Exsanguinate by Killion Slade Read Free Book Online Page B

the doggie bed.
    “They’ll be fine. If either of them is doing the humping, it’s her. Stormy always shows her dominance over him.”
    Dakota spewed her cider.
    “Okay, I’ll see you guys at eight in front of Margaritaville.”
    “How will we know it’s you?” I asked her.
    “Don’t worry, I’ll be around.”
    In unison, both Dakota and I sang the dun, dun, dunnnnnn music sound effect.
    “Laters.” Sheridan waved goodbye as my front door closed.

    * * *
    “ S o … Dakota … when is the last time you went into a haunted house alone? Do you know if Sheridan has done it?”
    “Alone? Never,” she snorted. “Are you out of your feckin’ mind? Those things are scary enough with a group of people and knowing the park employees can’t touch you. But damn, are you really planning to do this alone?” Her eyes bugged out of her head, alarmed at the idea.
    “Yeah, I decided last year I was going to do this and prove to myself I could. How else am I supposed to understand how fear feels if I don’t test it out on myself? Need to immerse the senses kinda thing.”
    Beano and Stormy ran into the bedroom and into my closet. Seconds later, they each had a bedroom slipper and ran out of the room. Stormy had a little more trouble with her slipper, but she was bound and determined. “Hey, what the … ?” Dakota and I both stood there looking at each other and laughed our heads off.
    I looked at the sun setting further into the west. Time was moving faster than I wanted. “Thank the weather gods, it’ll only be down to seventy-five degrees tonight or else I would’ve frozen in this outfit.” I looked over at Dakota’s dress. “Aren’t you going to roast in that gown?”
    “Nah, I’m going Polynesian – so I’ll be plenty cool.”
    I cocked an eyebrow at her. My eyes begged for further explanation.
    “Ya know, commando, bare-assed naked.”
    “Seriously? Are you planning on finding a quiet, dark, abandoned hallway or room somewhere, Miss Dakota?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Her seductress grin exuded pure sarcastic wickedness. “Not only that, but there’s this guy who is going to be a zombie groom in the undead parade. He and I are going to try and hook up later.”
    “Wait. What about that Ludovic guy? Aren’t you meeting him tonight or something?”
    “Yeah, sure. He’s a great guy. I like him … a lot, actually. Maybe that’s why I need to back away from him. When it gets to the point where I think I’m really falling for a guy, I have to back out. I can’t get attached, cause I know I’ll fall hard. So, most likely I’m gonna need to cut bait with him soon. It’s just that damn cool Romanian accent of his, ya know? Kinda drives me nutty when he says my name.”
    “Oh, yes. I so understand that. I love the way Roxas sounds when he’s all into me.”
    Dakota smiled and clinked our bottles together again. “I’m pretty sure Ludovic is bringing his brother tonight though. When his bro tags along – they’re kinda weird, so I was hoping to ditch them in the middle of the night. I just want to enjoy a solid shag in some dark alley with no strings attached.”
    “I’ll never be able to keep up with you and your fellas.”
    “Hey c’mon, let’s get going.”
    Dakota interrupted my morbid imaginations of a guy chasing us around wearing a mask and wielding a hockey stick.
    “You’ve got everything already in the truck, right?”
    I nodded.
    “So let’s get rid of that green I’m gonna puke look about you, and into this cool costume makeup.”
    “Okay, I’m getting nervous. You gotta promise me you won’t let me chicken out on meeting Roxas.”
    We crossed our hearts, set into a series of dizzy handshake gestures, hip bumps and ended with a pinkie swear. It seemed like we added something new every year to the secret sister code and always laughed when we got it wrong. Tonight, however, we were on fire, and we got everything right. We were hot, we were young, and we were ready to live