Page 24 of You'll Be the Death of Me

“There!” she said, and pointed when she saw Robbie sitting on his bench. Even on a Saturday morning, he was as reliable as taxes.

“Do you even know this person?” Cole asked, and hurried after her. “Is he safe?” His tie flapped in the wind, and he clutched his book in one hand.

“Kind of, and let’s hope,” Dell answered as she approached Robbie. He wore his standard uniform of all black and a pair of scuffed Chucks. He sat forward with his elbows on his knees and his phone in his hands, concentrating on whatever he was looking at.

“So, how does this work?” Dell asked Cole when he finally caught up. “Do I just... jump in?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never done it because it’sagainst the ruleswithout permission.”

Dell rolled her eyes. “Then grant me permission.”

“I can’t. I don’t have the clearance.”

“You are not helping my cause here, buddy. Give me the book. I’ll look it up myself.”

Cole pulled the book away when she reached for it. “No.”

“Fine, then I’ll just figure it out on my own.” She placed her hands on her hips and turned back to Robbie.

He was still studying his phone and now chewing his chapped lip.

Cole grumbled and began flipping pages in the book. “Your stubbornness is living up to expectations,” he muttered.

Dell shot him a smug smirk but was happy to see him helping.

“The rule book says a successful pairing requires acquiescence from the host,” he said with his finger pointing at the open page.

“Acquiescence from the host?” Dell asked. “Is your whole rule book written like an SAT vocab list?”

“It’s a very old book.”

“Must be. What else does it say?”

“That acquiescence is simplest when the host is under the influence.”

“Oh perfect. I’m pretty sure this kid is stoned all day. Does it say anything else?”

“That possession is complex and advanced andshould not beundertaken by novices!” He shouted the last part as Dell turned around in front of Robbie and squatted into a sitting position.“Ms. Rodgers, please!” Cole cried. He reached out for her, but it was too late. She’d already sat back, and where a living person would have sat on Robbie’s lap, she satintohim.

It was really a shot in the dark. She had no idea what she was doing, but overlaying her body on top of his seemed like a logical move.

Based on the sharp jolt she felt, like a fishhook behind her belly button, it must have worked.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell?” She heard Robbie’s voice echoing around like it was trapped inside her own head.

“Did it work?” she said out loud, and looked up at Cole. The dismayed twist of his mouth told her it had.

“Unfortunately,” Cole said.

Dell sprung up from the bench and immediately felt the shift. Robbie’s body was lean and wiry. His legs took longer than hers to fully deploy, and his vantage point was higher off the ground. She was now looking at Cole’s nose instead of his collarbone.

“Ha! So, this is what it’s like to be tall!” she sang, but it came out in Robbie’s voice.

“What the hell is happening?”She heard Robbie’s voice inside her head again. As soon as he said it, her body folded in half and sharply sat back down. The hook behind her belly button jolted the other direction, as if she were being yanked backward.

“He’s resisting,” Cole said. He still stood in front of the bench, holding the book and watching with curious eyes. “That’s why you’re supposed to ease into it. You can’t just sit on him.”

“What wouldeasing into itlook like?” Dell asked in Robbie’s voice as she gasped like she’d been punched. She clutched at her middle with his hands.