This story is part of @blockurator's Exquisite Corpse. This is a great writing exercise where we each write a bit of the story, and pass it on. So head over the the first post to read part one...
It may seem innocuous enough, and had that been all that went wrong that morning, Vinnie might have felt a little better about it. Instead, pulling his Challenger Demon into the valet stand, the cocky confidence with which he normally tossed the keys at the greasy kid, felt forced.
Delayed, dabbing the beading blood with disdain, he had left the coffee pot on, and his watery black lava had a burnt tinge to it. He had bitten straight into a floury brown bruise on his crisp apple, the foul flesh instantly repulsive on his tongue. Vinnie was used to things going his way, so when the gangly kid had fumbled, dropping the keys over the curb, straight into the accumulated grime, a cold pit opened in his gut.
For a moment, he wavered, thought about turning back, leaving Katie until next week.
“No,” he told himself, and, it’s worth noting he was by no means a superstitious man, “No, bad things happen in threes, no reason for anything else to go wrong. It’s the perfect day for a murder.”
It was an only-slightly-placated Vinnie, who strode through the glass doors, letting his muscles bulge in the deliberately-too-tight plaid shirt.
Katie was waiting in the Harrods Coffee Bar, finally hearing the unmistakable roar of a Challenger Demon through the open window.
She’d mentioned visiting his local coffee stop, slipped it into conversation in the hope he’d take the bait. She felt the soft bubble of excitement blossom inside her, pushing into her lightened stomach. It hadn’t gone this well in such a long time. Normally, it was so much harder to lead them by the nose, but Vinnie, he came willingly.
Katie was, what her friends had incorrectly termed, a serial dater. Vinnie was her fourth prospect this month, and the only one who seemed like he was worth putting through his paces - she prided herself on being selective.
He was trying to play her, that much was obvious from his messages. He thrown out a few hooks, trying to find the cracks in her facade. She let him think they caught, let him think he drew her out, exposed her truest self. As clever as he tried to seem, she could tell he already felt that protective instinct, the desire to save her from her ‘shitty’ life.
Vinnie dawdled inside the coffee bar, letting his eyes drift over the crowd. Katie would be easy, her cracks ran deep. Her dad passed away, two weeks before her boyfriend left her. The girl was worming with insecurities, he didn’t need a plan, hitting the points that would undo her would come naturally. One conversation, and she’d go home, and swallow the rest of those anti-depressant pills she swears turned her life around.
Glancing up from her steaming cup, she saw him, stood across the room, looking for her. She’d chosen a quiet corner by the window, a leather sofa tucked behind an antique bookshelf, and catching her eye, he began to weave through the tables towards her. She took a moment to take in the sight of him, his eager eyes, his glowing smile. He was well built, which was often a deal breaker for Katie, muscle being much harder to saw through when it came to disposing of the body, but he was just walking right into it.
So this is a tag team! Next in, we have @franexito followed by:
@blueteddy
@foxyspirit
@fromage
@quillfire
If you want to be notified when the next part of the story comes out, simply tag me in the comments, and I will drop you a link to the next segment once it's out!
@franexito - good luck, can't wait to see your part!
Photo Credit by Pixabay User andrewlloydgordon who doesn't have loads of photos, but they all have this same openess, where they could be used for pretty much anything.