by Mac Flynn
He got home just in time for dinner, and both his parents were eager to hear how his trip went, particularly his dad. Ryan had told his wife about the strange goings-on that happened to those who entered the store, so she knew the general details of the shop and its elderly owner.
"So is that place creepy inside or as bright and cheerful as it looks through the windows?" Ryan asked his son when they sat down to eat. By the way he sounded, it was almost as if he thought the place was a dungeon of sorts where people were subjected to brain-washing. He'd seen the change in his friend, Bob. Brandon shrugged.
"It's really big and clean," he vaguely replied.
"And I saw you brought a box back, but your mom told me you left your wallet. You didn't swipe it, did you?" his father teased. Brandon rolled his eyes.
"No, I didn't swipe it. The guy just gave it to me." Both parents were surprised by this nice gesture, and his mom was very impressed.
"That's very kind of Mr. Eres," his mom spoke up.
"So what's in it?" Ryan questioned. His wife hadn't let him wrestle the box from Brandon when he came into the house.
"Some fortune cookies." Brandon shoveled his food into his mouth. All these questions made him embarrassed by his whole trip and how he planned to woo Vanessa. Ryan's fork stopped in midair.
"Fortune cookies?" his dad repeated.
"Yep, but I gotta go study," Brandon replied. He got up and put his empty plate in the sink. "Good grub, Mom," he told her before he disappeared upstairs. Ryan watched his son leave with a befuddled, disappointed expression. Then he turned back to his wife and pointed his fork where Brandon had gone.
"You think that kid's got balls enough to give us grandchildren?" he asked her. She glanced up from her plate with a knowing smile on her lips.
"I'm sure he'll be just fine," she reassured her spouse.
Upstairs Brandon wasn't so sure. The box sat on his bed and he in his computer chair, staring at the offending pink box. He was at a crossroads of decisions. He could eat the entire box himself and go back tomorrow for some chocolate chip cookies, give the fortune cookies to Vanessa, or bag the whole idea. The last option was the least preferable because he really liked this girl. He'd never felt so strongly for a girl, not only physically but emotionally. As corny and unbelievable as it was, Brandon believed he'd fallen in love at first sight.
The more he learned of her the more he liked. In their few conversations in the classroom he'd laughed at her jokes and agreed with her comments. He wanted to get to know her better, and right now that pink box on his bed was his best hope of doing it. Brandon sighed and slumped back in his chair. He needed to get laid, or at least that's what his dad would say to him right now. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea, but he didn't want to do it with just any girl. He wanted to do it with somebody who would appreciate his sense of humor, physical appearance and, well, just him. Brandon sighed.
"Well, here goes nothing."
The next day found Brandon standing in the halls of the university with the pink box wrapped in newspaper tucked beneath his arm. He couldn't find anything fancier and wouldn't be caught dead carrying a pink box around in the hall. There was at least a short note on the top explaining who he was and what was inside, just in case he got cold feet and left it someplace he was sure she'd find it. He waited impatiently for Vanessa to get out of her next class, which he knew was her last, so he could steer her off to one of the lesser-used halls and present her with the gift. He felt sweat build up all over his body and his muscles were tense from standing there so stiffly for so long.
Finally the door to the classroom opened and the students emptied out. Brandon was glad when Vanessa was one of the last ones to leave, but not glad to see a young man trying to wrap his arm around her shoulders. Brandon's rival was a few inches taller than him, muscular and with a flashing smile. By the snippets of conversation caught by Brandon, the other young man wasn't succeeding in wooing the young lady.
"Come on, Vanessa, just a burger and that's it, I swear," the young man insisted.
"I said no, Glenn, so why don't you just lay off already?" Vanessa replied.
Glenn moved in front of her path and forced her to stop. "Because I haven't heard yes yet," he countered. When she tried to pass him he spread out his arms to block her escape. "Come on, just a burger and maybe some fun afterward."
"You said just a few seconds ago that it was just going to be a burger," she pointed out. He shrugged his shoulders.
