Monday, February 27, 2017

TUESDAY TALES. - Word prompt "Air" - "Reunited" continues #romance




Welcome. This week's word prompt is "air". I continue with the story, "Reunited". I hope you're enjoying it. Scroll down for the link to return to Tuesday Tales and my website.

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“As I was saying, it’s a program about bringing people together. Unscripted, reality TV. So, you’d never know what was going to happen. I mean the viewer wouldn’t. Of course, the producers would have the reins.”
“What do you mean, ‘have the reins’?”
“They’d be in control. I mean if people started fighting, like a knock-down-drag-out, or something. They’d step in.”
“What if they started ripping their clothes off and making passionate love?”  Shocked at his own boldness, he sensed color heading to his face.
“Why, Mike! You made yourself blush,” she said, laughing.
“Answer the question.”
“Of course they’d step in. We don’t want the show to be yanked because it’s porn, or something.”
“I see. So, it would be okay to do that in private?”  A small smile curled his lips.
“Private is private,” she grinned. “I think that kind of tension, sexual tension, will keep viewers glued to their sets. They’ll want to know if they slept together or not and the next day, the way they interact, will probably reveal the truth. But we can’t have that on camera.”
He nodded. “I get it.”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “So, would you be interested?”
“You want me to pretend to fall in love with you for a trip to the Caribbean?”
“It’s not that tacky. Honestly. It would help me out so much. If we could capture an audience, the program would get a contract.”
“Are you a producer?”
She nodded. “I am. Along with Ned Collins. We’re the founders, the creators of the show. But we’d be the main producers. Or Ned would. Guess I’d have to step back a bit if I was on camera.”
“This Ned guy. Who is he?”
“A friend.”
“That’s all?”
“Yep.”
She couldn’t meet his gaze. He didn’t believe her. So what if this Ned guy was her boyfriend? I mean they’d only be pretending to fall in love, right? He certainly wasn’t ready for a relationship. So this might be perfect. Getting him out of the house would make his mother happy. And she was right. He’d been hiding out for a long time, licking his wounds.  A wicked idea crossed his  mind. How far would Cassie be willing to go to make this show a success? Would she sleep with him? The idea gave him a twinge between the legs.
“It’s all going to be make-believe? Just for the camera?”

“Of course. I mean, I don’t know you at all anymore. It’s been ages.”
“So that means you couldn’t possibly fall in love with me, right? Guaranteed?”
“Nothing in life is guaranteed, Mike. Who knows?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. God, he’d missed that, all these years.
“It’s stupid. Crazy. Idiotic,” he paused, “I’ll do it.” His rational self jumped up and down inside his head, screaming to back off, run, as fast as he could. But he’d already committed. The idea of doing something totally spontaneous and dumb appealed to him. He’d led such a staid life. He hadn’t taken a chance on anything since he last hung out with Cassie.
He’d forgotten how insane life was with her, how much fun. Living in the funk he’d been in, hadn’t done anything to help him. He needed a jolt, something off-the-wall. And this was it. If he got to sleep with Cassie, so much the better. But even if he didn’t, he’d get to spend time with her. Her natural energy and enthusiasm might lift him up the way it always had.
With an alcoholic father, tension had always been in the air. His mother, tight-lipped and grim most of the time, tried to make up for it. She worked hard at a local restaurant, waiting tables and tending bar. The atmosphere at home when he was growing up was dark. Cassie shone like the sun in his life. After school, they’d hang together and she’d get him in some awful messes. But they always ended up laughing about it.

Cassie had brought life and excitement to his days. Damn, he needed something and maybe she was it. 


Tuesday, February 21, 2017

TUESDAY TALES - PICTURE PROMPT





Welcome! This is picture prompt week. And I  have to keep this to 300 words only. I'm still with "Reunited". Scroll down for the link back to Tuesday Tales and my website. Thanks for stopping by.

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Mike looked at the pretty, young woman. What she was presenting was ridiculous. About to raise his hand for the check, he remembered what awaited him at home. The empty room haunted him. Yes, his sister had cleaned out all of Patty’s stuff. But he still felt her presence there. He’d tucked away her favorite bear, Briny, in the closet.
And the room still had her sweet scent. His wife and his little daughter, just six and the light of his life died in a car crash two years ago. Mike had gone to therapy. He’d taken a long trip, tried everything to forget, but there was no way he could ever forget her shining smile, and effervescent personality.
He sat back. He’d listen to Cassie for a while longer. As crazy as her idea was, it kept him from going home. He ordered another drink. Maybe by the time, he’d be tired enough to sleep without waking up and ending up in her empty room.
“Sorry, my mind wandered. What were you saying?” She had grown more beautiful over the years. And the shy little tomboy now flashed significant cleavage his way. Who was he to ignore what was on display? That would be rude, wouldn’t it?
As he watched her explain her dream, her lively expression, broad smile, and sexy body sucked him in. Maybe he’d shuffle back a few years and get what he’d wanted so bad ten years ago -- one glorious roll in the hay with hot, little Cassie Newsome. Maybe she’d make him forget what he had lost that stormy day in February.

He took her hand in his, and focused on her words. Could something this totally insane save him? Who was he to doubt Cassie’s ambition and determination? Damn it. She turned him on. 


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Monday, February 13, 2017

TUESDAY TALES - WORD PROMPT "LOVE"


Welcome! The word prompt this week is "love". How appropriate! I'm continuing with the story "Reunited" this week. Hope you enjoy it. Scroll down for links back to the great stories at Tuesday Tales and my website. 
Thanks for stopping by. 

