Scars Withheld

A singer’s vocals complained and harmonica notes wailed and argued, both sounded sad and angry and mirrored the emotional battle at table eight. Lauren invited her friend Shay to meet her and Eric for drinks at Larry’s Lounge. Eric curled his lip and made comments laced with acid words and judgments about Lauren’s friend. Shay, amped on crystal she’d smoked outside, pistoned her finger into his face, spit dappled him as she shrieked,

“The scars I hide are not your business! Get! Out! of my face!”

Drinks tottered on the table as she stood up and staggered out the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I wrote this piece after Lance at “My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog” prompted with the song “Hotel Illness” by the Black Crows. His challenge is to write a 100 word piece using this song as inspiration.

Finding Forever

Mazi’s Sports Bar was the hip cool place to hang out. The college kids swamped the place after football games.  Eric and Lauren worked the late shift and barely had time to swap glances and winks across the floor. Finding a lull in the crowd, they snuck into the alley. Shy, alone and hidden, he slid closer, near enough she sensed the heat as his arm brushed past her. The night air was sharp with needles of frost piercing the senses as Lauren puffed hot breath onto her hands and scrubbed them warm.

She leaned in to nestle against him,  their layers squeezing together as his arms encircled her. Lauren’s face came near Eric’s. She felt his warm breath, and anticipated the next step. The next moment. Gazing eye to eye, soul into soul, they realized they had built a beginning with glances and winks in the bar. Up close they could see proof of something more.

They came closer and melted together. Eric’s nose rubbed the tip of Lauren’s as mouths pursed into bows, touched. Their infatuation swiftly became much more. The affection was intense. Cold air insignificant to the warmth of new found enchantment. Lauren wove her fingers into Eric’s and whispered “We have to go back.” She tugged him inside and gave him a quick final peck.

Eric had a wide grin lighting his face. He winked at Lauren and whispered, “Later?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I wrote this from a prompt at Trifecta, but I was too late to add it to their weekly collection. It’s relevant to Valentines Day, so I went ahead with it. The prompt went like this:

“In honor of upcoming Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d ask something a bit more, shall we say, sensual of our Trifectans.  Your task this week, should you choose to accept it, is to write a love scene in no fewer than 33 and no more than 333 words.  Interpret that prompt as you will, but please be sensitive to our diverse audience and limit the use of explicit language.  (This is not TrifeXXXtra.)  The only other restriction is that your response cannot use any of the 33 words listed below or any derivation of those words.”