Welcome to Mississippi Heat

I slip on a lacy black halter top while studying myself in the mirror.

"Oh, you should totally wear that top. I love it," Lacy blurts out from my bed while casually flipping through a magazine.

"You think so?" I ask, smoothing the fabric against my skin before wrinkling my nose. "Aaron usually doesn't like me wearing stuff like this."

She snorts loudly. "Who cares what Aaron thinks?"

I glance down at the engagement ring sparkling on my finger and absentmindedly twist it around. "Well... I do, I guess. He is my fiancé, after all."

Lacy sighs dramatically and shakes her head while continuing to flip through the magazine.

She's been my best friend since seventh grade. Our backyards practically connect, and we've spent most of our lives attached at the hip.

Aaron is my fiancé. He proposed a couple of weeks ago after we'd been together since sophomore year of high school. The three of us all attend the University of Cincinnati together. Aaron's pre-med, Lacy studies marketing, and I'm in nursing school.

Lacy glances down at her watch before groaning. "Girl, you're gonna make us late."

She stands up beside me and checks herself out in the mirror while I shamelessly admire her reflection.

Lacy is the kind of girl every woman secretly envies and every man openly fantasizes about. Long auburn hair falls in soft waves down her back, her green eyes practically glow under the light, and tonight she's wearing a black halter top with a red mini skirt that hugs every curve she has.

Honestly, she could wear a garbage bag and still look gorgeous.

Meanwhile, I'm standing here tugging at my shirt every five seconds wondering if I look trashy.

"Okay, okay," I laugh nervously. "Let me grab my boots. Aaron should be here in about fifteen minutes."

I walk over to my closet and pull out a pair of black boots to finish off my outfit—a black halter top paired with a denim skirt. Once I slip them on, Lacy and I head downstairs to wait for Aaron.

As we pass through the kitchen, Mom is standing at the sink washing dishes.

"Hey, Mom. We're heading to a party. I'll be back later tonight," I tell her while awkwardly adjusting my top to cover a little more cleavage.

Mom slowly turns toward me with the same critical expression she's worn for most of my life, her eyes scanning me from head to toe in obvious disapproval.

"You're going to a party dressed like that?" she asks flatly.

There it is.

Classic Reagan behavior. Somehow, she always finds a way to turn every moment into criticism, control, or appearances.

I glance down at myself. "Uh... yeah? Why?"

"It's a little too sexy for a girl who's engaged to be married. That's just my opinion."

Her tone is passive-aggressive enough to make my stomach knot as she turns back toward the sink and aggressively scrubs the same dish for the third time.

Lacy and I exchange wide-eyed looks.

"Well... Aaron will be there," I mutter awkwardly. "So no worries."

Mom doesn't respond.

Sighing, I walk over and kiss her cheek anyway. I can practically feel the lecture she's holding back.

Lacy and I continue into the living room where my stepdad, Chuck, is stretched out on the couch watching television. My biological father died in a motorcycle accident when I was twelve, though I barely remember him. Chuck has been there for me my entire life and raised me as his own from the very beginning.

"Hey, Dad, we're heading out to a party. See you later."

He glances back at us and smiles warmly. "All right, sis. Bye, Lacy. You girls be careful."

"We will," Lacy says sweetly with a small wave.

A few minutes later, we step onto the front porch just as Aaron's red Camaro pulls into the driveway. He impatiently honks the horn, making both of us jump before hurrying toward the car.

"What up, dude?" Lacy says while climbing into the backseat.

"Hey, Lace."

Aaron's eyes linger on her a little too long as she adjusts her skirt, but I brush the thought away before it can fully form.

Then his attention lands on me.

Instantly, his expression darkens.

"What the fuck are you wearing, Mariah?"

I blink in confusion, then glance down at myself. "Um... what's wrong with it?"

"You know I hate when you wear shit that shows off everything you've got."

Embarrassment crawls up my neck.

