Page 44 of Heavensent & Hellbent

“That sounds normal,” he said. “I only know about the culture from my aunt. I wanted to go see my family while she’s there, but my mentor said I was needed here. Would you want to visit Iran, if you could?”

“Yeah,” I said, not addingwith you. And the thought was so embarrassing and unexpected that my cheeks began to heat up.

“Maybe we could tour together one day,” he said.

I thought he was joking, so I said back, “Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think we’d be side-eyed for being an unrelated, unmarried boy and girl gallivanting around together, but sure.”

“Ah yes, that,” he laughed. “Minor point.”

There was yelling over at the lake. One of Sebastian’s friends had dunked his head in the water, and he was trying to return the favor.

Zain looked over briefly and said, “Socializing and being an angel don’t really go hand in hand. Sebastian plays a dangerous game. I don’t know how Castiel doesn’t give him more shit for it.”

“Wait…” I got up onto my elbows. He was still lying back, eyes now shut. His features soft and settled.

“Yes?” he said, opening his eyes to find me staring at him.

“Sebastian is an…angel?” I whispered the last word.

He nodded. “Yep.”

I gazed over at Sebastian in the lake, two girls I hadn’t spoken to around him, splashing him while he hauled one of them into the air. She shrieked playfully. “Is anyone else here like you guys?”

“Only Alec,” he said, nodding to one of the guys Autumn was speaking to. He had dark hair and a couple of tattoos. “They’re like brothers to me, in that I love themandthey annoy the hell out of me.” Zain got up, dusted himself off, and reached his hand into the space between us for me to take. I gripped his palm and lifted myself up with his support. We walked over to where the rest of the group sat on the grass. Zain reached into a cooler and produced two Popsicles.

“Cherry or watermelon?”

“Is that even a question?” I said. “Cherry, obviously.”

“Well, that’s good, because my preference would have been watermelon.”

“Perfect,” I said, taking it from him and ripping the packaging off. “Thank you.”

We sat for a while with his friends. I didn’t say much, just listened to them talk about their plans after summer. Most of them were going to college, though some talked of taking a gap year to travel the country.

After half an hour, the rest of them stripped off their clothes, revealing their swimsuits underneath, before wading into the lake.

Zain and I remained on land.

“Let’s go in,” I said, taking steps toward the edge of the water. “I’ll just go in my underwear, but don’t look.”

“Obviously,” he said, lifting his shirt over his head. Contradicting my words to him,Ithen looked athim.When my heartbeat quickened, I diverted my gaze to the lake, which reflected the perfect blue sky.

Keeping my focus on the surface, I stripped off my dress, removed my sandals, and jumped into the water. It was cold. Colder than I expected, and the contrast against the heat of the day made me yelp. Zain’s laughter rang out as he dove into the lake. Water splashed everywhere.

He was still grinning when he reemerged, and seeing him so weightless made me smile back.

For the next hour, we all swam lazily and then played games like Frisbee and cornhole. Some of the others were obviously tipsy, the air between us giddy.

After a few hours had passed, I realized I had to head home. Zain, luckily, had a spare towel for me, and I dried myself off as best as I could.

The sun was beginning to set as we got back into his car. I was pleasantly sleepy from the day, from being in the sun and water. I felt like I could fall asleep in the car next to him, and I must’ve done just that, because I was jolted awake by Zain hitting the brakes.

The seat belt dug into my chest, as I opened my eyes, straining to see what had happened.

It was dark. Ahead of us on the deserted road was a shadowy figure. I realized, with horror, that it was a woman, and shewas lying down, head on the ground. Any cheer from the day drained from me as I peered over the dashboard.

Zain killed the engine, though his headlights still shone on the woman, presumably the victim of a hit-and-run before we showed up.