1 post tagged “innocence”

Suki was perched on the edge of the secondhand leather couch. The glass of wine she had been offered remained untouched. She was like a songbird performing for hawks, prepared to take flight at any moment. Daniel sat on the couch to her right, not too close to be an overt threat but something in the way he moved made her skittish. His predatory smoothness was primal, like a tiger in the Bengal swamps. He was older then she was by almost a decade. She was 18 and he was 26. He told her she was old for her age. She smiled. 

They had started talking online a few weeks before. Daniel had just moved to a near-by city where she  was about to go to college. Suki had forgotten why they started writing one another so much. At first she had found it strange that he was in a committed relationship, but now Ariels presence seemed natural, Daniel's other half. Maybe his conscience that kept the lava in his eyes from burning those around him.

Ariel wasn't a willowy nymphette like Suki. She was about Daniel's age with an hourglass figure that put most pin ups to shame. She was an exotic dancer. She paced the room, circling the younger girl, sizing her up.

"Do you not like the wine? I can get you something else..." said Ariel. She liked this little southern belle, ringing her down home sweetest across the southwest. 

"Oh...no I'm sure its lovely, it's just that I have to drive all the way back to the hotel and I'm such a lightweight. I would end up lost as 9th ward after Katrina." Suki giggled. Daniel laughed, more at her naivety then at her hurricane humor, his arm stretched out as if completely apart from himself and settled along the back of the couch. Suki thought of the deadly flowers in the amazon and the swamps of her own home state. Quietly sending signals out to flies and honey bees that safety and nourishment could be found within before snapping them up. Thats what Daniel was doing now, she could see it. She felt Ariel settle, albeit restlessly, beside her, closer then her hunting partner had. Her bare calves brushed against Suki's for an instant. 

Suki trembled. They all knew why she was there. The all knew what would happen. Still she was uncomfortable. The idea wasn't bad. Daniel was in good shape, a nice looking guy, charming and Ariel was beautiful. She had long black hair and slightly almond shaped eyes that sparkled and shot around the room like rounds from a clip taking in everything before her. But something felt...wrong. The hair on her neck prickled whenever they touched. 

Ariel leaned back, her hand laying over Daniel's out stretched arm, tracing lines, waiting. Suki was young and timid. They had known that the minute her first shy, drawling "hi there," slid out from her rosebud lips. But she'd open up, they all did. 

The conversation drifted to Katrina, Rita and Gustav. Daniel asked if her house had been hit, it hadn't. Ariel twisted some of Suki's honeyed curls in her fingertips. She gave a slight pull, steady and firm, a sign of dominance. Suki sighed a little, then took a long drink of wine. Daniel grinned. He wondered if she could taste it.

The wine was strong, but Suki was certain that her hotel room would be empty tonight. She'd leave here in the morning, kiss them both good bye, maybe exchange numbers. She was certain she would arrive at the University campus in time for the tour and to pay for her dorm and meal plan. She was sure of all of it. Absolutely certain.

She relaxed and leaned back into the waiting trap of arms behind her. One golden and thin,  the other tanned and thickly muscled, both waiting. She felt woozy. 

"Would you like to see me dance?" 

Suki couldn't tell which side of her the voice came from but knew it was Ariel. She wondered why she felt so lightheaded so suddenly. Ariel stood and began to move. The music was quiet and slow. The dancers clothes drifted off like flower petals. The room spun. Soft electronic rock music filled Suki's ears. She didn't feel the ropes. Ariels eyes were the last thing she saw.

Her car was down the block so Ariel put on the girl's blue pea coat and wandered out at dawn, head down with sunglasses and a hat on. She drove the car deep into the city. Through  twisting back streets till she found a crack house. She parked a block over from it, got out and left it there with the windows down. The city would hide the evidence for her. She caught a bus and met Daniel at a cafe. They had a good lunch, happy and in love. The perfect couple.