“Play with yourself, Ray.” I whisper the words in your ear, softening my crude request. Blood rushes between my legs. I swell against you. “I want to lick the taste of you off your fingers.” Your giggle fades to a purr. The sound of it makes me harder. I reach over your waist and grab your wrist. I raise it to my mouth and kiss your palm. I slip your finger between my lips, wrap my tongue around it and lick it. I suck one...

San Francisco. 1950. The Post war economy still booms, but not everyone prospers. Heroin has become the drug of choice. Nightclubs and brothels have taken over the city’s opium dens. Like so many other cities across the country, gangs and sex workers claim the streets under cover of the night. The darkened alleys of Chinatown have snuffed another prostitute’s life, making it two this week. Ten hours from now, a third vict...

I toss my phone on the bed and hurry to the door. “Who is it?” “Room service, sir.” Disappointment, then relief. At least everything will be ready when she arrives. “Just a sec.” I unlock the door and welcome a penguin and his cart into my room. He can't be more than seventeen years old. He looks uncomfortable in his hotel-issued tuxedo. He stands silent beside me as I inspect the bounty. A heaping bowl of fresh fruit wit...

Memory is a funny thing. Its discretion defies reason. I laugh when one claims to have forgotten last night’s dinner while serenading me with a spot-on version of Paradise by the Dashboard Light from ’77. I can appreciate those people. I am those people. Certain memories don't have lasting power. Others, however, have the strength to last decades. Sometimes their relevance is obvious. Sometimes we’re left guessing. A sele...