The Hairpin Turn

My story “The Drink” takes place in New Paltz, New York. Benny—nicknamed Bunny because of his bucked teeth—was orphaned by the hairpin turn pictured here. He explains:

I grew up just over the mountain ’til Ma and Pop done got killed. Car accident on the hairpin turn. Anyways after that, I stayed in foster homes, one after the other ’til I was sixteen. Hated it. So, one day I stole the money the missus kept in the bread box and up and left. Got as far as I could on this bus outa Kingston. Went to Newburgh, a place where no one knew me, and I could get away with sayin’ I was eighteen. Began workin’ in a gas station. Two years later I came up here where I got this place dirt cheap.

But this bumpkin is no match for Flame, who knows how to use her body to get what she wants:

“And you know what, Bunny? The more I think about it, the more I see me and you. We’re the ones meant to be together.”

“Oh, darlin’. I been knowin’ that a long time.”

“So come on now, hold me, and tell me what to do.”

Putting his arms around me, he rocked me back and forth while I moaned into his shoulder, all the while feeling like I was clinging to a broomstick.

“The Drink” is where you have the fun of seeing seriously flawed characters, including a femme fatale in a seedy dwelling in the sweltering days of August, spiral downward as they pursue their corrupt goals. You can read this story for free online by clicking here.