A man dressed in an all-black suit and tie strolled into a dimly lit room. Slowly he removed his suit jacket and eyed the other occupants. He placed his jacket on the back of the chair and sat down. There were three other men. Two were standing on opposing walls to the left and right of the mysterious gentleman. The third sat in a chair before him, bound by every knot that could keep a man incapacitated. Though he was in a less than imaginable position – one most would find extremely uncomfortable – the bound man seemed to be… unfazed by it. “I’m trying to decide,” began the immaculately dressed fellow, “whether I want to slit your throat with a machete and watch you bleed and die a slow and painful death… or shoot you in the head and get it over with.” He tilted his head to the side. “I’m finding myself completely repulsed by the look of your face.” No one spoke. The bound man sat silently, waiting for any idea of what would come next. Surely, this man would not just talk abo

Dante offered his hand to me, and I looked down at it with new eyes. I took the offered hand and climbed over the rope. He led me to the dance floor and spun me, pulling me to his chest. “Wow,” I said. “I see you have some skill.” He raised his brows and chuckled. “Okay, so maybe you are not as shy as I thought. You speak!” I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest with a smile. He looked down at the assaulting hand and peered over to my breast. His eyes seemed to glaze over, and I frowned. I was beginning to wonder if he was a bit more hammered than I. “Like the view?” He blinked and looked me in the eye. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just really like your outfit.” “No,” I gasped out sarcastically. “Really? I never got that.” “Am I that obvious?” “A tad bit,” I said with a smile. “I mean, I could be wrong, but I knew something was up when you stared at my tits like a nursing infant in need of feeding.” He laughed out, head falling back. “I am so sorry. I did not mea

“Your hands, what happened to them?” “I busted them while working.” “What were you working on?” A project for a hobby of mine.” “What kind of hobby?” His eyes landed on me, hard and a bit annoyed. Though there were music blaring and people living loudly amongst us, there was silence between us. I could tell that he was not used to the interrogation I was performing on him. He tilted his head to the side and sat back in his seat. “Murder.” My heart skipped a few beats. He said it without any hesitation. His face was as straight as a bee’s line. Gazing into his amber eyes, I narrowed my own. There was no indication that he was lying but I knew the truth. Flirting with a girl, there was no chance a man would admit to murderous hobbies, right? I intwined my fingers together and placed my elbows on the table, resting my chin on the bridge my hands created. I smiled at him, giggling and he smirked at me once more. My fits of giggles turned into full-blown laughter thanks t

I could only imagine what I looked like. I had no idea how to attempt a walk of shame. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that I had a few notifications. Some were just random things like social media, emails, and app reminders. I took notice of the texts and calls from Mel as I entered the elevator.  She called me twice and texted me a few more times than that.  She assured me that she made it to shelter fine. She told me that she and Chris went to his place and drank even more. There were some illegible texts that I could not translate proving just

A Month Later The sound of silence.  It is my favorite. And within a dark room? Immaculate. A dark and silent room is my preferred environment. It is all I must picture to reach a certain level of concentration. If I can image an environment like that and block everything else out… I am sure there is nothing I cannot accomplish.  My fingers dance across the velvet keys. My heart swelled as I leaned forward, lips kissing the vibrating waves of sound floating ind