Hi Everyone –
I had a crazy week, but I did get the revised version of Night Walker to the one agent and then a different agent requested the full manuscript of the original version! LOL
I’m hoping if enough people read it one will be the perfect home… *crossing fingers*
This week’s story started off with a very simple concept… A Little White Lie. Then I found the Oliver Wendell Holmes quote and it all fell together. I couldn’t work in the Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus though, so I’m cheating and putting it in up here! LOL
I hope you’ll enjoy the story anyway…
Thanks for reading and for all your support!!! Next week will mark my one year for writing one story a week! 52 stories! Can you believe it???
So next week we’ll have to have a blog party! 
Lisa
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Little White Lie – By Lisa Kessler
Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
It started with a lie.
Just one.
It wasn’t even a big black malicious lie.
One little white lie.
Who knew his life could spiral so far out of control, so fast?
He could feel the hoof beats rumbling in the ground. He’d be able to hear them soon. She was getting closer. Chad grasped a low branch on a hedge and tried to pull himself out of the path. Pain from his shattered ankle burst behind his eyelids, and blood filled his mouth when he bit his lip to keep from screaming.
She’d still be able to see him.
Pain-induced sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eyes as he struggled to keep moving. If he could get off the path and under the bushes, he might be able to hide. On his stomach, he used his elbows to wriggle closer to the shadows of the hedges. Each jarring of his ankle stole his breath and blurred his vision, but finally he thought he was clear of the pathway. Now he just needed to stay silent and wait for her to pass by.
He shivered as the cool night air chilled the sweat on his face. It was hard to believe that just three hours ago he was enjoying happy hour with a vodka and tonic at the gentleman’s club. It was only four hours ago that he’d told that little white lie that led to all this trouble.
"Angela? Hi honey, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to work late tonight."
"That’s all right, we can wait for you," Angela said.
"No, it’s gonna be really late. We’re having dinner brought in."
He swore he could hear her heart sink and almost gave up and went home. Almost.
"All right, but my Aunt Lenore is going to be really disappointed that she didn’t get to meet you."
"I’m so sorry, Angela. I wish I could be there." That was white lie number two.
The truth was he got invited to a titty bar with his boss and when the choices were hot dancers performing corporate lap dances, or dinner with his eight-month pregnant wife and her Aunt Lenore from Europe, he opted for the lap dances. He rationalized that it was a "good business move" to bond with his boss, and it wasn’t like he was going to have an affair.
He was just going to look, not touch.
That was the plan anyway, until a sultry woman with bright green eyes and perfectly shaped, full crimson lips leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Want to go someplace a little more private?"
Another fork in the road. Another chance to save himself. But instead, he looked around for his boss and waved goodbye. He paid his bar tab and took her arm to lead her out of the cavern of writhing flesh. His ears still heard the echo of the throbbing bass line of the stripper’s dance music, and his breath tasted heavy with alcohol.
He glanced over at his new arm candy and smiled. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He was sure he’d never met her before, but she looked similar to someone he knew. Strange. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought away as he looked straight ahead.
"This is much better."
She nodded and smiled up at him. "What’s your name?"
"Does it matter?" He didn’t have to lie this time. He felt clever.
She shrugged, "I guess not. Are you single?"
"Yes." Okay, larger lie, but it didn’t really matter because he wasn’t going to sleep with this woman. He was just flirting. No harm, no foul.
She raised a brow and smiled. "Really? A good looking executive like you?"
He chuckled. "I’m still working my way up the corporate food chain."
"Ah…" She nodded. "Do you ride?"
"Ride? Like a bike or a motorcycle?"
"A horse," she said. "Do you ride?"
"I’ve ridden before." Another lie, but harmless anyway. It wasn’t like she was going to take him to a stable right now.
"I love to ride." She led him away from the gentleman’s club toward Central Park.
Chad frowned and glanced over at the alluring woman on his arm. "So where are we going?"
"You’ll know when we get there… Chad."
His brows furrowed. He hadn’t told her his name. He stopped.
"I thought we said no names."
"You asked if it mattered and I decided it didn’t since I already knew who you were."
He frowned. "Do we know each other?"
That’s when the gorgeous woman he met at the gentleman’s club went crazy rabid dog on him. First she slapped him so hard that he almost fell down. Chad straightened, putting his hands up to calm her down, but she was already running toward him. She tilted her shoulder down like a running back for the New York Giants, and plowed into his solar plexus with enough force to send them both flying backwards.
