Coffee Time Thoughts

Meet-Up

"Three minutes is more than enough." The woman currently known as Kinsey Townsend rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms over her head.
"Well, it seems a lot shorter when you are trying to get to know someone."
"Good thing I'm not." Kinsey bounced on the balls of her feet, surveying the men lining the opposite wall.
"Not what?" Teresa Bowers had been arrangng these meetings for the better part of 3 years. She had seen a lot, but this woman's behavior was a first.
"I'm not here to Meet-Up."
The soft chime of anoverhead bell signaled the men and women to leave their corners and to sit at opposite sides of the tables that were arranged in a long row at the center of the room.
"She's with me, sorry."
Camille DeMarco had been to three previous Meet-Ups. Three times she had met 3 men, in 3 minutes and had thought that they were the ones. Three times, she had let them get away. Her best friend Kinsey was here today as her back-up.
As they moved to the long tables, Kinsey saved Camlle a seat beside hers.
"Stay close. I'll tell you when to settle."
"Not settle. Select." Camille smiled at the man stting across from her. He adjusted his combover, wiped at the sweat on his neck and smiled.
"Say it again, but this time like you mean it." Kinsey smiled showing her eyeteeth.  She knew that they were longer than normal, but in this modern era where the odd was accepted, she had learned to use her differences to her advantage.
"Let the weeding out begin." The friends bumped fists as the second bell chimed, signaling the time to make conversation.
"I think it's called Meeting-Up." The unnervingly soft, timid voice came from the man sitting across from Kinsey.  His burly exterior and full beard, belied the almost too gentle voice.
"We'll see." She gave him her best toothy grin.
Let the hunt begin.

"I can't believe I almost did it again." Camille hid her face in the pillow.
The living room they sat in was done in mock-nuveau style. Geometric pantings and angular art pieces clashed wth round chairs and trangular end tables.
"You have a soft heart. That's nothing to be ashamed of." Kinsey patted her best friends back. They sat on the uncomfortable couch together, across from another where their dates were.
"I was so hungry, like starving, but I really did consider offering them it."
"But you didn't, and that's what counts. They were already so unfortunate, they wouldn't have wanted eternity like that."
Across from them, looking as if they were resting peacefully, lay the young man with middle-aged pot belly and haphazard combover and a burly man wth a full beard and creepily gentle voice that no one would hear again.
"Okay, what did you think about the Meet-Up?" Camille shook herself out of her funk and dug through her purse for her compact.  Blood tears and streaked mascara were not a good look.
"All in all, it wasnt bad.  Honestly, I would have preferred to take the dark haired guy with the cologne..." Kinsey made the movement indicating 'chef's kiss'.
"You're a mess." Camille laughed as she stood and brushed the non-existent wrinkles from her skirt.
"Seriously, they should screen those things better. I get that it had to be anonymous, but they really will let anyone in."
Linking arms they stepped past the bodies of the men who had invoted them in, seeing only their beautiful young exteriors and had lost their own lives because of it.
"For real, when did it come back into fashon ot remove your wedding ring? That idiot almost widowed his wife."
150 years had taught the friends how to survive. They had learned how to maneuver through the human lives they used to be a direct part of and how to read the clues of what people tried to hide. Like, seeing the faded shadow of untanned skin where wedding rings were supposed to be.
"Okay, next time, strictly bars." Kinsey pulled the door closed behind them and hung the "Do Not Distrub" sign on the handle.
"No. I hate that tainty taste. Even when they don't look drunk, they taste it." Camille shuddered.
The elevator doors at the end of the hall slid open.
"Well, hello." The man inside reeked of alcohol. To their sensitive noses, they could smell him even from outside of the elevator.
"Hello." Camille smiled, just a bit.
"Hi." Kinsey grinned and pulled her friend along.

"Going out for a nightcap?" The man pushed himself off of the raling and waved them in.
"Might be staying in for one, as it turns out." Kinsey looked at Camille for agreement. In 150 years, they had grown so close that they no longer needed to speak to communicate.
"He smells wasted." Camille's nose wrinkled.
"I'm still hungry." Kinsey made puppy eyes.
"Fine." Camille rolled her eyes and sighed.
"So, you two ladies headed anywhere special?" The drunk man hiccupped and leaned in unsteadily.
"Your place?" Kinsey put on her best innocent but looking for trouble act, and put her hand on his chest as much to steady him as to distract him.
"Definitley. It's not company ready, but you can come over if you want."
"We'd love to....but you have to invite us in for real though." The ladies moved to flank the man, and watched as he became distracted to overwhelmed.
"Would you ladies do me the honor of coming to my home." The man grinned again and even effected a bit of a bow.
"It would be our pleasure."

**Author's Note: I am trying my hand at short stories that are actually short. What do you think?