The convertible was a shade of red I'd only seen twice before in my life.
The dull ruby color was similar to a beat up soda machine outside the convenience store near the skate park I grew up by, but also not unlike an antique car a friend of mine worked on for about two years before finally deciding it would never drive.
It certainly wasn't the kind of car that screamed money but it did look like a fun ride. The two ladies that stepped out, followed by my friend Jason, were every bit as beautiful as I'd been told.
They were twins, as had been reported, and they were both a shade of brown that resembled coffee with a heck of a lot of cream in it. I smiled as they opened the trunk and pulled out four twelve packs of Sam Adams. My favorite.
Source: Pixabay.com
Jason had dibs on one already. He'd met her at a dingy karaoke bar. Apparently they'd brought the house down with their rendition of Staying Alive. Her name was Reese and she had more tattoos than anybody I'd ever seen.
Her sister Raza didn't seem to have a mark on her. They both wore short flowery summer dresses. Reese's was black, Raza's was white. Cute. Black hair, but styled quite differently. Reese's was long and straight, Raza's was short and curly.
Walking up as casually as I could, I grabbed a Summer Ale from the variety pack and began shaking hands warmly.
The pool was really something to be proud of now. Three giant floats rotated gently on the crystal clear surface near it's edges. Jason had filled four styrofoam coolers with ice and placed them on the lawn near the lush green ivy that hung from the dark wooden fence.
He and Reese alternated doing cannonballs. They seemed to be birds of a feather. Trading her dress for a gold string bikini, she was definitely a wild one.
Raza seemed more reserved. We sat on a stone bench while she told me how her classes at the local Community College were going. She and her sister were only 22. I was approaching 30. Not that big of an age difference, all things considered.
It had been awhile since I'd been on a date and I wasn't sure what the next step was at this point. There really wasn't much to do except drink beer while we relaxed by the pool, so I just listened as intently as I could.
Eventually the girls mentioned that they were hungry, so we lit up the barbecue and grilled a few burgers with corn on the cob. Everyone was a bit intoxicated as the sun's rays reflected red against the water's surface.
"Have you ever explored the abandoned building across the street?" Jason raised an eyebrow.
I never had. Why would I? I doubt there's anything in there except for a few bugs and possibly a rat or two. The next thing I knew we were standing outside the rotted green doorway.
It seems to have been a grocery called Nebula. I'd never heard of it. The outside of the building was in terrible disrepair, but upon entering the unlocked door we were shocked to see what appeared to be a fully stocked and functional grocery store.
'This place isn't abandoned at all!" I remarked. The fluorescent lights weren't white or yellow, as you might imagine, but were instead a kind of orange red, very much like the setting sun we'd just viewed.
There were no cashiers although there were four very clear register areas with lit up signs, numbered 8 - 12. That seems pretty random. It was cold as ice in here, and the air smelled really strange and rancid. The girls huddled close to Jason and I, gripping our arms tightly. We didn't mind one bit.
"Let's see if we can't find some marshmallows to roast!" Jason yelled out suddenly, breaking the spooky silence. "And some more beer!"
We found several bags in the back of the store near the cereal aisle. The only brand they had was called pillow stuff and the marshmallows themselves were brown, not white. What the hell? We grabbed two bags and headed towards the refrigerated section.
I had no idea if this was a dry area or not, but we were in luck after all. There was more beer against the back shelf than you could shake a hundred sticks at. I'd never heard of a single brand.
We grabbed two 12-packs of Star Sailor, a black IPA, and began the process of getting the hell out of there. I didn't know what a Black IPA was, but I was willing to try it out. ABV was 8.8%. Not too shabby.
Closing the giant door behind us, we could see through the broken windows that the store was quite dark inside. It wasn't though. We were just in there and it was lit up like a volcano. Things didn't match up. We were pretty drunk though.
"Woah." Jason muttered.
We headed back to the house at something close to a sprint and fell down rolling and laughing on the thick shag carpet in the den near the large TV. I had four movies already picked out. I loved horror and I hoped everyone else did too.
Little did I know there would be more horror in store for us that night than what was shown on those movies.
Part one: https://steemit.com/fiction/@jeezzle/the-house
Part two: https://steemit.com/fiction/@jeezzle/the-house-part-2
