My wife and I bought our current house about a year ago. We live in a nice and quiet community where all the houses look similar, with a small little detail to distinguish them from each other. For the most part, it seems to be a diverse community, with a Hispanic family on our right, a Nigerian family to our left, and a black family across from us. Next to them is an interracial couple who also recently moved in, with a...

The knock on my office door startled me out of my concentration. I was deep into work on an important project, trying to hit a tight deadline. "Come in," I called out, glancing up from my computer screen. The door swung open and in walked my coworker, Tina from the marketing department. She came strutting into my office. I'd worked with Tina for years, and there was always been an undeniable sexual tension between us. We...

It was supposed to be a romantic break for me and my husband. Two weeks on Ikaria, a small, sleepy Greek island, was just what we both needed after a stressful few months at work. A week before we were due to leave, Beck came home from work excitedly. “I’ve been given a promotion, heading up a new account. The only problem is I need to start next week,” he added quietly. “What about our break?” I asked, shocked that he ha...

The Caribbean sun poured over them like honey, thick and golden, warming everything it touched. From the moment they stepped off the small seaplane onto the private island resort, Scott felt like they had crossed into another dimension—one where time bent, morals blurred, and reality softened into heat, salt, and skin. They were no longer professor and student here. No one knew them as Dr. Scott Jones and Sunshine. Here,...

I caught up with Naomi halfway down the Main Street of the village. "I thought you were walking slow," I said as I caught up with her. "You took your sweet time, Tommy Dunne," she said, "what's a girl to do when she's starving?" "Derek, he's like an old woman sometimes," I said. "All is not lost, though, Naomi, I got to check you out from a different angle." "Did you, now?" she said. "And what's the verdict?" "Let's just...

I was awoken at 6:00 by a phone call from Sue. I was torn between cutting it off and answering, but I gritted my teeth. “Hello,” I said. “Feeling better after your drinking session?” she said, her voice dripping with opprobrium. “Yes, I’m as good as gold, thanks.” “Well, I’m not. You’re a thoughtless bastard sometimes, Des.” I bit my tongue. “I had a few scoops after a long, exhausting day, Sue. Even a horse gets a noseba...

I pulled into the drive at 7:50. I knew she’d be fuming, but I was only interested in how she was going to handle the phone call with Cullen. I turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open; she was sitting in her chair, reading a book. I said nothing and went straight to the kitchen. She followed me in. “I said hello,” she said with a pained look on her face. “I didn’t hear you, sorry,” I said. “Why are you treatin...

I woke sleepily when I heard the door as it sucked the air out of the house with a quiet whisper. Sue was home. I could sleep now. I happened to notice the green numbers mocking me on the alarm clock by my bedside. 4:04. I heard her feet padding across the white oak flooring of the living room. She’d taken off her shoes. I heard the soft rustle of her coat as she took it off and put it away somewhere. I knew she had reach...