TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chrysalis
Hear No Evil
Hall of Sharks
Into Thin Air
A Question of Mercy
Shelved
Manuscript Hunter
The Juggler
Cycle of Dust
Den of the Dead
Confessional
Sign of the Times
The Machinery of Infinity
Wanderlust
Invasion
Forever Is A Long Time
The Kiss
Decay and Rust
Chrysalis
The state fair was a busy place, but Amanda had no trouble picking her man out of a crowd. He was the guy with the gold watch and the Ralph Lauren polo shirt. Anybody that knew her would have been sure that she would have gone for the one with the Marilyn Manson t-shirt and the black fingernail polish. But Amanda had been around the block too many times to fall for that old trick. She knew which costumes worked and which ones didn?t. As often as not, those who tried to look the darkest and the most depressed were often the ones who sang in the shower and read the morning paper over hot coffee and bagels. No, this one was most certainly her type.
Amanda kept her distance at first. Still, she never drifted far enough away that she couldn?t watch him touching the derrieres of the women he got close to in the tightly-packed crowd of thrill-seekers.
What a deviant, she thought as she saw him cop feel after feel. He’s just my type.
Once the throng thinned out, the man looked around as if trying to decide where to go next. Finally he chose one of the test-your-luck booths, one that challenged customers to throw a ring around the neck of an oversized milk bottle. The man won a teddy bear on the third try. When he thought no one was looking he tore the plush animal’s head off and handed it to a little girl that was passing by.
This guy just keeps getting better and better, she thought.
At last, deciding that this was the man for her, Amanda approached him. The man’s eyes went wide as he saw her. He was scared, not attracted, and that was almost always a good sign.
"You by yourself?" she asked even though she hadn?t seen him with anyone else.
"Um, no," the man stammered. "My girlfriend is around here somewhere."
"Why isn?t she with you?"
"She went to get something to drink a while ago. I guess she got tied up in one of those long concession lines. But she should be back any minute."
"I?m here by myself," Amanda confessed. The man’s eyes lit up instantly, much brighter than some of the run-down amusement rides that flashed neon in the dark.
I?ve got him now, Amanda thought to herself as she pictured the two of them in one of the public bathrooms, biting each other, drawing and tasting blood. He’s ashamed of being here by himself. But he’s looking for the same thing I am.
"You want a little company?" she asked, delighting in the way he squirmed with each word. "Just until your girlfriend gets back."
"She probably wouldn?t appreciate that."
"But you want to. Don?t you?"
"I really shouldn?t say."
"Oh, come on now. You?ve probably got all kind of kinky fantasies ricocheting around in that smart head of yours. And you can?t find anyone in your social class who would go for that sort of thing. Am I right?"
The man took a few steps toward the midway. He obviously wanted to run away, but Amanda had embedded the first barb in his flesh with the mention of fantasy. He was on the hook, and his curiosity was the extremity that snagged.
Chrysalis
Hear No Evil
Hall of Sharks
Into Thin Air
A Question of Mercy
Shelved
Manuscript Hunter
The Juggler
Cycle of Dust
Den of the Dead
Confessional
Sign of the Times
The Machinery of Infinity
Wanderlust
Invasion
Forever Is A Long Time
The Kiss
Decay and Rust
Chrysalis
The state fair was a busy place, but Amanda had no trouble picking her man out of a crowd. He was the guy with the gold watch and the Ralph Lauren polo shirt. Anybody that knew her would have been sure that she would have gone for the one with the Marilyn Manson t-shirt and the black fingernail polish. But Amanda had been around the block too many times to fall for that old trick. She knew which costumes worked and which ones didn?t. As often as not, those who tried to look the darkest and the most depressed were often the ones who sang in the shower and read the morning paper over hot coffee and bagels. No, this one was most certainly her type.
Amanda kept her distance at first. Still, she never drifted far enough away that she couldn?t watch him touching the derrieres of the women he got close to in the tightly-packed crowd of thrill-seekers.
What a deviant, she thought as she saw him cop feel after feel. He’s just my type.
Once the throng thinned out, the man looked around as if trying to decide where to go next. Finally he chose one of the test-your-luck booths, one that challenged customers to throw a ring around the neck of an oversized milk bottle. The man won a teddy bear on the third try. When he thought no one was looking he tore the plush animal’s head off and handed it to a little girl that was passing by.
This guy just keeps getting better and better, she thought.
At last, deciding that this was the man for her, Amanda approached him. The man’s eyes went wide as he saw her. He was scared, not attracted, and that was almost always a good sign.
"You by yourself?" she asked even though she hadn?t seen him with anyone else.
"Um, no," the man stammered. "My girlfriend is around here somewhere."
"Why isn?t she with you?"
"She went to get something to drink a while ago. I guess she got tied up in one of those long concession lines. But she should be back any minute."
"I?m here by myself," Amanda confessed. The man’s eyes lit up instantly, much brighter than some of the run-down amusement rides that flashed neon in the dark.
I?ve got him now, Amanda thought to herself as she pictured the two of them in one of the public bathrooms, biting each other, drawing and tasting blood. He’s ashamed of being here by himself. But he’s looking for the same thing I am.
"You want a little company?" she asked, delighting in the way he squirmed with each word. "Just until your girlfriend gets back."
"She probably wouldn?t appreciate that."
"But you want to. Don?t you?"
"I really shouldn?t say."
"Oh, come on now. You?ve probably got all kind of kinky fantasies ricocheting around in that smart head of yours. And you can?t find anyone in your social class who would go for that sort of thing. Am I right?"
The man took a few steps toward the midway. He obviously wanted to run away, but Amanda had embedded the first barb in his flesh with the mention of fantasy. He was on the hook, and his curiosity was the extremity that snagged.
