When Jane told Frank her plan to leave some clothes at his place so she wouldn’t have to jump out of bed at “0-dark-thirty” to run home and dress for work, he was delighted. He saw it as one step nearer to his goal of monopolizing her. He gave her his spare house key and shopped for her favorite breakfast cereal. He vividly remembered their romantic days in Jamaica with no schedules. They were free to loll around in bed i...

My workday was hard. I could not concentrate. My brain was struggling with my infidelity and what I was going to do about it. It was a double-edged sword. My body craved James, and my heart and mind were devoted to Terrance. I knew I could not have it both ways. I had been lucky not to have been discovered so far. I knew I had to end things with James Tonight. Terrance and the boys are closing a deal today that would put...

It was a letter that upended my world. Not one of the “Dear John” variety; that would have been less painful. Nor was it a “We Regret To Inform,” but the sense of loss, while not as acute, was even more all-encompassing. No, it wasn’t a letter of the paper-and-ink kind at all. Instead, it was one of the many small sigils that make up those and many other missives, the second of the twenty-six characters that comprise the...

I woke up at seven am, Ashley was still asleep next to me, but my first thoughts were of Sarah. Was she okay? I carefully extracted myself from Ashley’s arms and slipped on my boxers, followed by my shirt; then picked up the rest of my items. I felt tired. Sleep was still calling me, but I wanted my Sarah. I needed to check on her and reassure myself that we had done the right thing. Even ponder what happened last night....

“I am the guy who was fucking your daughter in Majorca,” went through my mind as I picked up the phone to call Clare. I was nervous as I did not want to have to speak to her mum or dad and then explain who I was; that would be a little awkward! We had landed on schedule and by the time I drove home, it was just past one in the afternoon. I planned to phone Clare around one thirty as that was the time I had hinted to her t...

I wish the tide would lift me up And carry me far away, Further from the things of man Than those who wish to stay.Drifting slowly from the shore Far out into the sea. No more broken promises, Now just the waves and me.No more pain and sorrow, No more footprints in the sand To fade away on the ebbing tide And leave my pain on land.Just a hollow vessel now, Floating forlorn on the deep. Salty brine upon my cheeks Like the ...

It was Friday night, a few weeks after I had comprehensively fingered my stepdaughter, Hannah, that extraordinary evening in the hot tub. I had arrived home from work unexpectedly early; my meeting in London having ended sooner than usual and I had been able to catch an earlier train. Haunted by guilt and the fear of exposure, I had been avoiding both my stepdaughter and the tub ever since that night. Unnervingly, Hannah...

Hannah was twelve when her mother Debbie and I first got together and only two years older when we were married. Her parents had divorced when she was only three and her ‘real’ father now lived in Toronto with his new wife and a gaggle of younger British-Canadian kids. Hannah hadn’t seen him in years. The last time she had gone to stay she had felt so awkward with his new wife clearly resenting her presence in the house....

A cheap liquor store like a dozen others in the West Village. Except as I pushed the door open, a small hand reached out and pulled me back onto the sidewalk. "Will you buy me a bottle of Grey Goose?" she asked. "I'll pay you." She was sixteen or seventeen with the kind of ripe, nubile beauty that drives older guys like me wild. "Sorry," I told her and headed for the door. "Please," she begged. "I promised my friends. I'l...