Blurb:
Flirting with the devil can lead to a helluva good time.
Gabriel is a regular angel. The former altar boy plans to graduate from college, become an accountant, get a good job, find a wife, and live a faithful Catholic life.
But one Halloween night, the devil pops in out of nowhere, challenges everything he believes, and heats up Gabriel’s lonely life.
Marcello is full of the devil. He’s lusted after Gabriel forever, but what he really wants is Gabriel’s eternal soul. Still, his mischievous sense of humor, along with his tricks and jokes, leads to a misunderstanding that could condemn him to hell on Earth. Only the truth will let these souls find true love and happiness.
The sign on the green steel door only said “Exit” in bold red letters. The dark alley wall surrounding it was solid brick. It was after ten by the time we’d left, and surprisingly the streets were pretty deserted considering it was Halloween night. Still, we’d kept to back alleys most of the way and stayed under the cover of darkness. We were quiet all the way and even our footfalls made no sound. Fortunately the place wasn’t all that far.
“What is this place?” I whispered.
Marcello grinned at me. “This, dear Angel, is the Exit bar. Everyone has to go sometime. Well, can you think of a better end?”
It sounded awfully foreboding to me. I had no answer.
Marcello rapped on the door. It wasn’t exactly a secret knock. It was just the “shave and haircut” beat.
The door swung out and a rough-looking old man dressed like he belonged in a motorcycle gang blocked the way with beefy arms crossed over his barrel chest. A heavy bass beat pounded loud enough to make whatever song was playing unintelligible. He looked us both up and down, but when he finally reached Marcello’s face, an out-of-character grin appeared below his handlebar mustache.
“Marcello, you little ol’ devil you. What brings you back to this hellhole?” Marcello laughed. “Where on Earth are we gonna find any more fun?”
“Is the twink old enough?”
“He’s legal,” Marcello said with a shrug.
“Good enough. Get in here before someone sees.”
The music was so much louder inside. And even though I thought my eyes were adjusted to the dark after our walk here, I could barely see anything. Between the strobes and tracking colored lights, my eyes were constantly trying to adjust. I stayed close to Marcello.
All through college I’d stayed away from frat parties and all of the usual college stuff that leads to trouble. I really wasn’t prepared for this. All of the guys were dressed for Halloween in some sort of costume, although most showed plenty of skin and some showed more than I did. But the women were dressed in sparkling evening gowns with lots of makeup and big hair. I wondered why they weren’t dressed for Halloween too.
When I could catch a glimpse of the dance floor, I couldn’t even tell who was dancing with who. It was just a mass of writhing bodies.
Marcello put his mouth to my ear and yelled while his hot breath tickled me. “Wait here! I’ll get you some sacramental wine! Be right back!” I looked in the direction Marcello headed, but he’d practically vanished. I tried to act cool—as if I belonged here. But I couldn’t have felt more out of place. It was hard standing in one place because it was so packed people kept jostling me. It felt like someone ran their hand right along my butt, and I turned to only see a bunch of guys behind me. While I’d turned to look, somebody grabbed my crotch. This time I saw her and up close; she was the ugliest girl I’d ever seen. She winked a big false eyelash at me, and then she licked her overly painted lips. I tried not to visibly shudder. Then something cold and wet touched my shoulder and I was ready to come back swinging, only to see Marcello holding a wet brown bottle out to me.
“What’s this?”
“You can call it sacramental wine. I call it beer.”
“I don’t drink.”
“Now there’s a surprise. C’mon. This will help to loosen you up for the dance floor.” I looked out again at all of the writhing bodies. “I don’t dance either. Besides, we don’t have anyone to dance with.” Marcello gave me a funny look before he schooled his expression.
“Nobody else out there really has a partner either. They’re just dancing and having fun. Now drink up.”
Marcello tilted his bottle to his lips, and I did the same. I got a big swig of the beer, and it was awful. I hated the smell and the taste. I closed my eyes to let it settle in when a warm feeling hit my stomach. At least that felt good. I could just hear Marcello’s voice in my head telling me that only good comes out of evil. Well, the beer smelled and tasted evil, but the feeling in my stomach was good. Marcello held up his bottle, and when I did the same, he clinked his against mine. Then we each took another swig. At least the second wasn’t as bad as the first.
Marcello finished his beer before I did, and I don’t know what he did with his bottle. I suppose he made it vaporize. While I finished up my beer, we stared out at the dance floor. The music did seem to be coming through the heavy pounding bass, and I felt my body start to sway with the beat. There was a tickling on my shoulder blades between my wings, and a warm glove massaged the back of my neck to ease my tension. The tickling no doubt came from the feathers on his cuffs. Marcello had his arm behind me, and I let him go. He was probably trying to help me to relax enough to get out and dance.
I tried to hurry through my beer, but that just made it go to my head faster. I think I started to imagine things because it looked like a couple of guys were making out while they dirty danced together. I kept watching because I was sure one of them had to be a girl, maybe dressed like a guy? But they were both shirtless.
I felt the bottle being tugged from my hand.
“C’mon, Angel. Let’s get you out on that dance floor while you’re still flying. I don’t want you to crash to Earth without having any fun.”
Robert P. Rowe has spent his entire career as a storyteller making an incredible leap from Disneyland ride operator to show-designer and art director at Walt Disney Imagineering. Immersive storytelling presents a distinctive challenge unlike that of live theater, film, radio, or print media. He is currently on staff as an art director for Universal Orlando. His many other works can be found around the world, primarily in Disney and Universal Studios parks.
His “real” job takes up much of his time, but his active imagination can’t stop dreaming up new stories. Whenever time permits, he’s writing about new characters off on their own incredible journeys.
Additionally, his outside interests include all aspects of architecture, with a specific fascination for the theatrical design of homes from midcentury movies and television. He has a keen enthusiasm for midcentury science fiction.
Website: www.robertprowe.com
