Archie Greenway felt reborn, not in the religious sense (he had his doubts about deities) but in the sense that his life was renewed and energized. He was able to feel the joys of life again, and Molly Kwiat was one of those joys. The idea that a five hundred year old vampire might have a chance with a fresh faced twenty-something boggled the mind. Archie understood that he should graciously accept his good fortune, but being gracious was never one of his strong suits.
Questions ran through Archie’s mind. If the chance arose, when was it proper in these modern times to attempt to get to first base with a girl? Just where exactly was first base anyway, not to mention second and third? (He had a pretty good idea what home plate was, though, and he was eager to get there.) What about this whole vampire thing? Do I reveal the fact that I’m a blood sucking fiend? If so, when is it okay to whip out the fangs? And do I ask permission first, or just sink them in and see how things go after that?
Despite the questions rolling around in his mind, Archie strode confidently along the village streets clutching a bouquet of roses. It may have been old fashioned to bring a date flowers but he was an old fashioned kind of guy. His heart beat a little faster when Molly came into view. So happy was he to see her standing outside the bookstore that he almost skipped along the sidewalk as he grew nearer.
Archie smiled broadly as he walked up to her. “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting.”
“Oh, no, I just got off work.”
As Archie gazed at her, the soft evening light made Molly even more beautiful than he remembered her. At that moment, grinning at her like a schoolboy, he thought he couldn’t wait until their first kiss.
Molly, a slight smile playing upon her lips, returned Archie’s gaze, and thought how she couldn’t wait to kill him.
Handing her the roses, Archie asked, “Do you like Italian? I know a place not too far from here.”
Almost before he could finish his sentence Molly was looking over his shoulder and saying, “Hey, isn’t that Maria’s son and his girlfriend, or whatever she is?” Molly had felt their presence even before seeing them, lending credence to her suspicion that they were vampires. After a hard day of sitting around the house watching “Jeopardy” on DVR, Martin and Adriana had worked up an appetite and were heading to the cafe for Martin’s habitual dessert before dinner.
Without taking his eyes off Molly, Archie said, “Yeah, that’s them all right. Anyway, we should get moving. I’m sure you’re hungry after a long day at work.”
To his chagrin, Molly waved at Adriana and Martin and called them over. “Hi, guys, remember me? I’m Molly, the new girl. We met this morning inside the store.”
Martin said nothing, but Adriana, ever the people person, replied warmly, “Of course we remember. How are you, Molly? How was your first day on the job?”
“It was great,” Molly gushed, “it’s really a neat place to work. I’m so glad your mother hired me, Martin.”
Distracted by the smell of fresh baked brownies, Martin could only mumble, “Uh-huh.”
In an instant, Molly’s head began to tingle. The tingle quickly ran down her spine, then raced down her legs until her toes almost twitched. So excited with the idea that had popped into her head, she was almost glowing: What if I could kill all three of these blood suckers in one night?
“Say, how would you guys like to join us for dinner?” she asked them. “Archie and I were just heading out. We’d love it if you could join us.” She turned to the old man. “Wouldn’t that be great, Archie?”
He had managed to remain stone faced while Molly suggested the idea to the other couple. Now he used all his strength to not say, “No fucking way. I want to be alone with you!” Seeing her youthful enthusiasm melted his heart. His face softened and he said half-heartedly, “Well, I guess that would be great.”
Removing his concentration from the brownies for a moment, Martin asked, “Aren’t you two on a date or something?”
“Well, yeah,” Molly replied, still exceedingly cheerful, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t spend time making new friends. I mean, I’ve only just moved here, so I don’t really know anybody, and Archie hasn’t been getting out lately, so it would be nice to get to know you and Adriana.”
Martin looked at Archie, who was concealing his disappointment well, then shrugged. “Okay.”
Adriana was more receptive. “I think that would be fun, all of us together for dinner. In fact, I have an idea. How about we all go to Martin’s house, order a pizza and sit around and shoot the breeze. After dinner, we could play Trivial Pursuit.”
“I haven’t played that since the ‘80s,” Martin said.
“Neither have I,” Adriana replied. “I was never any good at it, but I really enjoyed asking the questions. I miss that.” She looked wistful for a moment then said decisively, “Well, it’s settled then. Let’s head to Martin’s place.”
“Cool,” Molly said, “It does sound like fun, doesn’t it, Archie?”
With hundreds of years of experience, Archie was good at lying. He put a believable smile on his face, looked Molly in the eyes, and said, “Yes, Molly, it sure does.”
As they walked to his home, Martin thought, I didn’t know I still have a Trivial Pursuit game somewhere in the house.
