The café was quiet enough that every small sound felt intimate: the hush of waves beyond the open windows, the low hum of classic vibes from hidden speakers, the soft hiss and whirr of the espresso machine. Late-summer light slanted through the windows in thick golden beams, turning the salt air a little hazy and warm. Jane stepped inside, the bell above the door giving a gentle, familiar chime. She had come straight from...

Lynn scanned the crowd at baggage claim, her heart racing. A familiar figure stepped into view, Jack. He looked taller than she remembered, broader, and impossibly calm. Her pulse jumped. Jack spotted her immediately, a grin breaking across his face. He strode over, arms open, and she stepped into them. The hug was brief but electric, and then, without thinking, they kissed. Just a quick press of lips, teasing, testing, b...

Lynn gripped the armrest, staring out the small oval window as clouds scrolled by beneath the plane. The engines hummed steadily, the seat vibrating gently under her. She hated flying, always had, but here she was, thousands of feet in the air, heart racing for reasons that had little to do with turbulence. It wasn’t the plane that made her tense. It was Jack. It had all started innocently enough. After graduation, Jack,...

It was a week before Christmas, and the office decided to participate in a Secret Santa. This is when the train goes off the rails. The day after we drew names, I was greeted with a strange but welcome present on my office desk. In the middle of the desk was a Christmas gift bag with the image of a sexy Mrs. Claus. I looked around to see if someone was watching as I opened the bag, and to my surprise, there was a note and...

The cognac was cheap, the hotel room cheaper, but her laugh was a salve I’d have paid my last dime to hear. It was a low, throaty sound that seemed to vibrate right through the thin wall at my back. I watched her, this vision of impossible grace folded into a rickety chair. A shaft of neon light from the boulevard below cut across her, highlighting the twin mounds of her firm breasts—an advertisement for desire. She ran a...

Bobby loaded his tools into his truck and drove home with all sorts of thoughts bouncing around in his head. He had really liked Mia, but couldn’t get past what she’d done, what she was probably still doing with her mother. It had come as a total shock, far surpassing all other surprises in his relatively recent sexual awakening. He wondered if what he was doing with the others was as bad. Julie was cheating on her husban...

Candace needed a new set of sleepwear and headed to her favorite women's clothing store. Once there, she ran into a new salesman, Rob, and they hit it off with some friendly, flirty banter. It seemed odd to her that there was a male salesperson in the store, but he knew his women's clothes. When he showed her the display and racks of sleepwear, he seemed pretty certain of what would look good on her. It was just that most...

I needed a drink after a full day at the conference. The bar was bustling with energy, the clinking of glasses and low hum of conversation creating a lively atmosphere. As I sat at the counter, nursing my whiskey, a vibrant young woman caught my eye. She was sitting a few stools down, her laughter infectious and her energy contagious. I couldn't help but steal glances at her, appreciating her radiant smile and the way her...

The Foundry squatted between a shuttered auto repair shop and a warehouse whose windows were crosshatched with plywood, the dark brick blackened with the kind of soot Berlin never bothered to wash away. No neon, no name above the door. Just a rusted plaque etched with a warped gear, more graffiti tag than sign. The entrance sat recessed in shadow, guarded by a bouncer with a neck thick as rebar, scanning the street like h...

Manon tilted her head, her lips edged in a matte, mischievous red curving into a smile that hinted at her playfulness , "And your boss, is he single? Asking for a friend," she drawled in a voice that betrayed her interest. I know she's extremely open about that kind of topic, but that sentence seemed to come out of nowhere while I was talking about my job. "Hum... no... well, I don't know," I stammered, my voice dissolvin...