"So I stretched the truth a little." He leaned down and his smile grew into a wide, lecherous grin. "It won't hurt too much, I promise."
"More than I want to try, so get out of my way." Vanessa tried one more time to get around him, but he used his wide girth to keep her from going around.
That's when Glenn felt a hand tap his shoulder, and he turned around to find Brandon standing there holding his box. "What the hell do you want?"
"I really want you to decompose, but right now I just want you to leave her alone," Brandon replied.
"You want me to what?" Glenn asked the strange boy.
"Decompose. It's a big word for rotting in the ground," Brandon told him.
"What's going to be rotting in the ground is you, you little fucking ass," the large boy challenged his smaller opponent.
Brandon paled and ducked in time to elude Glenn's large hands. He ducked beneath Glenn's arms and shoved the package into Vanessa's hands.
"Here, for you," he managed to squeak out before he felt Glenn's breath on the back of his neck.
Brandon took off down the hall with the larger boy at his heels. In a moment they were gone, and Vanessa was very confused about what had just happened. A cute young man from one of her classes had mumbled a few words, tossed her a box and left with Glenn still close on his heels. One of her friends, Shannon, came up and wrapped her arm around Vanessa's shoulders. She turned an evil eye on her, guessing that it was Glenn, and the friend flinched back.
"Wow, what did I do to deserve that look?" Shannon asked her friend.
Vanessa gave her friend an apologetic smile. "It was for you, I thought you were that jerk Glenn. He was bothering me earlier."
Shannon glanced around and raised a brow. "So what made him leave? Usually he doesn't leave unless-" She stopped mid-sentence and her head whirled around back to her friend. "You didn't say yes, did you?" Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"Of course not, some boy just came up and told him to go away."
"And he left?" Shannon wondered, and Vanessa tilted her head from side to side.
"Well, kind of. More like Glenn chased him off and I sort of ran for it."
Shannon narrowed her eyes and frowned. "That's no way to say thanks to a guy who just saved you from a fate worse than death."
"I know, I know, but I didn't think he was coming back." Vanessa glanced over the box and saw there was a card on the top. "Besides, I might have his name here on this-"
"You didn't even get your knight-in-shining-armor's name?"
"He didn't say it, but it's something like Braden or Brand-Brandon! That's his name! He's in one of my other classes, the chemistry one!"
"So a chemistry nerd gave you a box wrapped in newspaper?" Shannon leaned back away from her friend and the box. "You sure it isn't going to explode or something?"
"I'm pretty sure," Vanessa replied. She flipped open the card and read the note inside. "To Vanessa from Brandon Dotson. These are fortune cookies, hope you like them." Vanessa glanced up at her friend, who shrugged.
"That's a little weird," Shannon gave her input.
Vanessa gave her friend a mischievous smile. "Well, if you don't want any that's just fine with me. I kind of like fortune cookies." Shannon frowned and swiped the box from Vanessa's grasp.
"Oh no you don't, aren't you supposed to be on a diet or some other cruel method of torturing yourself?" Shannon countered. Vanessa swiped back the box, which by this time had holes in its flimsy wrapping so they could see the pink box.
"I quit the diet this morning so you're not hogging this. Besides, they're supposed to be for me, remember?"
Shannon only half listened to her friend because her eyes were caught on the pink coloring. She pointed at the box. "Is that what I think it is?" Vanessa lifted the box and looked at the coloring.
"Well, it's pink if that's what you're thinking."
"Not just any pink. That's one of Mr. Eres' pink boxes."
Vanessa frowned and gave her friend a confused glance. "Who?" Shannon covered her mouth with one of her hands and let out an exaggerated gasp.
"Don't tell me you don't know him! How could you not know Mr. Eres and his sweet shop!"
"Because apparently I don't shop at the same places you do, especially if the guy only sells sweets. Remember that diet I stopped being on this morning?" Vanessa asked her dramatic friend. "Now what's the big deal about this place?"
