Tuesday Tales - Can

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “can”. We are back with my Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Dani pulled free from his grasp and laid the hand he touched in her lap. What was going on? Ezra was never this forward before. “Let’s just see where the night goes. Okay?”

“Suit yourself.”

Dani squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Bobo bouncing around his skull. He was practically hissing in her eardrum. Maybe he was really a cat after all. “Leave. We must leave.”

She grit her teeth, hoping the subtle action would keep her voice low. “Why?”

“Look at his eyes. Can you trust him? You cannot. Flee.”

“Is everything alright?” Ezra interrupted her conversation with the extraterrestrial in her head.

Dani’s eyes flew open. She gazed into Ezra’s. Instead of the warm, chocolate brown she was used to, they were almost glowing lunar blue.

Oh crap.

She gave him a weak smile. “I think I’m getting a headache. There’s a lot of pressure in my head.”

The smirk that had been on Ezra’s lips since she arrived disappeared. The scowl he now possessed sent a jolt of terror through her. “I bet you do.”

“I apologize. I may need to cut our night short.”

“Go, now. Please,” Bobo whispered.

“Why? It’s just begun. I promise you that it will be a night you will never forget.”

Dani opened her mouth to respond. A thousand excuses flooded her brain. For once in her life, she was grateful for all the romcoms her mother used to force her to watch. She clamped her lips shut as she watched Ezra wince. He clenched his eyes shut as all the muscles in his face contracted. It looked like he was struggling against something that clearly had him in its grip.

She didn’t have to answer for herself what it was. Bobo did it for her. “Grarkiel.”

She barely heard the words that Ezra spoke over the noise of the bar and grill. He muttered them so low they were almost lost. “Run. Now.”

Tuesday Tales - Water

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “water”. We are back with my Sci-Fi story.  Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Dani tapped on the screen. “Where do you want to meet?”

She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until it escaped when the answer appeared on her device. “Michael’s. That’s the bar and grill we ate at that first time. See you in an hour.”

She gripped her phone tightly as she returned to the living room. She slipped it back into her purse and turned for the door. 

She paused. Without turning, she spoke. “Are you coming? I think I’m going to need you.”

“Of course.” 

Dani could hear the squeaking patter of latex on her coffee table. Then there was the tickle in her ear and pressure in her head. 

“Ready to go?” she questioned.

“Yes. Let us depart.”

She gave a quick smile as she reached for the doorknob and twisted it. She tugged it closed behind her then hurried down the hall to catch the bus. 

The journey back to the library felt like an eternity. Dani squirmed in the plastic seat as she gazed out the window at the setting sun. The closer she got to Ezra, the higher her anxiety rose. She could feel her nerves reverberate inside her. 

This was going to be the night of her life or it was going to go very, very bad.

She barely made it into the restaurant before the hour was up. Ezra was sitting at the table they had been at before, a pint of beer already in his hand. His grin was a little crooked as he waved her over. 

“Hey beautiful,” he greeted. “I’m glad you could make it. Margarita?”

“No.” Dani turned to the waitress now standing beside her. “Water, please.”

The girl scribbled her request down on the pad in her hand then scurried off to get the glass.

She climbed onto the stool as Ezra took a sip of the brew. “Ah, no fun tonight?” He reached out to caress her hand with his free one. “I was looking forward to having a little fun.”

Tuesday Tales - Maroon

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “maroon”. We are back with my Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

It had been a long day. Dani slipped off her maroon colored cardigan and draped it over the chair in her living room. Yes, Boston was toasty in the summer. She had sweat buckets the whole way home. The air conditioning in the bus did little to cool her down.

She was too self conscious to dress for comfort. In her bulky sweater and long skirt, she blended into the crowd. No one noticed her. She would suffer from overheating to be essentially invisible.

Her head felt like it was imploding. She held her breath for a moment. Couldn’t he hurry up?

A moment later, her new little roommate popped out of her ear onto the couch, bouncing from cushion to cushion like a real life cartoon.

“More reading tonight?” Boboneth inquired once he finally came to a stop.

“I’m going to warm up a frozen pizza but then yes,” Dani replied.

Bobo cocked his balloon head. “Pizza? I’ve heard of this wonder. May I have a…”

“Slice?” Dani finished his sentence. Or at least she hoped she did.

His translucent body reared back a bit as if alarmed or offended. She sighed. With his limited knowledge of the English language, slice could mean other things. “Slice. When you get a piece of pizza, we call it a slice. It is a triangular shape most of the time since normally a pizza is round.”

“It’s not violent, like the slash of a blade?”

“Nope. Just pizza.”

Bobo’s head nodded slowly. “Slice, yes. I would like a slice or two.

“Coming right up. Since you are new to this, let’s try cheese. Once I know you can handle something spicier, we will move up to pepperoni.”

She shuffled to the kitchen and yanked open the freezer door. She pried up the first pizza then the second. Before she could tug free the icy cheese disk, she heard the tone of a text message come from her purse. She let the door of the freezer swing shut then hurried to her bag in the living room. Unzipping it, she reached in to fish out the device. She read the three words on the screen

“Meet me tonight?”

She wasn’t sure how to feel about the message she read. Her heartbeat sped up a bit. Why wouldn’t it? She’d be lying to herself if she denied being attracted to Ezra. At the same time, something was off.