TUESDAY TALES - Word Prompt Rose

Welcome! The word prompt is "rose" and we have another snippet from "No Regrets." Thanks for stopping by. Scroll down to return to Tuesday Tales.

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At noon, after his parents loaded up the family car, Lizzie cried and hugged Nick goodbye.

“See you at Thanksgiving,” he said.

“Right. Remember what we agreed?”

“We’re free to date anyone we want. We’re officially broken up. It’s over for four years, or at least the first summer break.”

“What?”

“I just added that.”

She gave him a playful slap. “We agreed we’d have no ties on each other when we left for college. And no regrets, right?”

“Right. No regrets. Free to date. No regrets,” he repeated. Emotion rose in his throat. His eyes watered. “Damn it, Wenner. Now you made me cry. Defensemen don’t cry.”

She hugged him. “No one can see.”

“I don’t want to let you go,” he whispered.

“Me, too.”

After another minute, Nick’s father tapped him on the shoulder. Nick closed the car door and turned to watch Lizzie out the back window. She cried until she couldn’t see it anymore.

 “No regrets,” she muttered, ignoring the pain in her heart. Thanksgiving might as well be light years away.

But it wasn’t to be. Lizzie’s parents sold their house to pay for her tuition and moved to an apartment in New Hampshire before Thanksgiving.

Lizzie and Nick never saw each other again, until they bumped into each other, in Starbucks, ten years later. 

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TUESDAY TALES - WORD PROMPT WASH

Howdy! This week the word prompt is "wash." And we return with another snippet of "No Regrets." Scroll down to return to the awesome authors of Tuesday Tales. Thanks for stopping by. 

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She took a deep shuddering breath.

“You’re gonna be around all those brains. Those Yale guys. All wanting to get laid.”

“Hey, now you’re doing it.”

“I know. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about it all week. It sucks.”

“Yep.”

“I get why you can’t come to Nebraska with me. Sort of.”

“We’ve been over this,” she said.

“I know, I know.”

“Graduating from Yale is as big a deal in the writing world as you graduating from Nebraska is in the football world. You’ll be playing with the best of the best. And I’ll be competing with the best of the best.”

“I get it. Don’t have to like it though.”

“Besides, our parents would kill us.”

“We’re eighteen. We can do what we want.”

“My parents would never pay the tuition at Nebraska.”

“If we got married, maybe you could get a scholarship, too,” he said.

“Nick. I love you. I’d marry you in a heartbeat. But I don’t want to go to Nebraska. All my life I’ve been working my butt off to get into Yale. And I made it.”

“It’s great. I know. But, well. You know.”

“Yeah. I know.”

They clung together, sharing body warmth, awash in moonlight until almost daylight.

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TUESDAY TALES - PICTURE PROMPT! #romance

   Howdy! This week is picture prompt week. Posts have to be 300 words or less. I've got another installment of "No Regrets." Scroll down to return to the great writers of Tuesday Tales. Thanks for stopping by. 

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Nick tossed her a towel then wrapped one around his waist. They padded out to the end of the dock and sat, legs dangling into the water. The moon threw shadows everywhere and gleamed off the still surface of the lake. Lizzie huddled closer. Nick put his arm around her shoulders.

She smiled. That was her favorite thing, when he drew her close. It was like he threw a protective cape, blanket, or shield around her. She couldn’t fathom why that was important. Lizzie had nothing to be afraid of, except a couple of bullies at school. Still, when she was under his wing, all was right with the world, and she wasn’t an odd duck, awkward, uncomfortable who didn’t fit in.

She snaked her arm around his waist.

“You did it,” he said.

“What?”

“College. You got me into college.”

“No, I didn’t. You did it yourself.”

“If I couldn’t pass English with a decent grade, I never would have gotten into Nebraska.”

“Ridiculous.”

“It’s true,” he said, facing her. “Why don’t you just accept it and say ‘thank you’.”

“Thank you. Happy?” she quirked an eyebrow.

He hugged her and kissed her head. “You’re cute, for a squirt.”

“You keep saying that. I’m not a squirt.”

“You’re not a two-hundred pound linebacker, either.”

“You wouldn’t love me if I was.”

Lizzie rested her hand on his thigh, feeling the power of his muscle. He reached over, pushing aside the terry cloth to fondle her breast. “I’m gonna miss these.”

“You’ll have a new pair at your disposal within five minutes.”

