**Teri** Welcome to another misty noon in Moose Bridge Harbor - the Bridge, as locals say - where the air looks as if it's been jetted from a vaporizer and even a flying volleyball seems to gather dewdrops. Blame the sleep-sucking heatwave back home in the Hudson Valley that's frying car seats (and the screaming thighs that weld to them) for the sixth day in a row. Even from Portland to Presque Isle, it's reported that si...

It was the first time I laid eyes on her. It was in a pub and I was sitting on a high chair at a table drinking a pint of beer and waiting for my food.  I first saw her at 1:45 pm in the afternoon and the pub was about half full. She wore a yellow dress, covered in red rose petals and leaves that sprouted in all sorts of directions. An elasticated section covered the area of her breasts and there was no sign of a tell-tal...

If you see a woman in the corner of a bar – coyly sitting atop a bar stool – watch her carefully. That’s what I did, and I must say, the rewards were awesome. I first clocked her while sitting on a table at the opposite end of the bar. The bar isn’t that big actually, but when I sat there I was surrounded by friends and colleagues. They left a little over ten minutes ago and the only human in my line of sight was her. She...

Tom Harding stood outside enjoying the cool evening air. Inside the hotel function room the air was stifling but with two hundred wedding guests it wasn’t any wonder. Suddenly he heard a female voice behind him. He smiled. He recognised her from among the guests. “Nice and cool out here isn’t it?” He nodded. “It’s quite hot in there wearing this outfit.” She smiled. “You quite suit a kilt,” she said referring to the Royal...

I was sixteen when I lost my dad. It left me angry at the world and with a chip the size of Texas on my shoulder. He was my world, my best friend. He put me on my first bike when I was just knee-high to a grasshopper. He would take me around the yard as I sat on the gas tank doing wheelies until I would laugh and mom would yell. I couldn’t believe he was really gone. I knew mom needed help, so I walked to Johnson’s Auto S...

Peen was people watching. He nodded companionably at each person that passed by. It was nice and pleasant here in the mall. He had seen several groups of old folks working their arms and legs as they pounded out a mile or two around the circuit of the shopping center. He pretty much ignored them with a quirky smile. But the gaggles of girls were more fun to see as they giggled down the arcades and past the tempting shop w...

Peen was in the day room watching television. He laughed at the antics of The Three Stooges. It was in the early afternoon and there were not a lot of other men around. Most people were on duty at this time. He was on sick leave because of a twisted ankle. The doc had given him a chit to get out of duty that morning at sick call. He popped some salted Spanish peanuts into his mouth and followed that with a sip of Dr Peppe...

I circle the room, seeking out prey from behind my mask. I used to dread these charity balls until I realised wearing a mask allowed me to behave in ways I’d never imagine if they knew who I was. The married mother of three children was hidden deep behind the predatory wolf mask tonight. “Would you like another drink, Ma’am?” I turn my head to appraise the waitress. Cute, young, brunette, dressed in white shirt and black...

How fucking stupid is this? In two more stops, I will be getting off the number forty-two bus on the way into town. It passes by some old arches, close to the river that winds its way through an industrial site. Numerous alleyways connect the river to the main road. Few are lit. It’s also dark and extremely fucking cold, even for six o’clock on this January evening. I’m not even dressed for gallivanting in this part of to...

Chapter 2: Our Whirlwind Affair About two months into the relationship, Lisa and I started to become serious.  I didn’t know how serious until she asked me to meet her family.  My family lived a thousand miles away so the logistics were a little tough on my end, but her family was still in the area except for her youngest sister, Erin who was at college in California. Every year when she went back to Ohio, her Dad planned...