“You’re right, Guantanamo Bay is the much stronger film,” Beth said, leaning forward to take her glass from the coffee table.  She sat back into the couch, crossing her legs towards me, the hem of her blue wrap dress sliding above her knee.  “I love Neil Patrick Harris.”   “Oh, he should have got an Oscar for that,” I said, standing up and gesturing at her glass.   Her laugh bubbled out.  She narrowed her eyes, the lines...

“I’m really sorry, mate,” the man said. He leaned forward to take his hand.   “I don’t get it,” the kid said, trying to hold back the tears. “It’s just kicking a football around.”   “I know,” he sighed, patting his hand. “It’s just with all this COVID business, the team’s in quarantine up in Queensland for the finals. We can get you up there, but the club officials are insisting you’ll have to stay in isolation for fourte...

It took her forever to find him, the backpacker’s day off with the poppies. His American accent grated her father, as too his artistic soul and retro flare.   Strutting into his picnic, she let him woo her with all that wasn’t Tasmanian. Big eyes, attentive smiles, and tendrils of copper tucked behind her ear.   His kiss stole her breath, his fingers her shirt. Jeans down, skirt up, she rode him bare, cradled in his world...

“Bye,” I whispered through the crack of the door just before it clicked shut.   I threw the hotel latch and strode back into my room. What the hell was his name? Matt. Mike! Mark?   Whatever. I shrugged to myself. Means to an end.   Leaning over the suitcase rack, I rummaged through my overnight bag for my vibrator. My reflection grinned back at me from the full-length mirror when my hand gripped its Sturdy shaft. I was q...

The fifty-two-metre fishing trawler loomed high above us, its rust-ravaged hull already succumbing to the relentless invasion of barnacles and other parasitic sea life. Listing forty-odd degrees on its port side, it exposed its belly like a lazy dog hoping for a pat. It was a monolith. I felt tiny in its presence.I chased the slowly ascending trail of bubbles around the leaning prow of the trawler. They were long, diagona...

The warning bell breaks the silence, and my concentration. The soft, supposedly unobtrusive note chills my overheated body to the bone. Only ten seconds left.I’m okay. There’s plenty of time. I just have to block everything out and focus.I can’t block him out though.Knowing he’s watching me makes my body ache. It’s way worse than the burning exertion of my muscles. It chases away the chill. I feel heat prickling my face a...

Spinning on the ball of her black leather flat, she twirls in front of her friend. The hem of her light-green tartan dress fans around her thighs in unison with her dirty-blonde curls. The sudden motion brings them face-to-face and stops them dead in their tracks.Nicky cocks her head, her deep-blue eyes darting left to reinforce the gesture. Grinning wolfishly, her fangs glow white with menace. A breathy chuckle flees the...

Wendy scowled at the screen of her smartphone, the inane smiley-face emoticons fuelling her anger. Her blood boiled. She knew it was a mistake to rely on such a tenuous relationship, but her husband had insisted. The latter part of that thought sent her eyes rolling. Before she could refocus her irritation on him, however, the panic began to set in. She could feel the thump of her heart as her mouth ran dry. Her mind race...

I have never seen anything more orange than an African sunset. On that day, it was more surreal than any other, before or since. It was as if the entire sky seared with the bloodshed it reflected. The sun, however, too ashamed of what it had witnessed, was nowhere to be seen. It left the squalid landscape drenched in an unworldly monochrome. I had no other reason to hold my head up. Finally relieved of my duty to guard th...

The delicious aroma of onion and garlic simmering away in butter filled my nostrils as soon as I opened the door to my apartment. I smiled to myself. I loved it when Lizzy came over unannounced. "Hey, Babe," I called, as I disgorged the contents of my pockets on the side table. "Will!" Lizzy beamed, skipping around the corner from the kitchen and throwing her arms around me. She pressed her body hard up against mine and b...

"Are you hungry?" Katie stretched against me, groaning like a lazy cat. "That's code for, you want dinner.” I flirted, watching her eyes twinkle back at me. "I know female-speak. I pay attention." "Well, if you know 'female-speak', then where's my dinner?" she grinned mischievously, snuggling her naked body tighter against me in the sleeping bag. She looked so unbelievably cute, her big grey eyes sparkling, and her tangle...

"Will, quick! Pull in here," Katie cried, breaking the droning monotony of the off-road tyres on bitumen. I stood on the brakes and heaved my maroon Toyota Prado off the road to the right, bumping slowly onto the dirt track between the gates of a vineyard. The name on the sign seemed vaguely familiar, but all of these boutique wineries did. As we crawled up the long, winding drive, I couldn't see any of the usual signage,...

The steady mechanical chant of the escalators echoed in the cavernous loft, peacefully separated from the hustle and bustle on the other side of the automatic doors. Endless shades of glossy grey soothed my weary eyes as I ascended, leaning heavily against the climbing handrail. I still had ten hours to go on my epic journey home, but at least the comfortable chairs and complimentary alcohol of the premium lounge offered...

That gentle little knock at my bedroom door always made me smile. I watched the handle turn, and then waited for Scarlett to poke her head through. It was a pretty regular occurrence whenever she spent the night over at our place. As much as I loved my little sister, she wasn’t a morning person, and her bubbly best friend would often leave her alone in her room to sleep in for a couple of hours while she hung out with me...