<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPathetic losers,\u201d I smirk, as the credits rolled on my favorite Reality Crime TV show, “Predator SmackDown.\u201d I shake my head. How stupid can these guys be?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I look at my phone. Drat! Not enough time for another episode. I head to the bathroom to get ready. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I shower, I think back on the show featuring an endless parade of men with illicit intent, walking straight into the police sting. Certain they were meeting an underage child, only to be trapped like helpless flies in a spider’s web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My favorite part of each episode is when the host enters the room and confronts the surprised perp with, \u201cHi, I\u2019m Hans Christie. You\u2019re on Predator SmackDown.\u201d The crushed look on the pedophiles’ faces when they realized they\u2019re busted? Priceless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not completely heartless. Sometimes I feel a smidge of sympathy as I try to imagine how these guys must feel the moment they realize they got caught, and their lives will never be the same. But my sympathy fades fast and I feel only contempt for these scumbags. They\u2019re idiots who prey on children, and they deserve the consequences they will get. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I get out of the shower and throw on some deodorant, cologne, and clean clothes. I do a quick sniff test to be sure. I\u2019m good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My phone lights with a notification. A text from Bridgett. \u201cHey Dan, U still coming 2nite?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I text back, \u201cYep, 7 pm like we agreed, can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGr8\u201d she answers. \u201dU got my address?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSee ya then. So excited.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few minutes later, I\u2019m in my Ford Bronco heading up the highway to her place. I think about my date tonight, my first date in a while. I\u2019ve been so busy at work that I haven’t had time to date or do much else lately. Been chatting with Bridgette the last few days, and we exchanged a few pictures. We finally decided to meet today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s 23, but looks younger. She even joked once that she was only 16, and I said, \u201cno way, I\u2019m not doing jail bait.\u201d She said she was only kidding to get my reaction. She got one. I almost ended it right there, but then she apologized and it was cool. To be honest, whether she\u2019s 16 or 23, she\u2019s pretty hot. Can\u2019t wait to meet her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m wary about the whole online dating scene. I\u2019ve heard so many horror stories about \u201cdates from hell,\u201d \u201cscammers,\u201d and \u201cblackmailers,\u201d and such. But girls aren\u2019t exactly beating down my door for dates, so I gotta go outside my comfort zone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Really got to be careful these days. There\u2019s lots of creepy people out there. Like those predators on TV, really loathsome creatures. But to be fair, some of my friends met their partners online and things worked out pretty well. And yeah, I\u2019m lonely. So I decided to give it another shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After driving 30 minutes, my GPS shows I\u2019m only a half mile from her place. It\u2019s a nice residential neighborhood that looks like the perfect place to raise a family. Maybe someday I will have a family. That would be nice. Ha, maybe even with Bridgette, who knows? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I drive another minute, and GPS shows I\u2019ve arrived. I pull into the driveway of a tan stucco house with brick trim and palm trees, and I see a VW Jetta in the open garage. Yep, Bridgett said she has a Jetta. I\u2019m at the right place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I exit the car, and see her poke her head out the front door and motion me to come in. I grab my backpack filled with a bottle of wine, soft drinks, snacks, and condoms, and head for the door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I enter the house and follow her into the kitchen to the right. \u201cHi Dan,\u201d she says, \u201cYou found my place, okay?\u201d I nod yes. She motions me to put my backpack on the counter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mmm\u2026gotta say, she looks fine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is wearing a white bathrobe and a towel on her head. \u201cSorry, I just got out of the shower,\u201d she explains. \u201cHave a seat at the counter. Let me put some clothes on and I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She leaves through a door, and I have a seat on the counter barstool. There are some chocolate chip cookies on a plate, and I help myself to one. Fresh baked, warm and gooey. Oh yummy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hear a noise and see a figure walk through the door. That was fast. She\u2019s dressed already? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My heart skips a beat. My stomach lurches and I feel sick. It\u2019s not Bridgett. It\u2019s a man, followed by a camera crew. I recognize him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHi, I\u2019m Hans Christie. You\u2019re on Predator SmackDown.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I shake my head. Oh crap. How stupid can I be?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cPathetic losers,\u201d I smirk, as the credits rolled on my favorite Reality Crime TV show, “Predator SmackDown.\u201d I shake my head. How stupid can these guys be?\u00a0 I look at my phone. Drat! Not enough time for another episode. I head to the bathroom to get ready. As I shower, I think back on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20,26],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-2259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humor","category-satire","tag-flash-fiction"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Predator_SmackDown1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2259"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3908,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259\/revisions\/3908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}