“Hey, hey. We weren’t going to talk about that tonight, remember.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”

But she couldn’t help but talk about it. For two weeks, she’d been suppressing thoughts about his leaving for Nebraska tomorrow for football training.

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TUESDAY TALES - PROMPT "CART" - NO REGRETS

Welcome! This week's word prompt is "cart". I have a short excerpt from "No Regrets." Thanks for stopping by. Scroll down to return to the excellent authors at Tuesday Tales.

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Lizzie had been curious about sex. She’d been ready for some time before Nick came along. But nerds like her never hung out with the cool guys, the ones who knew how to do it. The only guys who paid her any attention were the science nerds. And they knew squat about sex. Just say the word and watch them turn bright red.

But Nick. God, Nick was sex on legs. The first time he showed up at her door, all embarrassed that he needed a tutor, and pissed off about missing video game time, she’d been speechless.

He was gorgeous. Tall, broad-shouldered, so masculine, she could smell it. His presence turned her on. She could hardly string words together. After ushering him into the kitchen, he downed a carton of chocolate milk. Struggling to focus and stop staring at his chest, she set to teaching him how to diagram a sentence.

Hardest thing she’d ever done, keeping her attention on English when all she wanted to do was kiss and touch him. As he caught on to the work, something sparked between them. She remembered what he’d said.

“I thought smart girls were ugly. Nasty. But you’re kinda cute.”

She had blushed and lowered her eyes. That’s when he’d kissed her, and the rest is history. They’d been together ever since.

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TUESDAY TALES - PROMPT "TOE"

Welcome! This week we're starting a new story, "No Regrets." It's a second-chance romance that will be appearing in my new second-chance romance anthology, "Echoes of the Heart." Don't forget to scroll down to return to Tuesday Tales and read all the wonderful stories. Thanks for coming. 

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The Senior Prom, ten years ago

Nick and Lizzie clung to each other even after the music stopped. He whispered in her ear.

“Let’s go.”

“But it’s not the last dance.”

“Don’t be a dork. Break the rules. Just this once,” he said, furrowing his brows.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.”

He took her hand. They threaded their way through the crowd floor. Slipping out of the gym into the hall, they made a beeline for a side door. Once outside, they leaned against it. Liz took a deep breath.

“Free!” Nick said, with a laugh.

Liz chuckled and fell into his embrace. The air was warm, heavy, and sweet with the scent of June blossoms.

“Come on,” he said, leading her to the parking lot. They hopped into his jalopy and headed for Cedar Lake. Nick pulled the old car into a shadowy lane and parked. He reached in the backseat and grabbed two towels.

Liz opened the door. Hiking up her emerald green long gown, she swung her legs over and pushed to her feet. Her spiked heels sunk into the soft earth, making her trek slow.

“Those damn shoes. Thought you didn’t believe in that fancy ass shit?”                                                                                                         “It’s prom, Nick. Prom.”

“Once a girl, always a girl,” he said, laughing.

She swiped at him but missed.

“This is too slow for me,” he said, picking her up in his arms. Nick Jameson, star defenseman of the Pine Grove Eagles, had arms of steel. He tossed her in the air, then caught her as if she were made of balsa wood. 

Elizabeth Wenner, five four and slender, giggled as Nick strode down to the water. She leaned against his chest. The polyester fabric of his tuxedo rubbed her cheek. The scent of his aftershave, usually overpowering, but not tonight, mixed with Nick’s masculine scent. He smelled great.

The sound of his heavy footfall on the weathered wood mixed with the soft song of crickets. When he put her down, Liz toed off her shoes. Hiking up her skirt, she peeled off her pantyhose and heaved a sigh.

“Really? You girls wear too many clothes,” Nick said, shaking his head.

“Oh, and that stupid cummerbund, and those little thingies instead of buttons make sense?”

“Okay. We’re even. Last one naked is a rotten egg.”

Nick stripped off his complicated suit in record time.

“No fair! You have more experience getting naked,” Liz objected.

“Tough. I win. I get to throw you in.” He approached her.

She squealed in mock fear. Nick relieved her struggling and unzipped the back of her dress. She shed the green jersey, while he unhooked her strapless bra. Liz slid her panties down and stepped out of them. Nick scooped her up and ran to the edge. He tossed her in first, then jumped in after her.

The night water cooled her body. She surfaced, looking for Nick. Like a whale breaching, he popped up, shaking water off his head. Moonlight kissed his hair, turning it silver. Lizzie treaded water, waiting for him to meet her. 

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