Chad landed on his back in the grass just off one of the pathways. All the oxygen in his lungs burst out past his lips, and for a moment he gagged, fighting to suck in another breath. On top of him, the crazy lady, straddled his body and started to sit up. He stared up at her, trying to catch his breath, when he noticed her teeth. When she opened her mouth, he could see two teeth were longer than the rest, and sharp. He blinked his eyes hard, certain he was seeing things.
But not only did she still have pointy teeth, she was coming in closer for a bite!
"Jesus!" He screamed and slammed the heel of his hand up, connecting with her bottom jaw. She screeched as her elongated teeth pierced right through her tongue. He used that moment of surprise to toss her off of him and run.
Adrenaline pumped through his muscles as he scrambled in the darkness searching for some sort of getaway vehicle, or maybe a firearm. Anything.
And then he saw the police horse.
The gelding was tied loosely to a hitching post, but the officer wasn’t nearby. Chad didn’t hesitate. He freed the rein from the post and jammed one Armani loafer up into the stirrup.
"GoGoGo!" He yelled at the horse as he scrambled to pull himself up into the saddle. The horse took off, galloping into the darkness just as Chad slid his other leg over the saddle.
Sadly, he missed the other stirrup and slid all the way over and off the opposite side.
He wasn’t sure if it was the impact of the fall, or if the horse had stepped on him, but when he hit the ground, there was no question his ankle was broken. What was he thinking, jumping on a horse? Had he forgotten he’d never ridden before? Was he believing his own lies now?
He was huddled in the shadows of the foliage, praying that the woman, or whatever she was wouldn’t find him.
All from one tiny little white lie.
Suddenly another horse galloped by. Tiny rocks pelted him, but he didn’t care. He was so relieved that she passed by.
He slid his cell phone out of his pocket and opened it. His hands trembled as he called Angela. How was he going to explain a broken ankle in Central Park?
It didn’t matter. He’d make it up to her.
"Angela? Honey there’s been an accident."
"Oh God are you okay?"
"Yeah. I think my ankle’s broken though. I’m sorry to mess up your dinner with Aunt Lenore, but can you take me to the ER?"
"I’ll be right there. Aunt Lenore is already gone anyway."
"She’s gone?"
"Yeah, I told her you had to work late and she said she wouldn’t trouble me in my condition. Apparently a pregnant woman can’t handle dinner and dishes without her husband."
Something felt… Odd.
"How long ago did she leave?"
"It doesn’t matter, Chad. Tell me where you are so we can get you to the hospital."
"It does matter, Hon. When did she leave?"
"Umm… I guess about an hour ago."
He closed his cell phone. It couldn’t be. None of this could be real.
"She is my great-great-great-great granddaughter."
He flinched at the sound of her voice, and then squealed at the pain from the sudden movement.
"You’re Lenore aren’t you." That was why she looked so familiar. Her coloring was all wrong, but her facial structure was just like Angela’s.
She nodded and offered her hand. "Good to meet you, Chad."
He shook her hand, not missing the surreal irony of the moment. Wasn’t she just chasing him on a horse a few minutes ago?
"What happened to your horse?"
"I was not on the horse. Since you lied about everything else, I was sure you did not know how to ride either. I sent the horse chasing after its companion and found you when I heard you talking on your phone."
"Are you going to kill me now?"
She raised a brow. "I was going to kill you. You have a beautiful wife at home who is about to birth a baby girl, and instead of protecting her, you are watching naked women wave their body parts in your face. She deserves much better than you." She paused, and Chad held his breath. "But if I kill you, it will hurt my granddaughter, so instead, I propose a deal between us, Chad."
His heart rate shot up. "A deal?"
"Yes. You will not lie to your wife ever again and in return I will let you live."
"Deal."
"Wait." She held her hand up to silence him. "There is more. You also cannot ever tell anyone about my condition."
"You mean that you’re a vampire?"
"Shhh!" She frowned.
Chad smiled through the pain and shook his head. "No one would believe me if I told them. I’m not even sure I believe it."
She rolled her eyes. "You will tell no one about my condition, and I will tell no one about your lies."
How could he refuse?
Chad shook her hand, and Lenore gently helped him up onto his feet. His vampiric great-great-great-great grandmother in-law bore his weight for his broken ankle, and together they hobbled out of the park.
All because of one little white lie.
The End