Some years ago, my wife Susan and I split up for a while. I was left at home with a teenage daughter who was reacting to the split-up with a vigour that frustrated me to no end. My wife moved in with a female friend of ours and basically stayed out of our lives. I was busy working, taking care of the house and spending time hanging out at our local on the weekends. Sometimes I would use the time for some sexual adventures...

When I turned forty, I created an album of twenty-four nude photos of myself. I took these in secret at home on 35mm film using an SLR with a telephoto lens. I didn't have a tripod, so I balanced the camera on a chair or a stack of books for low-angle shots. I would decide on a pose, then set up the shot, trying to focus on something near where I would be, and taking my best guess at framing the shot. Then I would activat...

It was a cool and cloudy day in SoCal with a high chance of hard rain late in the afternoon. My wife was out of town for a couple of days. At around 3:15 PM, I was sitting at my desk, just finishing work for the day, when the doorbell rang. As I opened the door, I saw a good-looking female in her mid-20s dressed in a knee-length skirt and blouse. "Hi, what can I do for you?" I asked. "Hi, first, are you Janie's dad?" "Yes...

Chapter 1 – Justin Goes to Colorado This year has already been challenging, and it’s only halfway through. In February, my dad, Colin Harrison, my uncle Clay Travis, and my cousin Renee Travis died in a tragic traffic accident while returning from a ski trip in Breckenridge, Colorado. My mother Michelle, my sister Ashley, and I gathered in Lyons with Aunt Brenda for the funeral services to bury my uncle and cousin. Mom, A...

CHAPTER 7: The Studio Luca’s studio was on the second floor. Luca walked in, and Naamah followed. Two tables occupied the corner. Two large monitors stood next to each other on the tables. A laptop computer rested in a well in one of them. “Four terabytes,” said Luca proudly, describing the computer. There were separate boxes for pencils, pens, and markers. A three-drawer file cabinet sat in a corner. A set of shelves hel...

Daniel stood in front of his bathroom mirror after brushing his teeth. He had soft features, and he brushed his messy black hair to the side, as he usually did. His eyes matched his hair. He put on his black-framed glasses and stretched. He wore a plain black shirt and loose black house pants. He had a slender, androgynous frame and stood five feet tall. He changed into black cargo pants and a black shirt, since black was...

Ellen lay in bed, scrolling Facebook while Michael hummed in the shower. Beverly's post snagged on something dormant inside her: "Living my best ethically non-monogamous life." The words fanned a low, slow-burning ember in her belly. By the time Michael stepped out, Ellen was flushed with a familiar ache, a fantasy she'd long kept buried. She fucked him with a hunger that felt both new and ancient, a truth she wasn't read...

The building's mostly empty. Sam still checks the door twice. No more waiting. Ava's desk. Her lanyard knocked off the keyboard when he pushed her back against the edge. The same edge she grips every day to answer emails and not think about him. Today, she thought of nothing else. His hand under her skirt before he says hello. She's already wet. He makes a low sound. Almost a laugh. She grabs his belt. Drags him in. Been...

This really lucky incident happened only this week, and it is absolutely true. The bungalow directly across from our property was occupied by new neighbours last month. I eventually had the opportunity to introduce myself after about a week of coming and going and shifting her belongings. As it turned out, she was a thirty-year-old single mother of three small children under ten. This was one of the few residences she cou...