Traffic crawled to a standstill as the sun sank lower in the sky. Inside his recently purchased, but slightly used, Honda Civic, Jacob sat mumbling expletives under his breath. The sea of brake lights seemed to stretch on forever in front of him with no end in sight. Letting out a yawn, Jacob toyed with the buttons on the radio and pondered the choices in life he had recently made. Why did I ever take this stupid job in t...

"Strike two!" shouted the umpire as he watched the pitch fly into the catcher's mitt, just inside of the strike zone. In the dugout, Jason nodded in approval as he glanced down to mark the count in his coach's book. Fresh out of his last semester of college, Jason was back home attempting to start his adult life. Graduating wasn't the only hurdle he had to jump. His mind was spinning, applying for jobs here and jobs there...

The apartment was swelteringly hot. It felt more like an oven with the stagnant air and the voyeuristic sunlight glaring into the living room through the crevices of the vertical blinds and the sheer curtain over them. Otherwise, the room was completely dark and every fan we owned was turned toward the couch bed where my roommate Sergei was sprawled out with no shirt or pants on and a sheet over his lap. He had one hand h...

I watched in horror as my two older brothers brawled in the front yard, drunkenly swearing and throwing punches at each other. My father, only slightly less drunk, stood on the porch behind me and bellowed at them to knock it off. Whirling around, I glared at Dad. "It's almost two in the morning! You have to do something." Dad merely rolled his eyes. "What got them started this time?" I didn't bother explaining that one o...

“What do you mean canceled?” Dave was putting away his credit card and ID when Sam's words cut across the bustle of the lobby. “Can I help?” He stepped across to the check in desk where Andy and Sam were in deep discussion. Obviously something was not going to plan. "I'm sorry, Ma'am." The agent pursed her lips. “This reservation was canceled weeks ago over the phone; we sent you a confirmation email." "Nonsense," replied...

This far north, the sky doesn’t fully darken in summer. Aquamarine edges circle an indigo zenith, the inkiness punctured by stars. My breath fogs on the window and I swipe absently to clear it again. The house sits dark and quiet around me. The baby sleeps, for now. I cup my tender breasts and smile. She should be down for the night now after her recent nursing. Her eyes were watchful on mine as she fed. I could gaze at h...

My eyes burned painfully from the lack of sleep. It had been a long shift, responding call after call with no rest. I was exhausted, hungry, and downright filthy. My body ached to where I just wanted to sit down and never get back up. I drifted off as our rig pulled back into the station. Two house fires, several medical calls and a bunch of false alarms made up my twenty-four-hour shift. Pleasant thoughts of my next four...

The temperature in the shop continued to rise with the mid-morning sun. Ryan had been watching the clock tick, second by second, for the last half hour, begging for his workday to be over with. Stacking heavy bricks painstakingly on each pallet sent his way. The sweat poured off of his body, soaking his jeans and making his t shirt stick to his body. His shaggy brown hair matted back in his drenched ball cap. Covered in d...

“Little Beckett, are you trying to hide under there? You’re not doing a very good job.” “Fuck, Babe, how many times…” “Shush!” Gabby snapped, slapping the sheet where her boyfriend’s morning wood twitched underneath. He didn’t flinch much. “I wasn’t talking to you, Big Beckett,” she said, dragging a long nail along its striking length to tuck the sheet in around it. “I was saying good morning to Little Beckett. Hello, Lov...

"And this," Peyton said to me, "is the Ring Nebula. Have a look, Gloria." I moved closer to peer through the eyepiece of his eight-inch Dobsonian telescope. "Oh, wow, I see it! It looks just like a smoke ring!" I could hear the smile in Peyton's voice as he said, "That's M57." "M57?" I continued studying the nebula, marveling at the fact that I could so clearly see a celestial object that was such a vast distance away. "T...

I ran into Wes at the supermarket, of all places. My mom had asked me to pick up a few things for a new recipe she wanted to try, and I was heading toward the spices when I spotted him in the produce section. Wearing a huge smile, I rushed over to his side. His face lit up when he saw me. "Lena! It's so good to see you!" He gave me a hug, and I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around him. "It's great to see you, too!" I'd...

The sun was starting to set, but the heat of summer still seared into my skin as I lay by the pool. I had started off in a bikini, but knowing that the fence was too high for nosy neighbours and wanting an even tan, I had; at one point or another in this sleepy afternoon; removed the top. My breasts rose and fell as I breathed deeply. Suddenly, the first cool breeze of the day rolled across my body, turning my exposed nip...

Justine left it a day. She didn't want to appear too eager or desperate. Also, it would give Corey a little time to readjust time zones, though he'd only been to the other side of the country. The day itself was torment. So many warring emotions. How would she pose for him? Would he expect professionalism or provocativeness? Would she strip from the outset or tease him? Did she want to pose completely naked for him? So ma...

Justine flicked her blonde tresses aside and wedged the phone between her cheek and shoulder. “I can meet you in a bit. Like, half ten? Mom reminded me to water Mr. Turner's plants early.” She scrabbled in her cutoffs for the key and lined it up with the back door lock, laughing. “Yeah yeah, that hot guy to our left.” She swung the door and stepped through into the kitchen, the most striking feature being it was so clean...