The Breakdown

Sitting at the stoplight I’m abruptly made aware of the smoke billowing from beneath the hood of my black BMW. “Ah fuck!” I exclaim exasperatedly, “bmw really does stand for ‘break my wallet.” It’s not the first time my car has given me an ultimatum. Fix me now or send me to the chopping block. It’s for that exact reason […]

Poolside Pleasures

I had been babysitting around town since I was 13 years old. With so many families in the area, it was an easy way to make extra cash if you had a good reputation…and my reputation was stellar! I was certified in CPR, always brought fun activities with me for the kids, and made sure the house was picked up […]

The Spy and the Pilot

Max turned around, still half asleep, pulling my body into the half-moon of his own. We lay on a straw mattress in the loft of a barn that had been taken by the resistance here in rural France, and for modesty’s sake we had retreated to either sides of it; a difficult task, now made more challenging by the pilot’s […]

Heat

Sure, there are other things. Potholes. Cornfields. Cleveland. But after three straight weeks of 98 degrees and 90% humidity you don’t really care that Kansas is a thing. You just want out — to escape the stifling grassland; preferably to a place where you don’t need to swim through the steam to reach the next air-conditioned oasis. Where I work […]

How I Met Your Mother

“Honestly Wyatt, you’re 25-years old. You need to settle down. Enough is enough already. Your father and I want grandkids. She’s a nice girl. You may not be in love now, but you will be. You’ll learn to love her. Wait and see. What do you have to lose?” Well the answer to the question of my mother’s tirade was […]

Coaster Kisses

The first thing I remember noticing about her was the trickle of sweat running down her back. It was nearly a hundred degrees out and humid, so it’s not like that was out of the ordinary. She was chatting with her friends in front of me in line while I stood utterly engrossed in the tiny bead as it made […]

Roommates/Secrets Don’t Make Friends

“Derrick I am sick of yo shit!” A plate hit the wall to my left. I ducked hard as hell, she has finally lost it. “Baby calm down it aint even like that, I don’t even know this girl!” For a split second she wanted to believe me then picked up her phone. “Oh you don’t know her huh then […]

The Teasing Contest

Bored. They both agreed they were bored. Stupid Covid, stupid summer coming to a close. Nothing really happens. They’ve even noticed in conversations with family and friends – there comes a time, earlier and earlier in an evening, where the conversation just…runs out. Stupid Covid. And so, one day, the teasing contest was born. At first, it was just something […]

The Lonely Wife

With that the front door slammed to a close and Maura collapsed back on to her pillow, dismayed. This morning’s lack of affection had marked a particular milestone on Maura’s phone — it had now been exactly 365 days since her husband had bothered to fuck her. She had tried in vain to rekindle the passion in the early months. […]

The Breakfast Club

He didn’t notice her sit down at first, he was too engrossed in his morning paper. It was his morning routine before work. Always a coffee and quick light bite for breakfast at this cafe. Sometimes he sat inside but in nice weather like today he sat outside in the early morning sunshine. When not reading the paper he just […]