“No peeking!” Kayla admonishes me as I enter her bedroom.

“What, I’m not allowed to see my girlfriend naked?” I tease, smiling as Kayla giggles and tosses a ball of scrunched-up wrapping paper at me.

“I’M not naked,” Kayla retorts.

“D’aww,” I pout, earning another giggle.

“Your presents, on the other hand, are!” Kayla yells as she jumps off her bed and closes the door- though not before giving me a gentle kiss. I giggle as I leave my girlfriend be and return to the living room, though inside, my nerves are jangling for multiple reasons.

Summer Times
A Novelette in a Dickensian Style
By Maryanne Peters

Chapter One

“I have a proposal for you, Mr. Summers,” she said. She appeared to me to be a fine woman, of imperious bearing and with an expensive frock – totally out of place in the gatehouse where we first met that day.

“Ten!” The assembled women shouted, barely making themselves heard over the roar of the nightclub. “Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!”

“Aw, girlies!” Ellie squeaked excitedly as the countdown neared its conclusion.

Patsy Power Part 43

We packed our bags and put them down in the foyer for the morning as it was to be an early start. After a good night’s sleep we were all up for breakfast at first light and, after brushing our teeth, gathered in the foyer with our overnight bags. We had a car to pick us up to go to the airport and, after the normal interminable wait in the departure lounge, we were heading west again.

OTHERS PREFER IT COOL

Will ‘Others Prefer it Cool’, the sixtieth anniversary remake of the classic Billy Wilder crossdressing comedy ‘Some Like It Hot’, be a hit at the cinema?
Will the film’s English producer, Rachel Sixsmith, be able to persuade her toyboy lover to attend the premiere in drag?
And does the film’s male lead, all American action hero Jack Jones, really prefer panties?
Of course the answer is yes to all of those, but do read the story anyway…

Cousins in arms 5(5) The bell rang

Cousins in arms 4(5) The trade

Bart has never allowed Jenny out of the house. She thinks it’s high time to move forward -- but is it really a good idea?

 
Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

Making Beautiful Music

 
Introduction

It's about the oldest continuous memory I've got. Sure, I can remember flashes of stuff like a toy or an animal at the zoo, but this memory is like a movie. I'm standing with my sister in the wings of a stage in a theatre, watching the empty stage as the audience waits for the performance to begin. A spotlight comes on and my parents walk on stage. Dad is in a tux, as an adult I would say he was resplendent in a tux but I was only about six at the time and such words were not in my vocabulary. He was just my father and he was smiling, doing what he loved to do most - make music with my mother.

During the course of the girls’ party with the boys, Greg gets some new insights into his ever-deepening relationship with Tracy.

“Honestly, there were times I thought this day would never come,” Sophie said as she fidgeted nervously in her smart blue pencil dress and matching designer heels. “And I definitely never pictured it being under these circumstances.”

“Well, regardless of the circumstances, you definitely deserve to feel proud,” Amy advised her friend, who smiled in response.

Floria

Chapter 1

Andy knew things weren’t going well for his best friend, but he wasn’t ready for the phone call he received late that night. He was doing a bit of work on his computer, alright, gaming, when his phone buzzed. He didn’t think the spammers would be calling at 1:00 AM, but you never could tell.

It wasn’t spam, it was his high school buddy, Benny (Beniamino) Fiorito. “Hey Benny, what’s up? Isn’t it a bit late to be calling?”

Lyle, or Lindsey to his close friends and special acquaintances, was retired and celebrating his 50th birthday with lunch with two long time friends. It was a fairly low key gathering at the rustic Mount Baldy Buckhorn Lodge & Café in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains. The Lodge held many memories for their group because of the many special occasions held there.

Hey You!

I arrived in Birmingham, Alabama, a little after 11:30 PM and checked into a motel along the highway. The attendant was cold and bitter—almost hesitant to rent a room to me until I flashed one of several cards. I almost told him to just keep the card as I really didn’t care at that moment. He gave my card back to me along with a room key and I left the office.

I let out a long, tired sigh and elegantly lower myself onto the front passenger seat of dad’s car, straightening my short grey skirt and thick black tights before fastening my seatbelt.

“Oh, cheer up,” dad urges with a teasing grin. “Could be worse, it could be Monday!”

“It IS Monday,” Bryony reminds us from her seat directly behind me.

“Oh yeah,” dad chuckles. “Well- just cheer up, then. Especially you, Ash- just a few more months then you’ll finally be free!”

What followed that conversation was a flurry of discussion about what colors meant. What different tones meant. What names had meant. What were colors anyway? I was so confused.

“Calm down, dude. To some women, this is a science. For some women, everything sets the tone with the toes. You get dressed from toe to head, so it makes sense to really put a lot of thought into toe color.

“Look, to me it makes no difference so I don’t care. Just pick a color and go with it. The bath water is starting to go cold anyway.”