It’s fun to look back at innocent times, especially those during our carefree school days. This was an incident that caught me by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. Now that eight years have passed, and I have a good job with a successful company, it’s easier to talk about. My name is Emma Walker, twenty-one years old at the time. Jenny and I had been dorm mates since our freshman year at Midville Valley in northern Indi...

So, here we were on a commercial airliner headed to an exotic tropical island. Mike had paid for the tickets, looking forward to a week of adventure. And why not? To prevent the sales reports that I had mishandled from being discovered by corporate headquarters, I had promised to do whatever he wanted for the entire trip. And I was still vague about what he wanted, and uncomfortable with the way he kept smiling at me. But...

Will “Come in,” Lucy called. I pushed the door open, and crinkled my nose from the stale air. How mad would my roommate get if I were to pop her bedroom’s window open? She sat hunched at her desk, eyes fixed on the massive screen while the LEDs of her PC tower played over her face. Her cat-eared headset had seen better days. I leaned in against the doorframe. Judging by how ratty her hair looked, she’d rolled straight fro...

Sometimes we need to be careful about discussing our fantasies. My friend Stan was a graduate student at USC studying psychology. We played on the same soccer club and often shared stories. He approached me on a Wednesday night at The Blue Duckling, our local bar. “Jenny, I’m working on my thesis and need your help,” he said. “Sure, Stan. What is it?” I asked, drinking the beer but barely touching my salad. “I’m asking pe...

I dreamed of Natalia intermittently through the night. Her nude body next to me felt smooth and warm. Vaguely, as dreams go, we fucked and fucked, and I felt glowing emotions and affection at how eagerly she accepted me. In the dream, I continued to feel an incredible freedom with her. Something about her and her way of receiving me opened me up to let my aggressive, primal hungers have their way. Dreams can be strange wi...

“That’s it. You lost the bet!” Jessie declared. “Now you owe us a dare.” It was true. We sat in the campus tavern as the game ended. My beloved Chicago Bears had been defeated 27-24 by those rascally Detroit Lions. Most fans in the bar were as unhappy as I was, though they hadn’t made such a stupid wager. “Don’t forget, you were warned,” Billie Hammer said, pointing at me with her smirking grin. The long-haired blonde had...

I was stuck in a dead-end job, no money, and not even a boyfriend. For the second time in three months, I wasn’t able to pay rent when it was due. “You’re in a rut,” my old school chum Julie Cummings said as we sat at the kitchen table. It was a nice condo overlooking a country club golf course. Three bedrooms, three baths, and conveniently located near the city. More than I could afford. “Have you considered a new exhibi...

“This weekend is going to be so much fun,” Janet said as we parked in front of a two-story beach house in North Bay. It was a nice spring morning with a blue sky, miles from civilization. “How did you get such a great place?” I asked, for all of the homes on this stretch of coastline were very exclusive. “My cousin works for a real estate company,” Janet explained. “This house has been on the market since last winter. The...

The five young businesswomen entered Saul’s Bistro just before noon. Ranging from their early-20s to mid-30s, they were casually dressed for the summer weather. Four were excited about their regularly scheduled gathering. One was hesitant but resigned to fulfill her obligations. “Okay, here we are,” Tricia said, being the leader. “Once again, we meet for our monthly Friday Dare Club. As a reminder, this confidence-buildin...

Jennie thought she should never have taken the dare, but Melinda and Holly had done dares at the lake. If she wanted to keep these new friends, she needed to be a good sport. “What do you want me to do?” Jennie asked. They were in the forest, a hundred yards down from the lake. It had been a warm summer day of hiking and swimming. When it was decided to make the trek back down the mountain to the riverside campgrounds, Ho...