Grace sat in The Bell and Hare, at a table sticky with the remnants of the previous patron’s drinks and the air dense with cigarette smoke. Her small table bobbed back and forth on an uneven fourth leg, splashing heavy stout on the already saturated wood while she tried to appear invisible. She had been unsure about coming out to the dodgy end of Tottenham on a Wednesday night, but her coworkers had assured her that once she got into the pub, “the blokes there aren’t so bad”.
Grace normally smiled and ignored her lonely heart, but after nine months her excuses were growing useless and the men at the publishing house where she was working were either fabulous, but hopelessly gay or just so dull that she’d rather spend the evening watching the BBC than try to make conversation outside of the office.
Spurred on by the unrelenting matchmaking of her landlady who’d tsked at her, “Young lady” her cockney accent shrill in Grace’s ears, “you’ve been on this side of the pond long enough to start dating. We have some fine chaps here too you know?” she’d called a taxi and arrived before her blind date
Lost in the memory of Mrs. Griffiths pressing a name, telephone number and grainy photo into her palm with a wink, she didn’t notice the sudden appearance of a man near the edge of the table.
Grace looked up into eyes black as coal framed by a mess of brown curls sitting atop a chiseled face with a beaklike nose and a mouth outlined with a smooth goatee that ended at the tip of his pointed chin.
The man smiled, revealing gleaming teeth that looked feral and eerily devilish. Grace at once thought of the song “Werewolves of London” and didn’t even try to stop the gasp that escaped her lips.
“Grace?” he asked, his British accent caressing the syllable that was her name.
“Yes.” She answered, squinting her own blue eyes to meet his.
“I’m Dante Barnes.”
Later that night, amid the tangle of sheets and breathless fucking, Grace would think back to that moment and know it was the beginning…of the end.
RED RIDING HOOD at WOE this week gave us choices of Olympic Proportions
I chose: THE ROAD RACE (300 or so words) set in Bejing, London or Rio.
London it is, with my new set of characters .
Oooh, the beginning! You really set the scene well here, and I love the little bits of British slang you threw in.
YAY, so glad you liked it. I’ve been doing research on England, pubs etc…trying to find the right way to write this. Glad it’s working, for now.
A goatee? Dante? Well, this is an auspicious start! Infernos are pretty hot places to be, and Werewolves of London is a great song. I cannot wait to read more!
well he is sinister and toxic and BAAAAAADDDD for Grace and well everyone else too, but he’s charming and he’s manipulative. He will be so much fun to write.
so glad you like them, really!
Love! You have such a way with words my dear.
oh c’mon. You write just like this…BETTER even.
but I love that you’re here, reading about Grace and Dante. xoxox
Wow. I wasn’t expecting that ending – and yet I want to know what happens!!! I love the set up with all of its dark, sinister implications.
oh thank you…yes, Dante is not a very good guy, but every good girl loves a bad boy once in a while doesn’t she? I’m so glad it hooked you, thats good, I was afraid it wouldn’t work, the I couldn’t write this kind of “love story’ but I’m going to try.
Oh very nice! I loved the speed of the scene and the climax (pardon the pun) at the end. Great as a stand-alone or as part of a whole.
I love when you’re off color ..my kind of gal.
Glad you liked it, I’m looking forward to writing these two…HOLY HOT MESS!!!
Wow. My unbridled anglophilia and my love o a hopeless and saucy romance are LOVING this.
well I LOVE when you love anything I write Miss Cameron, so my smile is huge.
ohh, new characters…I had noticed these names pop up earlier. Curious
Love the name Dante…he sounds…dangerous.
THis is a good start but I think it could be tightened and the description of Dante is such a long sentence…you tell us so much about him but I think if we are “shown” him he would be that much more delicious
Looking forward to the insane romance of Dante and Grace
insane is right, Dante is no good…not for Grace or anyone. But she wants him, needs him etc. We’ll see how much.
you’re right, I’ll rewrite and send it over so you can rip it up and help me put it back together.
An interesting start to a story. Dante doesn’t sound very savory
HI and thanks for reading. Dante isn’t savory,..but that is what is going to make him very readable..
Stay tuned.
An inauspicious start to a relationship . . . so many ways this story can twist! Looking forward to all of it!
you know you’ll be getting a front row view to it my friend.
Wow Kir, fantastic piece. I love the yearning throughout and the harsh dynamic of “fucking” at the end. It’s frames that last line brilliantly I think. Well done!
HI!!! thank you so much for saying that, I am writing this characters because I want to explore a dark side of love, sex etc..and I know that this will help me stretch to do it. I’m always afraid I wil be doing it wrong. So your comment, truly, made my day. xo
Nice story and I find myself wanting more. Dante sounds sort of sinister, but love a bad boy!
oh yes, Dante is no good..but in a good/bad sort of way. Glad you liked it, thanks for coming over to read it.
That last line KILLED me! And “Dante?” I so want that as my alias…
DONE! you can be “Dante” …or not, he’s evil and selfish and mean ..but more of that coming.
You are not any of those things…..are you???? Or if your alias all those things? hmm?
I’ve missed you t, hope you’re smiling.
Oh My Oh My…. HHHHOOOOTTTTTTT!!!! I loved how you set the scene. You instantly pulled me in. I am totally completely hooked!! I am excited to meet these new characters and see where their escapades take them!
HI you, been thinking of YOU so much, honestly, you made my whole weekend, did you know you came to BlogHer in my pocket??? )
love you.
xoxoxo
(and I love that you are enjoying the new couple!)
Awwww I’m so happy I got to be there with you and Im just giddy to no end that my card meant so much to you. You are something else sweetie and I’m so very lucky to call you my friend and blessed to be part of this journey with you as you share your amazing words and ideas and inspire!!!! XOXOXOXO
What is it about a british accent that just does me in?!
oh me too…me too, maybe that is why I am having such fun writing this story. So glad you like this too..(cold shower time
xoxo
This is perfect, from the spot on description of the pub and the great visual details of Dante’s appearance, to the story line, which is a real grabber. Glad I finally caught the first piece of this story. Great work.