Lexi had changed into a long-sleeved light brown dress. She had curled the ends of her dark hair. Lexi walked down the large staircase. She wasn’t sure if she would be the last one to arrive in the den or not. However, she had heard voices in the hallway as she got dressed in her room.
She walked through the sitting room that was to the left of the staircase. She saw a sliding door across the room and heard muffled voices. Victor had told her that the den was behind the sliding door in the receiving room.
Lexi slowly and gently slid the door open. The people in the room stopped talking and looked at her.
“Hi,” a white woman chirped. She walked over to Lexi. She wore a pink dress with a sheer pink scarf around her neck. Her brown hair was piled on top of her head. “I’m Lindsay, I’m Brock’s realtor,” she said and offered her hand to Lexi.
Lexi wanted to smack her for unloading this house of horrors on Brock.
“Yep, she’s the culprit,” a bald-headed black man said.
Everyone chuckled.
Lexi took Lindsay’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Lexi.”
“Well, come on in, Lexi,” a white man said. “Name your poison.”
“Um….I’ll just have what the ladies are drinking,” Lexi said.
“White wine it is,” the man said and headed to the small bar across the room.
The wallpaper was pink and white stripe. Like the rest of the walls in the house, it was old and dated. The fire was burning in the large fireplace.
“Have a seat,” a black woman said.
Lexi smiled and sat down in one of the old style chairs. The white man who asked her what she wanted to drink approached her with a glass of white wine.
“Thank you,” Lexi said.
“You’re welcome,” he said with a grin. He picked up a glass full of brown liquid off the small table next to her. “I’m Troy, by the way. I served in the Marines with Brock. I’m a college professor, now.”
“Oh, do you like it?” Lexi asked.
“I do,” Troy said. “What do you do for a living, Lexi?”
“I’m a travel blogger and fiction writer,” she answered.
“Oh, what do you write?” the black woman asked with interest.
“Well, I’m trying my hand at romance suspense,” Lexi said shyly. “I have a manuscript written, but I haven’t found an agent yet.”
“How do you know, Brock?” another white man asked. He was standing next to the fireplace.
“We went to high school together,” Lexi replied.
“Nice,” Lindsay said and sipped her white wine.
“Well, I guess the rest of us should introduce ourselves,” the white man at the fireplace said. “I’m Connor. I’m a freelance photographer. I met Brock, Troy, and Barry when they were serving overseas. I took pictures and interviewed them in Iraq.”
“And I’m Barry,” the bald black man said. “As Connor said, I served in the Marines with Brock and Troy. I was discharged around the same time Brock was. Now, I run a dealership. Are you in the market for a car?”
Lexi laughed. “I just bought a brand new SUV several months ago.”
“Are you happy with it?” Barry asked.
“Yes, I am,” Lexi said.
“I’m Nicole,” the black woman said. “I’m an interior designer here in Dallas. I’ve worked with Brock on several projects.” Nicole was slim and she had short hair. There were auburn streaks mixed among her dark strands. She wore a dark green pants suit.
“Nice to meet you,” Lexi said, then she looked over at the white couple who sat on the sofa.
“I’m Jeffrey. I’m Brock’s stockbroker and friend. And this is my wife, Jennifer.” Jeffery had thick brown hair with gray around the temples. He wore a dark suit with a yellow tie.
“Nice to meet ya, hon,” Jennifer said with a Texan accent. She had long poufy blonde hair. She wore a short white dress that showed off a bountiful amount of cleavage. She looked to be twenty years younger than her husband.
“Good evening,” a male voice said from the doorway.
Lexi turned to see who the new arrival was. She almost dropped her wine glass when she got a look at the new arrival. He was a priest; clerical collar and all. She didn’t know Brock was Catholic.
“Blake,” Jeffrey said. “Come in. I think you know everyone here.”
The father walked into the den.
“Blake?” Lexi said. “Brock’s little brother?”
“That’s right,” Blake answered. “Although I don’t remember you.”
“Oh, no. I guess you wouldn’t. You had only seen me two or three times when Brock and I were in school. You were in middle school, I think, when we graduated. I’m Lexi.”
Blake took her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you…again,” he said with a gorgeous smile. “And, I was going into my sophomore year when Brock graduated.”
Lexi smiled. Blake had the same wide cheek bones as his older brother. His hair was dark and thick. A woman’s fingers could get lost in that hair.
The lights flickered above.
“Looks like Brock needs to do that re-wiring sooner rather than later,” Connor said.
“Or perhaps the spirits in this house are trying to get our attention,” Nicole mumbled.
“Oh, come on,” Connor said. “I know it looks spooky, but it’s not a real haunted house.”
“Actually it is,” Lindsay said as she walked to Connor. “It was rumored that the original owner and his wife were into black magic and sorcery,” she said as she tried to portray a spooky voice.
“Please,” Connor said and sipped his drink.
“It’s true. I’ve lived in Dallas all my life and there were all kinds of stories about this house,” Nicole said.
The lights went out.
“I hope Victor isn’t cooking dinner on an electric stove,” Lexi said smartly. The place was a shithole.
The lights came back on.
Connor looked petrified.
“Geez, man,” Troy said. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I think this place really is haunted,” Connor breathed out.
“Why do you say that, hon?” Jennifer asked with concern.
“When the lights were off, I felt something glide pass my face,” Connor said with a petrified look.
Everyone was quiet.
Troy broke the silence. “Bull!”
Everyone laughed.
“No, seriously,” Connor said.
“You have to do better than that, Connor,” Barry said.
“I’m not kidding,” Connor stressed.