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Cassie arrived at the bar first. She learned that, on a blind date, being there before the guy meant you could scope him out and if he looked really bad, you could hide in the ladies room and sneak out the back door. It gave her the upper hand.
This time was different. But she needed to be in control here because there were big stakes involved. If the program “Reunited” took off, she and Ned would be multimillionaires. This had to work.
Mike walked in wearing a blue, button-down shirt, dark gray slacks, and a tan corduroy sports jacket. Having filled out some since high school, he looked good. She smiled and waved. He noticed her, raised his hand and headed for her table.
When he sat down, he didn’t lean over to kiss her cheek or even shake hands. There was something different about Mike. She didn’t know what it was, but she sensed it.
“You look great, Mike. Life must agree with you,” she said.
He shot her an odd look and a half grin. “I’m doing okay. You look terrific. Even better than in high school.”
Cassie laughed. “We were such good friends, but just friends.”
“Maybe you were. But not me.”
“No?” Her eyebrows shot up.
“I had a huge crush on you.”
“You did?” Her voice registered genuine surprise.
“You didn’t know? Really? And when I trumped up that story about Mary Callahan, I thought for sure you’d see right through it.” He grinned.
“A story? She wasn’t after you?”
“No one was after me. But I knew you’d rescue me if you thought I was in trouble.”
“Got that right. So agreeing to go to the prom with you was just because you wanted to go with me?”
“In the worst way.”
“Why you little fibber! You fooled me completely.”
“Worked, too,” he replied, raising his hand for the waitress.
“Sure did. I had no idea.”
He’d crushed on Cassie? That threw her, it was unexpected. But not now, as he sat across the table from her, aloof, sizing her up. Did he think she’d embarrass him about the prom? She’d had a phenomenal time, but it had simply come too late to do much about it. She had gone to college in Oregon and he had attended a university in Maryland. Even their vacations didn’t dovetail. He was on trimester while she was on the traditional two-semester schedule.
Warmth surrounded her heart. For an instant, she wondered where she would be, if they had attended the same school. His admission changed everything. Remembering sneaking a beer or two and making out with Mike in his car, she had assumed he’d been drunk and made out with her because that’s what you were supposed to do. It had changed her, the way she’d felt about him, but she was too shy to say anything. 
He’d gone to be a counselor at a sleep-away camp and she’d waitressed all summer. Cassie had been ready to give up her virginity to Mike, but never got the chance. The question of where they would be today if they’d started dating sooner or stayed together brought a sting of tears behind her eyes. Would they have fallen in love?
His dark brown eyes connected with hers. She wondered if he could read the regret there? Probably –so she lowered her gaze to her wine. This wasn’t going the way she’d hoped it would at all.

“So, tell me. Why did you want to see me? The anticipation’s been killing me. What’s up, Cassie?” 

Monday, February 6, 2017

TUESDAY TALES - REUNITED continues #romance #amwriting


Welcome! This week the word prompt is "metal". I'm continuing with the story "Reunited" 
Scroll down to the link to return to Tuesday Tales and read the other stories and to get to my website. 
Thank you for stopping by!

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After a call to the reunion committee, Cassie secured Mike’s phone number. She paced, thinking about what she’d say, her opening line.
“Hey, Mike, It’s Cassie. Remember me? Hey, Mike, remember your old friend, Cassie Newsome? Hey, Mike, wasn’t that prom a blast? It’s Cassie.” Nothing pleased her. She opened a bottle of red wine and poured a glass, then continued pacing.
She stood by the window, gripping the metal security bar, and remembering their senior prom night. The whisperings at school were all about hotel rooms, types of condoms and giving it up for the first time. Cassie’s first boyfriend, captain of the football team, had pressed her for sex. She’d only been fifteen at the time. When he found out, he dumped her, to avoid trouble.
She ended up bouncing around to a science nerd, a shy boy named Nathan. Nathan had been the smartest kid in the class. By then, she was seventeen and curious about sex. She’d coaxed him into going all the way one steamy July night. When he parents found out, they threatened to cut off his college money if he didn’t give up “that cheap trick, Cassie.” Reluctantly, he broke up with her.
More humiliated than heart-broken, she’d sworn off guys. Then Mike came along. They became friends. When he asked her to the prom so he could turn down Scary Stacy, she’d agreed. With Mike, she’d have a good time and there’d be no parental disapproval or pressure for sex. She’d enjoyed herself more than she had expected. After that they went to different colleges and lost touch.
She took a long breath, poured another glass of wine, then dialed.
“Hello?”
“Mike?”
“Yeah. Who’s this?”
“It’s Cassie Newsome. You might not remember me, but we went to the senior prom together.”
“Cassie? You’re fucking kidding me. Oops. Sorry.”
“No problem. Yeah, it’s me.”
“Well how the hell are you?”
She took a sip and smiled. “Just fine. You?”
“Okay. You going to the reunion?” he asked.
“The tenth? Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Me, too. Guess I’ll see you there. We can catch up then.”
“Wait!” She sensed he was about to hang up. “I’m going to be in your neighborhood for work,” she lied. “I was wondering if we could have a drink together.”
“Oh, that’s why you called? Sure. When?”
They made arrangements. When she hung up, she called Ned.
“I made contact with Mike.”
“Great.”
“I’m meeting him tomorrow night in D. C. for a drink,” she said.
“Fantastic! I know you can set this up, baby. We’re on the way.”
“Right.”
“So what are you doing on the phone with me? Shouldn’t you be catching a train?” He asked.
“Of course. See you in a few days,” she said and hung up the phone.