1
Eleven fifty-eight.
Two minutes until midnight.
One hundred twenty seconds until tomorrow.
Cleve pulled hard on his cigarette with the practiced pucker of a lifetime smoker. He could feel the burn all the way down his throat.
It felt good, comforting somehow.
He glanced nervously over his shoulder, tormenting a cuticle on his left hand until he had it bleeding. He stuck the end of his finger into his mouth and sucked at the wound. The warm coppery flavor mixed with the tobacco, bathing his tongue in a rich, exotic taste of blended leaves and body chemicals.
Where tha' hell is Bobby, he wondered?
The guy had promised to be here a lifetime ago. Cleve took another draw and held the smoke inside his cheeks. He let the silver mirage float from his mouth in two fading rings.
At least, I look cool, he thought, gazing at the gorgeous full moon floating above.
His insides were jumping like bits of bacon frying in a pan of hot grease. This place scared the shit out of him, not that he'd ever let Bobby know. He checked his watch again. Looking up and down the railroad tracks, he saw nothing.
Nothing but empty blackness.
Bobby, if this is some kind of joke, he thought, stamping his feet to ward off the cold.
His breath came in short puffs. The nicotine had done nothing to calm his nerves. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. This place really shook him up. Something clanked loudly deep inside the empty structure.
"C'mon, man," Cleve said aloud. "Screw this."
YOU ARE READING
Love Songs: The Wrong Note - A Collection of Short Stories
General FictionA second volume of short stories in the Love Songs collection. Many of the stories in this collection focus on the theme of love and how it sometimes goes wrong. A large collection of stories that run the gamut from humorous to tragic. 1. Love Songs...
