"Do we really have to do this this weekend, Alex?" Emma had propped herself thoughtfully up on one elbow against her pillow as she brushed Alex's hair out of his face. His eyes were bleary as he'd been trying to sleep for the past half an hour, but Emma was so awake and scared, she just kept talking. For the fifth time, he sighed and said, "Yes, Emma, we do...
It happened with a whimper, not a bang. Halloween. It came on a Friday. Kids didn't have school the next day. They were out trick-or-treating, the younger ones with their parents, the older ones causing mischief -- soaping windows, banging on doors and running away, leaving a little flaming..."present" on the front porch. It was a nice night, pleasantly war...
He looked like a caliph, straight out of the movies, seated on a pile of pillows and furs. He wore a black silken robe, belted with a royal purple sash that held a jeweled dagger. Close to his right hand, on a golden pillow, like a lethal snake lay a coiled, leather drover’s whip. At his left was another man, wearing a burnoose and robe. He prote...
Chapter 1 Farewell Days of My Youth Despite his best efforts, Alex couldn't shake the pounding headache that abruptly started an hour ago. Usually, sitting on his favorite couch watching old game shows with his grandfather put him at peace, but it didn't offer any letup from the pain that night. Alex had always been cautious about taking pills of any kind,...
Celina sat in the dark room, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dim candle light. She could hear the chorus chanting as the man in the mask and dark robe approached her. He was the master... he was the one who would initiate her into the ways of brotherhood. "Celina," has asked as he looked down at her. The iron mask concealed any trace of emotion he might h...
I haven't had a lot of luck with exes. There was the one who took half my record collection with her. The one who left me feeling bereft and empty for months before announcing, when the gap was irreconcilable, that she thought we'd done the wrong thing by splitting. The one who copied her key to my flat before returning it and turned up in the middle of t...
"You probably think I'm too old for you." I paused to consider. The fact was: he was too old for me. He was more than twice my age. I had dated men a little older than me, but I usually stuck with men under thirty. There was also the fact that Aaron was the Santa Claus at the mall where I manage a department store, and while he looked decidedly different, a...
Author's note: the following story is purely a work of fiction and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. The author wishes to express his gratitude to rozezwild for her editing to make this a better story. * "Damn! Damn! Damn!" Jerry's gruff voice filled the motorhome. "You've got a fucking hard head, Dan!" Jerry struggled to g...
You pull in to the parking garage in the middle of the city. The ambient heat settling in through your car's window is stifling almost suffocating. Your nerves are the only thing making you shiver through your chilled skin almost as if your heart was pumping ice water through your veins. You check the mirror one last time making sure your black eye liner and...
Beau sits on a concrete bench in bright Tivoli Gardens. He is happy to be resting, but hates conceding that his feet are sore and that he is unlikely to be able to carry on much longer into the sunny night. The rides and amusements of Tivoli remind him vaguely of Coney Island or the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Tivoli, however, is cleaner and more orderly—the way h...