Fully Automatic (Bullet) by Jade C. Jamison

help but notice that when her eyes returned to him, she seemed to be giving him a huge green light.  “Sure…just a little, though.  I’m the driver, remember?”
    Brad laughed and said, “Okay.”  Then he poured a small amount in Val’s glass, just so she wouldn’t feel left out.  It was barely a quarter of an inch, and if she even got a buzz off it, he’d be surprised.  Then he topped them all off with Coke and slid the glasses so that each person had one in front of him…or her.  “Bottoms up.”
    All the guys didn’t hesitate, downing most of their drinks in the first try.  Ethan looked irritated.  “You shouldn’t have put ice in ‘em, Bradley.  It’s harder to drink.”
    His friend had no idea that oftentimes Brad did what he could to slow Ethan down, but he said, “I thought, since we were in the company of a lady, that we should show a little restraint.”  He looked over at Val.
    “Yeah.  Whatever.  Top me off, pussy.”
    Brad handed the bottle to Ethan.  “Do it yourself, cocksucker.”
    “Don’t mind if I do.”
    The tension started to dissipate as they all turned their eyes toward the movie.  Brad finally took a place on the couch on the other side of Val.  How could he help it that it was n’t such a big couch, and his leg just so happened to touch hers?
    God, he had it bad, and he needed to chill the fuck out.  If he couldn’t rein himself in, he’d scare her off for good.
    The guys kept passing the bottle, but Val had only had a sip or two of her drink.  Brad was going to give her a while and then offer her a straight Coke.  She might have simply wanted to take her time, fearing an insane buzz, especially since she planned to drive, so he didn’t want to push her.
    Ethan kept saying things quietly to Val, causing her to giggle.  Brad couldn’t catch it all at first, but then he realized Ethan was making fun of the movie.  Brad poured another shot and closed his eyes, letting it make its way to his belly.  He could see that Val and Ethan already had a pretty solid friendship, but he could tell just by looking at his friend that he had no romantic tendencies toward the girl.  Brad would never say it, but he knew his friend well, and Ethan tended to prefer girls who put off a slutty vibe.  Val was the exact opposite.  She felt pure and sweet, nothing like the girls Ethan liked to date.
    Maybe that was lucky for Brad.
    He heard Ethan say, “Academy Award winning performance right there.”  Both Val and Nick, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, started laughing.  That’s when Brad realized he hadn’t been paying any attention to the movie.
    After the laughter died down, Ethan leaned forward and grabbed a Coke out of the soda box on the coffee table.  He popped it open and turned to Val.   “How about you trade me your drink for a straight Coke?”  She smiled and handed him her glass, taking the can of Coke from him.  Ethan slammed her drink down and said something else to Val, something Brad couldn’t understand, and that’s when he felt the first pangs of jealousy.  He knew he had no right to feel anything for this girl, but he did, and he felt like Ethan was just leading her on.  Surely, his friend knew Val was sick in love with him.  How could he not see it?
    Nick let out a long drunk giggle.  “Oh, shit.  This girl’s gonna get killed.”
    Zane joined in.  “Yeah…we saw her tits five minutes ago.  Of course, she’s gonna die.”
    Even though Brad hadn’t been paying attention to the movie, he knew the formula of which they spoke.  Val sat up and Brad loved the look on her face.  “Why is it that they always make these girls so dumb?  Why does she have to trip and act stupid?  Instead of going back the way she came or following the trail, she’s disappearing deeper into the woods where she’s going to die.”
    That simply made Nick laugh harder.  “You have a problem with that?”
    Zane said, “I don’t, as long