I slide awkwardly into the passenger seat. "Sorry. I didn't think you'd care since we're going to a party."

"Yeah? Well, I do care. We're engaged, remember? Or are you trying to get attention from other guys?"

Before I can answer, Lacy groans loudly from the backseat.

"Oh, my God, would you two stop? You're both being such a drag."

Aaron's jaw tightens as he slams the car into gear and speeds off down the road. Nine Inch Nails blasts through the speakers so loudly the entire car vibrates.

I glance back at Lacy, but she folds her arms and gives me a look that practically says: *He's your problem, not mine.*

The rest of the drive passes in tense silence.

By the time we pull up to the frat house, my stomach is twisted into knots. Aaron gets out without waiting for us and disappears toward the party while Lacy and I rush to catch up.

The second we walk through the front door, anxiety crashes over me. The music is deafening, bodies are packed wall-to-wall throughout the house, and the smell of sweat, alcohol, and weed hangs thick in the air.

Aaron immediately disappears into a group of his frat brothers without even acknowledging me.

Lacy hooks her arm through mine. "Come on. Let's see what's going on outside."

We weave through the crowd and head into the backyard where groups of students sit around drinking, laughing, and smoking. The warm night air is thick with cigarette smoke and marijuana.

We grab beers from a cooler and settle onto an empty porch swing before two guys approach us.

"Damn," one of them says with a grin. "You girls mind some company?"

Lacy shrugs casually. "I'm down. But my friend here is engaged."

"Ah, that's a shame," the other guy says dramatically.

The boys pull up lawn chairs and spend most of the conversation talking to Lacy while I sit quietly beside her, too nervous to really engage. Honestly, part of me is terrified Aaron will somehow see me talking to random guys and accuse me of flirting.

After a while, one of them asks, "You wanna come smoke with us?"

Lacy grins immediately. "Sure. Why not?"

Before following them inside, she pauses to look back at me. "You gonna be okay out here alone?"

"Yeah," I say quietly. "I'll be fine."

She disappears into the house, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

There's no way I can risk smoking anything anyway. Nursing school drug tests us randomly, and getting caught with drugs in my system could destroy everything I've worked for.

Feeling awkward sitting there alone, I eventually decide to head inside and wait for the bathroom instead.

As I walk down the hallway, I suddenly freeze.

My entire body goes cold.

Lacy has Aaron pinned against the wall.

Her hands slide down his chest while his hands grip her ass like they've done this before. He leans in close to her ear and whispers something that makes her laugh softly.

Comfortable.

Way too comfortable.

For a second, my brain refuses to process what I'm seeing.

No.

No, no, no.

I stand there frozen while my pulse pounds violently in my ears.

I imagine running over there and ripping Lacy away from him by her hair. I imagine slapping Aaron across the face so hard his head snaps sideways.

But I can't move.

Then Lacy spots me.

Her entire face drains of color as she immediately jumps away from him.

Aaron turns around, and panic instantly floods his expression.

"Mariah, wait—"

Absolutely not.

I spin around and shove through the crowd.

"Mariah! Damn it, wait!" he yells behind me.

For one split second, I almost stop out of habit. Aaron's always been good at barking orders and expecting me to obey them.

Then rage explodes through me.

"No! Leave me the hell alone!" I scream while shoving through bodies and running out of the front door.

I barely even registered where I was going. The neighborhood wasn't exactly safe, and I was completely alone, but right then I honestly didn't care.

I stop beneath a streetlight long enough to dig through my purse until my fingers wrap tightly around my pepper spray.

Good.

Just in case.

My hands shake violently while I scroll through my Nokia contacts because there's absolutely no way I'm getting back into that car with either of them.

The second Mom answers, I completely break apart.

"Mom..." I choke out, covering my mouth as sobs rip through me. "Can you please come get me?"

Her voice sharpens instantly with panic. "Mariah? Baby, what happened?"

