Page 32 of Love vs The Ooze Monster!
Leticia’s leg was severed at the ankle, so her foot lay on the ground. It didn’t matter, though, because more tentacles had already grabbed up the rest of her. She was yanked right into the creature.Throughthe creature. Sucked into its luminous body. Feeding it.
Making it even bigger.
Dave finally jolted himself into action. He jumped into the police cruiser, pulling himself across the front seat and quickly starting it up. No wonder Rico was hiding! Dave was going to do him one better, though. He was going to drive the fuck out of there. Panicked, he tried to back up as quickly as possible and escape the monster.
He made it about three feet.
Then, one of the tentacles crashed right through the windshield of the car. It sealed around Dave’s head, burning into his face. He tried to scream, but ooze filled his mouth, scorching his throat and tongue. The monster ripped him from the driver’s seat, right over the steering wheel and through the shattered window glass. He barely felt the cuts, struggling to free himself from the unnatural strength of the creature that had captured him.
It was no use. Dave was sucked into its slimy body and consumed. He had the vague impression of orange all around him. Then, everything was dark.
And the night was quiet, again.
Chapter Nine
Show him the icy mitt: (1920s slang) Shutting down advances from a jackass
Today, Mabel would show him the icy mitt.
Boyd had fired her!
She couldn’t forget that, no matter how likable he could be, and how much she enjoyed talking to him, and how gifted he was at kissing. Nope. He’d beentotallyout of line on Thursday. The very least he could do was apologize.
Really, she should be ignoring him all together, until he wised up. Instead, she was wrecking her reputation for that too-handsome bastard. First, by staying in his house overnight, unchaperoned, and now by wearing the inappropriate dress he’d left hanging on her door. Not a good precedent.
She needed to take the reins of this situation and get it all back on track.
“Boyd!” Mabel came marching down the steps at nine a.m. sharp, looking for the scoundrel who was out to drive her batty. “Where are you? We need to talk!”
“Kitchen, doll.”
Mabel was thirty-two. In those three plus decades, no one had ever called her “doll.” Not even once. Not until Boyd. She refused to be taken in by the energetic informality of the nickname, because she was a serious, respectable woman, damn it.
Firming her lips, she headed in the direction of his voice. His home was beautiful. Large but warm. Old, but somehow modern. She loved the place. Every time she turned a corner, Mabel found herself contemplating where furniture should go and how walls should be painted. It was very aggravating.
The kitchen was white and yellow, with views into the garden. Even Mrs. Patten would be impressed with the huge array of plants growing there. Not that her landlady would ever be speaking to Mabel, again. She was a fallen woman, thanks to Boyd.
Although not listening to Mrs. Patten talk was actually well-worth a scarlet letter.
Boyd was standing by the ceramic sink, apparently trying to clean dried monster ooze off his once-pristine spats. Because ofcoursehe would deal with acidic slime in the kitchen and not the laundry room. Or even just burn the damn spats, because that orange sludge seemed pretty permanent.
Mabel rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and decided to pick her battles. “Boyd… What color is the dress you brought me?”
“Green.” He said, without turning around. “With little flowers on it.”
“Exactly. A green dress with flowers is not suitable for half-mourning.”
“I don’t know why not. Lew would like it, I’ll bet. It’s the color of money.”
Mabel frowned. Lew had loved green, actually.
“Just try the dress on.” Boyd urged. “See if you don’t feel better in it, than you do in that sack of drab fabric you’re wearing now.”
“I’m wearing the green dress, you moron. That’s not the point.”
His head finally snapped around. Vivid blue eyes scanned up and down her body. “Holy shit.” He let out a half chuckle, half wheeze of surprise. “Holyshit.” A wide smile crossed his face. “You look amazing!”
She self-consciously swept her hair behind her ear. No one had ever said something like that to her before. Just Boyd. This was the first time he’d ever seen her in regular clothes and he seemed thrilled.
