The night started like a day didn’t lead into it. I’m just in the middle of it, sweating like crazy in an apartment too small for the five of us. Me, Jet, Veloria, Felix and her. No. She isn’t here. It’s just the four of us, but still too cramped and hot. I keep opening the fridge door, hoping the cold air will do something other than run up an electric bill that I already can’t afford. Veloria’s doing her eyeliner, paint...

I was back to staring at my watch again. Twelve minutes had passed since the last time I checked. I looked down at my phone. The agency sent me a text earlier in the day, confirming all of the details. Then an hour ago, she called and told me she was on her way. That was the first time I’d heard her voice. She said she’d be here by 9. It was 8:37. I was still sweating, and I’d already showered twice. Once before I left ho...

“I should go,” Antoine said. “I didn’t know. I’m intruding.” “It’s fine, really,” Veronique assured him. “Parle-t-il français?” He was asking her if I spoke French. “Oui, un peu.” She told him I spoke a little. “Ah, ok.” It was obvious he had more to say, but didn’t want to say it in front of me. That led to an awkward silence. “Grey, maybe you could give us a few minutes?” “Sure.” “We’ll need some wine. There’s a dépanne...

A few days went by before I heard from Veronique. It’s important to remember that smartphones and data plans didn’t exist yet. Text messages used to cost 20 cents each, and you couldn’t send someone a picture on their phone. There was no wifi calling either, and long-distance fees on a cell phone were an arm and a leg. I remember months where my phone bill was $400, and that was in back-then money. So the fact that I hadn...

It was a short drive between the restaurant and my place, but a quiet one. I think Veronique still doubted me, but she was too curious to walk away. For my part, I was still trying to figure out what I was going to tell her. I didn’t even know where to start. She’d already told me that dinner was my last chance to explain myself. Agreeing to come back to my place felt like a small extension of that. I knew this was it. I...

It was three weeks before I saw Veronique again, and I was miserable every day. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was more than just the sex. It was the feeling I got from being able to connect with someone again. And not just someone. Her. She met a version of me that was a fumbling idiot, but was patient and willing to look past it all. A woman like Veronique didn’t have to do that. But she saw something in me that...

I wasted about a year of my life after my second long-term cuckolding relationship came to an end. I was more lost than heartbroken. What started off as a decision to take some time for myself ended up being months of complete social withdrawal. I got a shitty job working midnight shifts at a Purolator sorting warehouse, slept the days away, and over time saw less and less of my friends in the evenings. I don’t think I wa...

“Not so fast,” she said, putting her hand on my chest, not to push me away but to slow me down. We’d been together for weeks. I thought it was time. She didn’t. “It’s not about time,” she reminded me. “It’s about timing. You knew that from the start.” I sighed and took a step back. “I’m sorry. It’s just…” “We’ll know when it’s right. I promise.” I met Monica at a party my friend threw. His girlfriend Sam set us up, but sh...

I’ve told a version of this story before, about five or six years ago in a series that I ended up having to take down. I’d been a little careless with some people’s privacy, and it caused problems for them in real life. Since then, I’ve focused on fictional stories that have been more stylized, but a few people have reached out and asked if I’d ever return to my confessional style of writing. I’ve thought about it a lot,...

My financial advisor, Lauren, dragged me to an art show in some unmarked Brooklyn warehouse. It was one of those places that’s supposed to be a secret, but somehow always ends up overcrowded. She’d been telling me for months that the markets were unstable and it was the right time to have some money invested in tangible assets. That made sense, but I still wasn’t sure why I had to be there. It’s not like I knew anything a...

They tell you in flight school that if your plane goes down, you should stick close to it. Between the distress call, the homing beacon, and the way it reflects the sun that can be easily spotted, it’s the safest place to be. That is, unless your cargo is five million dollars worth of heroin and your Cessna just took a nose-dive into the Sahara… in a country that executes traffickers. I didn’t have time to waste. Once I g...

I wasn’t crazy about the idea when Jack first ran it past me. I was even less thrilled knowing that she was due to arrive any minute. He told me his daughter Kayla had been a little bit aimless since graduating high school. She passed on college and for the last few years had been trying to become a social media influencer, like everyone else her age who thinks that’s a real job. Jack and his wife had enough of her loafin...

I didn’t know much about women like Stella, just that you didn’t meet them by chance. Women who looked like Ava Gardner didn’t wander into a place like mine unless they were looking for something. Or hiding from someone. In her case, it was both. She took a seat in the corner booth, tucked away where she wouldn’t be noticed but still had a clean look at the room. She sat there for a few minutes expecting to be served befo...

A low mist crept along the ground as the first of the orc raiders breached the wooden gate protecting the settlement. They approached in waves, one after the other, snarling, weapons raised, trampling over garden plots and knocking aside anything that didn’t bleed as they advance. The village of Brogwyne was quiet no longer, now filled with the din of the invading horde. At the center of the town square, four figures stoo...

Detective Mallory looked out across Lake Muskoka, wondering how far away the opposite bank might be. The morning fog hadn’t lifted yet. It sat low over the water, making it hard for him to see the work the recovery team was doing, no more than fifty metres away. Normally, he’d have a coffee in his hand at this hour, but nothing was open when he drove through the nearby cottage town. He’d somehow managed to find the only p...