markwildyr.com,
Post #93
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Headhunter
was a long series with mixed results. Got a record number of daily hits during
part of it and very at other times. Picked up at the end, so guess everyone
wanted in on the finale.
Today, I
want to do a piece of flash fiction. Please let me know how you like it.
*****
TY
“Tyrone Harwood, or do my
eyes deceive me? You the kissing king of Langley High now?”
The deep, masculine voice
surprised me, given where I was.
The school’s annual
carnival was the big fund-raising event. Frankly, I’d have enjoyed it more if
they hadn’t lassoed me into a booth, although I was both embarrassed and
excited by the kind of booth it was. The senior class’ kissing booth was the
place for action. Or that’s what the banner over the booth claimed.
How’s that for a switch? Gals
paying guys for a smooch. According to a lot of girls from junior high forward,
I’m a good kisser, giving me an undeserved rep as a ladies’ man. In all honesty,
deep kissing and sucking on a few boobs was about all I’d done.
It turned out all right
because a lot of girls showed up and paid their dollar. I got to kiss a few new
lips. Some of them hung around and flirted afterward. But now, everyone was
gathered around the barbecue booth filling empty stomachs.
The voice that startled
me belonged to Mark Bilders, a kid a year or two older than I am who dropped
out of school last year. It would have been easy to like Mark if he’d let you. He
was smart but not book smart, if you know what I mean. He always left the
impression of a balloon about to burst. Good-looking, lanky with hard muscles
but not real bulked up. That was the whole impression he gave, hard! From his
marble black eyes to his little toe, the guy was hard. He leaned over the booth
to offer a hand. I took it. Hard.
“N-not really a kissing
or any other kind of king,” I responded to his opening remark. “Just got lassoed
into the job. Hello, Mark. How you doing?”
“Great,” he said, glancing
at the sign mounted over the booth. He took a quick glance around before
plunking down a dollar.”
“Whoa, man. That’s a
donation, right?”
“Hell, no. I’m buying the
merchandise.”
“Wh-what merchandise?
He pointed upward. “Sign
says kisses, dollar each.”
Sweat popped out on my
upper lip and my voice rose. “You’re buying a kiss? From me?”
“Sign says all comers.”
“Yeah, but….” I took a
ragged breath. “But I don’t think it means guys.”
“You discriminating, huh?”
“Hey, no way! I’m not
gonna kiss you right—”
“Oh, I get that,” he
interrupted. “We’ll do it in private later.”
“That’s not what I meant!
I’m not going to kiss you at all. No way, man.”
He nudged his dollar bill
lying on the little counter. “You sell kisses, Ty. I’m buying one. See you
later.”
I’m sure my mouth hung
open as he strode away. Not for the first time, I noticed a slight strut to his
walk. Mark was considered a hard case when he was in school. Came from the
wrong side of the tracks, if we’d had tracks in our town, and ran with a rough
crowd although he was a decent guy when he was away from his buddies. All the
girls thought he was the handsomest thing at school, but they were afraid of
him.
He’d always had a quirky
sense of humor, so that was probably what was going on now. I watched as he
joined a couple of toughs across the way. They sauntered on up the mall, making
noise and taking up space. They reminded me of the gang guys in West Side Story.
No respect. None, whatsoever.
The guy relieving me in
the booth came in time for me to get my share of the barbecue. M. J. Jennings
wanted to hook up with me, but for some reason I didn’t ask her. Just wanted to
stay loose and have some fun. So I ended up going home alone that night, and I
probably shouldn’t have. When I headed for my car at the far end of the parking
lot, somebody fell into step beside me.
Startled, I halted in my
tracks. “Mark! What th—”
“Hey, man, didn’t mean to
make your balls shrivel. Just came for what I paid for.”
“Mark, I don’t kiss
boys.”
“Not asking you to. I
want you to kiss a man. Me.”
“I don’t kiss men,
either,” I said. “And I don’t kiss you in particular.”
“What’s the matter? Afraid
of me or worried I’ll start something you can’t handle?”
“What the hell you want
to kiss me for anyway?”
He shrugged. “Never
kissed a guy before. Saw your booth and decided to see what it was like.” He
leveled a look at me that I caught even in the darkness. “Glad it was you. You’re
a good-looking son of a bitch.”
“Yeah, well, tough. I’m
not gonna kiss you right out here for everyone to see.”
He moved so quickly I was
taken by surprise. I found myself flat against the shadowed wall of a nearby building.
“Now we’re not so
public.” He pinned my arms to my sides and moved his head toward me. I was so
startled that I didn’t even try to avoid his lips. They touched mine gently. His
tongue forced my mouth open and raked the enamel of my teeth before invading my
oral cavity. I caught my breath.
After a moment, he broke
away. “Interesting,” was all he said before walking away in that insolent strut
he affected.
I stayed where I was for
five minutes trying to figure out what had happened. Oh, I know the dude kissed
me, but that’s not what I meant. Something happened! To me. Inside. I liked
that damned kiss! Man, how could that be? I could still feel his long frame
pressed against me, the warmth of his full groin against mine. What the hell? What
the living hell!
*****
“Interesting”
Mark said as he walked away. Does that mean he’ll be coming back for more? More
than Ty ever considered giving. Or is that true? Has the kiss Ty “felt” kindled
something inside the kid. That’s something you’ll have to answer for yourself.
A
reminder that I’ve now returned to my regular postng schedule.
A
plug for my other Okie buddy: Don Travis’ next BJ Vinson mystery series novel, The
Voxlightner Scandal has been scheduled for release on November 19, 2019.
The following is a buy link: http://www.dsppublications.com/books/upcoming-releases-c
Now my
continuing plug (read plea) for my own work. Amazon permits you to read a short
passage of my novels, Cut Hand and Johnny Two-Guns. I also believe the STARbooks-published
River Otter, Echoes of the Flute, and
Medicine Hair are still up. I sure
would like to get the final book in the Cut Hand Series, Wastelakapi… Beloved, published, but it’ll take some help from readers
to get Dreamspinner interested.
My contact
information is provided below in case anyone wants to drop me a line:
Website and blog: markwildyr.com
Email: markwildyr@aol.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.wildyr
Twitter: @markwildyr
The
following are buy links for CUT HAND:
And now my mantra: Keep
on reading. Keep on writing. You have something to say, so say it!
Until next time.
Mark
New posts at 6:00 a.m. on the first and
third Thursdays of the month.
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