“Yeah, that’ll be great,” I say. “I’ll meet you there around four, then we can get into costume.”

“Sounds good,” Todd says. “I’ll see you later.”

I’m so glad that Todd and I have worked things out. My new rule is never let anyone make decisions for me. I let some of my sorority sister’s ideas get in my head—mostly stoner Abby—and it almost ruined Todd and me. I’ll admit, him having some of the things he had scared me at first but after I gave him the chance to explain and heard the sincerity in his voice, there was no doubt in my mind that he’s definitely a good guy.

Things have gotten pretty hot and heavy between us and while we haven’t gone all the way, I don’t think that’s going to last much longer. I almost gave myself to him on our first little date, after Georgina’s, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’ve been torturing him by making him wait. I told him that he’s going to have to earn it now. We’ve had some extremely hot make out sessions and I know I’ve sent him home with blue balls a time or two. He told me so, the poor guy.

Satan’s Revenge is all ready to go and I received special permission to miss my last class of the day so I could get to the haunted house early. Cars are already lining the roads along the mansion and the line to buy tickets is wrapped a few layers deep.

Jeanie is working the booth, taking tickets and nods to me as I slip inside past the bustling crowd that seems to be growing by the minute. The place looks amazing! It took us about two and a half weeks to set everything up, but it paid off big time. All of our rooms are ready and we got some of the guys to wire up new speakers with surround sound so we can play some spooky sounds to add to the effect and make the haunted house even scarier.

Stepping inside Satan’s Revenge, I make sure everything is perfect before I get our costumes ready. Synthetic blood is splashed all over the tables, walls, and props. Todd and I went to the thrift store and bought a ton of mason jars that I’m using as canonic jars for all of the ‘organs’ that Satan has removed and tortured from people. I spent two days soaking spaghetti noodles to make them look like brains and bought a cheap steak to resemble a heart. The jars look grotesque but that’s the look I was going for—it’s perfect.

I even found an inexpensive space heater to make my room warmer than all the rest to simulate a ‘real hell’ and Todd dug out his old fog machine so we have smoke. There’s no way I could’ve pulled this off without him and I’m so grateful for his help.

When I initially started out on this journey, I was going to be the devil in Satan’s Revenge but now that I have Todd helping me, we each have our own roles. I’m a succubus, or female devil, who sexually seduces men. He’s playing the role of an incubus, or male devil. I got a lot of flack from Abby about him being an incubus since they’re known to rape women in their sleep. She said it was very fitting for him since he’s such a creep and, for the first time ever, I told Abby to shut the fuck up.

Slipping into my costume, I begin to get into character. Sporting a sexy little black dress, I adjust it until it hugs every curve of my body. I’m going to fully play up the role of a succubus and tease the hell out of Todd tonight. I step into my shiny red heels before I brush out my hair and put on my devil horns. Armed with my pitchfork, I check my phone to see what time it is. Todd should’ve been here almost fifteen minutes ago, so I send him a quick text.

Me: Are you on your way?

Todd: I’m walking up to the mansion now. I had to park a little over two miles away.

Holy crap! It’s still so early and if we already have this big of a crowd before dark, it’s only going to get busier as the night goes on.

Me: Okay, I’m in the basement so just come to our room. I’m already ready and can hold things down until you get into your costume.

The haunted house officially opens in less than twenty minutes but Todd hurries into the devil’s lair that the two of us created and quickly slips into his costume. He looks like a true incubus! Apparently, he knows someone in the art department who was able to fabricate realistic wings that look aged and a headpiece with horns to match. It took her nearly as long as it took us to set up the room, but she did a great job with his costume.

“Wow,” I say. “You look great!”

Growling, he pulls me into his arms. “So do you.” Leaning down, he trails kisses down my neck but we have to stop because we both hear the guests screams growing closer to our room.

“They’re almost here!” I squeal in excitement. “Get ready!”

The two of us head toward the entrance of the room with me standing in the shadow of Todd’s wings. Since I’m significantly smaller than him, I’m hidden in the darkness that his silhouette casts over me, giving me the perfect opportunity to scare people when they enter the room since all of their attention will be focused on Todd.

Two couples cautiously enter the room, waiting for the first attack. Just as planned, their eyes cut straight to Todd who’s towering over them with his wings spread wide.

“Welcome to Satan’s Revenge!” His voice booms as he greets our first round of guests. “Take a good look around but don’t stay long because it’s very hot in hell!”

The girls flinch, grabbing hold of their boyfriend’s shirts in an attempt to hide behind them, and that’s when I make my move.

“Don’t be shy!” I screech, causing the group to jump. “We’ve got what you’re looking for! Would you like to see what an evil heart looks like?”

Pointing to the mason jar with the beaten, bloody steak, the girls cringe in disgust while their boyfriends casually check it out.

Shortly after they exit our room and make their way to the next, we have our next batch of visitors. Group after group, we scare the daylights out of them and it’s so much fun. Todd and I take small breaks between the crowds, sipping bottled water that I have stashed beneath the table. Our voices are hoarse and our throats are starting to get raw but it pales in comparison to the amusement of frightening our fellow classmates.

One of the props broke in an upstairs room, giving us a welcomed short break between guests. It’s hotter than hell (pun intended) down here, and we need to cool off. I switch off the space heater for a few minutes while we wet a couple of paper towels in the melted ice from the cooler under the table. Todd takes a seat on the stool as we press them against our bodies in an attempt to cool off.

“This is great,” Todd says. “The only thing that’d be better is if I took you on that couch over there.”

Our eyes shift to the old, cracked leather sofa where we have skeletons resting. “We can’t do that here!” I protest.

“Why not?” He asks, pulling me onto his lap.

“We don’t have time,” I squeal as he skates his hand up my leg. “And what if someone sees us?”

“So what if someone sees us? Are you ashamed of me?”

“No!” I stand up. “Of course not, but what about our reputations?”

“Marissa,” he says, grabbing my hand, pulling me back to him. “When people go to college, they’re supposed to have crazy, wild sex.”

I roll my eyes at him. “No,” I laugh.

“Trust me, I’m going to have you in this room tonight.”

“Oh yeah? Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe,” he says.