Dream Date

I knew going in that this was a bad idea. Seriously, how could I have been so dumb to agree to meet her? Not having a girlfriend for over a year didn't have anything to do with it...no, not at all. Sigh...things you'll do to try and score. 

"Guess it's time to get moving," I said to myself as I opened the car door. I was so stressed out that I honestly didn't know if I said that out loud or in my head. 

The parking lot to the winery was empty except for what looked to be an old Chevy wagon of some sort, sitting at the back by an old barn. It was dirty and looked like it hadn't been driven in ages, but the tires were up and the windows were clean, so maybe one of the field workers drove it. As I walked toward the tasting room, I saw the flash of a lighter inside the car and the draw of a cigarette as whoever was in there lit up. It way too dark and I was too far away to see who was smoking, but for some reason, I got a little spooked which made me step a little quicker towards the door. 

As I walked up to the tasting room, I slowed my pace as I could see it was dark inside. I still tried the door, but, as expected, it was locked. I turned quickly to go and almost ran into a small man standing right behind me. It startled me so much, I let out a small scream, but he didn't flinch or move, just stared at me. He was older, with dark, slicked-back hair, but his face was hard to see clearly in the dark. Dressed in a plaid, button-down shirt, he also wore faded jeans that ran long into the darkness. The way the light was, it almost seemed as if his legs just disappeared into the blackness. 

"You lookin’ for Shelley?" he said in a dry, scratchy voice. 

"H..h..how'd you know about that?" I stammered. Maybe this guy was her old man or something and was pissed his little girl was going out. 

The man just stared, not moving, with cold black shadow holes where his eyes were. 

So, now here I am with this creepy dude standing in my way and I was really getting the willies. 

"Come on," he said almost in a whisper as he turned and waved a finger to follow. "She's waitin’."

"Oh...ok, yeah...ok.”

I slowly followed him back as he walked past the old Chevy and towards the barn. Seeing he was actually wearing some old, worn-out boots made me feel a bit better. I glanced over at my car, seriously thinking about making a run for it. 

"I wouldn't," the dude whispered. "Not polite to stand a lady up."

He reached the barn, opened the door and as if pushed, I walked through. I stopped once inside and looked around. There was a small, round table covered in a black cloth on which a large, dark red candle burned. Also, there were two wine glasses and a bottle of wine sitting there. All around the perimeter of the room, many other smaller candles burned, casting the room in a warm, yellow tint that seemed to dance as the flames flickered. 

As I looked back at the table, I was shocked to see that a woman dressed in a rather tightly fitting black dress was now sitting there. She was really quite attractive. Her face was simple, with deep, dark eyes that seemed to almost glow black. She smiled at me and self-consciously pushed her dark red hair back away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. 

I slowly walked toward her, glancing cautiously around the room. She seemed safe enough, yet something about this night wasn't right. She reached for the wine and poured a glass for each of us as I took a seat across from her. She set the bottle down and shyly looked at me, a half-smile on her dark red lips. 

"Do you speak?" she asked after a minute. “I’m Shelley, just in case you were wondering.

"Oh...yes. Sorry. Micah. All this...is..."

"Odd?" she finished for me. 

I only nodded my head and again glanced around. 

Noticing my glances and perhaps sensing my trepidation, she said, "There is no one else here. Ronson has departed...for now."

"Ronson? Was he the..." I pointed back towards the door unable to find the words I wanted. 

"Yes. He likes to make sure I'm safe. He is my guardian, of a sort."

As I looked at her, I realized just how beautiful she was. I couldn’t stop staring.

"Here," she said finally. "Have a glass of wine. It will take the edge off. Meeting Ronson can be a bit nerve-racking to most people." 

She held a glass out to me. "It's a lovely Merlot.”

Hesitantly I took the glass and raised it up, taking in the bouquet. It had a rich, slightly sour aroma, with hints of coffee and leather and something else…. I pulled it back and looked at it, but the dim candlelight jut gave it a deep, crimson color.

"If you wish to fondle it too, you can," she laughed and took a drink from her own glass. "Mmm, that is nice."

I took a drink. It was a very nice Merlot, subtle and delicious. I pulled the glass away and looked at it. 

"Haha, it's just wine. You look as if you were expecting something else." She smiled and laughed some more. "This has got to be a bit bizarre for you...and, honestly, it always is the first time men meet me."

Her last comment quite puzzled me. "What do you mean? You do this often?"

