Page 72 of A Dead Girl's Guide to Living
Then the car lurched.
A loud pop cracked through the air like a gunshot.
“Shit!” Dove cursed, reacting quickly and calmly, slowing us down and easing the Mustang toward the shoulder.
“What was that?” Liv asked, alarm in her eyes as she peered over our shoulders.
“I’m guessing a flat tire,” I muttered with a groan, already unbuckling my seatbelt as Dove shut off the engine.
The air felt wet as I stepped out of the car. I looked up, my stomach tightening at the sight of charcoal clouds that had seemingly swallowed the sun. A cool breeze was picking up, and I bit my lip with worry before circling the car to check the rear tire, hands on my hips.
Dove was already crouched beside it, nodding. “Yep. She’s flat.”
I stared at it helplessly and wrung my hands together. “So... so we call roadside, right?”
Dove straightened and looked at me incredulously. “Ellis, we’re in, like, the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Roadside will take hours. We can change it ourselves.”
I made a face and blinked at her.
“You—you can change a tire, right?” Dove asked carefully.
“Um,” I squeaked anxiously. “No, not really. Um... can you?”
Dove shot me a look that could peel wallpaper. “Yes, I can change a tire. It was the first thing my grandmother taught me, before I even got the keys to learn how to drive.”
“Oh,” I mumbled, feeling embarrassed. “Um... well, I think everything you need is in the trunk?”
“The questioning tone in your voice does not make me feel confident,” Dove muttered grimly, heading around to check.
I watched as she removed our bags and began collecting things, muttering words likejack,lugwrench,emergency triangle.
She set everything she needed on the ground, and my eyes widened when she whipped off her oversized shirt and tucked it into the back of her pants. Her black sports bra stretched tight across her chest, and her toned stomach seemed to ripple as she knelt.
“It’s cold,” I found myself saying dumbly. “Aren’t you cold?”
“Yes,” she bit out, “but the shirt is too big, and I’ll get all tangled up in it.”
I watched as she worked, suddenly hyperaware of how she knelt, how effortlessly competent she looked as her hands moved fast but surely. The heat crawling up my neck suddenly had nothing to do with nerves or storm clouds.
“You’re staring,” Liv murmured beside me, shooting me a wink.
“Pft,” I sputtered. “I’m supervising.”
“Sure,” Liv muttered, low enough that only I could hear. “You sure you’re not picturing what it’d be like if she leaned over you like that?”
Something strangled caught in my throat. “Liv.”
She raised her hands in mock defense, but something twinkled in her eye... something I didn’t like. She glanced back at Dove and whistled low.
“This is verycapablelesbianof you, Dove.”
Dove snorted as she worked. “Thanks.”
Thunder rumbled low in the distance.
And then the sky let go.
“Fuck!” I screamed, arms flying up as cold rain smacked into me like the heavens had decided I was overdue for a punishment bath.