"It's only the most glorious candy shop in the entire city. Heck, maybe the entire world," Shannon exclaimed. Vanessa rolled her eyes at her friend's exaggeration, and the other girl wasn't pleased to see that. Shannon put her hands on her hips. "What? It's true. You can't say it isn't since you haven't been there."
"Well, if you've been there so much then can you tell me how much this box cost?" Vanessa held up the pink container, and her companion leaned in with a furrowed brow.
"Hmm, I'd say a ton because a lot of the things in that shop cost a lot, but it's hard to tell with all that paper wrapping around it." Vanessa grabbed at the remnants and yanked them away to reveal the full pinkness. "Still looks like a box, so I still think it cost quite a bit."
"Well, I suppose it's the thought that's supposed to count, but it was nice of him to spend a ton on me," Vanessa laughed. She led Shannon outside and onto the grass, and her friend eagerly sat down at her side on the lawn. Shannon was so curious to see what was inside that she clapped her hands together and let out a squeal.
"This is going to be so delicious!" she exclaimed.
"These are for me, remember?" Vanessa reminded her friend, who drooped at the warning.
"Come on, can't you just let me lick one or something?"
Vanessa stuck out her tongue in disgust while she pried the box open. "That's just nasty." At that moment the lid popped open and both girls, with equal curiosity, glanced inside. Just as the box advertised, on the bottom lay twelve individually wrapped fortune cookies. Their exteriors were smooth and shined in their transparent plastic packaging. The girls were in awe until Shannon stuck her hand out to grab one. Vanessa frowned and slapped her friend's hand away. "I'll give you one, but I get first dibs."
"Fine, fine," Shannon agreed as she cradled her wounded hand.
Vanessa glanced over the dozen cookies, and chose one that seemed especially bright and large. She tore open the package, then broke the cookie in two and was glad to see a piece of white paper stick out from between the two parts. One of the pieces was stuffed into her mouth and Vanessa's eyes shot wide open. Her mouth fell open as a tingle of flavor broke out along her tongue and sent a shiver down her back.
"It's that good?" Shannon asked the stunned Vanessa.
"You have no idea," her friend replied in awe.
"Give me one and I'm pretty sure I'll get an idea."
Vanessa was too stunned to care, and handed the box to her companion. She felt something crumple in her hand and glanced down to see the paper fortune crinkled in her palm. Curiously she opened the text and read the fortune. Shannon was just breaking open her own when she happened to glance up and see Vanessa's cheeks take on a hue of bright red. She glanced down at the paper in her friend's tightly clenched hands.
"What? You going to die or something? Here, lemme see." Shannon tried to wrestle the paper away, but Vanessa dodged her friend's hands and stood up.
"I-I think I need to go. Suddenly not feeling well," she excused herself. She snatched the box away from Shannon and hurried off before her stunned friend could stop her.
Shannon watched her friend leave with a raised eyebrow. "She's such a strange girl..." she murmured. Then she turned her attention back to her fortune and opened the paper. Her mouth opened in an incredulous fashion and she tilted her head to one side. "What the hell is this, some sort of a prank?"
Her fortune read as follows: you did not choose your own fortune. Try again another time.
Shannon tossed away the fortune and bit into the cookie. Her eyes widened and she spat out the foul-tasting treat. She ordinarily liked fortune cookies, but this one tasted bitter and burnt. "Guess that shop isn't all it's cracked up to be."
Meanwhile Vanessa was hurrying to her dorm room with the box of fortune cookies and her fortune paper wrapped tightly in her arms and in her hand. She didn't stop until she was safe inside her room and atop her bed. Then she opened the fortune again and read the contents aloud.
"Your true love delivered these to you," she whispered. She glanced down at the box by her side and recalled back to that shy boy who'd thrust the container into her hands. Brandon was his name. He wasn't too bad looking, and definitely better than that arrogant jerk Glenn, who was always trying to get her out for dinner just to have sex.