"No," she said glancing sideways at me, mischievously. "I'm just saying that I'm rather well protected in my life and when I want to meet a man, certain precautions have to be taken."

"You're speaking about Ronson…and all this?" I said pointing around. 

"Yes. All this," she pointed around, mimicking me and smiling. 

I took another drink of the wine. It was quite good, but there was an odd finish to it. Something I couldn't put my finger on. It left a nice feel in my mouth. 

She reached over and touched my hand delicately with her nail. "You are quite handsome. I knew I needed to meet you the moment I saw you. Are you disappointed?"

Taking another mouthful of wine, I stared at her. "No, no I am not disappointed at all. but to be honest, I almost didn't come. Your insistence in the meeting was a bit worrisome."

"I guess I did overdo it somewhat, but I wanted to meet you. I knew you would like me once we met face-to-face." She took another slow sip of wine and seductively ran her tongue across her lips as she sat the glass down. 

I felt as if this was all some sort of setup, it was just too surreal. Not knowing what to say, there was that awkward moment of silence when you don't know someone well enough to just not talk. I always feel I have to keep a conversation going, no matter how inane it seems. 

"So what do you do with your time? Do you have a job?"

She just looked at me for a bit with a slightly disgusted look. "God, what a boring line. Can't you come up with a more compelling topic to talk about than that? Don't tell me that you're all looks and no brain. Let's talk about what you're really thinking about."

It was as if she was reading my mind. As if she knew what I really wanted to ask. So I did. 

"Are you real? Is this real?"

She threw her head back and laughed loudly. "Finally!" she screamed. "A man that will speak his mind. You have no idea how refreshing that is."

It certainly wasn't what I was expecting her to say, but I was relieved that she appreciated the question. 

"Yes and no," she said looking directly into my eyes. She picked up her glass and held it out. "A toast! To honesty." 

I picked up my glass and touched hers. "To honesty," I said and took another long drink. 

The wine was starting to give me a bit of a buzz which is odd because I usually can drink more than a glass of wine before I feel it. I can't say it was an unpleasant feeling, and I was finally starting to relax. Also, it seemed as if she was feeling the wine herself as she was just staring at me and smiling. 

"So?" I finally said, waiting for her to finish her answer.

"So what?"

"You never finished answering my question."

"I answered your question completely. Yes and no."

"Yes and no, what? Yes, you are real, and no, this isn't real?"

She sighed deeply and took another, longer drink. Then she set her glass down, grabbed the bottle and filled both glasses with a heavy pour. She then set the bottle back down loudly and grabbed her glass, held it out to me, so I picked mine up and we drank. 

"I wanted you to ask that question and now...now I find I'm somewhat afraid to answer it. It's not an easy answer, and how you react to what I say could become a problem." 

She finished speaking, stood up and walked around to me. Her body was fantastic and she looked incredible in the tight black dress. She didn't hesitate when she got to me, just put her hands on my face and kissed me deeply. I was helpless to resist - had I wanted to - at that moment. It was one of the most passionate kisses I had ever experienced. 

She pulled away and looked deeply into my eyes. "Do you love me?"

My mind was spinning and it felt as if I wasn’t in control of my body anymore.

“Yes.” As if in a trance, I found myself saying, “I love you.”

She kissed me again then ran her tongue down my neck. This brought me to my senses momentarily and I pulled back quickly while pushing her away from me. Everything seemed to make sense suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Micah? I thought you loved me.”

“Are you a…a…a vampire!” I blurted out.

She threw her head back and laughed, loudly. She looked at me again and continued laughing. She finally stopped and walked back around to her side of the table, then, standing there, took a long drink of her wine.

“Oh my,” she giggled. “You got me all figured out, don’t you?” She sat down and crossed her legs, pulling her dress up to show most of her bare legs.

“You mean you really are a vampire?”

Again, she laughed. “Where do you get such crazy ideas? In case you didn’t know it, vampires aren’t real,” she said sarcastically. They exist only on the screen and in books. There’s no such beast in real life, Micah, not now, not ever. Nor werewolves or zombies and certainly no evil sewer-dwelling magical clowns.”

She paused, smiling broadly, and rubbed the rim of her glass. She looked at me, then down at her lap.

“You know what there is though?” she finally asked.

I just stared at her and didn’t say anything. My head was spinning out of control and nothing seemed real.

She stood and leaned over the table, bringing herself very close and stared directly into my eyes and touched my lips ever so lightly with her finger.

“Witches.”

RJH 2021