint of a smile peeked across my lips. “You should try it sometime. Then you can suffer with me. ”

“I’d rather not. I’ll stick to what I have,” I grinned. She giggled as I swiped my hand over my forehead. “How long do you think the boys will last?”

“Scott will crack first because he’s a baby,” Mandy giggled.

“Then Wes. August won’t unless you say you want to go home because he loves you.

” I glanced up and gave the ragged-looking man perched at the rear of the booth a smile, hoping she wouldn’t do anything to make him pull out some holy water.

Something caught her eye, and she wandered over to another table, picked up a book, and sped back over to me.

“Hey, check this out.”

“What’s that?”

“ Black Magick Rituals and Spells, ” she said. “Far out.” She thumbed through the pages, her movements much too fast for me to comprehend anything. Stopping, she read the words out loud. “ Death and undeath . Didn’t August say he was gonna live forever?”

“Yeah, he did, but he says crazy stuff like that all the time. You know that,” I beamed. Mandy nudged me.

“He was right when he said the idea of you two at the end of the world would make a good song,” she said. “I bet he’s writing one like that.”

“For sure.” My face warmed again, and not just because of the sweltering heat. She closed the book and headed over to the man running the booth. He looked at us like our eyes were oozing out of our skulls and dribbling down our faces. Maybe if Mandy messed with those spells, they would.

“We’ll take this,” she said with a grin. The man raised a furry eyebrow.

“You girls don’t want that satanic garbage.”

“Why are you selling it, then?”

“Short on cash,” he muttered, scratching his graying beard. Mandy looked around, looking for something more.

“Got any serial killer books?” she asked, causing the man to lower his eyes. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand again.

Just buy the book and leave, Mandy.

“You girls ain’t quite right, ain’t cha?”

“And more.” She reached into her purse with a mischievous smile and pulled out some bills before facing him again with a grin.

“Where do you want me to start?” The man’s suspicious expression never faded as he reached out and took the money.

I gave him another smile, and we wandered off.

By this time, stray strands were sticking to our skin, and even Mandy’s light hair and short cut couldn’t save her from the unrelenting heat.

After a few minutes, my legs started dragging, but we still hadn’t made our way inside.

I wasn’t sure if browsing uninteresting things was worth the heatstroke.

We turned the corner, and Mandy spotted the guys across the way, looking just as miserable as we felt.

Wes gave us a wave, and we met up. Scott’s shoulders drooped, and both August’s and Wes’ locks were damp.

“This was a bad idea,” Scott said as he approached. His normally dark spiked hair was sagging as the heavy product mingled with his sweat. “It’s so fucking hot.” Mandy and I shared a giggle. August wandered up to me and smiled.

“Even drenched in sweat, you still take my breath away.”

“You’re such a dork,” I grinned. “But thank you.” Wes was looking around, desperate to escape the beating sun.

“I bet there’s some shade behind the building,” he said.