This should be an interesting evening, Adriana thought.
Archie wondered just how long it was going to take to get Molly naked.
As for Molly, there was a constant smile on her face as she planned the deaths of her three companions.
Questions ran through Archie’s mind. If the chance arose, when was it proper in these modern times to attempt to get to first base with a girl? Just where exactly was first base anyway, not to mention second and third? (He had a pretty good idea what home plate was, though, and he was eager to get there.) What about this whole vampire thing? Do I reveal the fact that I’m a blood sucking fiend? If so, when is it okay to whip out the fangs? And do I ask permission first, or just sink them in and see how things go after that?
Despite the questions rolling around in his mind, Archie strode confidently along the village streets clutching a bouquet of roses. It may have been old fashioned to bring a date flowers but he was an old fashioned kind of guy. His heart beat a little faster when Molly came into view. So happy was he to see her standing outside the bookstore that he almost skipped along the sidewalk as he grew nearer.
Archie smiled broadly as he walked up to her. “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting.”
“Oh, no, I just got off work.”
As Archie gazed at her, the soft evening light made Molly even more beautiful than he remembered her. At that moment, grinning at her like a schoolboy, he thought he couldn’t wait until their first kiss.
Molly, a slight smile playing upon her lips, returned Archie’s gaze, and thought how she couldn’t wait to kill him.
Handing her the roses, Archie asked, “Do you like Italian? I know a place not too far from here.”
Almost before he could finish his sentence Molly was looking over his shoulder and saying, “Hey, isn’t that Maria’s son and his girlfriend, or whatever she is?” Molly had felt their presence even before seeing them, lending credence to her suspicion that they were vampires. After a hard day of sitting around the house watching “Jeopardy” on DVR, Martin and Adriana had worked up an appetite and were heading to the cafe for Martin’s habitual dessert before dinner.
Without taking his eyes off Molly, Archie said, “Yeah, that’s them all right. Anyway, we should get moving. I’m sure you’re hungry after a long day at work.”
To his chagrin, Molly waved at Adriana and Martin and called them over. “Hi, guys, remember me? I’m Molly, the new girl. We met this morning inside the store.”
Martin said nothing, but Adriana, ever the people person, replied warmly, “Of course we remember. How are you, Molly? How was your first day on the job?”
“It was great,” Molly gushed, “it’s really a neat place to work. I’m so glad your mother hired me, Martin.”
Distracted by the smell of fresh baked brownies, Martin could only mumble, “Uh-huh.”
In an instant, Molly’s head began to tingle. The tingle quickly ran down her spine, then raced down her legs until her toes almost twitched. So excited with the idea that had popped into her head, she was almost glowing: What if I could kill all three of these blood suckers in one night?
“Say, how would you guys like to join us for dinner?” she asked them. “Archie and I were just heading out. We’d love it if you could join us.” She turned to the old man. “Wouldn’t that be great, Archie?”
He had managed to remain stone faced while Molly suggested the idea to the other couple. Now he used all his strength to not say, “No fucking way. I want to be alone with you!” Seeing her youthful enthusiasm melted his heart. His face softened and he said half-heartedly, “Well, I guess that would be great.”
Removing his concentration from the brownies for a moment, Martin asked, “Aren’t you two on a date or something?”
“Well, yeah,” Molly replied, still exceedingly cheerful, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t spend time making new friends. I mean, I’ve only just moved here, so I don’t really know anybody, and Archie hasn’t been getting out lately, so it would be nice to get to know you and Adriana.”
Martin looked at Archie, who was concealing his disappointment well, then shrugged. “Okay.”
Adriana was more receptive. “I think that would be fun, all of us together for dinner. In fact, I have an idea. How about we all go to Martin’s house, order a pizza and sit around and shoot the breeze. After dinner, we could play Trivial Pursuit.”
“I haven’t played that since the ‘80s,” Martin said.
“Neither have I,” Adriana replied. “I was never any good at it, but I really enjoyed asking the questions. I miss that.” She looked wistful for a moment then said decisively, “Well, it’s settled then. Let’s head to Martin’s place.”
“Cool,” Molly said, “It does sound like fun, doesn’t it, Archie?”
With hundreds of years of experience, Archie was good at lying. He put a believable smile on his face, looked Molly in the eyes, and said, “Yes, Molly, it sure does.”
As they walked to his home, Martin thought, I didn’t know I still have a Trivial Pursuit game somewhere in the house.
This should be an interesting evening, Adriana thought.
Archie wondered just how long it was going to take to get Molly naked.
As for Molly, there was a constant smile on her face as she planned the deaths of her three companions.
No comments:
Post a Comment