It was the start of summer vacation, I was eighteen and had just graduated high school. In August I would be starting college at the University of Miami and studying medicine, like my dad. Dad was a doctor specializing in cardiology, so there was a decent amount of money in the family. Nearly every year since I could remember mom, dad, my sister Alanna and I would always take a family summer holiday together. This year we...

Dan’s secretary was delighted to accept her new vice president’s date request. She remembered how nice he was to ask last year when she was down about her failed marriage; returning the gesture was the least she could do. She remembered having a great end to the evening in her bedroom with him last year. I could get used to a once a year do the boss tradition. Dan had been very cautious about presuming anything more than...

Chapter Seventeen - Holidays The compressed schedule in autumn always included family responsibilities. Each year Dan and Laura flew home to spend Thanksgiving dinner with one family, and the Saturday following with the other. Thanksgiving with parents and relatives allowed them to have the Christmas and New Year’s holidays for themselves. Both left out details when answering the perfunctory what’s new in your life questi...

Drops of water collected around my glass, which had become steamed up with condensation. I took a sip of the ice cold beverage, enjoying the refreshing taste of the aniseed and citrus zing of my Ouzo and lemonade. "Ha! This one's ironic!" I joked to my friend Steph, slamming the magazine I was reading down on the table. "Three letter word for warm. Real tough one that!" I shook my head at the crossword I’d been working on...

FridayKatieThe Lufthansa 737 hurtled down London Gatwick's north easterly runway, its two turbofan engines effortlessly propelling it off the tarmac and into the bright blue winter sky. Once airborne, it slowly banked to the right, pointing its nose out over the North Sea towards the Low Countries and our eventual destination of Munich, which lay just ninety minutes away down the Rhine Valley.My forthcoming weekend in Ger...

We walked back to the hotel, fuelled by giggles and wine. We had left ourselves very little time, so I had no opportunity to preen myself or change into more glamorous and sexy clothes. Comfortable underwear, jeans and a sweater had seemed a natural choice to go out given the cold and damp night air, but now they felt wholly inappropriate. Anna assured me that I was over thinking the whole thing. “I only care about the pe...

'I have no idea what to call you,' Anna said. Her voice, soft and gentle, washed over me like a warm breeze. 'Mrs. De Carlo seems a bit formal now ...' 'Now that you came on my face?' I suggested. Anna laughed. 'I was going to say now that we are lovers, but okay, now that I came on your beautiful face.' I blushed. 'It's Katherine,' I said, 'but my good friends call me Kat.' 'And do you consider me a good friend?' 'I am b...

Thursday started overcast and remarkably cool. I was happy to wrap up in jeans and my cardigan. I confess that I had slept remarkably well and despite the change in the weather, I started the day feeling refreshed and remarkably alive. Somehow I knew this was going to be a very good day. I was so glad that Tom had fallen asleep when I arrived back to the room. I had been convinced that he would know what I had been doing...

Looking back, it is easy to see how that holiday was going to change me; the stresses, the frustrations, the triggers and the opportunities were all there. It was like the planets aligning for some spectacular solar eclipse. But of course, all things are easy to see with hindsight. The holiday was Tom's idea. He had to be in Sorrento for work but, being a pragmatist, he suggested that as I had more free time and we had fe...

Dashing down the hallClothes flying at the bayO'er the bed I fallScreaming all the wayYells echoing do ringMaking spirits brightWhat fun it is to scream and singA cumming song tonightOh, Tingle yells, tingle yellsTingling all the wayOh, what fun it is to rideA Hitachi all the wayTingle yells, tingle yellsTingling all the wayOh, what fun it is to rideA Hitachi all the wayA day or two agoI thought I'd take a rideThe burned...

“You’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up!” My dad yelled at me just as I was straightening the last bit of hair. Glancing at the time I realized he was right. Shit! I set the hair straightener down and ran back to my bedroom to throw on my favourite pair of jeans and the new top I got over the weekend. I slipped on my socks, grabbed my purse and headed to the front door to put on my ankle boots, scarf and coat. Livi...

As you open the door you feel the warmth cling to your skin. You leave the safety of your air conditioned room behind and close the door. Making your way through the hallway towards the elevator you come across a man going the opposite way. Passing each other you hear his cadence change and suddenly become more aware, as if he’s looking back, staring at your behind. “Maybe I should’ve wrapped the towel around me,” you say...

We are the ones that will make this day real (and the morning sun is beautiful now) We are the two that (as one) will grow insane Because love is mad and always true We are the ones that will call the breeze to tighten our minds And dry our eyes, and whiten our skin with the salt of the sea We are the ones that will never know That tomorrow is lonely and impossibly far.There is no time like the present To lounge upon a co...