Judd Birch

Smoke and Whiskey

You say goodbye to Lea, Nick, and his friends and finally step outside. The door shuts behind you as you make your way to your car, soon disappearing inside the coupe.

The air is cold, naturally, but the chill is somehow comforting, and as you turn on the A/C you begin to notice a faint smell that warms your heart and makes you feel hollow inside, a good kind of hollow.

"Oh, I knew you liked that.." A sultry voice echoes in your ear.

You quickly look back with dark, furrowed brows, but it's clear you aren't truly angry. "You gotta stop scaring me like that, Connie."

"Scare you?" The monstress sinks back a bit in the back seat where she's made herself feel at home. "You're the last person I could scare, my little muffin."

Darkness fills the vehicle once again, a shadow drifting through the small vicinity before the monstress appears in the passenger seat.

"You got the hots for that boy." The creature teases with a playful, plump smirk.

"No, I do not." You say with a small roll of your eyes. "I saw him for about five seconds- and even if I did have the hots for him I'd never do anything about it."

"What? Why? Baby, we've been waitin' a long time for your picky ass to find somebody you actually like- shoot your shot!"

"He's Lea's brother. Remember? Lea- My best friend. Isn't that breaking some kind of girl code?" You make a face as you begin to further ponder the subject. It's wrong. This is wrong- even talking about it is wrong. And it's not going to happen.

"Oh, she won't mind.." The monstress trails off as she casts her gaze to the side to hide her unsure expression. "She left you for that scrawny gay boy! What's his name?"

"Daniel." You reply simply as you begin to drive home.

"Daniel." Connie repeats with venom in her tone, her arms folded and her eyes narrowed.

A short silence ensues during the drive home, the soft sound of rain creeping in through the icy windows of the sports car.

"Y'know.." Connie starts up again. "This boy could make you feel good. I know you want that~"

You remain silent, forever holding your peace- or at least until she makes you snap.

"He's a scary boy with murder in his eyes- you like that. And those kinds of boys always play rough."

The monstress's words send eager sparks through your body and make you grip the steering wheel just a bit tighter than before, to which of course she notices and is clearly pleased by. You can't stand when she's right.

"Just think about it, sugarplum. Maybe you'll see him at that party tomorrow." Connie shrugs lightly and directs her cat-like eyes to the home you're approaching.

Tonight's going to be long and hard. You've never had a crush or felt any strong emotional attachment to anyone, for that matter. You're not in love with this boy by any stretch of the word, but the idea of him is nice. Maybe he could be the one to open you up.

You'll sleep on it.