"Come on, Tom, you're gonna love it," Maria said, her voice filled with excitement as she pulled me into the crowded party. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my spine. I had always been shy around girls, especially one as stunning as her. Her dark hair cascaded down her back, and her eyes sparkled with a mischief that made me both nervous and intrigued. Maria had been my crush since freshman year, but she had never shown a...

The weekend of Diana’s visit was a resounding success. Sunday was spent with more sightseeing, this time with the kids in tow as they started at Zoo Tampa. Both Lee and Diana were very fond of animals and often visited the local zoo wherever they traveled. A late lunch was also kid-oriented as they went for the all-American meal of hamburger, french fries, and Cokes, though at an upscale restaurant. Seeing her Dad with Ci...

The neon lights outside "Sitters" flickered to life as the sun dipped below the skyline, casting a soft glow through the dusty windows. Inside, the bar was already filling up with the evening's clientele, a mix of the powerful and the desperate. Lisa, a woman in her prime with fiery red hair that cascaded down her shoulders like a liquid flame, sailed through the door with the confidence of a queen entering her castle. Sh...

“Hi, Dad! It’s good to hear your voice!” Jack’s daughter Diana said when she answered the phone. “How are you, Princess?” he asked, using the term of endearment his wife had insisted on for their baby girl named after the British Royal. “I’m good. Very busy, but good! You?” “Never better!” he replied, surprising her with his positive response. “Yes, it sounds like it! “And how’s Lee?” “She’s good too. We have an anniversa...

The weekend was torture for them both, unable to communicate without the risk of discovery. Each thought of trying a text but not knowing how much attention a spouse paid to the dings and dongs of each other’s phones, they didn’t risk it. Alicia finally got smart and set a different alarm tone for Nathan’s texts and would instruct him to do the same when they inevitably talked on Monday. Meeting in the same parking lot as...

Half expecting her to call or stop by to apologize, Jack worried more that Haley seemed irrational about it. She didn’t give him half a chance to explain what happened or assure her of his love. He knew that her husband had betrayed her repeatedly and left her as he didn’t want to be tied down to one woman and children. That helped him understand why she felt the way she did, but he hadn’t behaved anything like her ex. He...

Alicia caught up to Nathan in the parking lot of their children’s elementary school. “Good evening, Mr. Chairman!” she greeted him with a laugh. “Will you stop calling me that?” he replied good-naturedly. “I only do it because I get a rise out of you!” she replied, wishing for months now that she’d get a different sort of ‘rise’ out of him. “Not much on the agenda tonight, is there?” “No, there isn’t,” he said, sounding d...

‘Another day in paradise,’ Dakota thought using the familiar meme. She wasn’t complaining as this gig was easy compared to being an actual sheriff’s deputy. She’d done that for five years and seen more than she’d ever expected when that occupation had seemed exciting, but the sheer amount of crime and audacity of the criminals started weighing on her from the outset. The final straw was seeing a colleague killed in the li...

Heather looked out her kitchen window to see Max working in his yard. She smiled, having not seen him in almost two weeks since the ambush she’d planned with Kara. As they’d been seeing each other often twice a week while her husband was traveling, she worried that perhaps he’d lost interest after she’d set him up for a trip across Kara’s knee. An idea came to mind, and she quickly went to change clothes. Minutes later, s...