Chapter 1

"Did I ever mention how much I dislike sundowns"?

I guess there should be a reason for this feeling, but sadly, if there is, I can't put a finger on it. This has always been the case. I only know that as I watch the darkness and the cold close in on this world I can't help but think that this is just another ending. I prefer sunrises and the new beginnings they bring with them.

It was unusual to find me at this little coffee shop, sitting outsides, at sunset. I usually found my way home before this time, reclusive until the sun had finished it's decent and night had settled. Something, some fate or destiny, had kept me firmly planted drinking coffee till my heart rate head sped beyond it's normal pace from the influx of so much caffine. I grimaced as I watched the sunset, wondering what whim had kept me here despite my overwhelming urge to be home.

That's when she walked around the corner, just as the last rays of day were surrendering to the darkness. They highlighted her hair and allowed her form to be seen thru the sundress she wore, a pleasant form, a form of men's dreams, or perhaps their nightmares. It struck me as odd that though her figure was all but ablaze with those last rays that her face managed to remain in shadow. I watched as she approached, my curiousity ablaze, wondering what that face would hold.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when she stepped into the lights of the coffee house. She was plain. Not what I was expecting at all. She caught me looking at her and surprised me further when she pulled out a seat at my little table and sat down without asking.

She seemed of medium height, though I had yet to see from the proper perspective, but we were eye to eye looking at each other across the table. Her face, although plain, had an appealing quality to her. A quirky smile lay beneath a nose that was maybe a little too pointed and turned up just a little much. Brown eyes that stared openly at me, a sad look adding to the light lines that crinkled around them, turning her look into something of desperation rather then the look of amusement she was no doubt going for. I would guess her to be 20 or maybe 30 pretending to be 20. I wasn't sure.

"Buy me a coffee, straight up, no cream or sugar" she said. And I caught one of the shops workers cleaning tables, handed him the money, and asked for two.

We sat there, across from one another saying nothing. Only examining each other across the table as the sun finally settled in and night slid across the sky. The coffee flowing thru my system seemed as nothing as my heart now sped from this silent interaction.

Giving a little giggle, she got up, and taking my hand led me away from the coffee shop and down the street in the darkness between streetlights. She didn't say a word, but none was needed. The look in her eyes as we had sat across from one another spoke volumes. I was wise enough in the ways of the world to know where this was going.

I let her lead me, hand in hand, to an apartment building about 3 blocks away, and I followed her up several flights of stairs, watching the way her ass swayed beneath her dress. I found myself before a door, a crayon written number upon it, where normally a brass number would have been displayed. Room 403. She produced a key from somewhere and let us in.

I hate to admit it, but the details of the first room didn't stick in my head, it was dark inside and the only light came from a what was obviously a bedroom. A brief bit of light that I saw came thru the window from the streetlight outside. There wasn't much here, only a bed and a dresser, the room seemed naked without the normal touches that one finds in the home of a woman.