For Madi Merek's Flash Fiction Contest
Prompt: Picture and the word: escape
Word Count: 200
The flame in their eyes is just as strong as the one waved beneath my unlit cigarette. "Choose mine!" they all seem to say with their insistent hands and debonair smiles.
The metal, so cool against my skin, reminds me of what needs to be done, yet these men, so superficial in their need to prove their worth, so courageous against uncertainty, tickle that feeling inside of me, that need for warm, sticky red, but ignore it I must…until he comes.
Those men, they part, so fluid in their haste, as he makes his way over, his steps soft against the smooth wood. "Gentlemen," he says, barely above a whisper. "Leave the lady in peace."
Once again, beaten by the best, they turn their backs until it's only his shining ambers that remain. The single flame he ignites so close to my skin as I inhale the sweet smoke, listening as he says, "What's your name?"
A tilt of the head. A flip of scarlet hair. Exhaling a billow of obscurity right in his face. "Mister, get me out of here and I'll tell you just about anything."
He smiles, but I'm the one laughing. He thinks he's escaping.a