Writing and Photography by Jeff E. Brown

Discordant music played, though she couldn’t say if it was all in her head or not. It was very distracting, given the conversation she was attempting to engage in with the rather fine man seated next to her. She was especially flirty-probably from the wine-and decided she should roll with it. He was in real estate, or something, and had a dangerously smooth head. Literally no stubble, and he was able to pull that off because of his heroic jaw and engaging wit. She let him do most of the talking, which was her typical approach with men, and it was paying off.

He put his hand on her thigh as he was speaking, lingering for a moment or two, and she knew what that meant. He reached up to take her hand, leading her away from the dining room.

She leaned back against the hallway door as he kissed her softly and told her how much he wanted her. But she couldn’t hear him- the music started again and she was overwhelmed. She pushed him back and ran down the hallway to the front door, bursting out on the street. Her head was throbbing with the beat of an oppressive refrain, driving her on into the night.

© 2021 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.