Another prompt, another round of great stories to choose from. Check the stories out below and vote for your favorite!
@JoeGarlandNY, 299 words
“I’ve been thinking.” She was not looking directly at him when she said it. Instead she was running a finger up and down his chest hairs, feeling his breathing. His right arm encircled her waist.
He was still drowsy from the nap he fell into when they were done and he wondered whether she, too, had fallen asleep. He could not say what time it was. Only that it was late afternoon on a Sunday in February so it was dark. The window was open a crack, as required by the heat from the old radiator that broiled their apartment, and they could hear the sound of traffic from Broadway.
“What have you been thinking?” He leaned up and kissed the top of her head and savored the feel of her skin against his.
At his question, she pulled back so she could look at him, and he loosened his grip and used a finger to move a dangling wisp of hairs from her forehead. His stomach rumbled, and she patted it before crawling atop him, feeling his hands slowly move down her sides.
“You are a very bad liar. You know exactly what I’ve been thinking.”
“What you always think on late Sunday afternoons in February?”
“And every other month.”
Her elbows were positioned so she could look down on him and another bit of hair dusted his forehead. He tried to lift his head so he could kiss her, but the angle was wrong and she had to lower her lips to his. When she pulled away after the slightest peck, he said, “Yes. But small.”
She jumped up and dashed from the room.
“Where are you going?” he called to her.
“To call my mom silly,” the words drifting in from the living room. “How small?”
@DavidALudwig, 250 words
“Oh? What are you thinking?”
Emathyst addressed their guide, while admiring the circle of colorful doors they stopped amidst. Bluebelle lifted her top hat to fan herself, while the rest of their party relaxed from their long hike.
“I’ve been thinking, if we’re going to find Malain, then we’re going to need some help.”
Emathyst’s partner, Brewer, struck his axe haft suspiciously against his shoulder while scrutinizing their surroundings.
“I thought we’ve been traveling away from this clearing… We didn’t go all the way around the world already, did we?”
“That was in our world, this is a different clearing.” Emathyst pat Brewer reassuringly on his other shoulder. “See, the trees here are different.”
“Hrm…”
Emathyst knelt to see things from closer to Brewer’s level.
“There are more bushes here.”
“Who could help us find my mom?” Jinx looked inquisitively up at Bluebelle.
“I have someone in mind.”
With a mirthful wink and a nod to the child, the druidess tapped the door designed like a festively decorated tree with her shillelagh. Jinx’s eyes widened with wonder and she little more than managed to mouth her question.
“Santa?”
Bluebelle nodded again with a belly laugh worthy of the referred figure. Vedania, the last of their party, rolled her eyes with an unimpressed groan. Emathyst sighed wistfully in the direction of the door like a painted egg.
“We’re all here, except for Oaklie…”
Bluebelle placed a hand comfortingly on Emathyst’s head.
“This is turning into her kind of adventure, isn’t it?”
@SiobhanMuir, 294 words
Tess packed up the used 4Runner. She’d had sold the Mercedes two weeks earlier and couldn’t be happier with a more affordable and rugged vehicle.
“Yes, it’s a lovely cabin-type house in a place just outside of Cloudburst called Crafter’s Croft.” She opened the door to the garage and gestured to her kidadult. “Come help me load up these boxes so I can head to the hotel.”
Trey shook their head and grabbed a couple of boxes. “Is it’s some sort of artist commune or something?”
“More of a colony rather than a commune, but yeah, all the people living in the houses along Oro Creek are artists of one kind or another. Glass blowers, wood-carvers, painters, potters, sculpters, and one woman is an herbalist. She makes creams and medicines out of herbs. It’s perfect for me and my restorative business. You know me—”
“I know, recycle, reuse, repair, and restore.” Trey shook their head as they carried the boxes to the Uhaul trailer. “Drove Dad crazy. What does he think about you moving to Colorado?”
Tess shrugged as she opened the trailer. “Doesn’t really matter or affect him. The divorce ended most of his worries six years ago and now that you and Izzy are on your own pursuing your dreams, he doesn’t have to worry about custody issues. The truth is, I’ve been thinking about leaving ever since you and your sister went off to college. I need a place that seems more me and going home to the small town where I started is just my style.” She gave her kidadult a smile. “And really, it’s not that far out. I’ll still have email, my cell phone, a tablet to make Zoom calls. It’s not like I’m falling off the map.”
FictionTrials 