“Sure. So, how about those Cowboys?” Nicole asked.
For the exception of Connor, they chatted away for the next twenty minutes.
Victor came in. “Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served.”
According to Victor, Brock got pulled into an emergency business call. He had instructed Victor to serve dinner without him. They were all seated at a long wood dining room table. The only light in the room was the chandelier above the table. They could see to eat, but Lexi couldn’t make out their surroundings. The first appetizer was a Caesar salad. The main course was duck a l’orange. Lexi never had duck before. She liked it, but it was a heavy dish. Victor had disappeared into the kitchen to get dessert. While Victor was gone, Connor stressed again that the place was really haunted. No one paid attention to him. The guests chatted away until Victor came back into the room pushing a food cart.&nbs
After dinner, everyone had gone to their separate corners. Lindsay and Nicole thought the game was fun and decided to team up to look around the house before going to bed. Troy and Barry went to the smoking room with Brock to smoke cigars.Lexi decided to go to the den. She needed more alcohol if she was going to get through this corny weekend. The door was cracked open. She heard people talking.“Why don’t we just leave?” Jennifer whined.“What are you, a party pooper?” Jeffrey said in a teasing tone.“You’re damn straight,” Jennifer answered seriously.“I’m with Jennifer,” Conner said. “This place is haunted.”“You’re still crying that same tune?” Jeffrey said. “I’m sure it was just a breeze from a vent.”“I know a light breeze when I feel it,” Conner said with an indignant tone. “And that wasn&rs
He smiled as he unzipped the back of her light brown dress. Lexi reached for his tie and slowly loosened it. They kissed each other. This time, Lexi opened her mouth, and Brock wasted no time dipping his tongue inside.Brock pulled the sleeves down on her dress as he ravaged her mouth. She moaned against his lips. He tore his mouth away and kissed her neck. His fingers slipped under her bra straps, and then pulled them down. Brock kissed his way down her shoulder. As he did, his hands reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Lexi exhaled with relief from being freed from the snug binding.Brock stood up straight and aggressively pushed down her dress and bra. Lexi pulled her hands out of the sleeves. He watched her with heavy lids as she let the dress and her bra fall on the wood planked floor. She pushed her black panties down to join the pile of clothes, and stood before him in nothing but tan high heels and brown thigh highs.Lexi reached for the top button o
Brock zipped the back of Lexi’s dress for her. He kissed her on the cheek from behind, making her smile. He really was a sweet guy. He always was. She hoped that what they just did wouldn’t ruin their friendship. Good friends were hard to find. Especially now, that she had money in her pocket. Before Lexi decided to hit the road as a travel blogger, people that she and her family hadn’t heard from in years came out of the woodwork. They knew those folks were looking for a handout. That’s why she was so careful about telling people that her family had won the lottery. Luckily, the Brown women aren’t fools. Lexi and her sister, Mercedes, had changed their cellphone numbers. Their mother had her landline changed. Their mother was old-school; she never thought of using a cellphone.The thought reminded her about what she wanted to talk to Brock about. “Brock, did you tell Jeffrey that my family won the lottery?”Brock was slowly bu
It was 10 a.m. Friday morning, and Lexi couldn’t find her cellphone. She thought she had left it on the nightstand last night before she went downstairs for dinner.When she came back upstairs last night, she couldn’t find it. Lexi thought she might have left it in her purse instead on the nightstand. She emptied her purse on the bed. It wasn’t there.“That’s odd. Where the hell did I put it?” she asked herself. It wasn’t unusual for Lexi to misplace things sometimes, but she couldn’t imagine where else she could have put it.There was a knock on her door.“Come in,” she said.The door opened. It was Jeffrey. “Hey, Lexi, sorry to disturb you, but do you mind if I borrow your cellphone? I want to check in with the office and I can’t seem to find mine.”Lexi’s eyebrows arched up. “Really? I can’t find mine either. It’s one hell of a coin
Victor and Lexi just made it back inside the mansion before it started to pour. They quietly walked through the kitchen, and then to the dining room. They walked to the foyer. “May I take your coat, Ms. Brown,” he asked. “Oh no. I got it,” Lexi said. They took off their coats and hats. Victor opened the closet door to put away their things. They walked out of the foyer. Thunder roared outside with the rain. Several flashes of lightning shined through the windows. “So, Victor, what’s on the dinner menu this evening?&rdq
Jennifer and Jeffrey requested that their dinner be served in their room. Jeffrey told the others that Jennifer was so upset about what happened to Lindsay that she was too afraid to leave the room. It was a partial truth. Jennifer was petrified, but she wanted to be alone with her husband so they could discuss their next move. “We should leave,” Jennifer said seriously. “We can’t leave even if we wanted to,” Jeffrey said seriously. “There’s practically a hurricane outside.” “It’s just a bad storm,” Jennifer countered. “We only have to drive twenty-five miles. It’s a better option than staying here and getting attacked for
The thunder and lightning had subsided and the rain had let up. However, the wind was blowing hard. According to the weatherman on the radio, the break from the storm wasn’t going to last long. It was going to storm on and off for the next two days. Brock, Troy, Blake, Barry, Lexi, and Nicole were having after-dinner drinks in the receiving room. Lindsay, Jennifer, and Jeffrey had dinner upstairs in their rooms. Lindsay was feeling better, but as a precaution, she stayed in bed. Victor had just gone upstairs to check on everyone. Troy and Barry had wanted to call Connor, but they couldn’t find their cellphones. They had confronted Brock about it. Brock had sworn up and down that he didn’t have them. So, they had tried to call Connor from the landline pho