Thinking of food, Vanessa's stomach rumbled and called for something to satiate its hunger. It was convenient that she had an almost full box of cookies right next to her. She opened the lid and took hold of the one she'd already cracked open. Vanessa generally wasn't a snack eater but these cookies looked and smelled delicious. She couldn't help taking a bite out of one of them. The moment the cookie touched her lips she wondered where she'd lived all her life without these delicious treats. They melted in her mouth like cotton candy, and had the flavor of the richest, most delicious cookie she had ever tasted.
Vanessa fell back against her bed and slowly munched on the treat. With each soft crunch a wave of heat escaped and washed over her body. She had never before had such a sensuous reaction to food. When she swallowed the cookie, it was like taking in delicious, liquid heat. Her body was alive with the wonderful warmth, and her skin glowed as little droplets of sweat sprang up on her flesh. She groaned and shifted uncomfortably atop the sheets. The heat penetrated every part of her body with its carnal touch. Shirt and pants alike strained against her swollen breasts and widening hips. She was transformed into a voluptuous vixen, a bundle of heat and energy just waiting to burst.
Without knowing what she was doing, Vanessa reached out and grasped the box. She reached in and tore open more of the packets of treats. They were consumed one at a time, each adding to the wonderful, torturous heat that engulfed her form. Finally she reached her hand in and groped about for another, but none touched the tips of her fingers. The thought that she was out sprang to her mind, and Vanessa shot up from her bed. She grasped the box in her hand and looked inside. Empty. She had eaten them all in a matter of minutes, and yet was still not satisfied.
The burning heat in her body demanded more, and even without the fuel to the fire it would not quell. She needed an outlet to extinguish the flame, and one came and stuck in her mind. That boy who had given her the treats, Brandon. Her breath quickened when she thought of his slim but muscular body, and those bright eyes standing over her. She ached for the touch of his soft hands and the look of that smile that was only for her.
Unfortunately, even her hazy mind recalled that she had no idea where to find the young lad. She overheard he lived at home with his folks, but she knew neither the address nor the phone number. Vanessa let out a moan of frustration and fell back onto her bed. She heard a crunch beneath her when she crushed the fortunes, and she reached beneath her to grab a handful of them. Her intention was to toss them aside, but something caught her eyes before she flew them through the air. She pulled them up to her face and saw that one of the fortune papers had a street address on them, and another appeared to be a phone number.
Vanessa's mouth fell open in shock, but she quickly sat back up and squealed in delight. That boy was even smarter than she dreamed. He had
evidently had these baked with all this information in them so if she wanted to find him she would be able to do so. Vanessa pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly dialed the number. The phone rang a few times before a woman's voice answered.
"Dotson residence."
"Oh, hi, um, I was wondering if Brandon was home," she nervously explained. She had been so focused on getting a hold of him that she hadn't exactly thought this plan all the way through.
The woman's voice betrayed her surprise and curiosity. "He is, can I tell him who's calling?"
"This is Vanessa, from school."
"Alright, one moment."
Vanessa heard the phone put down and in the background there was the sound of feet treading along a floor. "Brandon, there's a girl on the phone. She says her name is Vanessa."
Vanessa was amused to hear a new pair of feet scramble down what sounded like a flight of stairs. The feet raced to the phone and a breathless voice picked up the phone. "Hello?" Brandon gasped out. Brandon was surprised to hear from her, especially since he hadn't given her his phone number.
"Hi Brandon, this is Vanessa. You gave me those delicious cookies earlier today. I was just wondering if I could do you a favor in return."
Brandon's face brightened and inappropriate thoughts raced through his mind. He kept his excited voice and his suggestions to a more appropriate volume. "Um, well, how about a date?"
That was exactly the plan Vanessa needed to get close to him. "That'd be great! How about tonight? We could meet at my dorm and decide where to go from there."
"Sure! I'll pick you up at five."
Vanessa glanced out the window. It wouldn't quite be dark by that time. "How about six? I eat dinner late."
"Oh, sure, six will be just fine. I'll meet you outside the front doors." Brandon would have agreed to midnight if it meant a date with her.
"Then it's a date. See you then."