“Honey, it’s time.” I’m sunken so fast into the screen in front of me that I barely hear her. At the back of my mind is a reminder that this is important, that she has something to impart to me. My eye picks her up, a flicker of movement at the corner of my vision. I tell her that I can turn my attention to her in just a moment. A glance was all she needed, and now she has me. I see a mosaic of little details—the skin of...

The sky was clear, the sun shone, and Bertie was standing back in the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend. He rolled his neck as he stepped through the door – the heavy snow had forced him into staying at his mother’s house for the last two days, and her guest bed was far more rigid than the mattress he was used to. While he appreciated having a place close to work where he could stay, he was far happier getting...

Rachel whistled. The volume of the snow outside her apartment window had doubled since the last time she’d looked out, less than a half hour ago. The sounds from other tenants spinning their wheels in the parking lot was becoming irritatingly familiar, and had already interrupted her phone call twice. “So,” she asked playfully, “What are you wearing?” “Right now, my work uniform… and in a minute I’m going to add a parka a...

He rubbed his eyes. From the distant kitchen, he could read the glow from the clock on the stove – 3:25 AM. Soon, he’d have to be up and active anyhow to make the drive to work. Soon – but not now. He debated crawling back into bed, but Rachel had only drifted off to sleep a few moments ago, and it wouldn’t be worth the effort if he managed to doze off at the cost of waking her. He shook himself, still dribbling uselessly...

Rachel had found herself in the dark, praying for illumination as to what could possibly be wrong with him. Bertie had been withdrawn for the last week, quieter even than usual, and while her boyfriend was a classic introvert at the best of times, he also didn’t tend to hide his feelings from her. Rachel took pride in that aspect of her relationship, there were few secrets that Bertie had tried to keep that she hadn’t ded...

Her name was Sophie, and she’d worked in the restaurant for as long as Bertie had been around. She’d worked as a table greeter and a waitress, and had even put in shifts cleaning dishes when the job had demanded it, working her way up the chain of command for the last ten years. Now, at twenty-seven, she was a fixture of the dining room, with her own regulars and even some smitten customers. Sometimes he wondered, in a di...

She had spent most of Saturday afternoon picking the perfect outfit. She’d started one of her old band t-shirts as a base, but had trimmed off the sleeves and cut strips into the shoulders, which she had then braided and accented with wooden beads. The black corset did a beautiful job of showing off the curves of her bust and hips, even if it wasn’t one of the more striking pieces she owned. The studded choker was a Valen...

“Rachel, we’re going to be late.” He spoke as evenly as he could, but Rachel could still sense the tension in his voice even with her eyes glued to the screen. Bertie could be such a stickler for punctuality. He stood in front of the door to their apartment, swaying slightly in his shoes. “I’m going to be another minute,” she responded, her focus still confined to the laptop in front of her. Unlike her boyfriend, Rachel w...

There was no doubt about it, they were an odd couple and had been right from the beginning of their courtship. Bertie had a degree, worked as a restaurant manager, and spoke with the tone and elocution of a university lecturer. Rachel worked part-time as a DJ, had never gone to college, and seldom got out of bed before noon. Those who speculated about their relationship supposed that Bertie’s attraction to his petite, you...

Dear God, it was good to be home! Rachel looped her purse around the doorknob as it swung closed, and stepped gaily into the kitchen of her single-bedroom apartment. This night’s gig had been a slog – a nearly empty bar, and those that had stayed through the night had only done so to try to cop a feel of her ass as she tore down. Sometimes she thought she hated her job. If it wasn’t the drunks or the frequent, pounding he...