After a restless night with little sleep, I struggled through my day at school on autopilot. Using Randy’s terminology, I was totally wasted. What I really wanted to do was go into a coma and sleep for a week, but I knew I had to go get ready for tonight. No matter how tired I was, bailing out on my first “free-night” was not an option. He wasn’t getting off that easy. I walked through the front door almost two hours late...

  Alexia   The gel felt cold when she squeezed it on my belly. I watched intently at the flickering monitor as she moved the scanner around my abdomen, searching. When the flickering screen stabilized, I viewed what appeared to be undefinable images of my innards. She continued shifting it around, pressing down with increased firmness. Some movement appeared but I couldn’t discern what I was looking at. “Ms. Hunter, if yo...

On July 15, 2015 my life was turned upside down. I just didn’t know it at the time. Looking back, I was like so many others caught in the middle-class grind with a demanding job, family life, a house in the suburbs, and the hefty mortgage to go with it. It would appear by world standards that I was living the American dream, or so I thought at the time. When I made the decision to become self-employed, I had no idea how d...

To describe my life as complicated would be an understatement. My story starts about two years ago. At the time, I was an eighth grade social studies instructor at our local Junior High School and had just recently finished my seventh year of teaching. That magic number earned me the security of tenure. I wasn’t going to get rich as an educator but it provided steady income, great benefits and a retirement plan. Teaching...

“For a new self to be born, hardship is necessary. Just as clay needs to go through intense heat to become strong, Love can only be perfected in pain.” Shams Tabrizi   I remember that Friday morning started out well with Gail riding me hard, straining towards yet another climax. Her long strawberry blond hair was tickling my nose as it flicked in my face. I cupped her magnificent breasts and rolled her rosy pink nipples i...

FrankDuring our engagement dinner with Alexia’s family, I received a text message from my precinct saying Captain Greer was shot. After I showed the message to Alex, we both maintained our composure and hastily said our goodbyes. Her dad seemed visibly upset with our unexpected departure, but I assured him it was all routine.To begin with, Alex’s father had never been happy with her choice to join the police force instead...

“Calm down! What’s gotten into you? Talk with me. Whatever it is, we can work it out!” he pleaded. “Work it out? Work this out!” I screamed, before throwing the antique vase his mother gave us as a wedding present. He ducked my throw, watching it dissolve into a million chips of porcelain as it vaporized against the wall. “That was childish. Grow up! What’s this about? Please talk with me.” He almost sounded convincing.“I...

New Horizon  I parked across the street from the house I formally called home. The exterior appeared unchanged after eleven months away. There was a time when I would pull up in this driveway and be filled with joy at the prospect of just being home with my family. Sometimes happiness is an illusion, as I so painfully discovered.  As I sat there staring at 2200 Sycamore Drive, memories flooded my mind, I’d tried so hard t...

As we continued our tour of the Castle, Kurt led me down a long spiral staircase deep under the main building. At the bottom of the stairs there was a dimly lit hallway with rooms on either side. Each of the roughly hewn doors had bars in small window openings. It was obvious these rooms were jail cells. Our footsteps echoed on the slate stone floor as we walked. It gave me an eerie feeling knowing this place was over eig...

  I stood in the glass enclosure as streams of hot water caressed my shoulders. I kept thinking about that phone conversation I'd had with my husband. Sometimes when I'm stressed, a bath or hot shower brings clarity to my thoughts. Everything that happened these past few days had brought me to this critical crossroads in my life. I knew whatever I decided from this point on would profoundly determine the future of my marr...

 I work my way through the crowd,eyes locked on yoursneeding to get to you.Too many people,too much uncertainty,I can’t do this right now.One more step and I’m there,your face is all I see.I can relax now, standing here with you.As close as we are,I press my hand intothe small of your backand bring you against me,our bodies touching.You mold to me.Holding you, gently but firm,and keeping you close.Your head on my shoulder...

The drone of the engines was almost hypnotizing. The itinerary said it would be around twelve hours before I arrived in Germany. In all the years I’ve traveled, this was the first time I had flown in anything but economy. The benefits of first class were obvious, especially the extra leg room. Except for the occasional bump in turbulence, the overstuffed, comfy chair gave me the feel of sitting in my recliner at home. The...

Not long ago, I went to a mandatory leadership seminar provided by our corporation. The featured speaker Dr. Justin Davies focused mostly on one basic theme. He said that the concept of a self-made man is nothing but an illusion. He went on to show by example how each of us are a sum of others input, both good and bad. Dr. Davies broke this down to different levels called the pyramid of influence as shown by a projected g...

I nervously applied the last of my makeup in preparation for my debut at the Slice. Up until three months ago, no one besides my parents and physician had seen me nude, but now perfect strangers were going to be ogling me. My folks would have cardiac arrest if they saw me now. They were opposed to me joining the police force to begin with. My dad wanted me to follow in my family’s tradition of corporate law, but being the...

The Letter This seemed to be a typical Saturday, with Mr. Dawson mowing his lawn and the boys playing basketball in the driveway. I loved the way the sun warmed my face as I stepped beyond the shadows of the house. I thought how this was a perfect day to celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary. Well, it would have been except for the fact that Dave had been called away at the last minute to settle a labor problem in t...