I glance back toward the frat house where Aaron is pushing through the crowd, searching for me.

"I just... please come get me," I whisper brokenly. "I can't be here right now."

"I'm on my way," she says immediately. "Where are you?"

"I'm near Glenway and West Eighth."

"Stay right there."

Just as I hang up, a hand grabs my arm.

"We need to talk."

I whirl around and violently yank myself free the second I recognize Aaron's voice.

"Yeah," I snap, tears streaming down my face. "I'd say we do."

He bent over slightly, trying to catch his breath. "Then why the fuck are you running?"

I stare at him in complete disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I laugh bitterly. "I guess I just didn't know how to react after catching my fiancé with his hands all over my best friend!"

"Mariah, listen—"

"No, you listen!" I scream. "We've been together since high school, Aaron! I trusted both of you!"

He drags a frustrated hand through his hair, then blurts out the words that destroy me.

"This just isn't working for me anymore."

It felt like all the air had left my lungs.

"I want space," he continued. "I want to explore other options before making a commitment this serious."

My face crumpled instantly.

"Are you kidding me?" I whisper shakily. "Was all of this just wasted time to you? You are the one who proposed to me, remember?"

My voice breaks harder with every word.

"You got down on one knee and promised me forever."

Aaron opens his mouth, but I keep going.

"And Lacy?" I ask incredulously. "She was one of those 'other options' you wanted to explore? My best friend?" Tears pour uncontrollably down my face now. "Do you have any idea how humiliating this is for me?"

"Mariah—"

"No!" I scream so loudly my throat burns. "You let me sit there with her every single day! She came dress shopping with me! She listened to me talk about our wedding!"

My chest heaves violently.

"She stood beside me pretending she loved me while sneaking around with my fiancé behind my back!"

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," he mutters weakly.

A broken laugh rips out of me.

"Oh, well, thank God for that," I cry hysterically. "Thank God the cheating wasn't properly organized!"

"Please calm down—"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I sob. "I loved both of you!"

The words come out raw and ugly.

"I defended her to people. I trusted her. And you..." My lip trembles violently. "You looked me in the eyes every day and still came back to me after touching her."

His face twists with guilt, but it only makes me angrier.

"Were you laughing at me?" I whisper brokenly. "Both of you? Was I just the pathetic fiancée too stupid to notice what was happening right in front of her?"

"Mariah, no."

"But you let it happen anyway!"

My knees almost buckle from how hard my body is shaking.

"I would never have done this to you," I whisper, devastated. "Never."

"I'm sorry," he exhales heavily. "I still want you in my life. Just... not as my fiancée right now."

I stare at him like I don't even recognize him anymore.

"How long?" I ask quietly. "How long have you and Lacy been hooking up?"

"We're not together, if that's what you're asking," he says quickly. "It only happened a couple of times. It didn't mean anything."

That finally breaks something inside me.

"Well, it means something to me."

Without hesitation, I yank the engagement ring off my finger so hard it almost hurts.

"There," I choke out while slamming it into his palm. "You're free now."

"Mariah, please. I'm not saying never. I need space right now."

I stare at him silently for a long moment, then nod once.

"Fine."

My voice is hollow now.

"Take all the space you need."

Then I turn around and walk away.

Behind me, I hear him yell desperately, "Mariah, don't do this!"

But I never stop walking.

By the time Mom picks me up, I'm curled against the curb, sobbing so hard I can barely breathe.

The second I climb into the car, her face falls in alarm.

"Honey, what happened?"

"Aaron and I broke up," I whisper.

"What?" she breathes. "Why?"

Fresh tears spill down my cheeks as I stare blankly out the windshield.

"I can't talk about it right now."

Mom immediately reaches over and grabs my hand while quietly driving us home.

And somewhere between the streetlights blurring past the window and the crushing ache in my chest, I realized my entire life had just imploded in a single night.