She says that she doesn’t bite. The way she sits and the way that that red dress washes over her hips suggests that what she says is true. The way her hair rolls over her cheeks and down her neck and those pale pink lips. Nothing of her appearance suggests deception, only warmth and company.

Of course it’s always the most beautiful things in nature that hold the most danger. The rose’s beauty distracts one from its aciculate thorns and the most colorful butterflies are always the most poisonous.

Even so it’s in human nature to seek out only the most beautiful things, isn’t it? Despite the warnings we receive we are often tricked by our own desires. We are aware of these facts and yet we tend to forget them anyway. As our hearts begin to beat our logical senses are pushed away. So despite the warning signs one might see those woman’s darkened oak eyes are simply too warm to deny.

I should have listened, I should have known. But I didn’t. Now I lay here, sick to my stomach from love’s venomous kiss.