Page 53 of Severance

“You still owe me a car wash, remember?”

“Yes, I do.”

I wait for him to say something else while my brain paints a very vivid picture of us kissing. My stomach squeezes and my heart rate begins to escalate.No, I’m not trying to replace Dakota.

“You ever read Stephen King?” Mikah asks.

“I tried readingCarrie. It’s a bit creepy for my taste.”

I hear a soft laugh. “You asked for horror recommendations. TrySalem’s Lot.”

“Do you not care about my sleep at all?” I joke.

“Of course I do.” He pauses. “I gotta go. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

The line disconnects before I get to respond.

16. Before

Apparently, the whole Mississippi Studios trip is a group thing.

“Luke’s picking me up in twenty minutes,” Jess announces as soon as I arrive at her house.

“Luke’s coming over here?” My jaw hangs open.

“Yeah. We’re going too.”

I was under the impression tonight’s date would be just Dakota and me. But my bigger problem is explaining to Luke why I “live” with Jess.

Now that I’ve gotten a taste of Dakota, I can’t stop thinking about us and I’m scared to mess it up. Yesterday, he took me to a nice restaurant. It was a real date with candles and delicious food, and it felt surreal, almost like at the movies. We kissed until my lips went numb in front of the Tillers’ house when he dropped me off. Ah, the perks of having parents who are obsessed with traveling.

“Can you help me with my hair?” Jess yanks me out of my daydream. “And I need some details, remember?”

“What details?” I follow her into the bathroom.

“About last night. You didn’t even stay to hang out after he dropped you off.

“You were snoring like an elephant.” I laugh.

“I don’t snore.” She shakes her head.

“Yes, you do. I’ll record it next time.”

Then Jess does what she always does in cases like this—abruptly changes the subject. “Come on. Spill it.”

Dakota’s Mustang pulls into the Tillers’ driveway at quarter to six, when I’ve already relived yesterday’s date in my mind four times.

The temperature outside has dropped dramatically since last night, and I rush to the car like a marathon runner, praying to God that Luke’s running late and doesn’t see us.

When we arrive at Mississippi Studios, Blaze and Dakota’s friends are already waiting for us in the lobby. The bouncer checks our IDs and uses a black marker to draw a huge cross on my wrist.

The venue is dark and has just enough lighting to allow us not to trip over other people. The narrow balcony encircling the floor of the main room is packed, and the dozens of yellow globes and Christmas lights hanging from the high ceiling give the place a festive, homey vibe. It’s nothing like the club where we saw the Black Rose and Midnight Rust shows. This is intimate and people seem to know each other well, because Dakota keeps getting stopped every two seconds on our way to the bar.

“Are you hungry? Do you want anything?” he asks as we push through the chattering crowd to get to the bartender.

“Just water,” I say, untying my scarf.

My phone pings when we get to the end of the line at the bar, and when I draw it from my pocket, I see a text message from Jess.

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